Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal
Loaded with fresh cranberries, oats, and a hint of orange, Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal is the perfect healthy breakfast for fall and winter!
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Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal is a hearty breakfast that’s made with old-fashioned oats, orange zest & juice, honey, fresh cranberries, and milk.
The cranberries are tart, the orange juice and zest adds brightness, and there’s a hint of cinnamon to bring some warmth to the dish.
This baked oatmeal isn’t overly sweet, as it’s just lightly sweetened with honey.
Best of all, no oven is required to make this recipe! You can make it for busy holidays, in your RV, or meal prep it for breakfast for the week.
You know it’s fall when cranberries appear in the grocery stores! I get a couple bags and freeze them so I can make this and Cranberry Banana Bread all year long!
Another great cranberry recipe for the slow cooker is Slow Cooker Cranberry Cobbler. It’s perfect for the holidays since it’s doesn’t take up precious oven space!
Ingredients needed (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Old-Fashioned Oats
- Milk – I use oat milk
- Honey
- Cranberries
- Orange (zest & juice)
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Seasonings – salt, cinnamon
📍The full recipe with exact ingredient amounts and instructions is on the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How to serve cranberry orange oatmeal
This baked oatmeal is best served warm. Either directly from the slow cooker or reheated in the microwave.
- The cozy fall flavors make it perfect for Thanksgiving morning with a mug of Slow Cooker Boozy Chocolate Coffee
- Great for a healthy breakfast meal prep for a busy week
- This vegetarian recipe is great as-is, but feel free to serve it with fresh fruit or your favorite side
💡Tips & Tricks
- Milk: I developed this recipe with oat milk, but any type of milk should work just fine, but be aware the flavor and texture may change.
- Oats: Old-fashioned oats have a great texture that largely hold their shape. Do not replace with steel-cut oats or quick oats.
- Sweetness: This is not a very sweet recipe. It’s lightly sweetened with honey, but feel free to add a pinch of brown sugar to the mixture before cooking or add a drizzle of maple syrup when it’s done.
- Cranberries: If you don’t want to hand-chop the cranberries, you can pulse them in a mini food processor.
Other slow cooker breakfasts we love:
- Slow Cooker Biscuits & Sausage Gravy
- Slow Cooker Peaches & Cream Farro
- Slow Cooker Denver Omelet Breakfast Casserole
- Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
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Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal
Equipment
- 5 quart slow cooker
- Nonstick cooking spray
- microplane or zester
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup milk I used oat milk
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 medium Naval orange (zest & juice) (approx. 1/4 cup juice)
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries (approx. 3 1/2 ounces)
Instructions
- Spray the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the wet ingredients to the slow cooker: milk, honey, vanilla. Zest the orange into the slow cooker, then slice the orange in half and either manually or with a citrus juicer, extract the juice from the orange. You want about 1/4 cup. Add it to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the slow cooker: oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cranberries. Stir, making sure everything is well combined.
- Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours. If your slow cooker has a hotspot, I'd rotate the crock at the halfway point. It's done when the oats have absorbed the liquid and the edges have browned. If it still looks wet, add a little more time and check it again. Best served warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- Every slow cooker runs a little differently. For mine, this was perfect in 2 1/2 hours. If yours runs a little hot, feel free to check it a little early.
- If you use a different size slow cooker, the thickness of the baked oatmeal will change, thus, so will the cooking time. This recipe was developed using an oval 5-quart slow cooker. A larger slow cooker will make a thinner baked oatmeal and a small slow cooker will make a thicker baked oatmeal.
- I intentionally developed this recipe to be healthy, therefore, there’s no granulated sugar, only honey. Feel free to add a little brown sugar before it cooks if you think you’ll want it sweeter. You can also drizzle a little maple syrup over it afterwards.
- You can use store-bought orange juice instead of using an orange, but you won’t get the great flavor from the orange zest.
- This recipe hasn’t been tested with dried cranberries, as it was created to celebrate fresh fall fruit.
- Refrigerate in air-tight containers and use within 4 days. Can be frozen, but the texture may change as it will dry out.
A great healthy breakfast celebrating fresh fall cranberries!