Crock Pot Apple Spice Steel Cut Oats

I love my Crock Pot.

I throw stuff in and magic happens.

I could throw in a shoelace, water, and spices and a lovely dinner would be produced just 5 hours later.

The cooking Gods watch over my crock pot while I am busy being doing other things.

I also love oats.

However, I tried steel cut oats a couple years ago and I was not impressed. I think it was the classic case of Too Little Mix-ins- lack of sweetener and fruit = some really bland oats. You do know why they are called groats right? Because you GROAN when you eat them! [Just imagine me as your annoying coworker who tells cheesy jokes every Monday morning) ;)

Seeing how far I have come with my morning meal experimentation, I decided to give those steely oats another shot.

When I heard about people making Crock Pot Steel Cut Oats, I raised an eyebrow. Something that I could toss into my crock pot and simmer overnight? Something that would lure me from the warm covers of my bed?

Sign. me. UP!

Crock Pot Apple Spice Steel Cut Oats

The crock pot method is wonderful for making several servings in advance. You can even double the recipe and make a full week’s servings in one batch. I`m told that because steel cut oats have such a chewy texture, the texture is retained even when reheated in the microwave. Just be sure to add a splash of milk before reheating.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup PC Blue Menu steel cut oats, dry
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk, original)
• 1 large apple, chopped, with skin
• 1 tiny banana, thinly sliced
• 1.5 T pumpkin pie spice

Add-ons PER serving:

• 1/2 T chia seeds
• 1 T agave

Directions: Place all ingredients into the crock pot except for the chia and agave. Simmer on lowest setting for about 6 hours. My crock pot switches to the warm setting so even though it is done cooking the oats still remained warm when I got up after 8 hours of sleep.

Nutrition information is per serving. Recipe above makes 4 servings.

These apple spiced oats were pretty good. I added a bit more agave than I originally planned because they were a bit bland. I think next time I would whip the banana through the oats to give them more flavour throughout.

What did I think of steel cut oats as opposed to regular oats?

• They were chewy, but not as chewy as I imagined. I assume that is because they cooked for 6 hours.
• They had a more pronounced nutty flavour

Other benefits:

• They reheat well. I portioned the other 3 servings into small Pyrex dishes and placed them into the fridge. Just pour a tiny bit of milk on top of the oats and zap them in the microwave for a very easy breakfast.
• The crock pot method was awesome. All I had to do was scoop some oats into a bowl and sprinkle with a couple toppings. It was the quickest breakfast I have ever had! This would be great for people who are really time crunched in the morning.

Are you a steel cut oats fan? How do you enjoy it?

I also had breakfast with some Swamp Water (Amazing Grass Chocolate Meal Powder + H20)

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