This recipe first appeared on Real Housemoms, where I am a contributor. I hope your week is off to a good start! We had a low-key weekend, which was nice after what’s felt like a lot of travel. M and I went shopping on Saturday because she wanted a little purse, and since I’m totally a bag lady, I was happy to indulge. We also had lots of playground time, some neighbor time, some grandparents time, some football watching time and some backyard/porch time. I’m feeling refreshed! We are also completely back into our school routine, and I’ve been gathering up all my easy go-to recipes to get us through these first few weeks, which always seem to be a crazy transition. Though who am I kidding? I do easy go-to recipes ALL year-round. Cause you know, life.
But especially this time of year, when we’re adjusting to a new morning schedule after summertime and a new daily schedule, I love having some make-ahead breakfasts that are ready to go for us. Every single week we have at least a couple flavors of overnight oatmeal jars and I’ve always got a freezer full of muffins. Almond butter zucchini muffins and healthy peanut butter and jelly muffins are current favorites for both of my kids - for school lunch, too. And slow cooker oatmeal is a newer favorite in our house! I started making it last year and fell in love, so now it’s on the regular rotation. ❤️
I love that it cooks overnight, so I just have to take 5 minutes to prep it before I go to bed and then we have a wonderful, delicious hot breakfast waiting downstairs for us when we wake up. Also, it’s just 5 ingredients! And this slow cooker maple cinnamon steel cut oatmeal is one of our favorite flavors. The sweet, deep, rich maple syrup and warm cinnamon flavors meld so well together for this breakfast. Tons of great, cozy fall flavors here! And your house will smell divine! Everyone will want to hop right out of bed and come get a bowl of this slow cooker maple cinnamon oatmeal. It’s the perfect amount of sweet and it’s also super filling. Steel cut oats are just so hearty and perfect for keeping you full until lunch. And of course you can add some fun toppings!
An extra dash of cinnamon A sprinkle of chia seeds for some extra nutrition A drizzle of maple syrup Fresh fruit - bananas are especially delicious but any berry would be great too A dollop of peanut butter or almond butter Make it decadent with a few chocolate chips or cocoa nibs
Lots of options and so much deliciousness!
So when you know you’ve got a crazy week coming up, be sure to put this slow cooker maple cinnamon steel cut oatmeal on your menu. You’ll wake up happy and ready to face the day! Enjoy! XO, Kathryn
You can use most any kind of milk. I’ve tried it with skim, 2% and soy milk. You do need to use steel cut oats for this recipe as they are heartier and can withstand the long cooking time. Topping ideas: extra cinnamon, extra maple syrup, fresh fruit (sliced bananas are especially delicious here!), a dollop of peanut or almond butter or a sprinkling of chocolate chips or cocoa nibs.
