Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Simple apple oatmeal recipe made with steel-cut oats! The oats and apples cook together in the same pot. It's a healthy and delicious fall breakfast.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best, and this oatmeal is one of them. I’m on a seasonally-appropriate apple kick, you see. When I was trying an applesauce filling for last week’s apple tart, I wondered if I could cook homemade applesauce and steel-cut oats in the same pot at the same time.
Their cooking methods and timing are similar, so why not? That was a very good question, and the result was so delicious that I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before.
Why didn’t I think to cook apples in my oatmeal before I added orange zest and a swirl of cranberry sauce? Or carrots?
You really think I would have come up with the concept when I featured my maple cinnamon applesauce on steel-cut oatmeal nearly four years ago. Head smack.
We finally have apple steel-cut oats on the blog today, in 2016, and I believe they are worth the wait. First, you’ll toast the oats to enhance their flavor (in a little butter, if you want to make them really luscious). Then, add apples (I didn’t peel mine, since the skins get super soft during cooking), water and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mixture is ultra creamy and the apples are so tender that they almost disappear into the oats.
It’s nearly perfect after a 5-minute rest, but I liked mine even more after I added a little maple syrup and a swirl of almond butter. Pecans are great, too. I almost always add cinnamon to apple/oat combos, but I preferred the clean taste of sweet fall apples this time around.
What fall recipes do you guys want to see next? I’m working on a savory recipe for later this week, but here are more apple recipes if you’re on an apple kick like me.
Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Meet my favorite fall breakfast! Apples and steel-cut oats cook together in the same pot until they are creamy, delicious perfection. It’s a hearty, healthy and delicious fall breakfast that reheats well for busy weekday mornings. Recipe yields 4 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter (optional)
- 1 cup steel-cut oats (certified gluten-free if necessary)
- 3 medium-to-large apples (I used 2 Granny Smiths and 1 Honeycrisp), cored and sliced into 1-to-2″ chunks
- 4 cups water
- Pinch of salt
- Maple syrup or honey, to taste (optional)
- Optional toppings: swirl of nut butter (pecan butter, almond butter or peanut butter), toasted pecans or pepitas, chopped fresh apples, dried cranberries, drizzle of additional maple syrup or honey, light sprinkle of ground cinnamon…
Instructions
- In a medium Dutch oven or large saucepan (around 3.5 quarts), melt the butter over medium heat (if you’re not using butter, just warm the pan). Add the steel-cut oats and cook until fragrant, stirring often, about 2 minutes (this step enhances the flavor of the oats).
- Add the apple chunks, water and salt. Stir to combine, and raise the heat to high to bring the mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 35 minutes, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed and the oats are nice and creamy. Stir every five minutes in the beginning, and more frequently as time goes on (you might need to dial down the heat as well).
- Remove from heat and let the oatmeal rest for 5 minutes before serving so it has more time to thicken up. Carefully taste (it’s hot!) and add maple syrup or honey if you’d like sweeter oatmeal (I used tart apples, so I added 1 tablespoon).
- Divide the mixture into individual bowls and serve with any toppings you’d like. If you’re saving extra portions for later, let them cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Leftovers reheat well in the microwave, and would likely reheat well on the stove if you add some extra water to loosen them up.
Notes
Recipe inspired by my perfect steel-cut oats and maple cinnamon applesauce recipes.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free steel-cut oats.
Make it dairy free: Omit the butter and dry-toast the oats instead.
Make it vegan: Omit the butter and dry-toast the oats instead, and use maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it nut-free: Don’t top with nuts or nut butter! You might enjoy some toasted pepitas on top.
Slow cooker option: I haven’t tried this, but commenter Kathy says that she uses 1 cup oats to 4 cups water, adds apples and cooks on low overnight.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
YUM!….made as stated but used 2 cups of “Apple Cider” for half of the water. Very creamy and nutty texture. Thanks….sometimes the “little” things can make a nice difference. I had never “toasted” the grain prior to cooking. Stirred in Cinnamon, Raisins & Vanilla last 5 min. of cooking. Topped with plain greek yogurt (for extra protein) and walnuts! Warm and yummy were my family’s reviews! Thanks again! Always enjoy your recipes!
Great to hear, Kelly!
Delicious, steel cut oats with apples recipie!
Changes I made were minor – I added some cinnamon and used vegan butter – that’s it!
YUM!!!!
Delicious, steel cut oats with apples recipie!
Changes I made were minor – I added some cinnamon and used vegan butter – that’s it!
YUM!!!!
Thank you, Susan!
I’ve made this oatmeal countless times, thank you for the wonderful recipe! I’m a big fan of your website and cookbook. :)
This was delicious! Also the extra water from the apples kept it from sticking to the pan. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds so yummy! Do you think this can be done in a slow cooker, and do you have any thoughts as to how long?
I haven’t tried it, sorry!
This is my favorite Fall breakfast. I’m trying to prepare some postpartum meals so I did try to freeze it and it worked really well. The best was putting them in greased muffin tins and freezing. So now I just take out a 1-2 muffin tin sized oatmeal’s at a time and heat them up in the microwave. Delicious!
Thank you for your review, Rebba!
Your steel cut oatmeal is amazing! I’ve never fried the oats before cooking. It makes a big difference! I added Door County sour cherries and walnuts! Wonderful!
A friend was sick so I took some to her. She loved it! I’ll be making these often from now on! Thanks for the recipes!
What is the difference between maple syrup & honey?
Flavor preference as they are typically interchangeable in my recipes.
So I didn’t have steel cut oats and I wanted to try it. So I used Rolled Oats! I started by using the water ratio for rolled oats.
1 cup rolled oats
1.5 cups water
2 large apples
I cut up the apples and cooked them in the water alone for 15 minutes. Then I added the rolled oats and set the timer for another 20 minutes. I watched it and did find that I needed to add about another 1/2 cup water near the end and let it cook for another 5. Let it rest for 5 min just like your recipe and it was amazing.
I put some chopped pecans on top and sprinkled with a little raw sugar and cinnamon. Sooooooo good.
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Blondin!
Hi– This is the first recipe I came to in your new web-site; I did not make it–I was just looking for a place to send my comment. Everything looks so good (I printed 7 recipes). But there is a PROBLEM: After pressing the PRINT icon, the page changes to a new one for printing. Under PRINT, it says Images, Description, and Notes. I pressed PRINT–but, after printing there is NO IMAGE showing up on the print view!! PLEASE FIX this problem–I really like to have an image of the finished dish to go along with the recipe.
Hi Margie, Sorry for the frustration. I am working to see if we can get that fixed.
Kate!! I made this oatmeal this morning and wanted to let you know that this will be life changing for me. I have an apple allergy and can only eat them when cooked/baked. After adding some maple syrup and cinnamon, it tasted like an old fashioned apple crisp. This recipe will now be made on repeat.♥️