If you love anything pumpkin spiced, then you will LOVE this. All the flavour of pumpkin pie in a healthy, fast and easy breakfast. These Pumpkin Overnight Oats are made the night before, so they are perfect for a busy morning getting the kids ready for school or can be eaten on the commute to work. However and whenever you eat them, they are our little way of saying hello to our favourite season.
As soon as the leaves start falling, we can start getting excited about all things pumpkin, right? We always make sure that we have a few cans of pumpkin puree in the cupboard to make pumpkin spiced desserts or breakfasts, as they are just super cosy and comforting.
Overnight oats are our favourite breakfast when life gets a bit busy, as what's better than waking up to breakfast already made and waiting for you in the fridge? You just need 5 minutes (if that) in the evening to prepare these.
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What are overnight oats?
If you have never heard of overnight oats before, then you are in for a treat. They are oats that are soaked in milk overnight so they get super soft, with some of your favourite ingredients. A really easy sweet breakfast that is easily adaptable. Really good for batch making too.
Why should you try it?
- Just 260 calories a serving
- Can be made the night before in less than 5 minutes
- Can be vegan
- Lots of flavour options
What you will need
- Oats - Rolled oats (old fashioned) are best.
- Pumpkin - We used canned pumpkin puree, but fresh will work too. See below for how to use a fresh pumpkin.
- Yogurt - A good thick yogurt is best, like Greek yogurt.
- Milk - We used whole milk, but semi-skimmed (2%) will also work, as will non-dairy such as almond, cashew or tiger nut.
- Maple syrup - Adds some nice sweetness. Honey can be used too.
- Spices - We wanted that lovely, warming spiced pumpkin taste, so we added cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. See below for more spice options.
Step by step
One: Put all of the ingredients in to a big bowl.
Two: Mix well.
Three: Divide between individual bowls or jars and put in the fridge overnight (or at least for 4 hours).
Four: Sprinkle with chopped pecans before serving.
Canned or fresh pumpkin?
This breakfast is all about making your life a little bit easier, so we used canned pumpkin puree. You could make your own pumpkin puree by roasting a halved pumpkin, and then scooping out the flesh and blending it once it is cooled.
Want to try some other pumpkin recipes? How about these: Healthy Pumpkin Spiced Latte, Pumpkin Chilli, Pumpkin Smoothie, Creamy Pumpkin Soup, or Pumpkin Porridge.
How to make pumpkin puree
You can save yourself some time by using canned pumpkin puree, however if you want to make your own then it isn't that difficult. You could bake it in the oven, or boil it in a pan, which is what we do as it's much quicker.
- Firstly, cut the pumpkin in half and remove all the seeds, pulp and skin. Don't throw the seeds away, as you can save them to roast for snacks.
- Cube the pumpkin flesh into large pieces.
- Put the pumpkin cubes in a large saucepan full of water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
- Drain and leave it to cool down completely before putting it in a blender and blending until smooth.
You can store your pumpkin puree in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
How to sweeten
We sweetened ours with maple syrup, however you could use honey or any other liquid sweetener. This recipe isn't overly sweet, as we didn't want to maple syrup to overpower the pumpkin, so if you like super sweet oats, then feel free to use more.
Do I need the spices?
You can leave them all out completely if you like, or just leave out one or two. We used the spice mix of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg as the lovely, warming flavour really compliments the pumpkin and gives that great autumnal flavour. You can of course use other spices such as cardamom, cloves or allspice.
Get creative and come up with your own spice blend.
Can you heat them?
This are the perfect autumn morning meal, however on those cold autumn mornings you will probably want something a big more warming. So, why not heat up these overnight oats!
You can just put them in the microwave for 2 minutes or warm them on the hob.
FAQs
We recommend using rolled oats (also called old-fashioned oats) rather than quick cook oats. This is because rolled oats are much thicker, compared to quick cook which are designed to cook quickly, and therefore get quite mushy when used for overnight oats. Steel cut oats are too thick and don't work in this either.
We keep ours in jars or Tupperware containers, however a glass or mug will word too. The great thing about overnight oats is that they keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. So, you can make a big batch of these for breakfasts for the week. Just make sure that you store them in an airtight container.
Extra tips
- Give these oats a protein boost by adding a couple of tablespoon of chia seeds when mixing everything together.
- Take these oats to another level by adding some dark chocolate chips just before serving.
- This isn't overly sweet, so if you like really sweet breakfasts, add some extra maple syrup.
- Make this vegan by using coconut yogurt and almond/oat/cashew milk.
More oat recipes
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Recipe
Pumpkin Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 60 g rolled oats
- 160 ml whole milk
- 4 tablespoon yogurt
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 4 tablespoon pumpkin puree
- 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon ground ginger
- 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
- Divide between individual jars/bowls and put in the fridge overnight.
Notes
- Give these oats a protein boost by adding a couple of tablespoon of chia seeds when mixing everything together.
- Take these oats to another level by adding some dark chocolate chips just before serving.
- This isn't overly sweet, so if you like really sweet breakfasts, add some extra maple syrup.
- Make this vegan by using coconut yogurt and almond/oat/cashew milk.
Keli Rugenstein
How much is a portion?
Dannii
The recipe card says that the whole thing serves 2, so half is one portion. You can change the serving number in the recipe card and that will change the quantities.
Lauren Vavala @ DeliciousLittleBites
I have some extra pumpkin puree in the freezer and now I know exactly what I'm going to do with it! These oats are perfect for cool fall mornings!
Glynis
These oats are to die for! Only got a chance to try them last night as I had trouble getting hold of tinned pumpkin purée. Eventually found them in the baking aisle at Waitrose. As it's only me that eats these I used a piping bag to fill a couple of icing trays with the rest. Looking forward to making them again tonight
Charlie Mace
Oooh I'm obsessed with all things pumpkin right now and these look and sound amazing Dannii. Overnight oats are one of my go-to favourite recipes for the whole family - they make for such speedy (but tasty) mornings don't they? I love all the spices you've got in there - couldn't get more Autumnal that that! Charlie x
Amy Deverson
OMG these look amazing... I am definitely trying these! Thanks for the recipe x
danasia fantastic
I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin flavor, but these overnight oats look incredible!
Katrina
You lost me at pumpkin this looks like a fab breakfast to follow a lovely pumpkin spiced latte yummm
Gareth Torrance
I've never seen a baby cow being born either... Even when we went to a farm on a school trip specifically for it, haha.
Sarah
I seriously woke up this morning craving a pumpkin-filled breakfast...if only I'd found this recipe earlier! ...tomorrow!!
lisa prince
oh this sounds very interesting i lvoe this time of year when the pumpkins come to food
jane @ littlesugarsnaps
Love the recipe but this is great information that helps de-mystify organic produce for the average person. How amazing to see such a newborn calf - one of my children is cow obsessed - it would have been her perfect day out.