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Slow Cooker Berry Oatmeal + VIDEO

This slow cooker berry oatmeal is full of flavor and easy to make. Creamy & fruity, the will please even non-oatmeal fans. You can make this oatmeal recipe overnight in the slow cooker or quickly in less in than 5 minutes in the Instant Pot.

Ingredients For Berry Oatmeal

  • Steel-Cut Oats
  • Fresh or Frozen Berries
  • Canned Full-Fat Coconut Milk
  • Maple Syrup: Feel free to use your preferred sweetener whether it be maple syrup, brown sugar, honey, etc. 
  • Milk Of Your Choice: I like to use refrigerated coconut milk or nut milk like almond milk. 
  • Vanilla

collage steel cut oats on one side & fresh berries on the other

How To Make Berry Oatmeal In The Slow Cooker

  1. Spray slow cooker generously with cooking spray.
  2. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
  3. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours, LOW 6-8.

Instant Pot

  1. Spray the Instant Pot generously with cooking spray.
  2. Add all the ingredients. Stir gently to mix well. Select manual setting.  Set high pressure for 4 minutes. When cooking time is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release.
  3. Stir before serving.
overhead shot of uncooked berry oatmeal in a black slow cooker with the ingredients unstirred

before

overhead shot of uncooked berry oatmeal in a black slow cooker

before

What Is Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a great way to have a tasty and filling breakfast while also keeping warm in the frosty winter months. One of my favorite ways to make my oatmeal is with the fall flavor of pumpkin, and then pair it with a warm cup of coffee for an outstanding breakfast that is going to kickstart your day the right way! Oatmeal is a term used to describe a porridge made from ground, steel cut, or rolled oats. Each of these terms just means that the oat has been removed from a husk and is ready to cook! Oatmeal may also be called hot cereal, which also covers cream of wheat and grits, but we are just going to focus on making oatmeal today. Most people are familiar with the quick oatmeal that you can get in many flavors and from many brands at your local grocery store, but what many people don’t know is how cheap and easy it is to make your own oatmeal at home. You can even copy your favorite flavors from the name brands! When you make oatmeal at home, you can add a variety of healthy ingredients to it like fruits and nuts to increase the benefits you get from your morning meal! Oatmeal is a whole grain, too, so you can feel better about making it for your children over sugar filled breakfast cereal.

overhead shot of cooked berry oatmeal in a black slow cooker with the ingredients unstirred

after

What Type Of Berries To Use

I’m keeping it generic and just saying ‘berries’ because your taste buds are most likely different than mine. I used a combination of fresh  blueberries and raspberries. I encourage you to use your preferred berry or combination of berries. Fresh or frozen! If you use frozen berries, no need to thaw them first, add them frozen. 

overhead shot of cooked berry oatmeal in a black slow cooker

after

Steel Cut or Rolled Oats?

Slow cooker or Instant Pot berry oatmeal is best made with steel-cut oats. Steel cut oats are one of the healthiest grains; they’re minimally processed, and contain more fiber than rolled oats. Personally I always use steel-cut oats for my oatmeal and rolled oats for baking or making oat flour. If you’re using the slow cooker and intend for this to be an overnight oatmeal recipe, you cannot use rolled oats, they will turn to mush during the long cook time. Having said that, yes you can use rolled oat if you must but you will need to make adjustments. For the slow cooker, the cook time will be 1-2 hours on high or 2-4 hours on low. For the electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot), the cook time remains the same but you have to change the oat/liquid ratio.

