Simple Saturday: Fall Harvest Overnight Oats

Note: This photo was taken by my old crummy phone at 6am under a dim lamp. Apologies.

I have a conundrum. I love overnight oats with a passion. I think they’re delicious, easy, and I get excited when I wake up in the morning knowing there’s a container of them in the fridge waiting for me. But whenever I try to describe them to you, I feel like I’m writing an advertisement against them. Cold? Thick? Do people actually want to eat something described that way? It’s  almost enough to turn me off, and I know how delicious they are. So hear my out, because even if I do an abysmal job of describing overnight oats, you should know by the many recipes I’ve already posted with them, that they hold a special place in my heart for a reason. They’re awesome.

This latest “recipe” I’m sharing with you is what I call Fall Harvest Overnight Oats. I know we’re so far away from autumn it isn’t even funny, but I think this is just as comforting and inviting in the winter. You pack freeze-dried apples (regular dried apples or fresh apples would probably work as well, just know the regular dried ones will be chewier and if you want to use fresh you should wait until the morning to add them), pumpkin puree, dried (or fresh!) cranberries, and a bunch of spices into a container with almond milk. I used an empty almond butter container – any nut butter container will do. If you don’t have one available, I’d suggest quickly devouring a container so you do have one adding up to 1 tablespoon of your favorite nut butter to the recipe below and using another lidded container instead.

One Year Ago: Simple Beef Goulash

Two Years Ago: Down Home Chicken & Dumpling Pie

More Overnight Oats: Banana Split Overnight Oats, Chipotle-Sweet Potato Overnight Oats

Fall Harvest Overnight Oats

This easy, prep-ahead breakfast is sweet, spicy, and comforting. If you’d like, heat the ingredients up and pour into the nut butter container to release the lingering nut butter from the sides of the container more easily.

Yield: One Serving

Active Prep Time: 3 minutes (if that)

Inactive Prep Time: 6+ hours (overnight)

(printable recipe)

The Ingredients

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk

¼ cup oats

1 pack freeze-dried apples

¼ cup pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon dried cranberries

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash ground ginger

dash allspice

dash nutmeg

nearly-empty nut butter container (approximately 1 tablespoon left in)

The Method

Combine all of the ingredients in the nut butter container or other container – as long as it can be sealed with a lid, it’s fine. Place in the refrigerator to chill and set up for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Wake up to a thick, creamy, delicious container of overnight oats the next morning!