Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal with Apples & Cinnamon

When you wake up to a hot breakfast of crockpot oatmeal with apples and cinnamon, you know it’s going to be a good day! For days where you wish breakfast had made itself, the slow cooker comes to the rescue with these creamy, delicious, steel-cut oats.

Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal

Crockpot oatmeal might be one of the easiest recipes to make with basic pantry staples for a warm and cozy breakfast that’s good for you.

Something important to note right now is that crockpot oatmeal works best with steel-cut oats -I’ll tell you more about this further down.

Crockpot oatmeal is as simple as combining oats and milk in the slow cooker, set it to cook overnight. 

You read that right, the slow cooker has the power to turn oats into creamy, oatmeal perfection. The oat base can be adapted to your liking with unlimited variations. 

For this recipe, we’re adding diced apples and cinnamon into the mix where the apples will cook slowly overnight and, in the morning, you have the most epic apple pie tasting breakfast.

For these reasons, it’s pretty much always on repeat in my house, and after you try this apples and cinnamon version, it’s sure to be a staple recipe in yours too.

Ingredients

As stated above, this recipe is adaptable, so you can swap the apple for another favorite fruit like berries or wait to add them until the oatmeal is cooked and ready to be served. 

Ingredient measurements are at the end of the post, but first check out everything you’ll need to make this perfect apple and cinnamon-spiced oatmeal happen:

• Steel-cut oats: these oats hold their texture in the slow cooker. If you don’t have steel-cut oats on hand, make this recipe in the stovetop or try one of these other tasty oatmeal breakfasts.
• Milk: your favorite. You can even use water!
• Vanilla extract: the flavor, the aroma… delicious!
• Cinnamon: for incredible apple pie flavor.
• Granny Smith apples: if you’re cooking the apples with the oats, use firm apples like these that can retain their texture after long cooking. You can also add diced apples after cooking the oatmeal or swap them for another fruit.
• Brown sugar: for sprinkling.

How to Make Apple Oatmeal in the Crockpot

Now that you have the ingredients ready to go, let’s make this slow cooker oatmeal! 

1. Grease the Slow Cooker
   Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray or lightly coat it with butter. You can also use a slow cooker liner for easy clean-up.  
2. Combine the Ingredients
   In the slow cooker dish, combine the oats, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and apple. Stir to combine, cover with lid, and set to cook on low for 6-8 hours. 
3. Check to See it’s Done
   Once the oatmeal has cooked for at least 6 hours, remove the lid and stir to see if it’s ready. The oatmeal should have a creamy, thick consistency like regular stovetop oatmeal. 
4. Serve
   Once cooked, scoop the creamy oatmeal into a bowl, top with the brown sugar and additional diced apple. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

More of a visual learner? No problem! Watch this quick recipe video below to watch the whole thing come together.

Recipes like crockpot oatmeal are lifesavers on busy mornings because they can be made ahead of time and assembled in less than 5 minutes so you can get everyone out the door on time.  

Prep is minimal which demonstrates that you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare healthy meals. I mean, who wants to whisk, mix, and cook before the coffee kicks in?

Need to take breakfast on the go? Easy, pack the oatmeal in a thermos container and enjoy on the way to school or work!

Related: Top 5 Thermos Containers

Best Oats for Crockpot Oatmeal

Steel-cut oats are essential for making slow cooker oatmeal. They can withstand the long cooking time and retain their texture. Using anything other than steel-cut oats will result in a creamy mush, not to mention that quick or instant will practically dissolve.

Using old-fashioned oats will result in a creamy porridge almost like a puree. The oats will also lose their texture -sadly.

If you don’t have steel-cut oats or Irish oats, stop right now. Pin this post and head over to my other recipes with the classic flakes.

If you don’t have steel-cut oats, you can turn this into a stovetop oatmeal or overnight oats recipe with old-fashioned oats. 

Toppings for Slow Cooker Oatmeal with Apples

The best thing about slow cooker oatmeal is that the flavor options are endless! Whether you’re craving something sweet or even savory flavors, there’s a healthy option for you! Some of my favorite slow cooker oatmeal toppings include:

• Chopped nuts
• Chia seeds
• Ground flaxseed
• Fruit
• Greek yogurt
• Nut butter

Loving these fall crockpot oats? Get more Fall breakfast ideas here.

How to Store Leftover Oatmeal

Whether you cook too much oatmeal or want to save time cooking a large batch, you can store leftover oatmeal in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or 3 months in the freezer. To reheat, use the stovetop or the microwave.  

Keep in mind that apples can turn a little mushy after a few days. If you plan to prepping oatmeal ahead and store it in the fridge or freezer, 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 minutes mins

Cook Time: 5 hours hrs

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

• 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 sprinkled with brown sugar and additional chopped apple.

Equipment

Slow Cooker

Oatmeal Mug

Slow Cooker Liners

Nutrition

Serving: 1 bowl | Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 326mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 51IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 337mg | Iron: 2mg