For whatever reason, I have this burning desire to take otherwise ‘normal’ recipes and turn them into     spin-offs of my favourite desserts.
You might call this weird, but I call it totally normal…as long as I don’t look over my Recipes page all at once and then I start to think an intervention might be necessary.
My theory is that I am making up for lost time. After struggling with an eating disorder for 10 years, it is now time to have fun with food. Long gone are the days of eating the same 3 meals day in and day out and constantly feeling deprived. I like to have fun with food now, but at the same time, I want my food to work for me and leave me feeling my best.
This burning desire to recreate desserts is especially strong at breakfast time; although I will be the first to admit that I don’t care for something too sweet in the morning. Carrot Cake Oatmeal and Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats are on my regular breakfast rotation and I feel like I am beating the system getting to eat such delicious food first thing in the morning. And who doesn’t like to beat the system?
Naturally, the next dessert on my breakfast hit list is Apple Pie Oatmeal. It took me a couple of trials, but I was blown away by the taste of my most recent attempt and I knew I had to share it with you on this blistery Winter morning.
Apple Pie Oatmeal
Yield
2 small bowls
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A warm embrace on a cold winter day, this Apple Pie Oatmeal will remind you of delicious apple pie, but will leave you feeling energized and ready to tackle the day ahead. The leftovers (if there are any!) taste amazing chilled, too.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rolled oats (use certified gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1 large apple, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/3 cups)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups (250 to 310 mL) unsweetened almond milk, as needed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) fresh lemon juice (optional)
Suggested toppings:
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
- Diced apples
- Coconut sugar
- Cinnamon and ground ginger
- Granola
- Coconut Whipped Cream
Directions
- In a medium sized pot over medium heat, whisk together the oats, apple, chia seeds, cinnamon, ginger, salt, milk, maple syrup, and applesauce until combined.
- Cook over medium heat for about 9 to 15 minutes, stirring often. When the mixture thickens and the oats soften, it is ready.
- Stir in the pure vanilla extract and lemon juice (if using).
- Pour into a dish and serve with your desired toppings.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
This recipe really excites me because not only did I go crazy over the taste, but I love recipes that are based around simple, plant-based foods. They leave me feeling energized!
Add the oats, peeled and chopped apple, chia seeds, unsweetened applesauce, Almond milk, cinnamon, ginger, pinch of kosher salt into a pot and whisk well.
Cook for about 8 minutes over medium heat.
The applesauce, chia seeds, and chopped apple really bulk up this oatmeal! It turns into a huge bowl, which is always a good thing.
Sprinkle with chopped walnuts, cinnamon, and a drizzle of maple syrup!
Swirl.
and dig in to one of the most comforting bowls of oatmeal I have ever tried.
I also made someZucchini Bread Oatmeal last week…
Mmm. Zucchini Bread.
It was quite delicious, but the recipe still needs some tweaking before I am ready to share it! I am really excited about this one though.
You might want to check out my Carrot Cake Oatmeal too.
Monday mentionable:
1. Check out my new Favourite Sweets list on the right hand sidebar…I will be updating it on a regular basis with my favourite sweet treats.
Have a great start to your week!
I eat this combo on a more than regular basis – I love the flavors together! I usually do a banana instead of the applesauce though – I might try the applesauce tomorrow!
Well, diced apples are my favorite add-in with oatmeal, so I think that jazzing it up more to be apple pie oatmeal would be right up my alley. I also enjoy having fun with food. Healthy does not equal boring!
I love me some apple pie oatmeal– made some the other day topped with almond butter :) To me, it’s better and WAY healthier than the real thing!
Great view on having fun with food I can relate to, especially after years of fearing it. This oatmeal looks creative an wonderful and something I might try for dinner since my time is so limited on work mornings. Thanks!
Oh the apple pie oatmeal looks delish! And so does the zuke bread spin off!
And this is the motto I live by: “but I love recipes that are based around simple, plant-based foods. They leave me feeling energized!”
YES!! I love your more elaborate recipes and photos; they are food as art. They inspire me. They make me want to be better and do better. They motivate me. But not every day is a day where I can be motivated to greatness :) Some days..
Most days…simple, easy, plant based is where it’s at. After all with a FT Job, FT Family to take care of….it’s the basics that get made and happen for me!
I think it’s just fantastic that you encourage all of us to have FUN with our food. Life’s too short to get all wrapped up in it. But it’s a challenge that many of us are or have faced. It’s just so nice to see so many people that share the same outlook on food, no matter what their history is with it.
I’m really interested in this zucchini bread oatmeal! I went to the dentist this morning, and the hygienist was telling me that the garden she had growing up produced hundreds of zucchinis each year. Of course her mom didn’t want any zucchini to go to waste, so she put zucchini in EVERYTHING! The recipes she was listing off were unreal. haha I never thought zucchini could be enjoyed in so many ways.
This looks aaaaamazing! I’d love to make it for dinner.
99.9% of my breakfasts includes somethin sweet&dessert-like, and include oats :)
Right not I’m into baked vanilla pear oats topped with blueberries+raspberries. with boost. haha.
I absolutely love your take on dessert for breakfast! I made a delicious orange scented barley pudding for breakfast the the other day…! I can’t wait to see your zucchini oats!
I make my own version of apple pie oats a lot and you’re right, it’s SO COMFORTING!
