{Overnight} Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal {with no burnt edges!}

August 19, 2024

Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal ~ wake up to a warm, wholesome breakfast with this easy overnight oatmeal, made in the crock pot and infused with pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla...and you won't want to miss the secret trick to prevent the edges from burning! | FiveHeartHome.com via @fivehearthome

Wake up to a warm, wholesome, fall breakfast of Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal, with a secret trick to prevent the edges from burning!

Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal with Text Overlay

There's nothing like waking up in the morning to the heavenly smell of breakfast wafting through the air. And if that breakfast just so happens to taste like pumpkin pie...well, all the better!

Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal is a rather lengthy, adjective-heavy title for such a simple recipe, but at least you know what you're gonna get...creamy steel cut oats that have been slow cooked overnight with pumpkin puree for a yummy, comforting breakfast that's ready the moment you wake up. This breakfast is equally suitable for a busy weekday morning, a special holiday, or a lazy weekend. And not only is warm and nourishing, but it's downright delicious!

Aerial View of Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal

If you've never stirred a bit of canned or fresh pumpkin into your oatmeal, you've been missing out, my friend. This recipe takes things to the next level, lightly sweetening the oatmeal with maple syrup and adding even more flavor with vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It's perfect as-is or you can jazz things up further with a shower of cinnamon sugar and a topping of toasted pecans. YUM.

Spoonful of Oats

The Secret to No Burning

Steel-cut oats hold up beautifully in a recipe like this because they're so hearty. I've been making an apple pie version of slow cooker overnight oatmeal for years now, and the only downside is that it often stuck and burned around the edges of the crock pot by the time we woke up for breakfast.

Last year, however, I discovered a trick for preventing this from happening, (with no middle-of-the-night stirring required!) with my Overnight Slow Cooker Apple Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal recipe.

It's as simple as mixing up the oatmeal in a heat-safe baking dish that fits down into the bottom of your slow cooker. Then simply pour water into the bottom of the slow cooker to surround the dish, thereby creating a combination buffer/water bath that allows the oatmeal to cook and thicken over the course of 8 hours without burning! Pure genius.

Method to Keep Edges from Burning

My steel-cut oats cook perfectly in 8 hours using this method in two different slow cookers that I own. One is a 6 ½-quart slow cooker, and my 2.5-liter(quart) round Corningware baking dish fits down in it but is a tad too big to reach all the way to the bottom. Thus, it hangs "suspended," and the water not only buffers the sides but also the bottom. In my 7-quart slow cooker, the same Corningware dish sits flat on the bottom. As a result, the oatmeal at the bottom of the dish does get thicker than the oatmeal at the top, but it still doesn't burn, and a quick stir distributes everything to a smooth, even oatmeal consistency.

Close-Up

Know YOUR Slow Cooker

However, I must warn you that if you have an older model slow cooker that cooks lower and slower than newer (hotter-running) slow cookers, it's possible that your oatmeal could take longer than 8 hours to cook. If you're concerned, feel free to test this recipe for the first time during daylight hours. Even if you cook it so that it's ready in the evening, you'll find that the leftovers are excellent reheated with a splash of milk.

So if you're ready to enjoy a warm, comforting, wholesome breakfast -- and if you're cool with it cooking itself while you slumber -- then you definitely need to whip up a batch of Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal! Because who's going to argue with a breakfast that smells like Thanksgiving and tastes like fall? 😉

Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal Collage with Text Overlay

More Fall Oatmeal Recipes

{Overnight} Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal

Wake up to a warm, wholesome breakfast with this Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal...and don't miss the secret trick to prevent the edges from burning! By Samantha Skaggs Course: BreakfastCuisine: American Prep Time: 10 Cook Time: 8 Total Time: 8 10 Servings: to 8 servings Calories: 322kcal Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

4 ½ cups milk
2 cups Homemade Pumpkin Puree, OR 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
½ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup steel cut oats, NO SUBSTITUTES!

Optional Garnishes:

milk, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, toasted chopped nuts

Instructions

Locate an oven-safe, not-too-shallow baking dish (such as Corningware or Pyrex) that will fit in your slow cooker. In the baking dish, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until completely blended. Stir in the oats. Carefully place the baking dish down in the slow cooker and slowly pour water into the bottom of the slow cooker until its level is about 1 inch below the top of the baking dish. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Stir before serving.

Equipment Needed

Notes

I use a 2.5-liter round Corningware baking dish in a 6.5- or 7-quart slow cooker. This recipe goes all the way to the top of the 2.5-L Corningware, but as long as I measure carefully (taking care not to add too much milk or oats), the oatmeal doesn't overflow, even after it cooks/expands.
It's okay if your baking dish is suspended by its sides on the edges of the slow cooker and doesn't touch the bottom...the lid of the slow cooker just needs to be able to close securely.
Once the oatmeal is cooked, be careful stirring it or removing the baking dish from the slow cooker as the water in the slow cooker will be extremely hot.

Nutrition

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