Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bowl, a simple steel cut or rolled oats breakfast recipe with fresh apple slices and earthy cinnamon. A vibrant way to start your morning!
Love apple season? Start your day with an apple oatmeal bowl! Made with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of maple and vanilla, this bowl is perfect for cozy mornings. Top it with your favorite nut and seed butters for extra flavor!
👉 Ready to learn how to make a simple oatmeal with apples and cinnamon in less than 10 minutes? Let’s do it!
🥣 Ingredients
- Oatmeal: Both rolled oats and steel cut oats will work for this recipe (instructions for each in recipe card)
- Apples: Either fresh, frozen, or dried apples will work well in this bowl
- Cinnamon: ground cinnamon is most common, but if you have cinnamon sticks they’ll work as well
- Water: Water is used to cook the oats, though you could use milk or a milk alternative for a creamier texture
- Seasonings: A touch of maple syrup, vanilla extract, a bit of salt for balance, and nutmeg deepen the flavor
- Toppings: We love a drizzle of nut butter with whole nuts or seeds and some ground flax seeds, but it’s optional
- Recommended tools: medium pot or sauce pan, large wooden spoon, bowls for serving
👩🍳 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Add ingredients to pot
First, add oats and double the amount of water to a medium pot or sauce pan. Add apples, a pinch of salt, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a dash of ground cinnamon (or a cinnamon stick) and ground nutmeg. Stir to mix the ingredients.
2️⃣ Step Two: Cook oats
To cook oats over the stovetop, bring the pot with oatmeal ingredients to a low boil over high heat. Then reduce to a low simmer and cook until the oats are soft.
Cooking time with depend on what type of oats you are cooking:
- Rolled oats cooking time: about 5 minutes
- Steel cut oats cooking time: about 10 minutes
👉 Can you microwave oats? Yes! Cook rolled oats in the microwave for about 2 minutes, and steel cut oats for about 5 minutes. Make sure to cover the oats and stir once throughout cooking.
3️⃣ Step Three: Transfer to bowl and add toppings
When oats are done, transfer to bowls for serving. Then you can top the oatmeal with a drizzle of nut or seed butter, a sprinkle of nuts or seeds, and a sprinkle of ground flax seeds.
🧊 How to store + reheat
- Refrigerator storage: Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Freezer storage: I do not recommend freezing, the texture won’t be great after reheating.
- Reheating: To reheat, simply stir in a tablespoon or two of water into the oats and reheat on the stovetop in small pot, about 3-4 minutes, or in a bowl in the microwave, about 2 minutes. Stir once while cooking to heat throughout.
♻️ Sustainable kitchen tips
Take advantage of fresh apple season. Apples are a fruit that can be found year-round, but their peak season is the early fall months, which is September through November in the the US and most of the northern hemisphere.
Buy oats in bulk. Oats are one of the best pantry staple ingredients to buy in bulk, so stock up on a pound or two when purchasing to decrease packaging waste.
👉 More oatmeal bowl recipes
Want more fruit-filled oatmeal bowl recipes? Try Cranberry Oatmeal Bowl or Strawberry Oatmeal Bowl, Cherry Oatmeal, or Peach Oatmeal.
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Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups oatmeal, rolled or steel cut*
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup apples, sliced into small pieces
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, or 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional toppings: a drizzle of nut or seed butter, sprinkle of nuts or seeds
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a pot: In a medium pot, add oats, water, apples, a pinch of salt, maple syrup, vanilla, ground cinnamon (or cinnamon stick), and ground nutmeg.2 cups oatmeal, 2 cups water, ½ cup apples, 1 pinch salt, 2 teaspoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Cook oats: Bring oats to a boil over high heat on the stovetop, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until oats are soft. This is usually 5 minutes for rolled oats, and 10 minutes for steel cut oats.
- To serve: Transfer cooked oatmeal to a bowl. Optionally, you can top the oatmeal with a drizzle of nut or seed butter, a sprinkle of nuts or seeds, and a sprinkle of ground flax seeds.Optional toppings: a drizzle of nut or seed butter, sprinkle of nuts or seeds
- Microwave cooking instructions: Alternatively you can also cook oats in the microwave. Cook rolled oats a microwave safe bowl for about 2 minutes, and steel cut oats for about 5 minutes. Make sure to cover the oats and stir once throughout cooking.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- Steel cut vs. rolled oats: You can use either steel cut or rolled oats in this recipes. Rolled oats will cook faster, but have a softer (and mushier) texture. Steel cut oats take a bit longer to cook and have a sturdier texture.
- Leftovers and storage: Store leftover oats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat by adding a small amount of water to the oats to rehydrate the, and reheating in a pot on the stove or for 1 minute in the microwave. Do not freeze.
- Nutrition notes: Nutrition information is for oatmeal without optional toppings and uses fresh apples.This recipe uses all plant-based ingredients and is gluten free (confirm you’re using gluten free oats).
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