Ginger-Pear-Apple Steel-Cut Oats

I used the same basic formula as the slow cooker cranberry-orange steel-cut oats I made previously (1 cup steel-cut oats: 3 1/3 cups liquid).  I had only a single pear to use up but I figured it wouldn't be enough fruit for the 5 servings this recipe makes since I typically use half a pear in a single bowl of oatmeal, so I added a cup of applesauce for some additional fall flavor.

Ingredients

5 servings, 163 calories each (not small servings, either!)

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 3 1/3 cups liquid (I used water b/c I didn't think pears went well with almond milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pear, diced
• 1 4 oz cup unsweetened applesauce (one of those little individual cups like you might put in a kids lunch)
• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

Directions

Starting out - raw oats and diced pear.

Put all in ingredients in the slow cooker (I used my small 5-quart one) and stir.  Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.  

More pear and steel-cut oats.

I started mine in the slow cooker at 9 p.m.and it was ready at 6:30 a.m. the next morning. 

Cooked porridge.

Verdict 

This breakfast ushers in fall!

The base recipe is totally my go-to breakfast these days.  Previously I wasn't a fan of steel-cut oats because my cooking method didn't make them very "porridge-y", but making it in the slow cooker overnight works so well.

I didn't use enough ginger, you could barely taste it, but it wasn't bad either.  I would increase that to a full teaspoon of dried ginger or use fresh ginger from a tube (get some, it's totally worth it!).  And I don't think it was enough unsweetened applesauce to really add much apple flavor, next time I would add the cup of applesauce plus a chopped apple. 

Since I added fresh fruit, I felt there was enough liquid since the fruit gives off moisture, but for any recipes where you're not adding fresh fruit, I would increase the liquid to 3 1/2 cups.