Experiment: Can I make oatmeal in my slow cooker?
Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.14.07
Materials Needed: Please see Tip Nut for the full instructions. I decided to attempt cooking the oatmeal in my slow cooker and followed the instructions exactly except I substituted the steel cut oats for regular rolled oats because that is what I had in my pantry. I wanted to see if the experiment worked well before heading to the store. My slow cooker is the standard size and I poured the ingredients in there. I was really intrigued by the water to oats ratio because it just seemed like far too much water. I flipped the slow cooker on and let it cook for eight hours.
Results: I programmed my coffeemaker for the same exact time and woke up to a steaming bowl of oatmeal and hot coffee this morning. The oatmeal still seemed a little thin, but I let it set up for a minute or two before I tried it. Within minutes, it thickened up and I had a perfect bowl of oatmeal.
This oatmeal is extremely creamy and tastes delicious! It tastes more on par with restaurant oatmeal because of the great consistency of it. With a lump of brown sugar and some dried fruits, it would make a wonderful way to start the day.
Conclusion: I will definitely be buying the steel cut oatmeal to eat this again. It was a wonderful way to walk up and motivated me to have breakfast which is very hard to do! Thanks Tip Nut for sharing all of your tips with your readers!
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I should try this. We eat tonnes of steel cut but I soak it in the pot overnight with some apple cider or kefir and in the morning I turn the burner on and boil for 5-7 min. Because it is soaked it only takes that long. You do have to stir it constantly and it is a mess so the crockpot may be a nice break.
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Sorry for being an igmo……..but what is steel cut oats?
I love using my crock-pot! I’ve got a prok roast on now.
Blessings!!!!
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I love to do steel cut oats in the crockpot with a cup of pumpkin puree! I do half-milk, half-water for the liquid, then add the pumpkin and cinnamon. When it’s done, we add either brown sugar or maple syrup with chopped pecans. Heavenly! Thanks for posting this…I love love love your blog, Amy!
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Seattle Coffee Girl- That sounds DELICIOUS. I will definitely be trying that out. The milk doesn’t curdle? That would be the only thing I would worry about…
Marva- If you click on that Tip Nut link, it will actually show you a picture of what those oats look like. They are more sturdy and can be bought at Kroger. I think they had ours on the top shelf. Aldi doesn’t carry them, which is why I tried it with the regular rolled oats. It worked, but I think the steel cut would have been better!
Niki- I think you would really like these. Let me know if you try them!!
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I’ve heard of others using milk, too, with no problems. I tried steel cut (for the first time!) in the crock pot this week and really enjoyed it – I did mine as a water bath, though. I put the oats and water in an ovenproof bowl, set it in the crock, and then carefully added water in the crock up to the water line in the bowl. It worked very well!
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I just read a post on http://www.wantnot.net about a sale Amazon is having on steel cut oats. I’ve never used them, so I don’t know the cost comparison, but she seemed to think it was a good deal.
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I *just* wrote a post about how I had finally gotten my kids off their addiction (and mine) to cold cereal for breakfast b/c it didn’t tide them over until lunch. And they are now eating oatmeal every morning. But I am slow to wake up in the mornings and kind of dread making the oatmeal. I think I’m going to try this right now, for tomorrow morning! perfect! thanks, amy!
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Molly- Let me know how it turns out. I am anxious to hear your opinion. Like I said, the other oats would be more sturdy for this type of slow cooking.
Kristine- thanks for the info on the sale!! I will take a peek!
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Amy,
I got all of this ready last night before bed and turned it on. We are cool over here in the south so I woke up to warm oats and hot coffee. I made everyones to go bowls and dropped off at family than ran to work. Brought enough for a friend and myself and all I can say is HEAVEN!!! So much easier and cheaper than “picking up” breakfast because we are always late. At first I was concerned on the consistance (real watery) but once in the bowls it thickened up nicely. Thanks for great cheap quick fix and forget it meals. This really helps a working mom whos husband is gone half of the month.
Hugs
April
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April-
I am SO glad it worked out and you are right, it is so much easier to do and have a hot breakfast waiting for you in the morning. I still need to get some steel cut oats so I can get these to the perfect consistency.
Thank you so much for sending me an update!!
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