I think I am overdue in terms of singing the praises of one of my very favorite kitchen appliances, which is my beloved, faithful, trustworthy slow cooker. I’ve had the same slow cooker for years and years now – it’s a basic Rival Crockpot model – and I’ve made everything from the best beef barley soup in the world to a really incredible chocolate pudding cake and a lot of stuff in between. There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you toss a bunch of stuff in the crockpot in the morning, go out to work, and then come home hours later to a house that smells like heaven and the glorious knowledge that dinner is already made! But what about breakfast? Welcome to the wonder that is overnight oatmeal!
Most of my crockpot recipes are dinner-oriented (well, except for that cake. Which I would happily eat for dinner, but that’s just me.) And this oatmeal recipe does make a fantastic comfort food dinner recipe, but it’s my only crockpot recipe that is perfection for breakfast. Here’s how it works, and why I adore it so much.
First of all, you must use steel-cut oats – none of those regular rolled oats for this recipe. Steel cut oats are those hard little round oats – they look like teeny little pebbles and you will wonder how on earth they are going to turn into anything edible, but have faith. You toss them into your trusty slow cooker with some water, a little half and half and some dried fruit. I used dried cranberries and chopped up dried figs, but I think probably anything you have around will work just fine – raisins, dates, etc. Set the slow cooker for 8 hours on low, and go to bed. The next morning you will wake up to an unbelievably amazing aroma of sweet and creamy oatmeal. It has slowly cooked away all night long, and the fruit has somehow broken down and blended into the oats, giving the whole thing a wildly delicious, comforting, sweetly creamy texture. No additional sweetener is needed – just warm up a little milk and grab your favorite bowl.
Overnight Oatmeal
Yield: 2
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup dried figs, cut in quarters
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup half and half
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and set on low. Cover and cook for 8 hours.
- Stir and scoop into bowls. Pour warm milk over each serving.
That sounds like it would be perfect for Christmas Eve…except Santa might think it's for him. Hmmm… maybe then you'll get a few extra presents for being so good.
I would not have thought to put oats in a slow-cooker! Great idea.
You know…i have never ever thought to use my slow cooker for oatmeal. And i have ALSO never thought to stuff my oatmeal with dried figs! Where have I been!!
I'm an oatmeal fan, and always game for anything cooked in the crock pot…so thanks! 🙂
I have always wanted to try this! Your pictures and description sound so good I'm ready to give it a try…it's just oatmeal right? But this looks like so much more! I'm thinking early morning bliss before we all head out the door!
amazing! can't wait to try it.
This looks amazing! About how many servings does it make? Does it reheat well?
Thanks for sharing it!
Colleen: this makes about 4 servings. As for the reheating, it's never lasted long enough in my house to reheat! I think you probably could, especially if you reheated it with some milk.
You know how I love slow cookers! This looks delicious!
agree. .we have here in the Philippines, we called it nine mornings! Which we pray all mornings of December and I think this is perfect to eat before going to church
I was so excited to try this last night but it didn't turn out too well. It was very runny and dark in color – not near as yummy as yours looked. I used 1/2 cup milk instead of half and half – could that be it? However- I have made several of your other posted recipes and have loved them!! Love the site!
Hi Lauren and hmmm….it *might* have been the half and half, since that is a thicker liquid than milk, but it shouldn't have made that much of a difference. Did you use the steel cut oats and not the rolled oat variety? And did it cook for the full time? That's all I can think of – but I'd give it one more go with the half and half just to see if you can make it work, because it is SO yummy. 🙂
Hi Kate, Thanks for your reply! Yes to the steel cut oats and cooking the full time. I'll try again with the half and half – thanks for the help! Keep on tempting us with your recipes!
i made this last night after reading several reviews on the original recipe, and i am so glad i did. i didn't have any figs, and next time i will try them. it didn't have a whole ton of sweet flavor which i prefer. i also added a whole cup of 1% milk instead of 1/2 and 1/2 (lots of people used milk instead of 1/2 and 1/2 that had great results), and put my crockpot on the keep warm setting. good thing too! it definitely would have burnt on low for 8 hours. i think it has potential. will have to try the figs. 🙂
ps. i think Lauren may have needed to cook it longer. i read the biggest varying factor is your crockpot. the newer ones cook much faster than the ones from the 70's and 80's.
