With fall around the corner, it’s time for another pumpkin-inspired recipe! This pumpkin spice oatmeal recipe consists of a few simple ingredients and has soon become my favorite fall oatmeal. It’s highly customizable and with its warm spices closely resembles the flavors of pumpkin pie.
Is there anything better than starting the day with a creamy bowl of oatmeal? This pumpkin oatmeal makes a great breakfast on busy weekday mornings but tastes just as delicious on a Sunday brunch!
For more oatmeal recipes see Applesauce Oatmeal, Honey Oatmeal, Overnight Oats with Frozen Fruits or Almond Milk Overnight Oats.
Why you'll love this recipe
- It’s a nutritious breakfast that’ll get you going for a productive day!
- It’s high in fiber, vitamins (vitamin a, vitamin c) and minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium).
- It's great for meal prep and can easily be prepared the evening before
Ingredients & Substitution Notes
- Oats: For best results I recimmend using large-flaked olf fashioned oats. You could also use instant oats but this might change the oats - milk/ water ratio as you might need less liquid.
- Milk of choice: I love using oat milk in all my sweet recipes . However, other types of milk such as almond milk, soy milk or regular whole milk would work too! You could even try light coconut milk.
- Pumpkin Purée: You could either use a store-bought or a homemade version. Similar to the maple syrup, I recommend using pure pumpkin puree without any additives (such as our homemade pumpkin puree).
- Maple Syrup: Adds some nice sweet taste as well as flavor to this recipe. I always use pure maple syrup in all my recipes that call for maple syrup. Some brands for instance add a lot of other ingredients such as preservatives or food coloring agents. I highly recommend checking the label! If you can’t get your hands on maple syrup feel free to replace it with honey, agave syrup or brown sugar.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: obviously needed to give this delicious pumpkin oatmeal its distinct taste. Alternatively, you could use gingerbread spice.
Step-by-step photo instructions
This creamy pumpkin oatmeal is an easy recipe that only requires a few simple steps.
STEP 1: Wet ingredients. Start by placing all wet ingredients except for the milk (water, maple syrup, pumpkin puree) into a medium-sized pot.
Stir with a whisk until well combined.
STEP 2: Add dry ingredients. Add oats, pumpkin pie spice and a pinch of salt. Give it a good stir again and let simmer for about 7 minutes until the oats have absorbed most of the liquid.
Stir occasionally.
STEP 3: Add milk. Now it’s time to add the milk. Adding the milk later on in the process will prevent the oatmeal from becoming too goopy. Let simmer for another 2 minutes.
Taste and adjust sweetness. I usually don’t add too much maple syrup at that point because I like adding some more just before serving. Serve with toppings of choice (see suggestions below).
Top Tips
- Non-sticky oatmeal: Let the oats simmer in water first and add the milk towards the end of the cooking process. That way you will prevent a sticky, goopy oatmeal.
- Toppings: The toppings are at least equally important than the oatmeal itself. Don't skip them!
Topping Ideas
- Fresh Fruits: Choose any fruit you like- typical fall fruits like pears, pomegranate or fresh figs would taste great!
- Dried Fruits: Try adding some dried fruit pieces such as apricots, prunes or cranberries and see how you like it!
- Nut Butter:- one of my all-time favorite toppings that astes especially good on oatmeal. Peanut butter or homemade almond butter both work.
- (Homemade) Granola: adds some additional texture and crunchiness to this recipe which is amazing. Try our applesauce granola for a homemade version.
- Nuts and Seeds: Nuts will add some crunchiness as well as healthy fats to this recipe! The same is true for seeds, try chia seeds or hemp seeds!
- Chocolate Chips: Adding a couple of chocolate chips definitely also tastes amazing!
- More Maple Syrup: I love drizzling my oatmeal with some additional maple syrup just before serving!
Variations
- Gluten-free: Choose certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free pumpkin oatmeal.
- Dairy-free: Use a dairy-free milk of choice. We love oat milk!
- Vegan: When using dairy-free milk, this recipe will be vegan.
- Sugar-free: This oatmeal recipes is refined sugar-free and uses maple syrup as a sweetener. For a completely sugar-free oatmeal, just a sugar-free sweetener of choice such as stevia or unsweetened applesauce or mashed bananas.
Meal prep options
One of my favorite things about this breakfast is that you can make it the evening before! That way you’ll have a delicious breakfast on busy mornings! Simply store in an airtight container in the fridge.
The only thing to keep in mind here is that the oats might soak up even more liquid overnight. This means you will probably need to add an additional splash of milk in the morning before enjoying it.
Storage
- To store: Store in an airtight container or a mason jar with a lid on for up to 2 days.
- To reheat: Add a splash of milk or water and reheat on very low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave using a microwave-friendly container.
FAQs
Oats are technically gluten-free, however, they can be contaminated with gluten since they are often processed in factories that also process other grains. This is why they aren’t labeled “gluten-free”. While some people suffering from celiac disease can eat pure oats without having digestive issues, others still can’t. The reason for this could be that oats contain avenin- a protein similar to gluten. You might need to test this for yourself if you’re suffering from celiac disease.
I find that cooking your oats in a mix of water AND milk gives them this super sticky texture. I prefer letting them simmer in water first and adding the milk towards the end of the cooking process.
Using a pressure cooker to me doesn’t seem necessary as the oats won’t need a whole lot of high pressure and heat to absorb the liquid.
Adding salt helps enhance the flavors even more. Make sure to only use a tiny pinch.
More fall recipes
Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1½ cups water
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree *I recommend this homemade version
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup *or more if you prefer it sweeter
- pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon gingerbread spice or pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ cup large flaked oats
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract *optional
Instructions
- Add water, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, salt and pumpkin spice to a medium sized saucepan and give it a good stir.
- Add oats let simmer for a about 7 minutes until oats have absorbed most of the liquid.
- Now add your milk and let simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Taste and adjust sweetness.
- Turn off the heat and let cool for another 5 minutes (oats will absorb even more liquid and thicken).
- Serve with toppings of choice (nut butter, nuts, granola...).
Video
Notes
- Texture: The texture of this oatmeal is quite runny, if you prefer a thicker consistency, start with only 1 cup of water and ⅓ cup of milk instead.
- Pumpkin Puree: You could use canned pumpkin but I recommend trying this Homemade Pumpkin Puree.
- Toppings: I highly recommend adding toppings such as slice of fresh fruit, dried fruits this Homemade Almond Butter, store-bought or homemade granola (try this Apple Cinnamon Granola) or other nuts and seeds.
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