Recipe: Overnight Oatmeal with Apricots and Buttermilk

When we gave away those Crock-Pot Versaware slow cookers, we asked readers what they would make in their slow cooker. Reader Louie C said that she would make overnight oatmeal with buttermilk and apricots.

Well, at least two readers immediately wanted the recipe! We adore steel-cut oats too, so when Louie C kindly gave us the recipe we tested and ate it twice. Here it is, for your morning oatmeal enjoyment!

Here is reader Louie C's original recipe, explanation and one major disclaimer. We tweaked the recipe that follows just a bit - see our explanation below.

My cooker has only one temperature, which is quite high, and as a result I've never successfully made this -- I end up with a thick gummy crust on the bottom and top which has to be scraped off and thrown away -- it's a real waste. However, it does work on the stovetop, with a slight adjustment of the amount of liquids, and I can't think of any reason for it not to work in a more sophisticated crockpot. I have suggested the recipe to others who have successfully made it, although not everyone has liked the buttermilk part.
It's adapted from Alton Brown's very good "Good Eats" episode on oatmeal from several years ago, which is what first made me think of making oatmeal overnight.

1 cup steel cut oats, 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 cup dried apricots snipped into quarters, and/or any other dried fruit you like, 3 and a half cups of water, and 1 cup of buttermilk. I hear that it can cook for 7-8 hours on low and even those who did not like the buttermilk said the oatmeal was perfectly cooked and the amount of liquids well balanced.

We tested this twice, and while we did find some burning on the very bottom, we felt that we didn't get that gummy top. Also, we tested this the second time with a greased liner and that seemed to help the burning and sticking.

The best thing about this recipe is how the dried apricots soften and plump up overnight. They become full, juicy, and soft. Their flavor also spreads throughout the oatmeal; there was a strong apricot tang and orange tint to the oatmeal.

Now, about the buttermilk. We are all for buttermilk and its tangy freshness. But here we did feel that it gave a bit too much sourness to the recipe. We (and our breakfast companions) preferred a second version made with half/half and milk. The apricots already give the recipe so much tartness that we felt the buttermilk was a bit much. It might be different made on the stove. But that's our own preference - try it yourself and see.

Overnight Oatmeal with Apricots and Buttermilk
1 cup steel cut oats
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried apricots, snipped into small pieces
3 1/2 cups water
1 cup buttermilk, milk, or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons wheat bran (optional)

Spray a Crock-Pot liner with cooking spray, or rub with butter. Mix the oats, brown sugar, salt and apricots. Pour in the water, milk, and vanilla and stir. Add the wheat bran, if you want. Turn on low and cover. Cook for 7-8 hours. Serve with extra milk and sugar.

Thanks for the recipe, Janice!

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(Images: Faith Hopler)

Comments (13)

I made this recipe for breakfast this morning, and have to report back that I wish I had had buttermilk -- it was missing tang, and was a touch too sweet.

The tang is determined by what kind of dried apricots you use: we had organic unsulphered in our cupboard, and they are very sweet and not tangy.

Regular dried apricots though can be very tangy, so depending on which you use, you may or may not need the buttermilk.

Good to know, monika1 - my apricots were indeed very tart. They were delicious, but very, very tangy.

My favorite fruit in long cooked oatmeal is dried pears. Dried pears are hard to find (at least around here), but intensely flavored and sweet. They might work well with the buttermilk.

Here is another good steel cut oat recipe http://www.chefmd.com/recipe_display.php?id=60
The ChefMD website has lots of good, healthy recipes that are easy to make. This recipe uses coconut milk and soymilk to smooth out the chewiness and enhance their richness and makes them extra creamy.

I finally made this -- had to mail-order the steel-cut oats -- and it was so good! I've also made it with dried cranberries rather than apricots. Yummy!

Actually I just make steel cut oats in the rice cooker - put 2x water, or 1x water, 1x milk (the way I like it) and then leave it on - will stay warm until you want to eat it!! I make a big batch Sun and then warm it up with extra milk every morning that week!

This makes lovely overnight oatmeal without any nasty crust. I'm sure it could be made with fruit and buttermilk too, and no waste! You can even have your inner container be the one you keep the extra in the fridge in.

I tried this last night with the 1 C buttermilk. It was awesome! I had run out of vanilla extract, so I substituted almond extract. Yum. I think our apricots must have been really sweet, because the end result was creamy, rich, and sweet. Thanks for a fabulous idea. I'll be using this the next time we have overnight guests or I have to serve breakfast to a crowd.

I made this last night and it turned out fabulous! I made it exactly as the original recipe states including the buttermilk and California apricots (which are usually more intensely apricot and less sweet than Mediterranean). I though it was perfect. Not too sweet or too tart, very apricot-y, and creamy and rich. No burning or crustiness--the timing was perfect (~7.5 hours on low). I had to force myself not to eat a triple portion! Will definitely make again.

The flavor and texture of this were really good, but I found it to be a bit thin. Like it had too much water. The oatmeal absorbed it all, but there was no creaminess to it. I think next time I might substitute 1% milk for the water. Other than that, this was awesome.

Having made this recipe exactly as described above (including greasing our slow cooker before), I will report that it tasted terrible. In essence, we were left with Apricot soup, a far-too-sweet mess which will be headed straight to the garbage after I type this. What a terrible disappointment!

I use my rice cooker insert in a water bath in my crock pot. Works perfectly. You may experience a little discoloration on the outside of the insert.

I'm going to try this, tonight, but I'm not adding the buttermilk. Might put in a little almond milk, instead because I've a problem with lactose. And I think I'll use agave nectar.