camp meals

Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal, Trail Version

Apples, raisins, pecans, and maple sugar in one pot. Built for a stove instead of a crock pot.

calories
610
weight
4.5 oz
cal / oz
136
protein
11 g
serves
1, scales
prep
2 min
cook
7 min
total time
9 min
water
400 ml boiled
cost
$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Breakfast
  • Canister stove
  • Alcohol / Esbit
  • Liquid fuel
  • Backpacking
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Bikepacking
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Dump and stir

Ingredients

Old-fashioned rolled oats 3/4 cup
Dried apple rings 1/3 cup chopped small at home so they rehydrate in minutes
Raisins 2 tbsp
Pecans 1/4 cup chopped
Maple sugar or brown sugar 2 tbsp granulated, not syrup
Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
Salt a pinch

Method

  1. Boil 400 ml of water. Dump the bag in and stir once.
  2. Cover, kill the heat, and let it sit five minutes. The apples need that time more than the oats do.
  3. Stir again. If it is still soupy, wait two more minutes rather than adding oats.
  4. Eat from the pot.

The original cooks in jars in a slow cooker overnight, which assumes an outlet and fresh apples. Neither travels. Dried apple rings do the same job here — they rehydrate into soft fruit and pull sweetness back out of the water instead of leaving it behind. Maple sugar replaces maple syrup because granulated sugar mixes into a dry bag and does not leak.

The rest of the change is heat. Rolled oats do not need a long simmer; they need hot water and a lid. Five minutes off the flame gets you the same texture for a fraction of the fuel, and the pecans stay crisp because nothing simmered them soft.

Packing

One bag per breakfast, everything dry together. Chop the apple rings and pecans at home; doing it in camp with a pocket knife is slow and you will lose pieces.

Variations

  • A tablespoon of coconut milk powder in the mix makes it richer without a cooler.
  • Swap the pecans for walnuts, or drop them and add peanut butter powder for more protein per ounce.
  • Cold-soak it overnight instead: same bag, 400 ml cold water, sealed jar. The apples stay chewy.

https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/single-serve-slow-cooker-oatmeal