Apple Pie Overnight Oats + Quinoa
These Apple Pie Overnight Oats recipe are made the night before, so you don’t have to worry about whipping anything up in the morning. It’s simple, packed with nutrients and tastes like apple pie!
It’s hard to believe September is almost over. Where I live on the East Coast, the trees have started to turn colors, leaves have started to fall to the ground and the grocery stores are full of autumn produce.
Even the drugstores are in full-time autumn mode – they have Halloween candy already on display!
But you know what? I’ll take it. Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp mornings, the warm afternoons, and I especially love the food.
Apples have always been a staple in my home. Whether I’m enjoying them for a quick snack with a dollop of nut butter, tossing them into my smoothies, or making some sort of dessert, I really enjoy how versatile they are.
Apples are also really good for you. They are…
- high in fiber so they keep you feeling full for longer
- boost brain power
- packed with cancer-fighting antioxidants
- naturally detoxifying
And the list goes on!
This is why apples make an awesome breakfast food. They’ve got the nutrients you need to start your day feeling full and energized.
Since I absolutely love making dessert for breakfast, today I thought I’d combine a classic apple dish with an increasingly more popular breakfast recipe: apple pie overnight oats.
If you haven’t made overnight oats yet, there’s no better time to start than with this recipe. You just need a few simple ingredients to make it, many of which I bet you already have in your pantry, and it tastes like a decadent dessert (just with a healthy twist!).
It starts with a combination of rolled oats and quinoa flakes. Both are full of fiber, but the quinoa flakes add a nice hit of protein.
Next is cinnamon and chia seeds. The cinnamon gives the recipe that oh-so-comforting flavor, while the chia seeds act as the binder to thicken everything up while it sits overnight.
Finally is unsweetened apple sauce and nut milk. The apple sauce adds a hint of natural sweetness and a distinct apple flavor. The milk can be anything that you have on hand – I went with homemade cashew milk, but you can use cow’s milk or any other milk of choice.
And once you have all your ingredients together, you just mix them in a large mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight.
Now that your oats are getting all nice and thick in the fridge, it’s time to make your apple pie “filling”. This is the key to making this breakfast taste like a truly decadent dessert.
But the secret is…it’s totally healthy!
All you need for the filling is 5 ingredients:
- Apples
- Cinnamon
- Maple Syrup
- Water
- Chia seeds
Essentially, you’re making a quick apple chia jam (or a thick apple sauce depending on how you look at it) to use as your layering for the overnight oats.
And it couldn’t be easier to make: just toss everything in the pot together (minus the chia), bring it to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes. Once the apples have started to soften and the mixture has thickened up, stir in your chia seeds.
Then when you’re ready to serve scoop the overnight oats into jars or glasses and top with the apple pie filling. Or if you want to get a little fancy, you could make parfaits!
What I love most about this recipe, aside from the fact that I get to enjoy dessert for breakfast, is that it takes almost zero hands on time!
The oats sit overnight and the apple pie filling just simmers away by itself. That means you can spend your morning a little more relaxed. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Alyssa is the blogger and cook behind Simply Quinoa, a gluten-free website dedicated to healthy food, always with a little quinoa twist.
Apple Pie Overnight Oats with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oats, dry
- 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup, pure
Filling
- 2 medium apple
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup, pure
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
Instructions
- Add oats, quinoa flakes, chia seeds, and cinnamon to a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Whisk together milk and applesauce (maple syrup optional here!). Stir into oat mixture and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate mixture overnight.
- For the apple pie filling: peel and dice apples. Add apples to a small saucepan along with the cinnamon, syrup, and water; bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook until mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chia seeds. Allow the mixture to cool for 5-10 minutes before assembling the oats.
- Layer oats and filling into cups for a parfait, or simply spoon the oats into bowls and top with filling. Enjoy!
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
Learn More about Natalie
What is the calorie count for a serving size of the Apple Pie Overnight Oats & Quinoa?
Hi Pam! I don’t have the calorie information on hand, but you can certainly plug in the ingredients into an online calculator like this one: http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
This looks really good but I’m wondering how many average servings you would get.
Hi Ruth! This should make about 2 – 4 servings depending on how hungry everyone is. It’s either two large parfaits, for 4 smaller glasses. Enjoy!
I’m confused — do you make the apple filling in the morning? Or make everything the night before and put it in the fridge?
Hi Nicole! Really, you can do either. I made mine in the morning so that it would be warm when I served it, but you can certainly make it the night before too if you’d prefer 🙂 Enjoy!
Hi! Thanks for the recipe. When I made the apple pie filling, it did not thicken at all. All the liquid was pretty much gone and I was left with soft apples. Did I have too many apples perhaps? Help!
In the recipe description and instructions you use the term qunioa flakes. However, in the list of ingredients you list qunioa. Are those two one in the same? I’m excited to try this recipe. I’m a bit nervous since once before I tried to do an overnight oatmeal but switched out oats for the quinoa and the quinoa didn’t soften.
Just saw the picture included with the post and answered my own question!
Thanks Desiree! We fixed it too!
can you use regular quinoa or is it quinoa flakes? In the ingredients it says quinoa but then in the description it says quinoa flakes.
This is fixed- only flakes!
Under ingredients it says 2T maple Syrup – when do you add this? Or is it only for the filling?
It’s optional in the oats section as well!
Shoot I just made this with quinoa not quinoa flakes!! Should I remix?
I made this with quinoa instead of flakes will that still be okay ?
Love all the great recipes but wish you all would give nutritionals
HI Anne, right now we DO have nutrition information for our membership side but considering we strive to improve on all sides of Super Healthy Kids, I will surely bring this to the team. Stick with us! There are definitely great things coming!
Hi! Recipe looks awesome! I was just wondering if I couldn’t find quinoa flakes, can I substitute more oats or another type of cereal flake?
Is the 2 tbs of water correct? It seems like a little liquid to bowl. Thanks!
Yes- it’s just a little moisture to help the apple filling come together. 🙂
Great recipe! I baked this for my family and everyone loved it.
fyi, That calorie counter site seems to no longer work for me. I found this one that helps me estimate the mineral and vitamin values – https://nutriely.com/recipe-builder.