Slow Cooker Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats

Slow Cooker Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats

All you need is a little time to plan ahead for a hearty and delicious breakfast of Slow Cooker Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats to enjoy all week long with minimal effort. 

Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats {Slow Cooker} l from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

I sometimes think people look at me like I have three heads when I tell them that I either only recently started liking certain foods or refuse to eat them at all.

I get there’s some notion that if you work with food you should like everything and for the most part I do.  I consider myself lucky that I a) grew up in a household that didn’t cater to individual needs and enjoyed food plus the art of cooking and b) I like to try new things.

Yet sometimes there are things I just can’t get past and mostly the reason has to do with texture.  It’s a good thing the stubborn streak that runs in my family only goes oh so deep in my veins; because if it continued on I would have never decided to give oatmeal a try again.

We were a cereal house growing up, it was easy during the week, cold cereal, instant cream of wheat and oatmeal were always around but I’d never touch the oatmeal.  It looked too slimy to me to even go for one spoonful plus who the smell, belch no thanks (and yes I know I ate cream of wheat, I was a weird kid).

Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats {Slow Cooker}  | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Insert this year, I said to Braden I’m going to give oatmeal a try again.

Mind you, I can’t remember the last time or if ever I even attempted to eat it beyond an oatmeal cookie or granola bar.

Except, I said I’m doing it the right way, it’s steel-cut or go home.  Well, what do you know, it wasn’t oatmeal I hated, it was the instant, pre-packed kind I didn’t like.

Steel-cut is a entire other creature with a chewy texture and a blank slate waiting to be developed with all types of flavor combinations.   I was officially converted, even better was when I found the instant version that took half the time!  So now that I found my oatmeal karma, I was still rushing to make it in the morning before work and 20 minutes is precious time while you are trying to run out the door.  The  next best solution? Our trusty slow-cooker, a big batch is what you need to get your breakfast made a head of time without any effort on your part.  Since I love the flavor of cherry, almonds and vanilla I thought it would be the perfect topping for this hot cereal – which let’s face it is necessary to start the day with right now.

Slow Cooker Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups water
  • 2 cups quick cooking steel cut oats (such as Bob's Red Mill)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup dried tart or sweet cherries, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 4 teaspoons unsalted butter (optional)

Instructions

  1. Place the water, oats, salt and vanilla in your slow cooker, stir and set the temperature on high.
  2. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the oats are cooked through and tender and the water has been absorbed (if there is a small amount of liquid left that is fine).
  3. If serving right away, portion the oatmeal out into 4 bowls and top each bowl with 1/4 cup cherries and 1/4 almonds. If using, mix in 1 teaspoon butter per bowl.
  4. If not serving right away, let the oatmeal cool completely before storing in an airtight container. To make your mornings faster you can portion everything out into 4 tupperware containers.
  5. To reheat microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Recipe Type: Breakfast
https://girlinthelittleredkitchen.com/2015/02/slow-cooker-cherry-almond-vanilla-steel-cut-oats/

 Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats {Slow Cooker} | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

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9 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Cherry Almond Vanilla Steel Cut Oats

  1. katie

    Oh this sounds awesome. I’ve yet to make oatmeal in the slow cooker. I have steel cut oats on hand… need to make this over the weekend! 🙂

    Reply

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