Overnight porridge oats made in the slow cooker! You're probably thinking why bother, oats are pretty easy and quick to make, why do it overnight in a slow cooker?
Well, for me its knowing that all I need to do is come downstairs into the kitchen, scoop some into a bowl and I've got a warm delicious breakfast. Those mornings where I'm up early and won't have time to make a nice breakfast but want more than cereal and milk. Also, while I'm a breakfast person I'm definitely not a morning person! So, anything that makes life easier in the mornings gets a big thumbs up for me.
Most mornings I'm the only porridge eater in my house so I I have worked out how to do this for just one person. I know I could make a bigger batch and keep what I don't eat in the fridge to reheat the next day but, the point of slow cooker porridge for me is coming down to a ready made, hot breakfast.
My slow cooker is a 3.5 litre size so making a portion for one means putting smaller bowl inside and surrounding with water, otherwise there would be a thin layer of oats on the bottom with the risk of drying out overnight. This recipe is for one but you can absolutely scale it up if you need more. If your slow cooker is similar in size to mine, then if you decide to do 3 or 4 times the recipe then you'll be fine to just put the mix directly into the slow cooker. You won't need to do the water bath method.
I have 3 favourite toppings for porridge, peanut butter, blueberries or honey and sultanas. The peanut butter I buy is really more of a peanut paste, it's 100% peanuts with no added sugar, salt or oils. If you've tried these before and didn't like them I'd recommend to try another brand. I tried 4 different kinds of this 100% peanut butter before finding one I liked. Which was a surprise given they all apparently have the exact same one ingredient of peanuts! I'm guessing the variety or whether they are roasted etc. makes the taste difference.
Anyway, back to the porridge. If your making for one as I am then you'll need a bowl to put
your porridge in, inside the slow cooker. I've found that a slightly wider bowl works better, I did try my Pyrex jug but this didn't seem to cook as evenly. I suspect because its a bit taller and narrower. You'll also want something that you can grab hold of okay with your oven glove as it'll be hot when you lift it out. I have only tried this with chunkier oats such as oat flakes. They are big enough to absorb the water and cope with the long cooking time without losing their texture completely. Oatmeal or pinhead oats may work but I'd stick to rolled or oat flakes. Finally, I only use water for cooking with. The oats are so creamy from the long cooking that I don't think that milk really adds anything. Any sweetness or saltiness needed I get from the toppings.
Recipe
Serves 1
50g porridge oats (rolled oats or oat flakes)
330ml water
Directions
Put the oats and water into a heatproof bowl and stir well.
Place the bowl into your slow cooker.
Fill the slow cooker with water so that it comes about half way up the outside of your bowl of oats.
Add the lid and set to low.
Cook for approx. 8 - 9 hours, any longer and you may need to add an extra tablespoon or two of water at the start.
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