Steel cut oats, also known as Irish oats, are an awesome source of insoluble fiber and protein. If you find that regular oatmeal is too mushy and just doesn’t fill you up, you’re going to want to try steel cut oats.
Now, the problem with steel cut oats is that they take a long time to cook. Who has 30-40 minutes to make breakfast? My solution to this was making them in the crockpot and then reheating them in single servings in the morning.
My favorite kind of oatmeal has always been apple cinnamon, so I’m taking advantage of the delicious Honey Crisp apples from our local orchard. Here’s a recipe that you can try and adapt to your liking…
Apple Pie Breakfast with Steel Cut Oats
Ingredients
2 cups steel cut oats
4 cups skim milk (can substitute soy milk or lactose-free milk)
3 cups water
2 medium apples, diced (sweet apples work best!)
many shakes ground cinnamon
a few shakes nutmeg
real maple syrup (not the crappy fake kind, seriously!) – sweeten to taste
Instructions
Mix all ingredients except maple syrup together in crockpot. It is going to seem like the oats are swimming in that much liquid, but don’t worry. Unlike smooshed oatmeal flakes, steel cut oats absorb a lot of liquid.
Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring every hour or so until liquid is incorporated and oats are the firmness/softness you like.
Top each serving with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup to taste. (Note: Steel cut oats are very hearty – don’t serve yourself up your normal portion of oatmeal. Start small!)
Variations
- I tried it with blueberries once. It tasted good, but the blueberries pretty much dissolved while cooking and it turned out like purple oatmeal. I may try it with other fruits, but I think apples hold up the best.
- Also wondering how it might turn out if I substituted a cup of apple cider for one of the cups of water… dunno if that would react poorly with the milk. Anyone know?
The Most Important Meal of the Day!
It’s easy to eat breakfast when a week’s worth of it is in the fridge, waiting to be microwaved and topped with delicious real maple syrup. (Yes, you can get Fit 4 GenCon while eating real maple syrup – a teaspoon a day won’t kill ya – and it’s REAL maple syrup, not the high fructose corn syrup nastiness.)
Try this recipe out – make some variations – let me know what you think and if you’ve discovered a tweak that makes it even better.
About e
Yum! I love oatmeal (the old-fashioned kind) and cook it for me and my geeky other half almost every morning. I’ve always wondered if steel cut oats were worth the long cooking time. I’m all about using the crock pot so I may have to give these a try. About how many servings do you get out of one batch cooked this way?
If you’ve never tried freshly ground nutmeg, I highly recommend it! It makes the pre-ground stuff from the jar taste like sawdust. Whole nutmeg lasts forever, too, before losing its flavor.
With crockpot oatmeal, you may want to try dried fruits. Slow cooking will reconstitute them, so they won’t turn into fruit compote by the time its done.
Also, since it’s a crockpot, it’s not out of the question to turn it on before you go to bed, and it should be ready when you wake up. I’ve done that with a similar recipe with excellent results.
I think it would be good with apple cider. Sounds delish!
@ Ariel – I do love fresh ground nutmeg and need to buy some! Thanks for reminding me.
@ AlphaAnt – That is a good point about dried fruits. Maybe next up should be trail mix oatmeal. Hehhehe!
As for leaving it on overnight… my mother ingrained in me a fear of the stove and cooking implements that is soooo deep set that I still get OCD about whether I UNPLUGGED the crockpot, nevermind left it on overnight. 
@ Darya – I think the next batch I’ll try subbing in a cup of apple cider for a cup of water and see what happens.
I’m not a big fan of porridge, but that does sound good.
Cider probably isn’t a good idea. Having an acid and an alkali neutralise in your stomach isn’t fun
UPDATE: I did mix in the apple cider to replace one of the cups of water and it turned out much more apple-y. Yum!