Whip out your slow cooker and let’s get cooking. Crockpot steel cut oats are so easy to make and healthy too! Out Maple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal is made with 6 simple ingredients for a wholesome, filling breakfast.
I always joke around that, one day, oatmeal is going to make me millions. It’s pretty much the only thing I used to post the first 12 months FFF existed (re: Recipe Index). Why? Because I was obsessed with it and determined to make everyone else fall madly in love with it, too. To this day, I eat oatmeal every single day for breakfast, most likely with a banana and nut butter. It’s like dessert for breakfast and helps me poop. Win-win situation.
My obsession with oatmeal is actually what lead me to start Fit Foodie Finds. I can’t believe FFF turned 8 this past November. That’s 3/4’s of a decade. That’s third grade. That’s 8 fingers. Crazy how time flies when you’re having fun.
I actually made this crockpot steel cut oatmeal for the first time for Davida when I was in Toronto a few years ago for her birthday. She inspired me to make this recipe because when I arrived at her house, I was greeted with her amazing Peaches and Cream Steel Cut Oatmeal. Oh mah gah. I could eat that stuff every day. Anyways, that’s the inspiration behind our amazingly flavorful maple cinnamon slow cooker steel cut oats.
How to Make Steel Cut Oats in the Crockpot
If you’re wondering how to make crockpot steel cut oats, it’s EASY! Like, really easy.
Step 1: Spray Crockpot
Give your crockpot a nice spray down (or rub down) with nonstick cooking spray! This will prevent any major stickage. You can also use coconut oil or pretty much any kind of oil for this step if you don’t have cooking spray.
Step 2: Add In Ingredients
You read that correctly. Step 2 is simple…add ALL ingredients into your slow cooker and mix. In addition to steel cut oats and almond milk, this recipe calls for vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, and maple syrup. It’s what gives this crockpot steel cut oatmeal its delicious flavor.
Step 3: Cook
Turn your slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours OR low and cook for 8 hours. If possible, I highly recommend giving your steel cut oatmeal a stir every once in a while to prevent sticking. If you’re cooking overnight, don’t fret! You should be fine.
More Steel Cut Oatmeal Recipes
- Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
- Crock Pot Samoa Steel Cut Oats
- Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats
- Slow Cooker Creamy Steel Cut Oats
- Pumpkin Pie Slow Cooker Oatmeal
Crock-Pot Maple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups steel cut oats
- 6 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 whole vanilla bean the paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- First, spray a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker.
- Cover and turn slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours OR turn to low and cook for 8 hours.
- If possible, periodically stir steel cut oats every once in a while to prevent sticking.
- Once your oatmeal is done cooking, stir with a wooden spoon for 90 seconds to 2 minutes or until it's become thick and well-combined.
- Serve with your favorite fruit and nut butter.
Tips & Notes
- Storage: store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Really good. I didn’t have the vanilla paste. Used vanilla unsweetened almond milk 3c and 3 c plain. Added 1/2 cup no sugar maple syrup, cinnamon and two apples. Will be making this again. Thanks.
Has anyone tried making this in an instant pot on the pressure cooking setting?
I make this regularly in my Instant Pot on the Slow Cooker, low setting for 8 hours. It is nice to wake up to a warm breakfast.
Ahhh I love the slow cooker so much. So glad this is a favorite of yours!
I absolutely love this recipe. I did not make the whole batch and I made enough for one person on the stove. Didn’t have Vanilla Bean but vanilla extract worked just fine. I recommend once you combined all the liquids and spices together give that a little taste to make sure it is to your liking before cooking.
Glad you loved these flavors!
Is it possible to replace some of liquid with apple sauce?
I don’t see why not!
Can you use oatmilk instead?
Yes! Any kind of milk works!
Can I make this with rolled oats and will it have the same result? Thanks 🙂
Hey Ali! I would not sub rolled oats as the liquid ratio will change dramatically!
I’m making this now and very excited to try it! I used 4 cups cashew milk and 2 cups water instead of almond milk, as that’s all I had. Won’t be as creamy but I could add more milk when reheating. Just a heads up, the cook time on your recipe stats says 4 hours but should be 12 with the 4 high and 8 low.
Has anyone every made this use a crockpot liner? How about doubling the recipe for a staff breakfast?
Could I substitute Oat Milk for the almond milk? I have a dairy and nut allergy.
Yes! Any kind of milk works!
Mine skinned over and it looked like all the cinnamon was on the top. How can I avoid that when cooking overnight? I use a timer to get the 8 hours. After scraping off the top and tossing it bc it was quite hard, what was underneath was good but would like to avoid the loss of quite a bit with that top layer.
Maybe next time cook it for 6 hours instead of the full 8!
I made this with vanilla extract (just did a couple splashes as I didn’t have the paste), added some ground flax seed and used 5 cups unsweetened almond milk with 1 cup water (ran out). Turned out DELICIOUS! I top with banana, crushed walnuts and a splash of water to break it up. Thank you for this recipe!
YAY glad you loved it!!!
Wow this was delicious. Always wanted creamy oatmeal now I have it thank you so much.
great!
Hi! Where i live in australia Maple Syrup is EXPENSIVE! would raw honey still taste good?
Thanks ?
I saw that you never got a response. I have used honey, or brown sugar or any kind of sweetener for that matter, and it turns out great! Whatever you use it will take on the flavor of that, so use whatever you have on hand. I have also experimented with almond extract rather than vanilla bean. That is good, too. Maybe use a maple extract to get the maple flavor? Either way, this is a good recipe all the way around!
On Sundays I make this and put it in storage containers that my husband and I can take to work. In the morning I grab one and heat it up in the microwave at work. I add raisins to mine. My husband loves it.
Can you replace almond milk with soy? Actually can you replace it for all your recipes??
Yes you can! For all recipe <3
We have a family member with a tree nut allergy. Can you replace almond milk with regular milk? It looks yummy!
Absolutely! Any kind of milk will work!
Made this last night and my husband and I had it for breakfast this morning. It was delicious! I exchanged 2 cups of the almond milk for 2 cups prepared Blackberry Pomegranate Green Tea for antioxidant boost (it did not add any flavour to the finished oatmeal) For added protein I also added 4 beaten egg whites (tempered) at the end and left on low another 10 minutes or so. I left enough in the fridge for our breakfast today and froze the rest in a muffin pan. I popped the frozen oatmeal muffins out this morning and in to a ziploc bag to keep frozen until needed. So easy and a great time saver in the morning, I too Love oatmeal, PB and anything I can make in my crockpot 🙂 Poop is also a frequent topic in our house lol
<3 <3 everybody poops :)
I sometimes grind the steel cut oats in the Ninja to make a more fine, creamy texture and it reduces cook time on the stove top…can or should I not use this ground steel cut oats for the overnight recipe? And if so do you think the measurement are the same?
Thank you for the tip to grind steel cut oats that I will use for other recipes also.
Great!
If I don’t want to use maple syrup can I substitute something else in its place or do I need to? Can’t wait to try it…thanks!
Hi Georganne, I just made this recipe this morning in my slow cooker. I did use a little maple syrup, but I also added a little brown sugar. I have seen this sort of recipe elsewhere and I have seen maple syrup, brown sugar, dark brown sugar, honey, and even coconut sugar (the latest “kick” in sweeteners lately) being used. So, any combination of any of the above should work. If you elect to use brown sugar, I would add just a little more liquid though, to take the place of the liquid in the maple syrup. That is what I have done in the past and it works very well. This type of recipe is very versatile!