Apple Pecan Crock Pot Oatmeal

It’s so hard to get my family out of bed on a cold winter morning. I don’t even want to get up. But having this hardy, warm breakfast of Apple Pecan Oatmeal waiting for us in the crock pot makes it a little easier. It also makes the morning go smoother when I don’t have to cook a hot breakfast in between zipping up backpacks and helping kids into their snow boots. It gets everyone’s day off to a good start, and it just takes a few minutes of preparation the night before.

Start with steel-cut oats. They’ll stay firmer in the slow cooker than rolled oats and won’t give your oatmeal a mushy texture. Steel cut oats also keep you feeling full longer after you eat since they digest more slowly. Then you just add water, honey, butter, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon. Finally, chopped apples and pecans go in to make this a sweet and flavorful dish. To ramp it up even more, stir in dried cherries, cranberries or raisins. Then you jut mix it all up and cook four to five hours. I set the timer on my crock pot and start it when I go to bed. When it’s finished cooking the keep warm feature ensures it’s still hot when we wake up. For an extra flavor burst, drizzle maple syrup on top and garnish with additional chopped apple and pecans. See the complete recipe below: