This is what I’ve been eating for breakfast every morning for the past month. It’s total comfort food and makes me feel amazing, even after a night of little sleep. I don’t know about you, but when I find something that I love, I have to have it every. single. day. until I’m sick of it and then I’m onto the next thing for a while. It’s a good thing I have this blog or I’d probably eat the same 3 meals on rotation! This wouldn’t surprise my mom. As a child, I used to only want to wear one outfit over and over. My poor mom had the challenging task to convince me to put on a different outfit before school each day. I remember one of those outfits fondly – a neon pink and green spandex short and tank outfit. Probably with a snap bracelet. Who wouldn’t want to wear that every day? I knew what I was doing back in the 80’s, let me tell you!
Now that I have a newborn, I’ve found myself with short “window of opportunities” for personal tasks (shower! eat! get crap done!). I have to move more efficiently then ever and I’m doing most things in half the time. This probably explains why I left the house wearing 1 earring the other day (“new fashion trend?” is what the cashier asked me). After I feed Adriana in the morning, I’m ready to chew my own arm off (unless I have some of my favourite breakfast cookies on hand!). So, rather than raiding the fridge and digging into my dark chocolate macaroon torte at 8am (yup, that happened), I came up with this hot oatmeal that only requires a quick zap of heat. It’s virtually instant! And I’m not talking about those powdery instant oatmeal packets I used to eat in highschool and university. This is real deal oatmeal at a fraction of the time, but you’d never know it. And it’s been working so well for my new routine that I knew I had to share it, as simple as it is. Everyone can appreciate an almost-instant breakfast, right?
The magic of this breakfast starts with making vegan overnight oats before bed. I live off of vegan overnight oats (and smoothies) all summer long, but it’s cold and snowy outside and I want something piping hot! My solution? I started making my vegan overnight oats before bed as usual, but now in the morning I throw the soaked oat mixture into a pot and heat it up for a couple minutes. That’s all it takes! Since we’re already soaking the oats and chia seeds overnight, the work is done for you as you sleep. Now all we have to do is heat it up for a minute or two. Then I scoop it into a bowl and throw on some toppings. In 5 minutes flat, I have an incredibly satisfying, nourishing bowl of oatmeal ready to start my day. It looks like a fancy bowl of oatmeal fit for a crunchy breakfast cafe. And that makes me very happy.
My favourite toppings are…
soaked raw almonds
pepita seeds (you can soak those too)
dried cranberries or dried cherries
raw or toasted almond butter (just a drizzle so it doesn’t overpower)
cinnamon + ground ginger + allspice (lots of cinnamon and just a tiny sprinkle of the last two – try it!!)
toasted flaked coconut
Keep these toppings close by so you can just throw them on like nobody’s biz-nas. Oh and sometimes I will put a pat of coconut oil or vegan butter on top when I want to crank up the comfort another level. This is a breakfast that makes those wintry cold days just a bit more bearable.
Serve with tea or coffee and get COZY!
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5-Minute Oatmeal Power Bowl
Yield
1 bowl
Soak time
overnight
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
My favourite bowl of hot oatmeal, ready in less than 5 minutes! Soaking the oatmeal mixture overnight cuts down the cook time the morning of—all you have to do is heat it on the stove for a minute or two. Don't forget to mix the ingredients the night before. For a fall twist, add a pinch of cinnamon, ground ginger, and allspice on top of each bowl. Total fall comfort food!
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana, mashed (the riper/spottier the better)
- 2 heaping tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/3 cup rolled oats (use certified gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2/3 cup (160 mL) almond milk
- 1/3 cup (90 mL) water
- 1 tablespoon ground flax (optional, see note)
For Garnish:
- Soaked almonds
- Pepita seeds
- Hemp hearts
- Cinnamon
- Toasted coconut
- Nut butter
- Spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice)
Directions
- The night before: Grab a medium bowl and mash the banana until smooth. Now stir in the chia, oats, cinnamon, milk, and water until combined. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning: Scoop the oat mixture into a medium pot. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat immediately to medium-low, and stir frequently until heated throughout and thickened. At the end of cooking, stir in flax, if using.
