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Wake up to a hot breakfast of crockpot oatmeal with cinnamon and apples. Perfectly cooked oats and the slow cooker does all the work.

For days when you wish breakfast had made itself, the slow cooker comes to the rescue with these creamy, delicious oatmeal with apples.

two bowls of overnight oatmeal with cinnamon and apples slices

Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal

Crockpot oatmeal might be one of the easiest recipes for a warm and cozy breakfast that's good for you. In this recipe, the apples will cook slowly overnight, and in the morning, you have the most epic apple pie tasting breakfast. It’s like my cinnamon apple overnight oats, but even easier!

Ingredients

To make oatmeal in the slow cooker you’ll need steel-cut oats, milk (or water), vanilla extract, cinnamon, brown sugar, and Granny Smith apples. If you're cooking the apples with the oats, use firm apples like these that retain their texture after long cooking. You can also add diced apples after cooking the oatmeal or swap them for another fruit.

Best Oats for Crockpot Oatmeal

Steel-cut oats are essential for slow cooker oatmeal. Whether they are traditional (Irish) or quick, they can withstand the long cooking time and retain their texture. Using any other oats will result in a creamy mush. Quick or instant oats will practically dissolve. Old-fashioned oats will result in a creamy porridge, almost like a puree. If you don’t have steel-cut oats or Irish oats, pin this post and head over to my other recipes with the classic flakes.

How to Make Apple Oatmeal in the Crockpot

As I’ll show you in the video below, making crockpot oatmeal overnight is as simple as combining all the ingredients in the slow cooker and set to cook on low for 6-8 hours. After 6 hours, stir to see if it's ready. The oatmeal should have a creamy, thick consistency like regular stovetop oatmeal. Serve, add your favorite oatmeal toppings, and enjoy!

side by side making oats in the slow cooker

How to Store Leftover Oatmeal

You can store leftover oatmeal in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat it on the stovetop or the microwave.

Keep in mind that apples can turn a little mushy after a few days. If you plan to prep oatmeal ahead and store it, cook the oats without any add-ins and add fruits and toppings the same day you're going to eat them.

Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal with Apples & Cinnamon

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 5

Wake up to a hot breakfast of crockpot oatmeal with cinnamon and apples. Perfectly cooked oats and the slow cooker does all the work.

5 from 21 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

1 ⅓ cups steel-cut oats
4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Granny Smith apples, diced and divided
4 teaspoons brown sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

Cook:

Generously spray your slow cooker walls with non-stick spray or line with a slow cooker liner.
Place almond milk, oats, vanilla, cinnamon, and diced apples in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the oats are soft and cooked through.

Serve & store:

Serve sprinkled with brown sugar and additional chopped apple.
Leftover oatmeal can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.