Slow Cooker Coconut Milk Overnight Oats

Oh, man, am I loving on this recipe!

I shared with you my Slow Cooker Overnight Steel Cut Oats recipe back in 2012.  It has the basics you'd expect to find in an oatmeal recipe -  milk, water, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and a little butter.  I've been making it on a regular basis since then.  The family loves it.

But, I decided to try swapping out the regular whole milk for a can of coconut milk recently and scaling down on the list of ingredients.  And, let me just tell you that I could kick myself for not doing so sooner.

The premise of the concept of cooking oatmeal in the slow cooker is that you toss your ingredients in just before heading off to dreamland and wake up to breakfast ready in the morning.  It's genius.  It works so well for our family since all of our wake-up times are staggered throughout a ninety-minute period.   Having a hot breakfast waiting for each of us is awesome.  I just turn the slow cooker down to the warm setting when I wake up, then breakfast stays hot as each person trickles in to chow down.

I have been digging coconut milk these days and have been experimenting with it in different types of recipes.  This one did not disappoint.

I use some organic cane sugar in this recipe, but you could substitute white sugar, brown sugar, honey or agave.  This doesn't come out super sweet, so you'll want to allow for each person to sweeten their bowl as desired.

And, you can go bonkers on the toppings or mix-ins you use - fresh berries (I'd wait to add them after cooking or you'll end up with mushy berries and discolored oats), nuts, seeds, coconut or dried fruit.

Yields 8 servings. (You can refrigerate leftovers for another morning.)


Ingredients:

2 cups steel cut oatmeal

1- 13.5 can full fat coconut milk

8 cups room-temperature water

1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

4 tablespoons organic cane sugar (or other sweetener - see passage above)

 

Directions:

 

Toss all of the ingredients into slow cooker.  Lid and set to low.  Cook for about 6 - 7 hours or until smooth and creamy.  (Change temperature to warm once oats are cooked and while you await serving.)  Stir well prior to serving.  Serve with whatever toppings or add-ins you prefer (see passage above).

NOTE:  Be sure to use steel cut oats for this recipe.  Regular oats become super mushy cooking overnight in the slow cooker.  Steel cut oats are a tad pricier than your everyday, run-of-the-mill oats, but not by much.  I paid $3.59 for my 24 oz. package at Kroger in the health food/organic section.  I purchased Bob's Red Mill brand.  Another well-known brand that is usually easily available is McCann's (my Wal-Mart has it in the actual oatmeal section), but it is a little more expensive compared to Bob's.  I've, also, seen steel cut oats in bulk at places like Whole Foods and health food stores.

Recipe inspired by FitFoodieFinds.