Aka the breakfast I dream about. The breakfast I jump out of bed for in the morning. The breakfast I sprint towards in a matter of seconds using my fast glycolytic fibers.
I lost you didn’t I? Excuse the anatomy lingo, my brain is clearly in FINALS mode and couldn’t help but add that in! Don’t worry I will not bore you with physiology vocabulary.
Instead lets talk steel-cut oats that are studded with little specs of vanilla bean. Gahh just look at those cute black specs! Vanilla beans truly make all the difference in life.
As far as food goes, I sort of love oatmeal. Love is an understatement actually. If you follow me on instagram you probably get tired of my constant breakfast pictures that always entail a warm bowl of oats topped with a creative amount of toppings. Think melty peanut butter, bananas, raspberry fruit spread, yogurt, granola, strawberries…the list could go on forever.
Since my love is deep for a classic bowl of oatmeal, my horizons naturally expanded into steel-cut oats. In the past I have shied away from this form of oatmeal because it takes so darn long to make.
I have absolutely no patience in the morning when it comes to breakfast. Not sure about you, but I am famished in the morning and a total grizzly bear until I get my steamin mug of coffee + a bowl full of breakfast comfort food.
After much research on steel-cut grains, my nutrition-major mind was intrigued. Steel cut oats retain the whole grain oat kernels and do not undergo the same processing that rolled oats do. Hence why they’re called “steel-cut” and take longer to make on the stove.
They basically have the same nutritional profile but don’t get as heavily processed, meaning they retain more fiber and protein. And in english terms this means you get to stay fuller longer! Brownie points there for sure.
Besides the science aspect of steel-cut oats, they differ A LOT in texture. This is what you really care about. From my personal comparison, I found that steel-cut oats were a lot more dense than rolled, and had a nuttier flavor. Rolled oats/instant oats tend to me a bit mushier after you make them (which I am all for, because I adore creamy texture) but I loved the hearty, chewy and dense steel-cut texture as well. It really just depends on your mood or preference.
With it being December and all, comfort food needs to be enjoyed at ALL meals of the day.
In order to fulfill this mentality, I have been waking up to slow cooker steel-cut oats that make my whole apartment fill with maple oatmeal cookie love. That scent alone got me hooked, and an official convert to slow cooker steel-cut oats. Not to mention you can have breakfast already made for the week. Double brownie points!
(For the oats I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
Print
Slow Cooker Vanilla Bean Steel Cut Oats
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats (dry)
- 2 cups vanilla almond milk
- 2 cups water
- 2–3 vanilla bean pods
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- Sea salt to taste
- 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed (optional)
Topping Ideas
- Bananas or Berries
- Pecans, almonds or nut butter
- Maple syrup or brown sugar (swoon)
- Greek yogurt
- Chocolate!
Instructions
- Set your slow cooker to low heat and grease with olive oil or coconut oil. DO NOT skip this step please or else your oats will stick to the slow cooker in the morning, trust me I learned the hard way.
- Place your milk and water into the slow cooker along with the steel cuts oats. Scrape over your vanilla bean pods with a knife and scoop out the beans. Stir them into your oats along with the maple syrup, sea salt, cinnamon and flax.
- Cook oats in the slow cooker for 8 hours or overnight. You can also try cooking them on high for 4 hours but I prefer to cook them overnight so I wake up to the beautiful smell of maple and have breakfast waiting for me!
Notes
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated throughout the week in a microwave safe dish, with some almond milk.