- Pour oats into bowl. Garnish with your desired toppings. Get cozy!
Tip:
- The ground flax is optional because it creates a bit of a strange texture (almost like a flax egg) in this oatmeal. I don't mind it, but some people might. If you think you will, just leave it out or sprinkle some ground flax on top instead.
- I love topping my oats with spices—a pinch of cinnamon, ground ginger, and allspice create my perfectly spiced bowl.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Happy breakfast-ing this fall!
You guys are awesome! I got word that The Oh She Glows Cookbook has made it into the FINAL round of voting in Good Reads Choice Awards! I would love your support (last time I have to ask, thank goodness!!). Thanks for helping us get this far. You can vote here.
YUUUMM! I’ve been ALL about the oats!!!
This looks good – will have to try this tomorrow for breakfast!
That looks amazing. I will have to try it- I’ve been wanting oatmeal lately, but never feel like taking the time to do it right in the morning. Not that it even takes that long! Soaking the oats overnight sounds like a great idea.
Those soaked almonds look amazing! I’ve been making hazelnut milk lately, and the soaked hazelnuts are incredible.
Tis the season for oatmeal, that’s for sure! I haven’t had any yet– WHO AM I!?
Yummy!! My food philosophy, if it’s not broken don’t fix it! A.k.a. If it’s nutrient dense, why not eat the same thing until you’re sick of it?? Lol I totally do that with oatmeal. So warm and soothing for the belly! :)
Quite the power nut trail mix blend! I can see why you call it the power oatmeal. :)
So much texture and color to it! Great idea for enjoying oatmeal on a busy day. We’re DEFINITELY in oatmeal-for-breakfast season :)
This looks awesome! I don’t really enjoy oatmeal but I am trying to change my tastes and try different ways of eating it. I was wondering where you get your pepita seeds from (I’ve never had those before) and your dried cranberries. I love cranberries but all the dried ones I’ve found have added sugar :/
I just buy them at bulk at the grocery store :)
I am all about the hot brekkies right now, but if you were to pass me a fork for that dark chocolate macaroon torte, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down!! I love the sounds of this recipe. All those toppings are making me seriously crave oats!
Yumm this will be my breakfast tomorrow with a cup of indulge tea!
So excited to receive my order today :))
I just tried the confort one and it taste sooo good!
I love porridge and new ways to make it more interesting :)
This looks absolutely delicious! I am always looking for quick breakfast ideas on-the-go, thanks!
power bowl is definitely what i would call this! so delicious, beautiful and healthy!
Congrats on making it to the final round! Just voted. :) My friend and I made the chocolate pudding cake from your book last night – it was phenomenal!
I could have written every single word of this post (except, of course, for the spandex outfit!). It is just totally me! And I happen to eat this oatmeal (same recipe, same toppings) from the day the cold season arrived here in Paris, France (2 or 3 weeks ago, I would say). I love it so much (actually it is the reason why I get up every morning). So delicious, so good for me. It just makes the fall more bearable. Everyone should try it!
Love this recipe! I just love oats. Great idea about soaking the almonds to eat them. I learn so much from you!! By the way, I didn’t have cranberries, but had left over fresh cranberry relish from another recipe, it fit perfectly into this one. It adds a hint of orange!!
that sounds amazing!
Just had oatmeal for breakfast! Such a great way to start the day off!
I love overnight oats AND oatmeal.. but face the exact same issues with each! I usually add chia instead of flax to my overnight oats so they get that more pudding-ish texture :)
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
I never had oatmeal before I knew your blog. Its not that common in Germany. But i fell in love your carrot cake oatmeal and I’m trying to change it up every now and then. I make a big portion at once and then reheat it every morning or eat it cold. Amazing!
When i didn’t prepare anything i skip the soaking part and just mix the oats with water, a minute in the microwave and they are ready. I mix them with fresh fruits and everything else I can find.
Thanks for giving me my new workday breakfast! (I just need my buns and rye-bread on the weekends, thats my German heritage ;) )
I made this for my kiddos this morning. I didn’t have bananas so I used applesauce instead and followed the rest of recipe as written. Turned out amazingly!