Apple Pie Overnight Oats | Simple Refrigerator Oatmeal Recipe (2024)

Apple Pie Overnight Oats are a healthy breakfast that requires no cooking, like overnight steel-cut oats, and tastes like apple pie! You can make this fast breakfast sugar-free, gluten-free, and even vegan if desired! Make it the night before so it’s ready to eat on the go. Add a boost of protein with my favorite collagen.

Fall is officially here.

Well, at least Labor Day has passed, school is in full session, apple orchards are beginning to open up their doors and local apples are showing up at farmer’s markets. So in my mind, it is fall.

And I LOVE this season!

I love breaking out the sweaters and boots and placing huge Mum plants out on my porch. I love smelling cinnamon and nutmeg and simmering soups wafting from my kitchen. Fall is simply my favorite time of year.

And to celebrate this most amazing time of the year, I am sharing with you my Apple Pie Overnight Oats. Brace yourselves, this is AMAZING!

Why Make Apple Pie Overnight Oats?

Oatmeal is just about my favorite breakfast. I love to mix and match all varieties. Besides Instant Pot Oatmeal, I adore blueberry oatmeal bake and apple oatmeal bars.

My family starts almost every weekday morning with a variety of oatmeal to give us a healthy, filling start to our days. Even on the weekends, we find ourselves eating oatmeal with my cinnamon oatmeal blender waffles.

And now, you can take your favorite apple pie flavors and turn them into oatmeal with less than 5 minutes of prep. Yep, pretty awesome.

All the flavors you love in apple pie in an easy, healthy, hearty oatmeal form.

But I must say, I am new to this overnight oats trend that has been taking off lately.

I am not sure what took me so long to join the bandwagon – refrigerator oatmeal is made in mason jars, stored in mason jars and served in mason jars. Hello, fewer dishes!!

They also make a perfect breakfast for busy mornings that the kids may have to eat on the go (just grab a mason jar and spoon) and there is no waiting for the oatmeal to cool down. Really, why did I wait so long to try this out?!

Are overnight oats healthy?

Oatmeal is one of the best grains you can eat. There are many benefits to oatmeal including fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals, and is gluten-free.

When you make overnight oats, you are adding milk, endless flavors from fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, spices, and well the possibilities are endless! Each of your additions will carry nutrients to fuel your body. For an added boost of protein, you can even add my favorite collagen!

What kind of oats are best for overnight oatmeal?

You can use almost any type of oats for overnight oatmeal. The least processed the oats, the more nutrients they contain.

• Steel Cut Oats. After harvesting, oat groats are put into a large machine that spins really fast, causing the oat groat to separate from its husk. In the process, many oat groats break into small pieces, creating steel-cut oats. Use this recipe for the best overnight steel cut oats.
• Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. Large oat groats are rolled in between large pins and flattened into rolled oats. The result is considered old fashioned oats. These are my favorite to use for just about everything calling for oatmeal.
• Rolled Oats. Old fashioned oats are steamed and lightly toasted to aid in the cooking process at home. These are called rolled oats.
• Quick Cooking Oats. These are old fashioned oats that were cut into smaller pieces before steaming and toasting. Making them cook even faster at home.
• Instant Oatmeal. These oats are pre-cooked and then dried before packaging. Typically you will find them with added sugars and flavors. Not ideal for the real food family on a budget!

What goes into flavored overnight oats?

Your base ingredients for apple pie overnight oatmeal include:

• Milk. You can use any variety of milk. Non-dairy milk like almond and coconut milk or even oat milk works great too!
• Spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are the classic apple pie spices. (You could mix this up and use homemade pumpkin pie spice!)
• Honey or Maple Syrup. Personally I like maple syrup in my oatmeal. But use whichever you have on hand!
• Applesauce. You can use store-bought unsweetened applesauce or homemade. (Here’s a tutorial on how to make your own and can it.)
• Chia seeds. Chia seeds are a great way to add an extra punch of nutrients to your oatmeal. They also help give a delicious texture to your overnight oats.
• Oats. This is the main ingredient! I like old fashioned oats the best.
• Apples. You’ll top your apple pie oatmeal with fresh apple chunks.

