Every year towards the end of August, our California weather turns bipolar for a couple of days. Although the exact dates vary, this year the drastic change happened to fall last week. The sun blazed down on Thursday and Friday, heating up our town to nearly 100°F and making it almost unbearable to walk outside, let alone drive anywhere… Steering wheel burns on your hands hurt!
But when I opened my eyes on Saturday morning, light gray clouds covered the entire sky, and the stone patio in the backyard looked a few shades darker than normal because of a very faint drizzle lightly falling from above. Even without a breeze, it barely felt 60°F outside, and as much as I adore summer, I still nearly twirled around in a happy dance.
It felt like fall — and fall means pumpkin season!
As I laced up my shoes for a run, my mind whirled around, brainstorming all of the possibilities of pumpkin baking. Muffins… Scones… Quick breads… Cupcakes… Cookies… Cinnamon rolls… Granola… Anything and everything full of warm, cozy spices that make my house smell like Thanksgiving Day!
I returned home full of ideas, but I decided to hop in the shower first before tackling my quickly growing pumpkin baking list. As I scrubbed, I sorted through the recipes in my head, prioritizing which treats I was dying to make first. When I threw on clothes and walked into the kitchen to start…
The clouds had parted, the sun was shining, and the temperature quickly rose to over 80°F. Back to summer again… So much for fall baking!
But because I just couldn’t give up my pumpkin ideas, I compromised with an easy no-bake recipe that tasted like a combination of summer and fall: Pumpkin Pie Protein Overnight Oats! A thick, creamy bowl of pure comfort food flavors that’s still perfectly acceptable for warmer summer mornings… And basically tastes like dessert for breakfast!
That’s practically a dream come true. 😉
WHAT ARE OVERNIGHT OATS?
For those of you unfamiliar with overnight oats, they’re incredibly easy to make. Simply mix together the ingredients in a mason jar or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, place that in the fridge, and wait until morning. That’s literally all there is to it!
While you sleep, the oats soak up the moisture in the wet ingredients, and this softens the oats as much as if you had cooked them in a pot on the stove or in the microwave. Because overnight oats oats are meant to be served cold straight from the fridge, that gives you a few extra minutes to sleep in instead of cooking breakfast!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY PUMPKIN OVERNIGHT OATS
There are two key ingredients in this recipe: Greek yogurt and pumpkin purée. Greek yogurt is my favorite ingredient in healthier baking because it adds a lot of protein! It packs in around 21g per cup, compared to regular yogurt with only 7 to 10g. Greek yogurt is one of the easiest ways to get a big boost of protein in the mornings without a lot of effort!
Make sure to use pumpkin purée, not canned pumpkin filling. The latter contains added sugar and flavorings, which we’re trying to avoid to keep this recipe clean-eating friendly! Instead, we’ll sweeten these oats with Truvia, a no-calorie plant-based sweetener. It’s one of the cheapest stevia-based sweeteners and the easiest to find in grocery stores, but feel free to substitute your preferred sweetener instead.
Now all that’s left to do is stir, sleep, and eat! 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy pumpkin pie protein overnight oats!
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Protein Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (122g) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix!)
- ¼ cup (25g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 tbsp (12g) Truvia (see Notes!)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a mason jar or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, and stir until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Serve cold.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Oh my, I want to gobble up that right up!
*all that right up!
Silly mistake 😉
Silly mistakes made in excitement over pumpkin are perfectly normal in my house Marsha! 😉
Ooh, I’ve been hooked on overnight oats since discovering them on your site a month ago & I’ve tried dozens of combos since then, but pumpkin pie is one I hadn’t thought of! Still feels a little too early for me, but I’ll definitely be giving it a try in a few weeks!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying overnight oats Carolyn! There are so many delicious flavor combos I still want to try as well. I hope you enjoy these pumpkin ones once it feels like fall in your town!
I follow and make some of your Healthy Recipes but please look at one of your ingredients you use. http://www.dietitiancassie.com/the-truth-on-truvia/
I appreciate you sharing the information. You’re welcome to substitute whatever sweetener you feel most comfortable with Pattie!
