Make Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats, a healthy breakfast you can make ahead of time with all the flavors of fall and apple pie.
Overnight oats, oh how I love you! It’s basically a porridge you can make in advance.
Porridge used to gross me out, even my now beloved oatmeal and grits. In fact, it’s only been in the last several years that I stopped turning my nose up at it.
Now I am finding something so hearty and nice about a warm bowl of porridge, like this Caramel Delight Oatmeal, which tastes like a Girl Scout Cookie.
I also adore this Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal which tastes like a Pumpkin Spice Latte.
I like to fix oatmeal for myself when I am craving a hot breakfast. It can take time, though, to cook it on the stove and I tend to like faster options in the mornings.
What is porridge?
Before you get deterred by the word ‘porridge,’ I’d like you to forget everything you think you know about the stuff. Yes, in America, we don’t really call anything porridge outside of Goldilocks’s first act of thievery.
Porridge, though, is a category of food we’re already familiar with, similar to oatmeal but made with other types of grains.
Porridge is made from ground grains boiled in milk, water or both and then flavored if desired. It can also be made from grains like wheat, corn, rice or quinoa, and it can be fixed savory or sweet.
Americans eat grits, oatmeal and cream of wheat, which are all types of porridge. On my last visit to South Africa, I discovered a whole new spectrum of breakfast porridge, from maize to malted sorghum.
Some eat it plain, others eat it with melted butter on top and others stir in sugar, honey and fruit for flavor.
I like to fix oatmeal for myself when I am craving a hot breakfast. It can take time, though, to cook it on the stove and I tend to like faster options in the mornings.
But then a few years ago, I discovered overnight oats.
Apple cinnamon overnight oats recipe
I love making a few batches before a busy week. These Peanut Butter Overnight Oats are some of my absolute favorites for breakfast.
Almond Cinnamon Overnight Oats taste like eating apple pie or apple strudel for breakfast.
How to make apple cinnamon overnight oats
Here’s how to make this easy recipe:
- Prepare the dry ingredients in jars in advance.
- Add the wet ingredients the night before you plan to eat it. You can add the apples now or wait until morning, but keep in mind they might brown.
- Let it sit in the fridge until morning.
- You can eat them cold, but if you prefer it hot, you can warm it in the microwave.
This recipe serves one, so multiply as needed. You can make a big batch and serve it all to your household, or you can make a couple of individual servings to grab and go.
Ingredients
For this healthy recipe, I filled mason jars halfway with oats. I stirred in brown sugar, chia seeds, vanilla extract and cinnamon and topped it with a dollop of smooth almond butter.
Then, I filled the jar with almond milk, alternating adding more milk and stirring until the consistency was runny. You can use any kind of dairy or non-dairy milk.
The cereal will absorb the milk while it rests. Set the jars in the fridge overnight and by morning you’ll have a perfectly seasoned sweet porridge that only needs a bit of heating up in the microwave.
Before serving, You can top it with apples, cinnamon, more brown sugar and chia seeds, or whatever oatmeal toppings you desire.
As Goldilocks would say: This porridge is just right. And she can take it to-go.
If you like easy breakfast recipes, try this Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie or this Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Smoothie.
Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats
ingredients
- ½ cup oats
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 apple diced into 1/2-inch pieces
instructions
- Fill a mason jar halfway with hot cereal. Stir in chia seeds, brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Spoon almond butter and vanilla on top. Fill to the top with almond milk. Stir gently. Add more almond milk until jar is full and mixture is soupy and well combined. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Remove lid and stir in 1-2 tablespoons almond milk. Add freshly cut apple and garnish with more brown sugar and chia seeds.
- If desired, microwave in 20-second intervals until heated through, stirring in between.
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Meghan @ Cake 'n Knife says
I used to be grossed out by anything porridge-related too! Now I am feeling a little more open to it after recently embracing grits (shameful that it took me over 20 years to try them…)! Totally making this over the weekend when I am freezing my butt off in the mountains LOL.
Susannah says
Oh yes, these would be delicious warm too! You don’t have to soak them overnight unless you want them ready the next morning. Porridges have opened a lot of breakfast doors for me — but they pretty much have to be sweetened or otherwise flavored for me to enjoy them.