Slow Cooker Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

I know, I know. It is no longer "pumpkin season," meaning this month does not end in "-ber." However, it still feels like a "burrr" month, (have I mentioned how much I love puns yet?), and tasty, warm and easy breakfasts are still required.

Enter Pumpkin Oatmeal.

As you can tell from my lovely decor, we first made this for November's freezer cooking club. Doesn't it look cozy?! We made it again for February's freezer cooking club to use up some inventory, and my family still loved it. As in, my two littlest guys ate half the pot.

Really, just put this hot mess in the crock pot over night, (about 7 hours) and you wake up to chewy, pumpkin-y goodness. Be SURE to spray your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray to avoid a painful clean-up experience. And really, finding steel cut oats is a must because your typical rolled oats won't stand up to the long cook time.

When we prepare our freezer meals, we throw all of the ingredients for the oatmeal in a ziplock bag and freeze them. I've never frozen this oatmeal though because I've been too excited to make it, and my family was too excited to eat it.

The oatmeal does turn out very thick, so if you like a thinner meal, douse your bowl with a hefty amount of milk.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

adapted from Overnight Crockpot Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups almond milk  (we've also used just 1% milk)
2 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar (plus more for sprinkling, if you want...)
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs butter, melted

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl or bag.
2. Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray and pour oatmeal mixture into crockpot.
3. Cook on LOW for 7 hours.
4. Serve with milk. Optional toppings: almonds, cranberries, walnuts, or even whipped cream!