The weather is starting to warm up outside, so that means it’s officially overnight oats season in my house! When the weather gets hot, I switch from big bowls of warm oatmeal to chilled jars of overnight oats in the morning. Overnight oats are fast and easy to make and the flavor possibilities are endless. This week I made these Apple Pie Overnight Oats that have no added sugar, yet somehow, magically taste just like an apple pie. Yes, please!
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What are Overnight Oats?
If you’re looking for a super simple breakfast meal prep to make mornings fast and easy, overnight oats are it. They’re basically just oats that have been softened by soaking in a liquid for hours, rather than being briefly boiled in the liquid. And when you add all sorts of fun extra ingredients, they will absorb all those flavors as they soak, too! Great, right? Well, it’s even better when they’re apple pie flavored and don’t need any extra sugar to be scrumptious. #winning
Do You Eat Overnight Oats Hot or Cold?
You can eat overnight oats hot or cold. In the summer I love overnight oats cold, but if you prefer a hot breakfast, simply microwave the oats for 60-90 seconds until heated through. They’re great either way!
What Kind of Oats Should I Use?
Old-fashioned rolled oats are my favorite for overnight oats because they soften overnight, but maintain a good deal of texture. Quick or instant oats will soften quickly as well, but they have a lot less texture and will give a more mushy result. While you can do a variation of overnight oats with steel-cut oats, they require a more liquid and a longer soaking time, so they can not simply be swapped into the recipe below.
What Kind of Containers Should I Use?
You can use any type of resealable container for overnight oats. the blue-top Ziploc containers are great if you’re on a tight budget, but mason jars or glass meal prep containers also work great. For the recipe below you’ll want a container that holds 1-1.5 cups. I used 8oz. jars.
What Kind of Dried Fruit to Add
You have a few options here, which will allow you to use the ingredient that is most affordable or accessible to you. I used dried cranberries today because that’s what I had on hand, but you can also use raisins, dried currants, or chopped dried dates.
Apple Pie Overnight Oats
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.24)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts ($0.60)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries ($0.44)
- 1 1/3 cups unsweetened applesauce ($0.62)
- 1 1/3 cups milk ($0.27)
Instructions
- Add ⅓ cup oats each to four resealable containers. Also add ⅛ tsp cinnamon, a pinch of ginger, and a pinch of cloves to each container.
- Add 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts and 1 Tbsp dried cranberries to each container.
- Finally, add ⅓ cup applesauce and ⅓ cup milk to each container.
- Close the containers and refrigerate overnight or up to four days. Stir the contents of the container before eating.
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How to Make Apple Pie Overnight Oats – Step by Step Photos
Add ⅓ cup old-fashioned rolled oats to each container. Also, add ⅛ tsp cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger and ground cloves to each jar.
Next, add 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts and 1 Tbsp dried cranberries to each jar.
Finally, add ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce and ⅓ cup milk to each jar.
You can either stir each jar before soaking, or just add the lid and soak as-is, then stir just before eating. Either way, let your oats soak overnight (8 hours) or up to four days. Give them a good stir just before eating, and enjoy.
You can add more toppings to your overnight oats, like fresh apples, after soaking, if desired.
I saw this on the front page and thought, “wasn’t this just posted? Why is Beth updating it so soon?” Then I saw the original date was June 2016…almost six years. Can’t believe how fast time flies, and how long I’ve been checking budget bytes on a daily basis.
Haha! 2016 DOES feel like it was just yesterday! Thank you for sticking around for so long! :)
I’ve been making this fairly regularly for the past 3 years and just made a batch for this week. It’s a great fast breakfast when the morning gets away for me and I have to run out the door. I like adding dried cherries to this. I’ve not tried it warm, I’ll have to give it a go tomorrow.
This is very nice eaten warm. (I put mine in the microwave for about a minute.) I added a very tiny pinch of salt when assembling. Next time, I’ll add dehydrated apples as one commenter suggested.
Agreed! A pinch of salt is necessary for me in my oatmeal, even if it’s a sweet oatmeal.
What a great make ahead breakfast! I used golden raisins. This will go into our regular rotation.
This is a delightful breakfast! Refreshingly cool and sweet. I actually had to double check my applesauce to confirm it was unsweetened!
Really like this with one tiny tweak, which is adding a pinch of salt just to wake up the flavors. Without the salt, I found it quite bland, but with its scrumptious.
Could you use the quick oats instead of steel cut? Cheers!
I didn’t use steel cut, I used old-fashioned rolled oats, which are just a little thicker than quick oats. You can definitely use quick oats in their place. :)
this looks great!! I just made a bunch. can uneaten portions be frozen if there’s enough head space in the jar?
I haven’t tried that but yes if you leave space you could certainly try it out!
These overnight oats are my favorite. I had plain yogurt that I wanted to use up so I used half milk and half yogurt and it turned out great!
Could you use yogurt instead of milk for the liquid?
Yes, although you may need to add a bit more just to make sure there’s enough moisture to soften the oats.
Thank you for such a delicious gluten free breakfast! I used some fresh cherries I had in the fridge and the whole dish tasted like an apple-cherry cobbler! I’m going to try it again tomorrow with some almond milk to keep it clean :)
Works well with dried cherries
This is a really nice, tasty way to start the morning. However, you might want to double check your instructions on the app. The way it’s phrased there it looks like you’re meant to add all the ingredients into one mason jar, instead of dividing them between the four. (^_-)
Thanks for catching that!
This recipe is simply the best thing to start your morning with, and it’s such a good time saver! I have to say, for anyone who can’t find, or don’t want to buy ground ginger and cloves, 1/2 a teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice from Trader Joe’s is good substitute, and if you can’t get currants, dried cranberries seem like a great substitute!
Love this recipe! Easy to put together and delicious.