I'd like to make this, but I have a small crockpot, like a one-serving type. I'll only be cooking for myself–is there any site that helps to convert recipes to smaller or alternately larger, yields? Or any advice anyone can offer? Also: I live in Oklahoma, which makes it hard to get some types of food: particularly dried figs–does anyone have any suggestions regarding this, too? Sorry so many questions!
Hi LMNOP. For your crockpot size, I would just use a quarter of each ingredient, and that should give you one serving. In other words, 1/4 cup oatmeal, and so on. As for the figs, raisins would be a perfectly fine substitute. Good luck!
thanks so much!! I'm making it tonight!
Hope you had a delicious breakfast! 🙂
I eat oatmeal almost every day so I am definitely loving this recipe. I really like that half and half in there, and the figs sound so good!
Dried fruit and oatmeal are seriously made for each other!
I love my slow cooker too, Kate. It definitely ties with the food processor and stand mixer for my favorite kitchen appliance. Really anything that aides in my laziness wins my heart. 🙂 I am LOVING these overnight oats! I have yet to try the slow cooker to make oatmeal and it has been on my list, so thank you for posting this! Now I MUST try it! Your additions of fig and cranberries sounds marvelous! Pinned! Cheers & hugs, friend! <3
I think you are the OPPOSITE of lazy, my friend! But we are definitely sisters in slow cooker love – especially when it means waking up to breakfast already made – how fabulous is that?? xox
What would I do without my slow cooker? Although as much oatmeal as we eat around here, it’s a little crazy that I haven’t done overnight oats in it – yet! Definitely going to be trying this soon. Especially with the figs – YUM 🙂
I know, the slow cooker is the BEST! I keep being amazed at all the scrumptious things that come out of it. Happy outmeal!
This would be perfect for my snow-trapped day! How much did you get snowed in, Kate? I hear the NY area got walloped even more than DC.
Can’t wait to try this!
We got about 18 inches – hard to tell exactly because it was super windy and drifting. I’ve been thinking of you all down in DC – hope you get to have a cozy day off today!
I love using my slow cooker, especially in the winter. There’s just something comforting about it! I’ve never used it to make oatmeal before, so I definitely need to change that. What a fantastic way to have breakfast hot and ready in the morning!
I feel the same way about my slow cooker – it’s my winter best friend!
Kate, this was delicious — I used Almond Milk instead of half and half. Will try with apples and walnuts and cinnamon next. OK…then maybe with bacon, maple syrup, cinnamon and nuts — would you suggest cooking the bacon first? Hmmm.
Love the creamy texture of this as well as the ease…Thank you!
Ooooh, almond milk – love that idea! And with the bacon, I would cook it separately, crumble it up and stir it in. LOVE that idea by the way!
It looks and sound delicious but I don’t have a crock pot. But I suppose I can cook it normally as well, do you think it would make a big difference? I’ve no idea how things cooked in a crock pot turn out.
You can definitely make oatmeal with this mix-ins the regular way, but not overnight. 🙁 The crock pot (otherwise known as a slow cooker) uses super low heat and a very thick ceramic cooking surface, which is why they can cook for so long.
Having this delicious oatmeal waiting for me in the morning sounds so exciting! It looks so yummy!
There’s nothing better than waking up to breakfast already made! 🙂
Kate, I was out of cranberries, so I used figs and raisins instead. I wish I would’ve added apples too! The timing and temperature were perfect for me and so was the taste! I’ve made overnight oatmeal before and it was overblown. Yours still has the perfect texture that makes us all love steel cut oats! And I love the figs! I had dried figs sitting in the pantry leftover from a recipe. Who knows when they would’ve been used if not for you! Thank you!
Sandra!! Love all your variations – and yes, aren’t steel cut oats THE BEST? 🙂
lately i’ve been making a big pot of steel-cut oats this way and eating them for breakfast every morning. it’s fast, easy, and delicious!
And so nice to wake up and remember that breakfast is all made!
Oh how I love overnight oatmeal! This version looks so scrummy with those figs in there – yummo! I really think oats reign supreme over all other breakfast foods. They’re healthy, cheap and so delicious – what’s not to worship? 😀
Totally agree on the oat-worshipping! 🙂