Why You Should Make Oatmeal In A Slow Cooker

What's not to love about oatmeal? This healthy, gluten-free grain packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants has been shown to help lower cholesterol, promote good gut health, and help a person feel full, according to Healthline. This last reason is certainly one of the many factors that prompt people to choose oatmeal for breakfast. According to Make Food Safe, more than 40 million bushels of oats are grown in the United States for human consumption each year.

If you like to indulge in oatmeal, there are so many ways to enjoy it. A lot of us are familiar with quick-cooking rolled oats, but how about heartier steel-cut oats, fruit-topped baked oatmeal, or even savory oatmeal served with sausage, green beans, and a poached egg? And if you eat oatmeal on a regular basis, there's yet another way to prepare it that will streamline your breakfast routine: in a slow cooker.

Have you ever made oatmeal in a slow cooker? If you haven't, according to Kitchn, it's high time you try. Although we typically think of this appliance when making long-cooking stews and braises, it's the perfect way to cook this breakfast staple, according to the outlet.

Kitchn points out that making oatmeal in the slow cooker is the ideal mix of practicality and indulgence. For those mornings when many household members will be eating oatmeal, or when they'll be breakfasting at different hours, a pot of slow cooker oatmeal can feed a crowd as well as stay warm and soft as different people. But beyond that, Kitchn writes, it's all about the oatmeal's texture. While stovetop oatmeal can turn out chewy and dense, slow cooker oatmeal is softer and creamier, with a silky texture imparted by all those hours of gentle cooking.

To prepare oatmeal in your slow cooker, Kitchn advises, cook 1 cup of rolled oats and 3 cups of water on low, without stirring, for 8 hours. Starting the oatmeal in the evening before bed works particularly well. In the morning, you can finish the oats with cream and brown sugar — and your toppings of choice — and can also set the slow cooker to the warm setting to hold the oats for other morning eaters. Prefer steel-cut oats? Add more water. Use 1 cup of oats to 4 cups of water, directs the New York Times.