This might just be the best breakfast I’ve had all month. It’s apple pie. But oatmeal! While I’m not opposed to crumbling a slice of leftover apple pie over a bowl of yogurt and calling it breakfast, I don’t always have leftover pie lying around (I know, I’m sad about it too). These oats are my solution to such breakfast dilemmas, as they are cooked with apple cider, cinnamon, and dates, then topped with tender apples sauteed in maple syrup and butter. All the sweet, cinnamon-y, caramel notes of apple pie are nestled into a big old bowl of breakfast comfort. 
With cooler fall temperatures and endless apple picking opportunities, I find myself in a particularly delicious situation: apple overload. I’ve dried them, tucked them into sandwiches with Brie and Dijon (do this!!), snacked on them with peanut butter, turned them into cake and pie and am making a big batch of apple butter later this week. And yet, I find myself with a mountain of apples on the counter that refuses to diminish. So, my apologies in advance if all future blog posts contain apples. I’m just workin’ with what I’ve got here.
Just the other day I was telling my sister Heather how much I dislike apples in oatmeal. Here we are, three days later, and I’m head over heels for this apple pie oatmeal. Sorry to be such a walking contradiction, but I can’t help it; my millennial side is showing. So, upon telling Heather my displeasure with apples in oatmeal (more specifically, apples thrown in with the oatmeal to boil away into mushy, flavorless apple nuggets) I realized I would like apple pie in oatmeal. Like, a big old slab of it plunked on top of some oats.
This apple pie oatmeal is exactly what I’m craving on these cool fall mornings. It all starts with my good friend, oatmeal. I prefer old-fashioned rolled oats for their texture, and cook them with equal parts of apple cider and water. A few dates add a caramel-sweet flavor, and cinnamon ties the whole thing together. While the oatmeal bubbles away, thinly sliced apples cook down in butter, maple syrup, and a little more apple cider. A pinch of salt, drizzle of vanilla, and a sprinkle of cinnamon turn the apples into apple pie filling, and the whole sticky, caramelized concoction gets poured on top of the cooked oatmeal. 
This oatmeal is so soul-satisfying, and also happens to be packed with fiber + protein from the oats. It makes two servings, which I happily doubled to store in mason jars and bring to work throughout the week. Apple pie oatmeal feels like a special, weekend breakfast, but it can be made in less than 15 minutes with minimal ingredients on a busy weekday morning. It’s legitimately easy as pie, only considerably easier. Easier than pie? Is that a saying we can coin? 
If you make yourself a big bowl of apple pie comfort, let me know! Leave a comment below or tag me #bakedgreens on Instagram. Happy weekend, friends!
Apple Pie Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats I used rolled oats, but quick-cooking is fine here too
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup apple cider
- 4-6 dates pitted and roughly chopped (add more or less to adjust sweetness of oatmeal)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 apples
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- a pinch of nutmeg
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- 1. Cook the oatmeal. Put first 5 ingredients (oats, water, cider, dates, and cinnamon) into a pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and let cook until apples are finished. Stir occasionally.
- 2. While oatmeal simmers, prepare apples. Place a skillet on the stove at medium heat. Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples. Add butter and apples to pan, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, add all remaining ingredients and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until liquid is almost gone and apples look syrupy. Turn off the heat for the oats and apples, and divide both into 2 bowls to serve.
Notes