Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal
Steel cut oats taste great when prepared in a slow cooker. This recipe incorporates apples for extra flavor. Consider this ultra cheap breakfast recipe to add to your rotation.
It’s been awhile since the last $10 Food Day series. A year and a half, to be exact.
Is it possible to eat on $10 a day?
In all honesty, it’s a challenge coming up with 4 crazy cheap recipes that cost less than $10 total. But I did it, and I’m super excited to share them with you!
What Is The $10 Food Day?
A one-day menu featuring four recipes (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack), enough to feed a family of four – for less than $10 for the entire day. I’ve done three $10 Food Days before:
Consider mixing and matching recipes to come up with a menu your family will love.
Steel-Cut Oats Made In The Slow Cooker
Slow cooker apple oatmeal. Why haven’t I made this sooner?
Besides being cheap, this recipe is extremely easy. Just throw all the ingredients in a crock pot the night before, and you wake up to a delicious breakfast that is ready to go.
I love the idea of apple-themed breakfasts this time of the year. I always seem to manage to get some free apples in the fall from friendly neighbors. Even better, when I’m trying to stick to a $10-a-day food budget.
More Affordable Oatmeal Recipes
- How to make steel cut oats in a slow cooker
- Simple baked oatmeal
- Applesauce overnight oatmeal
- Berry baked oatmeal
- Make-ahead baked oatmeal cups
The Cost
- Steel cut oats (1 1/2 cups) = $1.08
- Milk (2 cups) = $.34
- Apple = $.70
- Other ingredients (butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon) = $.25
Total cost for entire recipe = $2.37 (enough for four huge servings or eight small servings)
Another low-cost oatmeal recipe: Simple baked oatmeal (Just $.46 per serving)
Where You Shop Matters
For purposes of sticking to a low food budget, it matters where you shop. Prices vary dramatically from grocery store to grocery store.
I have done extensive grocery store price comparison shopping, visiting 12 different grocery stores at various times over the course of several years. If you want to learn which grocery stores are the cheapest, you need to read this article:
= Find out what grocery store is the cheapest =
Check Back For The Remaining $10 Food Day Recipes!
Over the next few days, I will be posting the remaining three recipes (lunch, dinner, and a snack). Be sure to check back on the blog, or follow me on Facebook to get notified there.
Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Apple Oatmeal
This recipe makes a huge batch. You may have enough left for breakfasts throughout the week, depending on how many you are feeding.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups milk (any kind will work - I used 2 percent)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 apple, chopped
Instructions
- Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray (or coat with butter). Place all ingredients except for the apple in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.
- When there is an hour left, stir in the chopped apple. Serve with brown sugar, honey, chopped nuts, cinnamon, additional chopped apples, or other toppings.
This looks so good! I am still trying to hunt down a steel cut oat that does not have a “may contain” or “processed on equipment” warning label for tree nuts. When I do, this will be the first recipe I try (minus the nuts, of course!).