If you are seriously craving a big hunk of warm, delicious, apple pie, try making some of this apple cinnamon overnight oats for breakfast instead! This healthy overnight oats recipe is filled with dried apples, cinnamon, and unsweetened coconut milk to create a delicious make-ahead breakfast for the week.
Apples and cinnamon are considered to be a classic oatmeal combination, at least they are at my house. It’s often the first flavor to go out of the instant oatmeal variety box.
Yes, I still purchase instant oatmeal! My kids love it, it’s easy, and I’m always grateful to have a few packets available on busy mornings.
Just saying…I’m not above instant oatmeal.
With that being said, I try my best to create healthier and more wholesome versions of our favorite foods. My kiddos have not embraced the deliciousness of overnight oats yet as they are creatures of habit and prefer oatmeal hot.
However, I love to enjoy my oatmeal cold and creamy! My girls call it “adult oatmeal” and maybe they’re right.
4 Reasons Why I Love Overnight Oats
When it’s all said and done, I really do heavily rely on overnight oat recipes for a quick and healthy breakfast. I really do love them!
Here are 4 reasons why:
- Pantry ingredients – All of the overnight oat recipes I make start with basic pantry ingredients – rolled oats and spices. The only other ingredient you need is a liquid. So, if you just want a simple jar of overnight oats, the basic formula is 1/2 cup oats and 1/2 cup liquid (any type of milk will work).
- Made ahead of time – Overnight oats are designed to be made ahead of time so you can make 3-4 on Sunday for a quick breakfast all week.
- Portion-controlled – Each jar you put together is one portion, making it easy to know ahead of time the nutritional information. This is important, especially if you’re eating overnight oats to lose weight!
- Can sneak in superfoods – I stir chia seeds into all my overnight oats recipes. This adds fiber, protein, omega fatty acids, and many other nutrients! Chia seeds also help to absorb the liquid and give the oats a creamy pudding-like texture. You can also add in flax seeds, hemp seeds, coconut oil, and even protein powder. Basically, any superfood you want to add to your diet can be snuck into overnight oats.
Supplies Needed To Make This Apple Overnight Oats Recipe
- Rolled oats – In my experience, rolled oats work best for overnight oatmeal recipes. You can also use gluten-free rolled oats.
- Dried apples – You can find dried apples at your local grocery store or get some online at Amazon.
- Chia seeds – You can find great prices on chia seeds at your local wholesale store or get some online at Amazon.
- 16-ounce mason jars – This size works best for overnight oat recipes.
- Plastic mason jar lids – Because the metal lid that comes with the mason jars will eventually rust, I recommend grabbing a package of plastic mason jar lids.
Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats
Alright, let’s get to this yummy breakfast recipe! Here are the ingredients you will need to make this apple cinnamon overnight oats recipe:
- Rolled oats
- Dried apple
- Cinnamon
- Chia seeds
- Unsweetened coconut milk (or any milk)
- Honey
- Vanilla
- Chopped walnuts
Note: Grab the exact measurements for all of these ingredients in the recipe card below 
Fresh Apples vs. Dried Apples
Let’s discuss this new overnight oatmeal recipe with apples and cinnamon.
Originally, I wanted to use fresh apples. Right now, it’s apple season in New York and there’s no shortage of delicious crisp apples. But, fresh apples did not work for me in this recipe. I didn’t get the flavor I wanted and the apples turned brown.
I’ve seen a few overnight oatmeal recipes with applesauce but I didn’t have any in hand or the time to make it. Instead, I decided to go with dried apples!
I used 1/4 cup of chopped dried apples and found this brand in the natural food section at Wegmans.
I’m glad I went with dried apples because I ended up with the delicious apple flavor I was looking for.
How To Make Apple Spice Overnight Oats
I started this recipe by combining the rolled oats, dried apples, cinnamon, and chia seeds in my mason jar.
Then, I stirred in 1 tablespoon of honey, 1/2 cup of milk, and vanilla. I decided to use honey instead of pure maple syrup because I wanted to switch things up.
You can use pure maple syrup if that’s all you have. But, if you have raw honey, use it because I thought it tasted great!
I mixed all the ingredients together, placed the lid on, and then stored in the refrigerator overnight. The apples will hydrate overnight and release a delicious apple flavor into the oats.
In the morning, I stirred the oats with a little extra unsweetened coconut milk to loosen it up and then sprinkled some walnuts on top for crunch.
Enjoy!
How To Make This Overnight Oats Recipe Ahead Of Time
You can easily make this breakfast recipe ahead of time! Simply follow the steps mentioned above and store the mason jars in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you are ready to eat, just pull out the jar, give it a stir, and add your extra toppings.
Check out my easy overnight oats step by step guide for more information on how to meal prep overnight oats!
More Overnight Oats Recipes
If you are looking for a couple of more overnight oats recipes, take a look at this list:
- Pumpkin Overnight Oats
- Banana Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Overnight Oats With Yogurt
- Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats
- Blueberry Banana Overnight Oats
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Almond Joy Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats
When it’s all said and done, this apple cinnamon overnight oats recipe is beyond scrumptious! It’s so simple and can be made ahead of time for a healthy breakfast all week. Share a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook if you decide to try to make this apple cinnamon overnight oats recipe! If you decide to use fresh apples over dried ones, let me know what you think flavor and texture-wise. I would love to read your comments!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup chopped dried apple
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk or any milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
Instructions
- in a pint size mason jar mix together rolled oats, dried apple, cinnamon, and chia seeds.
- Stir in the coconut milk , vanilla, and honey.
- Stir all the ingredients together, place the lid on, and store in the refrigerator overnight (at least 5 hours).
- Remove lid and stir the oatmeal. Add a little extra coconut milk if the oats need to to be loosened up. Sprinkle walnuts on top and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
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Katie says
I’ve made this one late night and I did not have any fancy dried apples so I used about a 1/4 cup of applesauce instead haha! I mixed it all up, then put it in the fridge and in the morning I LOVED IT!!! Thank you for the recipe!
Zoe Bennett says
I love the oats in jar but the points for WW are so high. I came up with 14 points…that is a big part of a day.
Tamala Fiene says
I love overnight oats. When I make mine I use 1/2 c plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 c unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp chai seeds, 1/4 c old fashioned oats and fresh or frozen fruits. Only 3 pts. To add flavors add vanilla, Orange extract, almond extract, cinnamon, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice. If needed sweetness I add splenda.
Nanette says
I’m new to your site but am already addicted to the mason jar salads — the recipes as well as the idea 🙂 And this week I just tried your green smoothies – yum! I freeze mine in my Magic Bullet mugs and then pop Turk in the microwave on defrost for 2.5 minutes, throw the mug back on the magic bullet to mix ot back to smoothie texture and I’m out the door! So now I want to try your overnight oats but have a question. I, like your kids, prefer my oatmeal hot – can you just put the jar (without the lid) into the microwave for a minute and enjoy it hot? it doesn’t seem like it would ruin anything or maybe I’m missing something. Has anyone tried that? LOVE your site and am sending link to all my FB friends!!
Tammy Kresge says
Hi there! Thanks so much for reading my site. Yes you can microwave this in a microwave safe container. I’ve warmed up on the stove too.
Melissa says
Very tasty! I subbed maple syrup for the honey because I already had that out on the counter for another overnight oat recipe I was prepping. I also reduced the amount to 1 tsp (from 1 Tbsp) because I don’t like my oatmeal that sweet. I couldn’t find dried apples in my grocery store (and didn’t have time this week to check another store) so I used dried pears instead. Overall a great recipe that will become one of my go-to versions of overnight oats. Thanks!