Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Oatmeal
Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Oatmeal is an easy and delicious breakfast that is ready for you when you wake up in the morning!
This recipe is sponsored by Patience Fruit & Co, but all opinions are my own.
Oatmeal used to be my go-to breakfast in the morning. Then I had kids and all of a sudden my breakfast preferences weren’t as much of a priority as theirs were. While I love serving them oatmeal, at this point in the game it’s a pretty messy option. If I give Soren oatmeal, there is a 100% chance he is going to preschool with oatmeal in his hair. Also, making oatmeal on the stovetop every morning is just time consuming. I don’t have time in the morning to make my kids whatever they’re having AND make oatmeal from scratch.
I love making overnight oats during the warmer months (so, like 2 months a year here in Minnesota), but the other times I want something warm. This is where slow cooker oatmeal comes in. It cooks overnight and is warm and ready for you when you get out of bed. Winning!
This recipe for Cranberry Apple Oatmeal is so comforting and delicious! It is a combination of oats, milk, apples, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and Patience Fruit & Co Organic Dried Cranberries. I love Patience Fruit & Co dried fruit because it is only sweetened with apple juice and they are completely organic. Who knew that conventional dried cranberries are filled with unnecessary chemicals? Now that I know, Patience Fruit & Co is my go-to for dried fruit!
Another thing that has changed in my kitchen since having kids, is an increase in awareness of what we buy organic vs. conventional. I keep an updated list of the clean 15 and Dirty Dozen on my phone so I know when I go grocery shopping what produce I should always buy organic and which produce it doesn’t matter as much. For example, I always buy organic strawberries, spinach, kale, apples, and peaches but I typically stick with conventional bananas, onions, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus.
I’ve also recently started buying organic crackers and snacks for the boys because I learned that having a Certified Organic label means that it is always free of pesticides, dyes, artificial preservatives, and without genetic engineering. It makes decision making at the store easy and I always try to stock up when they are on sale!
The same goes for Patience Fruit & Co - it’s an easy way to make a healthier choice for my family. I also love that they use sustainable practices to reduce their ecological footprint, such as a “closed circuit” watering system in which rainwater and snowmelt are collected and used to irrigate and flood fields at harvest time. So great!
The result of these practices along with a slower growing time, results in an incredibly juicy and tender dried cranberry which are organic, non-GMO, Paleo certified, additive free, sulfate free, and gluten free. They are available at most of our local grocery stores, and you can find out where you can buy yours at this store locator!
Now that the weather is turning cooler and I have this Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Oatmeal in my routine, my morning oatmeal is going to be so much easier!
Be sure to check out Patience Fruit & Co on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
Like this recipe? Check these out, too!
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Cranberry Pecan Biscotti
Cinnamon Apple Baked Oatmeal
Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Oatmeal
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups water
- 4 cups milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 1 ½ cups chopped apples
- ½ cup Patience Fruit & Co Organic Dried Cranberries
- ¼ cup honey (or maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk yogurt, plain or vanilla
- additional milk, to preference
Instructions
- Combine oats, water, milk, chopped apples, cranberries, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in the slow cooker and stir well.
- Cook on high for 1 ½ hours, or low for 4 hours.
- Stir in yogurt and additional milk to achieve desired oatmeal consistency.
- Stir in vanilla yogurt and additional milk to achieve desired oatmeal consistency.
- Serve topped with additional dried cranberries.
- Enjoy!