Liquid/Oatmeal ratio for slow cooker or pressure cooker:
Steel cut – 3 cups liquid to 1 cup oats
Rolled – 2 cups liquid to 1 cup oats

This recipe does not work with instant oatmeal.

close up side view shot of berry oatmeal in white bowl garnished with fresh berries & shredded coconut

Doubling The Recipe

Need to cook oatmeal for a larger crowd? You can double or triple the recipe without having to make adjustments to the cook time. The oatmeal will still cook for 6-8 hours or 4 minutes (slow cooker vs Instant Pot), you will just need a larger appliance.

overhead shot of berry oatmeal in white bowl garnished with fresh berries & shredded coconut

FAQs & Tips

  • Spray the slow cooker or Instant Pot with cooking spray to help keep the oatmeal from sticking. The oatmeal will still probably stick to the sides a bit but it won’t be nearly as bad as it would if you didn’t spray.
  • Top your oatmeal with your preferred toppings. Suggestions include fresh fruit, shredded coconut, more sweetener, chopped nuts, granola, etc.
  • Store leftover oatmeal in the refrigerate for up to 5 days. To reheat the oatmeal, add some milk or water, before heating in the microwave or on the stove top.
  • Oatmeal is one of those recipes that can be tailored to your taste buds. If you like your oatmeal sweet, use more sweetener. Do you like your oatmeal thick or thin? If thin, add more liquid. If thick, use less. Please note that the oatmeal will thicken as it cools.
  • The key to this recipe is using very ripe, sweet berries. If you have ripe berries then you don’t need a lot of sweetener. If you like a bit of tart, try using cranberries.
  •  I used a 3.5-quart slow cooker for this recipe & a 6-quart Instant Pot.

Oatmeal Recipes

Print
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berry oatmeal in a black slow cooker

Slow Cooker Berry Oatmeal

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

  • Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup steel cut oats
  • 15 ounces coconut milk
  • 1 1/4 cup milk of your choice
  • 8 ounces fresh or frozen berries
  • 23 tablespoons maple syrup (or another sweetener)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. Spray slow cooker generously with cooking spray.
  2. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
  3. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours, LOW 6-8.

Instant Pot

  1. Spray the Instant Pot generously with cooking spray.
  2. Add all the ingredients. Stir gently to mix well. Select manual setting.  Set high pressure for 4 minutes. When cooking time is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release.
  3. Stir before serving.

Notes

Your oatmeal will thicken slightly as it cools.

Cook time calculated using slow cooker.

  • Author: Shannon Epstein
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 3 hours

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 183
  • Sugar: 12 g
  • Fat: 5.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 27.6 g
  • Fiber: 2.7 g
  • Protein: 3.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on one of the product links, I might receive compensation. For more about my disclosure policy see here: https://fitslowcookerqueen.com/about/disclosure-policy/.

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”cmIdn3a2″ upload-date=”2021-09-03T06:59:01.000Z” name=”Slow Cooker Berry Oatmeal” description=”This easy berry oatmeal recipe is healthy & flavorful too. Make this vegan, kid-approved oatmeal in your slow cooker or Instant Pot.” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Mariel

Sunday 9th of October 2022

Is the coconut milk necessary? I really want to make this today but don’t have Coconut milk. If I leave it out do I adjust the amount of almond milk I add?

Shannon Epstein

Sunday 9th of October 2022

Nope, it's not necessary. Correct, just add an additional 15 ounces of almond milk. Enjoy!

Jennifer

Saturday 29th of February 2020

Thank you, I love this recipe. Super healthy and really delicious.

Judith

Monday 27th of January 2020

I love raisins in my oatmeal, pumpkin or not, would I add them before or after cooking?

Fit SlowCooker Queen

Monday 27th of January 2020

I would stir the raisins into the oatmeal after it's done cooking.

Jen

Tuesday 10th of December 2019

This looks amazing. Does it serve 3 or 4? It says 4 in one spot and 3 in another. Thanks.

Fit SlowCooker Queen

Wednesday 11th of December 2019

Thank you for pointing that out, I updated the nutritional facts to reflect the real answer - 4.

Lorenzo

Wednesday 26th of September 2018

I love oatmeal, and this looks SO much tastier than my instant packet! And not too much more effort really. Cant wait to try this.