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Apple Pie Oatmeal

Talk about breakfast of champions! In a perfect world, we would all eat pie for breakfast… and it would be healthy for us. Well, this Apple Pie Oatmeal is about as close as we’re going to get. It starts with simple oatmeal that is kicked up to taste like pie crust, then topped with caramelized cinnamon apples.

AppleOatmeal2

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1 cup water (approx.)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or macadamias)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • Dash Stevia or other sweetener
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 Granny Smith apple
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Step One – The Oatmeal ‘Crust’

Combine all ingredients from the first list (oats through nutmeg) into a saucepan and begin cooking over medium heat. Adjust the amount of water until the oatmeal has the consistency you want. Stir occasionally. Adding ingredients like the nuts, vanilla, etc. gives the plain oatmeal a more complex taste that resembles a pie crust.

Step Two – The Apple ‘Filling’

Caramelize the apples. The secret here is to cut the apple into very thin slices. By thin, I don’t mean 8 slices per apple, I mean 20 or more. Take your time and make sure the apple is the only thing getting cut. 🙂

Once the apples are sliced, lay them in a single layer in a wide pan with the maple syrup, lemon juice, and a little water. Let cook over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes without flipping or disturbing them. Once they’re getting browned, sprinkle a little cinnamon and flip. Cook for another 5 minutes until both sides are beautifully browned and delicious.

TIP: Try not to eat all of the apples straight out of the pan or you won’t have any left for the oatmeal.

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Split the oatmeal between two bowls and top each with the apple ‘filling’ and what do you have? Healthy pie for breakfast. Amazing.

For a little extra awesome…

Take a can of full-fat coconut milk and add 1-2 tablespoons to the oatmeal as it’s cooking. This will give it a richer, thicker taste. Then, whip some of the remaining coconut into a whipped cream and top your finished oatmeal pie with a dollop.

AppleOatmeal

8 Comments

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  1. This. Is. Amazing. Seriously – I’m going to make this for tomorrow! But, I think I’ll prep it ahead of time, so I can eat it cold in the morning. My family usually eats apple pie from the fridge, or room temp, so this is perfect!!! Hello pie for breakfast 😀

    • Thanks, Christina! The funny thing is, I created this recipe after making apple crepes. I had these leftover cinnamon apples in the fridge and I tasted one while making oatmeal the next morning and… *lightbulb* 🙂 So I think that might work well.

  2. This seems like a lot of work & extra ingredients for something that resembles the flavor of apple pie, since the best pie recipe is really just sweetened & cinnamon-ed. 😉 The amounts of nutmeg, lemon, & vanilla here are enough for a whole pie.
    Why not just caramelize some diced apples in a teaspoon of coconut oil, toss them into some steel-cut oats that have been cooked in water with a little maple syrup & stir in a generous sprinkle of cinnamon?
    I’m allergic to nuts but I’d think that sautéing them with the apples would add enough flavor, crunch, & protein/fat.
    This certainly looks like a delicious dessert, but I’d rather use more flavorful oats & keep it healthier (and easier on a busy morning) with fewer ingredients & simpler process.

    • “I’d rather use more flavorful oats & keep it healthier with fewer ingredients & simpler process.” — Then do that.

  3. Come to think of it, oats don’t come off their stems steamed, rolled, & flaked; how is this an unprocessed, natural ingredient?
    I’ve just started reading the manifesto & this is absolutely the way we try to always eat- though we do make our own whole-grain bread & pasta so that we didn’t have to give those things up, but rolled oats just don’t seem to fit in here! Keep the fiber, go with steel cut! 🙂

    • There’s no nutritional difference between steel cut and rolled oats. It’s the same product, but one is round and the other is flat. If you prefer steel-cut, then use those, I don’t. And I don’t like waiting 30 minutes vs. 5 minutes for oatmeal, but feel free to cook however makes you happiest.

      The One Ingredient Diet is not extreme. I’m not asking you to walk into an oat field and start grazing on husks. Rolled oats have one ingredient in its natural form. Don’t make it complicated.

      • With all due respect because I think you have some excellent advice in your blog, they”re not the same product. Rolled oats are steamed, flattened, and then slightly toasted. While all the parts may remain in the final product, rolled oats are for all intents & purposes, semi-digested by the advance cooking process.
        Minute Rice makes an “instant” brown rice but I’d bet you don’t advocate eating it(though I could be wrong here because it may indeed only have one ingredient- never checked- & if so I apologize)
        Incidentally, all you need to do to cook steel-cut oats is toss them in boiling water, shut it off & leave it on the stove overnight then reheat briefly.
        But I truly didn’t come here to argue nutrition, I came to get ideas for “real” food cooking, which you do have. And you’re right, oats are indeed the only ingredient!
        And heck, a little extra nutmeg & lemon juice in my breakfast cereal is undoubtedly a good idea anyway… I’ll put it in there next time I do apple oats. 😉
        So I’ll agree to disagree on the oats & shut up & read more recipes! Thanks. 🙂

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