YUM! Looks like I know what i’m having for breakfast tomorrow :)
Yummy! Did you know January is actually National Oatmeal Month. This is a great recipe to celebrate that! I think i’ll make something like this soon since I need to get back on track with eating some more oatmeal before winter is gone.
No I didnt but that is very fun! :)
I had something similar this morning and it was great! I love all your work on your blog.
Hi angela!
Love your blog! I was wondering what type of running shoes you use or have used and like, I’m looking for a good, not too expensive, brand?
Thank you,
Samantha
Oh my – this is BRILLIANT!
MMMMMM apples!
apple pie oatmeal and zucchini bread??????? mmmmmm
Thank you for the amazing inspiration and recipes. I have been making the carrot cake oatmeal at least once a week, and it is great. I have to try this one sometime this week.
Yum! Apple pie oatmeal sound delicious!
I told my husband that you posted this recipe and we are both excited to try it. We LOVE your carrot cake oatmeal!
Sounds so amazingly good! My sweet tooth is always kickin’ so I love the idea of eating these yummy treats for breakfast :)
I absolutely love oatmeal creativity! My favorite is oatmeal with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Sooo decadent!
I don’t really like apples in oatmeal, but my husband just picked up a packet of chai oats with apple and now I must try it.
I really love the zucchini bread oatmeal idea, but the apple pie one is really great too. YUM! :)
I have prepped this oatmeal for tomorrow and I am so excited! Thanks Angela! That bread looks great too. :)
This makes my college dorm room irish oats microwaved with a chopped apple, cinnamon, and almond butter look so much less gourmet… :)
Oh – but STILL oh-so-good! :)
Uh – yum? ;)
May I request Maple & Brown Sugar next possibly? :)
I admire how open you are about your previous eating disorder. Do you mind if I ask how you feel or your family feels about you being so open with it on such a, well, grand scale?! :) And also do you find that blogging or being around food all the time makes it more of an obsession or “fine line”?
I hope you don’t mind these questions! If not, ignore – you just seem very open and honest about them so I thought I’d ask :)
Peace.
I love all the new updates and changes to your blog..beautiful :) I am an apple pie freak, so this sounds heavently!
Looks amazing! I bet this would work great with quinoa :) I love apple pie anything, we made a apple pie parfait over the holidays, but now I want to make this!!!
I have added apples to my oatmeal, but it never looks aas good as yours. I’ll have to follow your recipe to a t. Your desserts always look so good and I love that you use natural whole foods ingredients.
I’ve recently developed an oatmeal obsession – I love the way you plated this!
I want this, all the time!
I make something similar to this in the AM, but w/out chia seeds…i’ll have to add that into the mix next time.
I used to LOVE apple pie as a kid. Now that I have celiac, I will not be eating the real thing anytime soon– but THIS looks like a perfect substitute. Thanks!
All I can say is yes. Yes I will yes. It’s already 1:40pm in Australia, so I think I’ll be making this for dinner. That’s fine, right? :P
Looks yummy Angela.. this may just make an appearance this week at my breakfast table.
Sounds like an awesome delicious oatmeal. I’ve made the apple oatmeal from the book “French Women don’t get Fat” several times and that was great so I’m sure this is too!
Is that a good cookbook?
Its more of a book about eating well, eating healthy, and enjoying your food. There are also a bunch of great recipes in it. Its a great book and I highly suggest it if your interested.
I make an oatmeal kind of like this one, but minus the applesauce and plus a banana. I just can’t bring myself to have a bowl of oats without a banana! :P
I am going to bed right now so that breakfast arrives “sooner.” Cannot WAIT to try this!!
Mmmmmmm. I was going to have a giant green monster for breakfast tomorrow, but now I might have this instead!
Oh my, that looks delicious. I might have to make this tomorrow morning :) Thanks for the recipe!! Love your blog!
That has left me hungry and I JUST finished some oatmeal! Its a shame apple sauce is so hard to get here in the UK, but I might try it just adding another really finely chopped apple and see what happens. Oatmeal is just soooo good! xox
Looks lovely! The apple pie oatmeal looks like it would actually taste remarkably like apple pie. Respect.
So funny – I’m eating my version of apple sauce oatmeal as I read this! But I use homemade applesauce. Raw apples can give me headaches, so probably safer for me this way. :-) (and definitely delicious!)
The carrot cake oatmeal looks AMAZING! I’ve been craving carrots lately like crazy, I may try this for breakfast tomorrow!
I love breakfasts that taste like dessert! This apple pie oatmeal sounds sooo yummy! I don’t have any apples in the house, so I’m going to make carrot cake oatmeal right now instead!
Oh man, oh man, Apple Pie Oats!!!! Ohmygosh!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE THIS!!!!
You know, as silly as it sounds, I haven’t had an apple in weeks — I’ve totally switched to eating clementines (and my usual banana per day). I need more apples in my life!
Hi Angela!
I have made 3 of your recipes in the past 1 1/2 wks. The pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls were sooo delish! i devoured one right out of the oven, made the curried lentils last night, and had pumpkin pie oatmeal this morning!
Thank you for posting such great recipes and having such a strong, positive spirit—it makes my day sometimes!
Yum! Both of those combos look delicious. Can’t wait for the zucchini recipe!
Yum! Both of those combos look delicious. Can’t wait for the zucchini recipe!