Nothing annoys me more than cooking steel cut oatmeal.
Last weekend I spent what felt like my entire Saturday morning hovering over a pot of said oats. Stirring — worrying I added too much liquid — stirring — turning the heat up — stirring — snatching the overflowing pot off the burner, cursing at the loss of half my tiny (still hard) oats now sizzling directly on the burner — stirring — adding more water — more stirring — walking away for one second to grab a snack (seriously) — cursing that the now too thick oats are burning to the bottom of the pot!
Why do I endure such agony? Because the hearty, chewy texture of steel cut oatmeal can’t be beat. As the weather turns frigid, we trade our vegan overnight oatmeal for a warm, substantial bowl of steel cut oats. So, does this mean I micromanage a pot of oats every morning as it cooks at a snail’s pace? Hell. No. I have a trick up my sleeve for making steel cut oatmeal ridiculously, unbelievably, laughably easy to make.
My trick? The crock pot. Turn on, dump in, go about your business, return to a week’s worth of cozy breakfasts. From now on, only subject yourself to the harsh punishment of steel cut oats on-demand when you forget to plan ahead. Which, let’s be honest, merely requires you to acknowledge that you’re going to want to eat breakfast on the upcoming days.
- 2.5 cups uncooked steel cut oats
- 10 cups water
- ½ cup ground flaxseed
- Optional toppings: frozen berries, sliced bananas, nuts, pumpkin puree, peanut butter, cinnamon, etc.
- Turn crock pot on high and add oats, water, and flaxseed. Cover and cook for about 4 hours, or until thick and creamy.
- Portion oats into microwave-safe storage containers and let cool before refrigerating.
- When ready to eat, add water or non-dairy milk (oats will thicken in fridge and will need to be diluted a bit) and optional toppings. Heat in microwave for about 3 minutes until warm throughout, or heat in a saucepan over low-medium on the stove.
