It’s been harder for me to pull myself out of bed the last few days. Now that the sun is rising later and the mornings are growing chilly, I find myself craving warm and cozy meals to start off my day. This pumpkin oatmeal perfectly suits that mood. While I love to meal prep with a big batch pumpkin oatmeal recipes like these hot slow cooker Pumpkin Overnight Oats and this Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, sometimes these larger-scale recipes feel like too much of a quantity commitment. Even more often, I wake up hungry and don’t feel like spending more than a few minutes preparing breakfast. (When I have more time on the weekend, you know I’m aspiring for Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes or Healthy Pumpkin Bread.) This speedy pumpkin oatmeal recipe is a different tale. If you’re looking for the perfect bowl of easy pumpkin oatmeal to whip up on a weekday morning, this is that recipe! Having a bowl these last few mornings has completely transformed my mood from “Booo, it’s cold and dark, and I wish I were in bed” to “What a happy, cozy day! I love fall!” (Then Sweet Potato Cookies will make you love fall at the end of the day.) Pumpkin puree is healthy, so in addition to being the equivalent of having someone hand deliver you a cozy blanket to wrap yourself in at the breakfast table, this pumpkin oatmeal is a wholesome, feel-good way to begin your morning. The health benefits of pumpkin include vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E), antioxidants, fiber, folates, and more! Oatmeal is high in fiber and whole grains. This pumpkin oatmeal is poised to keep you full and nourished, and if that isn’t a compelling enough reason to make it, it is absolutely delicious. The spices are just the ratio to make pumpkin the star, a touch of maple syrup adds a subtle, welcome sweetness (just enough, not too much), and you can gussy it up any which way you choose. This recipe makes two servings. The second one you can share with your roommate or reheat the next day (this oatmeal is great leftover), and you can certainly scale up the recipe if you are feeding a larger group.
How to Make Pumpkin Oatmeal
This recipe can be made on the stovetop, in the microwave, or as pumpkin overnight oats. You’ll only need a few ingredients to make it.
The Ingredients
Oats. For fast hot oatmeal breakfasts, I like rolled oats (also called old fashioned oats). Their texture is pleasantly chewy and far less mushy than quick oats or instant oatmeal (instant oatmeal should be banned; if you think oatmeal is bland and mushy, I’m willing to bet you’ve been eating instant oats.) They cook in two minutes in the microwave, so it’s not a big time commitment for the flavor payoff.
Steel cut oats are phenomenal, but since they take longer to cook (30ish minutes), for an easy pumpkin oatmeal recipe like this, rolled oats are the way to go. (For more info, see my recipe for perfect Steel Cut Oats; these banana Overnight Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats and this overnight steel cut oats recipe are two other favorites.)
Pumpkin. Our nutrient rich (delish!) oatmeal flavor-maker.Maple Syrup. Since pumpkin is bland, it does need a touch of sweetness to make the oatmeal tasty. I used a moderate amount; feel free to sweeten the oatmeal more to your taste (or drizzle some extra on top!).Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, and Allspice. These four spices make up what we often refer to as pumpkin pie spice. For this pumpkin oatmeal, since it calls for so few ingredients, I used my ideal amount of each.
For my personal pumpkin tastes, the ideal blend of pumpkin spice leans heavier on the cinnamon and ginger and lighter on the nutmeg and allspice. If you are in a hurry, you can swap pre-blended pumpkin pie spice. No allspice on hand? Some pumpkin pie spices use cloves.
Milk. Any kind you like! I used unsweetened almond milk to keep it dairy-free. The richer the milk you use, the richer the oatmeal will be. You can also do a 50/50 blend of milk and water.Pinch of Salt. KEY to great-tasting oatmeal. If you’ve found oatmeal bland even after adding spices, you likely were missing salt.
The Directions
To Make Pumpkin Oatmeal on the Stovetop To Make Pumpkin Oatmeal in the Microwave To Make Overnight Pumpkin Oatmeal
More Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Recipes
Pumpkin and oatmeal are a natural pair. Don’t miss these other healthy pumpkin recipes that use them.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars (with peanut butter, yum!)Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread with Oatmeal (you could also bake this one as Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins)Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Pumpkin Oatmeal Toppings
The recipe is flexible, so feel free to adjust the spices and toppings to your taste.
Nuts. Pecans and walnuts are my favorites. Be sure to toast them first for max flavor payoff.Almond Butter or Peanut Butter. Especially fantastic after a workout.Fresh Fruit. Bananas and blueberries are surprisingly yummy with pumpkin.Dried Fruit. Golden raisins and cranberries add a sweet, fall-appropriate touch.Half and Half. A splash makes this pumpkin oatmeal a true treat.Pumpkin Seeds. Add a delightful crunch, and drive home the pumpkin point.Chocolate Chips. For a sweet treat.
This pumpkin oatmeal has been making my mornings feel sweet and special. I hope it brings some pumpkin-spice-so-nice smiles to your daily wake up too. If you try the recipe, please let me know in the comments how it goes. I always love to hear from you!
