Slow-Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
Updated May 16, 2021
Julia Gartland for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
- Total Time
- About 8 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 cup steel-cut oats
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Toppings, optional (see Tip)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the oats, salt and 4 cups water. Cover and set the cook time to 2 hours on low, at which point the slow cooker will automatically switch to warm. Cook on warm until the oatmeal is creamy and tender, about 6 more hours. (The 6 hours on warm is not optional; the oats will not be done after 2 hours on low. If you wish to cook them more quickly, you can cook for 4 to 5 hours total on low.) Ladle into bowls and serve with the toppings of your choice.
For serving, use toppings like tahini and za’atar; fried shallots and lime juice; chile crisp and peanuts; shredded Cheddar and pickled red onion; olive oil and grapefruit slices; crumbled cooked bacon and marmalade; coconut milk, brown sugar and turmeric; cashews, honey and banana chips; honey, flaky salt and butter; peanut butter and jelly.
Private Notes
Comments
Instead of using a slow cooker or Instapot (which I don't have), I soak my steel-cut oats over night, covered in water in the pot they will be cooked in. Add a pinch of salt, and cook on low for a few minutes in the morning, while I brew coffee. My usual add-ins are chopped almonds, walnuts, dried fruits like cranberries, apricot, apples, dates. The combinations are endless.
I mix 1/2 C steel cuts oats with 1 C water, pinch salt, bring to a boil. turn off cover and let sit until morning. Then just reheat, add some milk, fruit, whatever you want. Very easy.
I sub in one can of coconut milk and mix in cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg - such a delicious breakfast.
I used a round pyrex baking dish inside the crockpot, pouring 1 inch of boiling water in the crock pot to surround the dish. No clean up required. I snapped the lid on the baking dish to last a few days and just wiped the crock pot dry.
I use dried milk in my oatmeal. It doesn't cool off the oatmeal and it's a lot cheaper than fresh milk. Add a little extra water to hydrate the powdered milk.
This was excellent, and I think an improvement over my previous method of slow-cooking overnight steel-cut oats. As some others did, I used 3 cups water, 1 cup milk (regular whole milk); also added about 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a big handful of dried cranberries, then followed cooking instructions exactly. The 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt was perfect, definitely not salty at all (same amount I’ve always used for overnight oatmeal). Not sure why so many “too salty” complaints unless folks are using regular table salt.