15-Minute Vegan Apple Pie Oatmeal
These might just be the most delicious oats you’ll ever make! This vegan apple pie oatmeal is topped with cinnamon and swirled with a five-ingredient tahini caramel sauce that is so delicious your head might explode. Seriously. It’s a hot, satisfying and decadent breakfast that comes together in less than fifteen minutes.
I’m always on the hunt for new vegan breakfast recipes. But as soon as the mornings cool off, I pretty much refuse to eat a cold breakfast. Sorry smoothies, it’s not you…it’s the forecast. I’m wrapped in a robe, over pyjamas with fuzzy slippers and I will NOT let anything cold near me.
So for six months of the year, breakfast is either toast or chickpea scramble or oats. If you’re like me, you’ve probably eaten thousands of bowls of oatmeal in your life and so it’s really nice to give it a little glow up from time to time.
You can also add this one to your list of high iron recipes for vegans because tahini is an especially good source of copper, a trace mineral essential for iron absorption. Apples and rolled oats are also on my high fibre food list (which explains the benefits of including fibre in our diets.) Don’t you just love when delish eats are also good for you! I know I do.
This flavourful oatmeal is surprisingly quick and easy
This vegan apple pie oatmeal with an easy tahini caramel is so good you’ll probably do a little happy dance in your pyjamas. You might be thinking that it sounds too complicated for everyday but honestly, it comes together in 15 minutes flat. While the oatmeal cooks, you’ll simmer the apples in caramel and it will be done before the timer goes off on the oats.
Health Benefits of Tahini
If you’ve never tried tahini before, you’re in for a treat! Tahini is similar to peanut butter in that it has a rich flavour that is just a little bit savoury. It’s thick, creamy and the perfect base for a luscious salted caramel vibe. It’s a versatile substitute for anyone allergic to nuts, and tahini also comes with plenty of health benefits of its own:
- Each tablespoon of tahini has 20mg of calcium and 50mg of magnesium to support healthy muscle contraction and bone health.
- Tahini contains almost 1mg of blood-building iron per tablespoon along with 1.5mg of zinc to support your gut + immune system.
- Tahini also contains meaningful amounts of energizing manganese and vitamin B6 alongside the antioxidant lignan known as sesamin.
This vegan apple pie oatmeal has it all:
- Plenty of tummy-soothing soluble fibre from apples and oats
- Healthy fats from hemp hearts and tahini to keep you full
- A surprising amount of plant-based protein: about 15 grams if you are dividing it into two portions…but you could easily bump that up with more hemp hearts
- It also tastes like such a treat that you won’t miss the coffee shop pastry case
Oatmeal Nutrition
In our quest to add more nutrient-dense plants to our life, I feel like we really underestimate whole grains. Oats are incredibly nutrient-dense, offering slow burn carbohydrates and some plant-based protein to keep your energy levels stable.
Oats also have a TON of fibre – a half cup (125ml) of dry rolled oats contains over 5 grams of fibre. The fibre in oats is really special: much of it is a soluble fibre called beta-glucan which is particularly helpful for irritated guts, like for those with IBS while it also helps feed your gut microbiome to support gut health long term.
If you want to dive deep into the health benefits of oatmeal, I’ve got a great post on all the nutrition benefits of oats.
How to make oatmeal
It’s so annoying when you buy a bag of oats or beans and it doesn’t come with cooking instructions! So just in case your rolled oats are flying solo, here are some basic cooking instructions for oatmeal:
- Use 1/2 cup rolled oats to 1 cup boiling water per serve for a hearty portion.
- Bring water to the boil with a little pinch of salt, then add oats and stir.
- Turn down heat to medium low, cover with lid ajar, and simmer for 8-12 minutes until it is the consistency you like.
For smaller appetites, especially if you are going to pump it up with nut butters and seeds, you may only need 1/3 cup dry rolled oats. You can also make these oats with instant, quick or even steel cut oats…just cook according to package directions.
Fun and easy substitutions to try
- Don’t want to cook up the apples, or you’ve run out? Try sliced banana…which is always delicious with caramel
- You can also make up a triple batch of the caramel on its own, which will keep well for the week in a glass jar in the fridge. Use it to dress up plain instant oats!
- Love ginger? Try topping with a bit of chopped crystallized ginger!
Even more vegan oatmeal recipes
15-Minute Vegan Apple Pie Oatmeal
Ingredients
Oatmeal
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup rolled oats, or any oats you have on hand (learn about the benefits of oats!)
- 3 tablespoons hemp hearts, (learn about the benefits of hemp hearts!)
