This fall my work schedule changed and I now am blessed with the exercise of getting myself out of bed at 5:30 am several days a week. I know many of us can relate and are probably thinking, “5:30? That’s sleeping in for me!”

How do I survive the early hour and make sure I’m ready to face the day? With my crock pot, a timer, and some oatmeal.

How to make Crock Pot Oats: Printable

This serves two. I start with a heaping 1/2 cup of steal cut oats. This goes into my 1 1/2 quart slow cooker.

To that, I add 1 whole fruit or about 4 oz frozen fruit. I usually get 3 servings out of the regular sized frozen bags. We had mixed berries this day.

Next you can add your extras. How about mixed berry hazelnut spread flavored breakfast? I’ve got about 1 1/2 tablespoons of hazelnut spread here. It gets all over the sides of the crock pot and that’s okay. If you use a spoon instead of a knife it will be much harder to get into the crock pot.

Next, I add 2 tablespoons of sugar. If you don’t want the sugar you don’t have to add it. But I will judge you for it. Also, I’ve lost more weight since I started eating this for breakfast than I have my entire life. (Christmas weight doesn’t count).

The last ingredient is the water. 2 cups and a shot, as I tell my husband, or 2 cups and 2 tablespoons if you insist on reassuring. Give it a stir. The spread will not stir in and that’s okay.

When we started this we bought one of those plug in timers like what you use for Christmas lights. You set it to start 3 1/2 hours before you wake up and to shut off a half hour before you wake up, so the full cook time is 3 hours on high. You want it to set for about 30 minutes, and the crock pot will keep it very warm. After we bought our timer, I read online a lot of recipes where you turn it on low when you go to bed and it cooks all night. I haven’t tried this way yet.

The first thing I do in the morning is take the lid off of the crock pot and give it a stir. If there’s any extra moisture in the oats, it will evaporate in the time you spend getting dressed. This also lets it cool down so you can eat it when it’s time to eat instead of burning your mouth.


Here are several combinations we’ve tried. You should play around and find out what you enjoy.

• Apple Cinnamon:

heaping 1/2 cup of steal cut oats, 1 apple (we use honey crips) minced, 1 tablespoon molasses (or used 2 tablespoons of brown sugar instead of white), 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 cups and a shot of water.

• Raisins & Cinnamon:

heaping 1/2 cup of steal cut oats, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 tablespoon molasses (see above if you don’t have), 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 1/4 cups water. You need the extra water if you’re using dried fruit like raisins because they will absorb the water.

• Banana Chocolate Chip:

heaping 1/2 cup of steal cut oats, 1 banana sliced, 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 cups and a shot of water. My favorite!

• Strawberry:

heaping 1/2 cup of steal cut oats, 4 ounces frozen strawberries (you can leave these whole, they will break down as they cook), 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 cups and a shot of water.

• Mixed Berry Hazelnut:

heaping 1/2 cup of steal cut oats, 4 ounces frozen mixed berries, 1 1/2 tablespoons of hazelnut spread, 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 cups and a shot of water.

• Strawberry Banana:

heaping 1/2 cup of steal cut oats, 1 banana sliced, 5 frozen strawberries left whole, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 cups and a shot of water.

• Blueberry:

heaping 1/2 cup steal cut oats, 4 oz frozen blueberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 cups and a shot of water. This one is also a favorite, but not very frugal in the winter months.

• Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, or 1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut spread to whatever fruit you want to make it your own.

LisaAJB blogs at You Probably Shouldn’t Read this .

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