Leaves crunching under your feet, noticeably shorter days and your favorite sweater finally coming out of storage – these are all signs autumn is officially here. But, if you’re like us, nothing screams “FALL!” like pumpkin spice. And we’re talking about pumpkin spice everything – from coffee, to candles, to big, cozy bowls of Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal.
We are absolutely obsessed with these pumpkin spice oats right now and, good thing for us, they’re a snap to make, even on busy mornings. We simmer our oats with pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and a little brown sugar, then stir in vanilla and a couple spoonfuls of cream or milk. In about five minutes, your pumpkin spice dreams are answered. It’s just like having pumpkin pie for breakfast, but with the all-day energy of oats!
Besides great taste, adding pumpkin to oats is a terrific idea for so many reasons. Both oats and pumpkin give you a big nutritional bang for your buck. One cup of pumpkin contains about 50 calories, 3 grams of fiber and nearly double your daily requirement of vitamin A, essential for maintaining healthy eyes. Pumpkin is also high in vitamin C, which can help your body absorb more iron from the oats. And did we mention it tastes great?
Of course, you can’t have pumpkin spice oatmeal without the pumpkin spice, but did you know pumpkin spice doesn’t contain any pumpkin? The name refers to the distinct blend of spices traditionally used in pumpkin pie. Most pumpkin pie spice blends contain cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered ginger, allspice, cloves and sometimes mace.
You can buy pumpkin pie spice commercially, or mix your own. If you don’t have your grandmother’s secret recipe, try this Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend from Oh She Glows. The nice thing about mixing your own is you can adjust the blend to your own tastes. Hate nutmeg? Leave it out. Love cinnamon? Add an extra pinch.
One batch of spice mix and one can of pumpkin puree will be enough for a full week of pumpkin spice oatmeal and then some. Our recipe serves one, but you can easily double, triple or even quadruple it.
Like fall, we can’t get enough of our Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal.
Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quick oats (125 ml)
- 3/4 cup water (250 ml)
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin puree (30 ml)
- 2 tsp brown sugar (10 ml)
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (2.5 ml)
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (2.5 ml)
- 2 Tbsp milk or cream, dairy or non-dairy (30 ml)
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil. Whisk in pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Stir in oats.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, or until oats are tender, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and milk or cream.