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Tahini Caramel Apples
- 2 small apples, chopped into 1/2 inch (1 cm) pieces
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, or coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For serving
- cinnamon
- chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a small pot, then add oats and salt and turn down to medium low. Cover, with lid slightly ajar, keep it at a simmmer until oats reach desired consistency, about 8-14 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium nonstick pan over medium heat. Add apples and cover with a lid for three minutes to steam.
- Mix the maple syrup, tahini, vanilla and salt in a small bowl. Don't worry that it's not creamy, it will come together in the pan.
- Add the maple tahini sauce to the apples and stir through. Let bubble for 2 or so minutes until the caramel thickens and darkens a little bit. You want it to look saucy, not dry. Remove from heat.
- When the oatmeal is done, stir in hemp hearts and tahini. Portion into 2 or 3 bowls, top with caramel apples and some cinnamon and chopped nuts.
24 Comments on “15-Minute Vegan Apple Pie Oatmeal”
Hi Desiree. Just finished the apple pie oatmeal tahini carmel for breakfast. WOW!!! You have taken oatmeal to a new level. Thank you for sharing recipe.
Karen
Salted caramel for breakfast is now the new bar for breakfast excellence around here, ha!
Is there a substitute for tahini?
Hi Sherrie,
Any nut or seed butter should work from a texture perspective – although each will alter the flavour from the original. Be sure to use your tastebuds when experimenting – adjust salt or sweetness as necessary until you love it!
I discovered this recipe through the 2021 Eat More Plants Challenge and I’m blown over ! So was my partner. We are going to make some every week in winter.
Hi Renee!
I am so glad you enjoy it! I do agree that this recipe is a bit of a dark horse, because people think ‘how good could oatmeal be?’ and then they are really shocked when they try it. Also, I took this photo myself and my food photography skills are seriously lacking which is why I started using a food photographer again, ha ha!! Thank you for being a part of the challenge 🙂
I found this recipe from the 2021 EMP challenge and thought hmmmm tahini oats? Doesn’t sound good to me. They were AMAZING. Another one going into the rotation.
Ha ha, I LOVE that you love it, Marie! I’m tahini obsessed, but I know that it gives people pause. But these are maybe the best oats I’ve ever eaten 🙂
Made using soaked steel cut oats and they were sooo unbelievably good🤤. Also super yummy if you make the Carmel without apples, top your grains with the caramel and then top with sliced bananas and toasted pecans. Caramel stores well in fridge for a few days and you can scoop out desired amount to top your hot grains so this is great for meal prep too. One of my fave new recipes, thank you
Hi Jan,
OOH, I love this swap! Banana and pecan would be amazing. Thank you!
Make this on my working from home days! So perfectly balanced goodness and healthy choice. Yum Yum! Have shared with family across Canada
I am so glad you love it Deb! That caramel sauce is fully drool-worthy 🙂
Desiree
Loved it! Quick and easy and super delicious. Will 100% make again. Thanks for the recipe Desiree!
I’m so glad Liane!! I mean, I’ll eat caramel with just about anything….
I don’t suppose you have the nutritional information handy?
Hi Aimee,
I don’t do nutritional information for my recipes in order to encourage a more intuitive approach to eating. But if you have any questions about whether the recipe is appropriate for certain dietary needs, just let me know!
Holy cow, this is one amazing recipe! I eat steel cut oats for breakfast almost everyday and am always looking for new combinations. This was delicious! Sweet, but not overly so. My 7 year old took a bite and yelled, ‘It’s apple pie!’ Thank you for this wonderful, creative recipe!
Hi Amandine,
I am so glad you both liked it!! Oats are such a blank canvas, it’s so fun to switch things up. What are your favourite oat flavour combos?
Oats are such a blank canvas and I love them! Lately I’ve been cutting up a pear into a bowl of oats, adding cinnamon, hemp and ground flax with almonds and unsweetened shredded coconut. I’ll also stir in some nut pods for a little added creaminess. Delicious!
Ooh Nut Pods are so delicious! Love that combo.
We love this oatmeal. How would I find the nutritional value of it?
Hi Aimee,
I’m so glad you like it! It’s definitely a fan favourite around here. I choose not to put nutritional information on my recipes in order to support a more intuitive approach to feeding our bodies. If you need the nutritional information for a health concern, apps like Chronometer help you establish the nutrition facts for a recipe. Hope this helps!
Hi Desiree,
Do you have the nutritional information for the entire recipe?
It’s one of my favourites!
Thanks!
I am so glad you like it Kate! Hope chronometer helps 🙂