“Slow cooker pumpkin pie oatmeal is so convenient. I just throw everything into the crock pot and breakfast is ready when the kids get up!”
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I cook for a very big family everyday. Mornings are pretty hectic around our house, so having breakfast ready when I get up takes a lot off of my plate. I know it can be hard to get kids to eat their oatmeal but let me assure you, this recipe is delicious and it makes enough oatmeal for a couple of mornings worth of breakfast.
Simply combine steel cut oats, water, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, salt and pumpkin in your slow cooker and stir until it’s fully combined and there are no lumps of pumpkin. Put it on the warm setting before bed and let it cook overnight, about 7-8 hours. When you get up the mixture will still be a little “soupy” so change the setting to low and stir. Let the oatmeal cook for about 30 more minutes to thicken it up. Stir once more and then serve warm with brown sugar and chopped pecans. You can also add a things like raisins or chopped dates for a little more sweetness.
Cooked low and slow overnight, this power packed breakfast is sure to satisfy the pickiest of eaters. It’s a healthy, filling, yummy meal you can feel good about feeding your family!
Print
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Print
PinDescription
Nutritional values have been calculated using an online nutrition calculator. Please note that the values may not be completely accurate.
Ingredients
- 2 cups steel cut oats
- 7 cups water (depending on how thick you like it)
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (ORGANIC taste much better)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 T pumpkin pie spice or 1 T cinnamon
- 1 T vanilla extract
- peanut butter powder, brown sugar, chopped pecans, raisins, chopped dates for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Combine steel cut oats, water, pumpkin and salt in a slow cooker and stir until it’s fully combined and there are no lumps of pumpkin.
- Cook on warm for 7-8 hours and then turn the slow cooker on the low setting and stir.
- When it is finished cooking add the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract.
- Let the oatmeal cook for about 15-30 more minutes to thicken it up if needed.
- Stir once more and then serve warm with brown sugar and chopped pecans.
Notes
UPDATED INSTRUCTIONS! I have found that adding the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla after it has cooked gives it a much better flavor. Instead of using pumpkin pie spice, most of the time I use a tablespoon of ground cinnamon in it’s place. Also, I started using organic pumpkin and it makes such a huge difference. It tastes so much better!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 201.2
- Sugar: 4.1
- Sodium: 27.3
- Fat: 3.1
- Saturated Fat: .1
- Carbohydrates: 34.5
- Fiber: 5.9
- Protein: 8.4
- Cholesterol: 1.3
Hi! I loved this recipe, I also added cinnamon and nutmeg to mine as well as a little bit of maple syrup. As I am the only person in my household that would eat this, do you think this can be frozen?
Hi Shelby, yes it can be frozen, I do that often! I just let it cool completely before I put it in a container or freezer bag. It should last a few months if stored properly!
Can you use milk instead of water for added protein?
Yes you can. I would substitute 1 cup of water with 1 cup of milk.
Very convenient and left a great smell in the house this morning. It tasted good, but definitely lacked in flavor, so I added a few extra sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to my bowl. Personally, I eat steal cut oats for fuel, not so much for flavor. So I will definitely be making this again! However, my kids need that sweet boost. I added brown sugar and raisins to theirs 🙂
★★★★
Hey Nicole! I like to add peanut butter powder and bananas to mine to give it more flavor 🙂
Has this been done with an instant pot?
I haven’t tried it in the instant pot, but I will figure out how to!
When do you add the PB powder? Also, my slow cooker doesn’t have the warm setting only low and high..So how long on low?
Hi Wendy, I add the PB powder right before I eat it, to my bowl. I don’t add it to the crockpot. I would cook it on low for about 4 hours. I would also stir it once an hour or so to make sure it’s not overcooking.
Hi Amy,
If I want to halve the recipe, would I need to adjust the cook time?
Hi Courtney, I would let it cook 6-8 hours on warm or about 3-4 hours on low.
Would you mind sharing the brand of organic pumpkin that you preferred?
There is a brand called “Simple Truth” at Kroger that I think is the best. I’m not sure if it’s sold anywhere else but Kroger.
How many 1 cup servings does this make? I am guessing around 9?