Overnight Oat Variations

The main recipe I’m sharing today is for Apple Pie Oatmeal. But you can easily mix it up and make your own flavor varieties!

Use different spices, add cocoa powder, or use a little vanilla extract. A peanut butter (or nut butter or almond butter) and chocolate chip oatmeal would be amazing!

If you need a little more direction, here are some great overnight oats flavor combinations. Follow the same measurements in my recipe below, swapping out for these flavors instead:

• Peanut Butter and Strawberry. Use peanut butter instead of the spices and strawberry instead of the apples.
• Mango Ginger. Use powdered ginger instead of the spices and mango instead of the apples.
• Carrot Cake. Use the same spices (or maybe a touch more cinnamon!) and shredded carrot instead of the apples.
• Blueberry Cashew. Use cashew butter (or blend cashews in your blender!) and blueberries instead of apples.
• Chocolate Strawberry. Add chocolate chips and strawberries instead of apples. Yum!

How to Make Apple Pie Overnight Oats

My first creation with overnight oats was vegan peanut butter banana pudding oatmeal. CRAZY GOOD. However, with Fall approaching, I was craving apple pie and the warmth from cinnamon and nutmeg. So I decided to try my hand at making Apple Pie Overnight Oats.

So glad that I did – it is CRAZY GOOD!

Trust me, this is a recipe creation you won’t want to miss out on. It is like my Slab Apple Pie in breakfast form – with a completely healthy spin on it!

Here’s your process:

1. Mix your milk, spices, sweetener, applesauce, and chia seeds in mason jars with a good shake. (You can use other jars or bowls if you prefer, just make sure you have a tight-fitting lid if you shake it!)
2. Then add your oats and apple chunks and shake again.
3. Refrigerate overnight.
4. Serve in the morning cold or warmed up.

Crazy easy! I don’t know why I don’t make this more often. This is meal prep at it’s finest.

Frequently asked questions about overnight oats:

Are overnight oats vegan? You can make them vegan by using almond milk or coconut milk instead of cow’s milk.

Do you eat overnight oatmeal hot or cold? The recipe calls for you to eat them cold. But if you’d like to warm them up, feel free! A microwave will be your fastest option. Or you can heat it on the stovetop in a pot of boiling water. Keep the lid on and don’t let the water line go above the top of the jar.

Do overnight oats get soggy? The oats absorb the liquid that you use. Technically speaking, it’s already soggy! That’s what makes the oats soft.

Can you make overnight oats with Greek yogurt? Some recipes I’ve seen use greek yogurt. That would be a good substitution for the applesauce if you make a different flavored variety!

Can you make overnight oats with water? I believe you could, but I don’t think it would taste very good. Using milk gives it the creamy texture you want in oatmeal without having to heat it up.

More Oatmeal Recipes:

• Ultimate Guide to Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
• Cinnamon Oatmeal Blender Waffles
• Slow Cooker Oatmeal
• Oatmeal Apple Breakfast Bars
• Oatmeal Peach Breakfast Crumble
• Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Maple Oatmeal Bread
• Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Apple Pie Overnight Oats

Print Recipe

★★★★3.8 from 4 reviews

Apple Pie Overnight Oats – healthy breakfast that requires no cooking and tastes like apple pie. Make it the night before for a fast breakfast.

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: o mins
• Total Time: 10 minutes + overnight
• Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: mix
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

• 4 cups milk (any variety is fine: coconut, cow, almond, etc)
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2–4 Tbsp maple syrup or honey (I love maple with apple and only used 2 tablespoons)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (make your own)
• 4 Tbsp chia seeds
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 2 sweet apples, diced into 1/2 inch chunks (I used pink lady from a local orchard)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Place 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1/4 cup apple sauce, and 1 tablespoon chia seeds into each mason jar.
2. Secure lid and shake each jar until ingredients well combined.
3. Open each jar and add 1/2 oats and 1/2 chopped apple to each jar. Secure jars closed again and shake well.
4. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Serve in the morning cold or warm up slightly.

Keywords: apple pie overnight oats