Delicious Gluten-Free Overnight Steel-Cut Oats

Creamy with a hint of cinnamon, these oats are a hearty, healthy way to fuel your day and a quick way to get out the door. Just toss everything in your slow cooker the night before and serve up a steamy hot bowl of oats the next morning.  Enjoy a bowl as-is from the slow cooker or top your bowl with fresh fruit and nuts.

I don’t know what it is about a big bowl of oats that makes the world right.  It just warms the soul.  It’s great healthy fuel for your body and, really, versatile enough to please anyone’s taste buds.  We are huge fans of oatmeal in our family – well, at least the girls and I – and we serve it up about once a week.

But truth be told, I don’t always want to get up before the rest of the house just to babysit a pot of oats.  I’d really much rather catch a few more Zzzz’s.

So I love it when I can throw breakfast together in a snap and these overnight steel-cut oats are incredibly quick to toss together.  Just assemble everything in the slow cooker before going to bed and the next morning there is a hearty bowl of gluten-free oats waiting to be devoured.

I remember my first encounter with steel-cut oats.  I was in high school and steel-cut oats had just started to make their way onto the breakfast scene.  Honestly, I was not impressed!  I couldn’t get past the rubbery, chewy bite of the oats.  And don’t get me started on the bland flavor.  For years I avoided steel-cut oats because of this!

I am happy to report, though, that these overnight oats are NOT rubbery, or chewy.  And the flavor is a balance of natural sweetness with lightly warmed cinnamon that is perfect for any season or topping.

Delicious & Nutritious

To me, it doesn’t matter how delicious something is or how simple it is to prepare if I can’t feel good about eating it and feeding it to my family.  This recipe covers all the bases for me.

• It’s a no-fuss recipe and that is ready to go when we are.
• It’s a clean meal with natural sweeteners like pure maple syrup and coconut sugar.
• It’s gluten-friendly when we use gluten-free steel-cut oats.
• And most importantly…everyone eats it!

(I would say I’m mom winning on all fronts right now.)

Steel-cut oats are great for filling tummies because of their high protein and fiber counts.  Two things that are important for properly fueling our bodies for the day.  And if you need to watch sugar counts – even the natural kind – steel-cut oats are low on the glycemic index.  If necessary, you can leave out the maple syrup and solely use coconut sugar to lightly sweeten your oats, which is also lower on the glycemic index than most sweeteners.  Just be sure to add an additional 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar in place of the syrup if you crave a little more sweetness in your overnight steel-cut oats.

Serve it up hot

Our favorite way to enjoy these spiced oats is topped with fresh blueberries and a few slivered almonds.  But again, these are great any time of the year so use whatever fruit is in season at the time to top your bowls.  Even a bit of roasted butternut squash would be delicious!

To round everything out and make this bowl of overnight steel-cut oats a complete breakfast, I add a little turkey sausage or turkey bacon on the side.  (For my 21 Day Fix peeps, this helps fulfill my portion fix requirements.)

Geez, Louise!  I’m ready for breakfast just talking about it!

I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe.  Let me know in the comments what will you top your overnight steel-cut oats with.  And don’t forget to Pin this recipe for easy finding later.

Print Recipe

Overnight Gluten-Free Steel-Cut Oats

Creamy with a hint of cinnamon, these oats are a healthy choice to fuel your day and a quick way to get out the door. Just toss everything in your slow cooker the night before and serve up a steamy hot bowl of oats the next morning. Enjoy a bowl as-is from the slow cooker or top your bowl with fresh fruit and nuts to complete.

Cook Time8 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Breakfast, Slow Cooker

Keyword: Breakfast, easy, slow cooker

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

• 6 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 cups gluten-free steel-cut oats
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/8 cup coconut sugar*
• 3 tsp unsalted butter divided

Equipment

• Slow Cooker

Instructions

• Grease slow cooker vessel with 1 tsp of butter covering bottom and sides well.
• Add steel-cut oats, water, salt, cinnamon, coconut sugar, and maple syrup to crock.
• Cube remaining butter and add to oat mixture.
• Stir WELL to incorporate seasonings. Cook on low for 8 hours.

  Serve warm. Optional: Top with your favorite fruit and nuts.

Notes

*If you do not have coconut sugar, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons of raw honey.

**To make this recipe vegan or dairy-free, use coconut oil in place of the butter or your favorite vegan alternative.

As with most slow cooker recipes, if you need to, you can cook these oats on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.