This slow cooker pumpkin pie oatmeal recipe features steel cut oats and pumpkin puree that are cooked low and slow overnight for a convenient breakfast that's sure to satisfy the pickiest of eaters.
Served with brown sugar and chopped pecans, it's a hardy meal you can feel good about feeding your family!
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!
How to make slow cooker pumpkin pie oatmeal
Combine the steel cut oats, salt and pumpkin puree in your 6 quart slow cooker.
Add the water and stir until it's fully combined and there are no lumps of pumpkin. Turn the slow cooker onto the WARM setting before bed and let it cook overnight or 7-10 hours.
When you get up in the morning, add the vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice and give it a stir.
The mixture will still be a little "soupy" so change the slow cooker setting to LOW and stir. Let the oatmeal cook, uncovered, for about 30 more minutes to thicken it up.
Stir once more and then serve warm with brown sugar and chopped pecans. Or top with some easy homemade granola!
Tips for Making Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal in a Slow Cooker
- The recipe can be made in a 6 quart slow cooker. (affiliate link)
- You are welcome to add the vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice in step 1 when combining the oats and pumpkin, but I find it tastes better if you add them after the oatmeal has cooked overnight.
- Make sure you use the WARM setting on your slow cooker. The oatmeal can be left unattended up to 10 hours without over cooking.
- If your slow cooker doesn't have the WARM setting, this recipe can be cooked on LOW for about 4 hours. You will need to stir about once an hour to make sure the oatmeal cooks evenly and doesn't stick to the insert.
- Sweeten the oatmeal with raisins, chopped dates, maple syrup, brown sugar or granulated sugar.
- This recipe does not work well with rolled oats.
- Nut butters like Homemade Almond Butter or peanut butter taste wonderful as an add-in to this oatmeal.
- Canned pumpkin pie filling can be used, just note that it already contains pumpkin pie spice and sugar so omit those ingredients until after you've tasted the finished product and then adjust to your liking.
More slow cooker overnight oatmeal recipes
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Equipment
- 6 Quart Slow Cooker
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cups steel cut oats
- 7 cups water
- 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (ORGANIC taste much better)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 T pumpkin pie spice or 1 T cinnamon
- 1 T vanilla extract
- Optional add-ins (brown sugar, granulated sugar, maple syrup, chopped pecans, raisins, chopped dates)
Instructions
- Combine steel cut oats, water, pumpkin puree and salt in a slow cooker and stir until it's fully combined and there are no lumps of pumpkin. Cook on the WARM setting for 7-8 hours.
- Add the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract and stir the mixture.
- Turn the slow cooker to the LOW setting, to allow the oatmeal to thicken. Let the oatmeal continue to cook an additional 15-30 minutes or until it is your desired thickness.
- Stir once more and then flavor individual bowls with add-ins and sweetener of choice.
Notes
- You are welcome to add the vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice in step 1, when combining the oats and pumpkin, but I find it tastes better if you add them after the oatmeal has cooked overnight.
- Make sure you use the WARM setting on your slow cooker. Can cook up to 10 hours on the WARM setting.
- This recipe can be cooked on LOW for about 4 hours. Stir once an hour.
- Sweeten the oatmeal with raisin, chopped dates, maple syrup, brown sugar or granulated sugar.
- This recipe does not work well with rolled oats.
- Canned pumpkin pie filling can be used but remember to omit the pumpkin pie spice and any sweetener and adjust it to taste after the oatmeal has cooked.
June says
This looks so good, I can’t wait to try it out
Shelby says
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?
Amy says
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!
Alli says
Can you use milk instead of water for added protein?
Amy says
Yes you can. I would substitute 1 cup of water with 1 cup of milk.
Nicole says
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 🙂
Amy says
Hey Nicole! I like to add peanut butter powder and bananas to mine to give it more flavor 🙂
Ashley says
Has this been done with an instant pot?
Amy says
I haven't tried it in the instant pot, but I will figure out how to!
Wendy C says
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?
Amy says
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.
Courtney says
Hi Amy,
If I want to halve the recipe, would I need to adjust the cook time?
Amy says
Hi Courtney, I would let it cook 6-8 hours on warm or about 3-4 hours on low.
Pam says
Would you mind sharing the brand of organic pumpkin that you preferred?
Amy says
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.
Jessica says
How many 1 cup servings does this make? I am guessing around 9?
Amy says
I think it makes between 8-9 cups
Claire says
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!
Amy says
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!
Yvonne says
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?
Amy says
Hi Yvonne! I believe it is baked pumpkin that has been pureed.
Kelsey says
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.
Amy says
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 🙂
Lori says
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.
Amy says
That's awesome Lori. It is so good for them!
Jennifer Smith says
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!
Amy says
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.
Sandi says
This looks delicious! Do you think regular oats would work instead of the steel cut ones?
Amy says
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.
Cathy says
Can you double this recipe?
Amy says
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!
Vickie says
Do you have the calorie breakdown for this?
Amy says
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
Kristin says
I want to make this, however I am dairy free. Do you think almond milk will work instead ?
Amy Duska says
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!
Andrea Robinson-Parker says
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.
Amy says
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! ?
Angela says
Where is milk even in the recipe?
Amy says
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.
Kelly says
My slow cooker will not let me cook on the warm setting. Can I cook it on the low setting the whole time instead?
Amy Duska says
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
Emily {Rainbow Delicious} says
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!
Amy Duska says
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!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
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!