These might just be the most delicious oats you’ll ever make! This vegan apple pie oatmeal is 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.
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.
Enter this vegan apple pie oatmeal with an easy tahini caramel 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.
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.
Even more vegan oatmeal recipes
Vegan Apple Pie Oatmeal with Tahini Caramel
Ingredients
Oatmeal
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup rolled oats or any oats you have on hand
- 3 tablespoons 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.
Karen says
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
Desiree Nielsen says
Salted caramel for breakfast is now the new bar for breakfast excellence around here, ha!
Sherrie says
Is there a substitute for tahini?
Desiree Nielsen says
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!
Renée says
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.
Desiree Nielsen says
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 🙂