Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Oatmeal Recipe

Get a head start on a healthy breakfast with sweet potato oatmeal.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Oatmeal

Use a slow cooker to get a head start on a healthy breakfast with sweet potato oatmeal.

By: Mick Telkamp

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When it’s cold outside, getting out of bed in the morning may take a little prodding. All too often it is an alarm clock demanding it’s time to get to work or school. Sometimes though, if you’re very lucky, it is the promise of a hot breakfast waiting for you before braving the winter weather waiting outside your door.

Fending for ourselves in the morning, though, it’s all too easy to trade a good breakfast for a few more minutes under the covers. The most important meal of the day is often little more than a cup of coffee and a piece of toast or maybe a quick bowl of cereal. This winter has been particularly nasty and it’s been harder than ever to start the day off right, but with the help of our trusty slow cooker, we’re going to do something about that.

Slow cooker steel-cut oatmeal is a favorite around here. Although instant oatmeal can be prepared in just a couple of minutes, instant oatmeal is heavily processed and often loaded with additives. Cooking steel-cut oats may take a little longer, but also takes longer to digest and is less likely to cause spikes in blood sugar levels leading to that mid-morning crash. And although it may be a matter of preference, slow cooked oatmeal has a heartier texture and just plain tastes better.

Although sweet potatoes may not immediately come to mind when making oatmeal, here’s why it works. Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins and fiber, giving your morning porridge a welcome boost of nutrition, but what really makes this combination worth trying is taste. Sweet potatoes are an easy and appealing way to add a subtle depth of flavor and natural sweetness that makes this simple breakfast worth getting out of bed for.

Using the slow cooker means breakfast can be prepared in just a few minutes before bedtime. Waking up to the smell of oatmeal bubbling away in the kitchen makes it a little easier to get out of bed in the morning and—best of all—is a healthy way to start the day while still managing a few extra minutes under the covers. Comfort food at its morning best.