Chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oats

While I have been compensated for this chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oats recipe by #CollectiveBias and Quaker, all thoughts and opinions are my own. #MyOatsCreation

Easy overnight chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oats: an individually sized, ready-when-you-are breakfast, hearty enough to keep you satisfied until lunch and away from mid-morning snacks.

I love steel cut oats. While regular rolled oats are a staple in my pantry for recipes like baked oatmeal and peanut butter banana oatmeal muffins, I prefer the heartier and chewier steel cut oats, with their slightly nutty flavor, for my hot cereal breakfasts. But steel cut oats can take extra time to cook than quick oats -- and, if you're like me, you don't have a lot of extra time when you're trying to get up and out the door in the morning.

So when Quaker asked me to develop a recipe using steel cut oats to inspire you to consider oatmeal in a whole new way for 2015, I jumped at the chance and created this chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oat hot cereal. By using your slow cooker while you sleep, you can start enjoying a better-for-you breakfast of steel cut oats easily and without any extra effort -- in fact, with almost no effort at all.

The beauty of this whole grain oat breakfast recipe is that it is so easy. Firstly, there are only four ingredients and all of them are readily available at your local Target (as if you need an excuse to shop at Target, right?). Secondly, the recipe is super easy to prep and to cook, as it cooks itself in the slow cooker while you sleep! And thirdly, having a better-for-you whole-grain breakfast waiting for you when you get up is a real morning time-saver. No more excuses for not eating healthier breakfasts in 2015!

And, not only do the steel cut oats cook in the slow cooker while you sleep, preparing them in canning jars means that you can make each member of the family his/her own individual portion that will be ready to go (and still warm!) whenever he/she is. Each serving makes about a cup of oatmeal, but I prepare it in larger pint-sized canning jars so there is plenty of room to add some natural sweetener and give it all a good stir.

Another time-saving shortcut I employed in this recipe is to use brewed chai tea to give the steel cut oats some rich spicy flavor without needing to measure out a bunch of individual spices. Just brew a cup of tea, let it cool to room temperature and use it in place of plain water in the oatmeal.

One of my favorite things about this slow cooker oatmeal is that you can change the flavor and keep it from getting repetitive simply by swapping out the tea and the fruit. For example, try pairing Earl Grey tea with dark raisins and prunes. Prefer green tea? Combine it with apricots and dried apples.

So, will you take a fresh look at oatmeal as a way of incorporating more whole grains into your diet for 2015? And will you take a closer look at your slow cooker for helping you get there? Leave a comment: The Ninj wants to know.

Chai Spiced Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

Makes 1 serving per pint-sized canning jar. No canning jars? No worries: Just use a large Pyrex measuring cup or heat-safe bowl instead.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Quaker steel cut oats
1/4 cup chopped dates and golden raisins
1 cup brewed chai tea (room temperature)
1-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (optional)

Directions:
Add the steel cut oats, dried fruit and tea to a pint-sized Mason jar or other heat-safe container, one per serving, that will fit inside a slow cooker. Gently stir. Place the jars in the crock of the slow cooker and create a water bath for them by filling the crock with tap water so that the level of water is above the level of the jar contents but not so high as to flow into the jars. Cover the crock and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours (overnight). Carefully remove the hot jars, top each with honey or maple syrup, if desired, and stir thoroughly.

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