I think it makes between 8-9 cups
Hi Amy! I love this recipe so much, just had a question. I make this recipe quite frequently, and a while back, I was at the grocery store, and got home with quick cooking steel cut oats! I used a little bit with regular steel cut and they did fine, but kind of want to finish the bag now that it’s open. Does cutting the cook time in half sound like a good estimation? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Claire! I’ve never used quick cooking steel cut oats… but only because I’ve never been able to find them! LOL. I think that if you cut the time in half it should be just fine. I would just keep an eye on them. Please let me know how they turn out!
Hi, looks delicious, I just have a question: Here in the Netherlands we don’t have ready made pumpkin puree for sale. Is it raw pumpkin or cooked/baked?
Hi Yvonne! I believe it is baked pumpkin that has been pureed.
Excellent receipe! However, as a pumpkin farmer myself, I would just like to clarify that it doesn’t matter if the pumpkins are organic or not. This classification has no effect on the taste as the only difference is in the way we grow them.
Hey Kelsey! This is one of my favorite recipes! I think the taste is the difference between the two different brands I’ve used to make the recipe. The better one just happened to be organic 🙂
I’ve made this several times and my kids love it and keep requesting it. Thanks for the recipe and I’m excited to try your orange cranberry version too.
That’s awesome Lori. It is so good for them!
This sounds/looks amazing. I’ve never heard of peanut butter powder. How important is it to the recipe? We use almond butter in our household. Could I just use some of that? If so, how much for this recipe? Thanks so much!
Hi Jennifer,
I would put the almond butter in right before you eat it, not while it’s cooking. I usually use the equivalent of 1-2 tablespoons for a bowl of oatmeal.
This looks delicious! Do you think regular oats would work instead of the steel cut ones?
Hi Sandi, I have tried with regular oats before and they get too mushy. The steel cut oats hold up better being cooked for so long.
Can you double this recipe?
You can double this recipe if you have a large enough crockpot. If it seems to watery, just cook it longer to reduce. I hope this helps. I’m about to make a batch for myself right now!
Do you have the calorie breakdown for this?
Hi Vickie, I went onto SparkPeople.com and used the nutrition calculator to get these numbers. One cup of this oatmeal contains around 201 calories, 34.5g of carbs, 3.1g of fat and 8.4g of protein. You can check out more nutritional information by clicking on this link:
amyinthekitchen.com://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=70023178,70023178,11424,1151,&amounts=70050921,70050921,28772,24021,&qtys=1,7,1,2,&servings=8&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe
I want to make this, however I am dairy free. Do you think almond milk will work instead ?
Hi Kristin, I’m sure it will work just fine. I’ve substituted almond milk for regular milk in other recipes and have never had a problem. As a matter of fact, you could probably use all water and still come out good. I think the almond milk will probably give it a nice flavor!
Hi, I am so excited to find this recipe thanks to Pinterest. I am wondering, I love my oatmeal made with milk and water. Do you know what ratio water to milk I should use? I usually do 50-50. Do you think that would work? Thanks in advance for your help. I think I may add vanilla bean to the pot while it cooks.
Hi Andrea! When I use milk I usually just put one less cup water and add one cup of milk. I use almond milk because I’m dairy free. I think you could go 50/50 and it would be just fine. The vanilla bean sounds like a great idea. Let me know how it turns out! ?
Where is milk even in the recipe?
Hi Angela, you replace one cup of water with milk if you prefer to use it. I’ve used it with and without and I don’t add it anymore because I couldn’t tell the difference.
My slow cooker will not let me cook on the warm setting. Can I cook it on the low setting the whole time instead?
Hi Kelly. Yes you can cook it on the low setting for about 4 hours. I would stir occasionally so that it cooks evenly and doesn’t get burned on the bottom
This looks so delicious! I cook for my husband and two kids only but I think my kids would love this and am hoping I could reheat any leftovers the following day. Yum!
Hi Emily, I always make this recipe on Sunday and then we reheat every morning throughout the week. Just remember after you reheat, add some brown sugar or whatever type of sweetener you like. My husband likes to add his vanilla protein powder instead of sugar. It’s actually really good. Hope you like it!
What a great idea a slow cooked oatmeal is! This recipe is perfect for me as I can never find enough hours in the morning to make a delicious breakfast.. and it’s a great excuse for me to pull out my slow cooker. This oatmeal looks so flavoursome and definitely puts my breakfasts to shame!