Easy Pumpkin Overnight Oats

In the fall, many of our cravings change to comfort foods and warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. In other words, pumpkin pie spice. These oats don’t rely on pumpkin pie spice alone for their fall yumminess. They use real pumpkin too!

Pumpkin Overnight Oats Are Fully Customizable!

You can customize this recipe to your heart’s content! I love pumpkin and maple syrup, so I add both to my oats. But you can swap out those ingredients for any flavors you love.

The Basics of Overnight Oats

Once you learn the basics, you can make your overnight oats any way you like. Here are the basic ingredients for overnight oats include:

• oats (I prefer old-fashioned rolled oats, but steel cut and quick oats also work)
• chia seeds (you can leave these out if you don’t like or can’t eat them)
• milk (any kind of milk you like will do–I generally use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• a sweetener (I prefer maple syrup, but honey, agave nectar, liquid stevia, and brown sugar, all work. Use what you like)
• a little vanilla (you can skip this if you really want to, but I think it works to bring the flavors together)
• a pinch of salt (you can also omit this if you want to, but since I’m not using butter, the salt helps balance the flavors).

Making Classic Pumpkin Overnight Oats

You could just add the basic ingredients together in a jar, put the lid on it and shake. Stick them in the fridge for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) and voila! Basic overnight oats!

But as the name of this recipe implies, these are pumpkin overnight oats, so I’ve added two tablespoons of canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) and a good shake of pumpkin pie spice. You can use home-cooked pumpkin puree if you prefer. Acorn squash or butternut squash that’s been cooked and pureed would also work if you like those flavors.

Bringing Your Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats Together

Hint: Put the pumpkin puree into the cup you will use to measure the milk. Stir the pumpkin pie spice into your pumpkin. Then add enough milk until the combined amount is 2/3 cup. (This ensures you don’t have too much liquid for your oats. You’d do the same thing if you’re adding yogurt. Measure out the yogurt first, then add just enough milk to have 2/3 cup.)

Next, add the vanilla to the milk and pumpkin, and stir to combine. That way your wet ingredients will be in the measuring cup and your dry ingredients will be in your jar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients slowly, so you don’t overfill the jar. If you have leftover pumpkin spiced milk, just pour it into your coffee!

I find a 10-ounce jelly jar works perfectly for this recipe. But I have used a half-pint (8 oz) Mason jar, although you will need to cut back on the milk if you do.

Once you’ve added everything to the jar, put the lid on it, making sure it’s sealed. Then simply shake the jar for about 10 seconds to combine everything and stick it in the refrigerator!

By morning, you’ll have a yummy jar of pumpkin overnight oats—it’s like magic!

Enjoy Your Overnight Oats Your Way

In the morning, you can just open the jar and dig in! Since sweetness is a matter of taste, you can add a bit more maple syrup or honey if it’s not sweet enough. I often stir in an extra teaspoon of non-sugar sweetener (like Splenda or monk fruit sweetener) because I have a bit of a sweet tooth, but don’t want to eat a bunch of sugar first thing in the morning.

I also love to add a tablespoon of chopped pecans or walnuts. Salted pepitas or pistachios are also delicious in pumpkin overnight oats. That’s the beauty of this recipe—you can eat it plain or dress it up any way you like!

Easy Pumpkin Overnight Oats

Course: Basics, Breakfast u0026amp; BrunchCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Refrigerate

2 hours

or overnight

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (quick oats would make this creamier, steel-cut oats would be chewier)

• 1½ teaspoons chia seeds

• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• Pinch of salt

• 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2/3 cup (minus 2 tablespoons) milk (any kind you like) -see notes.

• 1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup (or honey or agave nectar, or 2-3 tablespoons of Splenda, Stevia, or another zero-calorie sweetener)

Directions

• Combine oats, chia seeds, spices, and dry sweetener (like Splenda or stevia) in a jar
• Put the 2 tablespoons of pumpkin into a measuring cup and add enough milk so that the combined amount is 2/3 cup. Add the vanilla and wet sweeteners (like honey or agave nectar) if you’re using any. Stir to combine.
• Pour the milk mixture into the jar with the oat mixture. Put the cap on and shake until well combined.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning:
  
• You can eat the pumpkin overnight oats right out of the jar, as is. Or stir in a tablespoon of chopped nuts. (Chopped pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds, and pistachios all work well. This would also be good with pepitas (roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds).)

Notes

• This recipe doesn’t require yogurt, but you can add a couple of tablespoons if you really like it. Just be sure to add it to the pumpkin before you measure the milk. If you have more than 2/3 cup of total liquid, the overnight oats can be too mushy.
• Your overnight oats will be less sweet once the oats and chia seeds have absorbed the milk mixture, so you may want to add a little more sweetness in the morning once it’s set.
• If you don’t like (or can’t tolerate) chia seeds, leave them out and increase the amount of the oats to ½ cup.
• You can bump up the protein by adding a tablespoon or two of your favorite protein powder. (You might need a slightly bigger jar.)
• To bump up the fiber, add 1-2 teaspoons of fiber supplement powder (like Benefiber or Metamucil).
• I love to top off my oats in the morning with a couple of tablespoons of chopped pecans and a drizzle of raw honey.