These oats look delicious, Amy! I can’t wait for Fall as well, I have been brainstorming so many apple and pumpkin recipe, pinned!x
Thanks for pinning Eve! I’ve learned to love fall as much as summer because of all of the baking possibilities. I can’t wait to see what pumpkin and apple treats you come up with! 🙂
This looks so awesome! I’ve never made overnight oats with yogurt, but this looks amazing! NC weather has been a tease – fall like days followed by hot and humid. The hot days won’t keep me from pumpkin though 😉
Thanks Megan! Oof, humidity mixed with fall doesn’t sound like too much fun… Hopefully your weather makes up its mind soon. And I’m definitely a fan of pumpkin all year round! 😉
I am not ready for our California weather to turn fall like just yet! I am not ready to let go of summer. Except for the excuse to make everything PUMPKIN! 🙂
That’s exactly where I am too Shannon! Love, love, love CA summers… But if I have to let go, the only reason I’d be okay with that is pumpkin season. 😉
This is the first year I grew sugar and pie pumpkins in my garden. Does anyone know when they are ripe? The stems turned brown, the pumpkin is all orange but you can put your fingernail into the skin of the pumpkin. Online they claim the skin has to be hard. Any feed back is appreciated. Thank you for your help.
I’ve never grown pumpkin before Pattie — I’m so impressed! I’ve heard that homemade pumpkin purée, especially in pie, tastes absolutely incredible. I hope you enjoy your harvest!
Thank you Amy –I can’t wait to try this pumpkin recipe. I also grew butternut squash, spinach, lettuce, okra, 3 kinds of beans, over 1000 tomatoes, red amaranth (for those of you who like Asian dishes you must try cooking this and serving it over rice) beets, Swiss Chard, eggplant, ground cherries and sugar baby watermelons. There is nothing like picking fresh foods from your yard and then trying some of Amy’s recipes. Thank you for your blog!
You’re so kind Pattie — I really appreciate your sweet words about my recipes! Someday if I ever have enough space for a garden of that size, I’d love to grow as much produce as you. It sounds lovely to be able to pick your own!
This looks AMAZING! I love everything Pumpkin Pie, and I am so ready for fall. I will definitely be trying this as soon as the weather changes a bit:) I pinned it so I can keep this recipe for a long time!
Thank you for your sweet comment and pin Alyssa! I really hope you enjoy the oats once the weather turns cooler!
The weather has been PERFECT in Washington the last week. My mom baked FOUR loaves of bread (two pumpkin and two zucchini) and made a huge batch of applesauce. I am so ready for fall and ALL THE PUMPKIN.
I’ve loved seeing all of your fall and pumpkin decorations in your photos Brittany! And I’m totally jealous of all of your mom’s baking and applesauce… That sounds incredible!
thanks Amy.
I Have a general question if u can help me
1- i m new to healthy cooking can u tell what is old-fashioned oats?
2- and how can i make Greek yogurt at home ?
There are a few kinds of oats sold in grocery stores, and old-fashioned (or “rolled”) are one of the most common. They’re generally sold on the cereal aisle and should be labeled. I’ve never made Greek yogurt at home, so I’m not comfortable answering your second question. It’s much easier to buy it at the store! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the oats Fatima!
great! thx
It’s been a while since I’ve made yogurt. But it’s not hard mainly you will need a starter you can buy them on amazon. They are a powder form. So basically you will scald your milk 1 quart whole or 2 % do not use horizon it will not work and 1 to 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt storbought of a starter culture. Warm the milk in a saucepan over med low until bubble start to form around the sides and steam starts to rise. Pour the milk in a large glass or metal bowl and cool until the temp reaches 110 to 115 degrees. Put the starter in a small bowl and temper it with some of the hot milk and stir till blended well return to bowl a third at a time making sure to mix though after each addition. Cover bowl with a heavy town and keep in a cool warm place for 6 to 8 hours or over night. Then cover bowl with plastic wrap for 8 hours in the fridge. Then take cheese cloth and line a mesh strainer and pour your yogurt over and strain out as much of the liquid as possible. Always remember to save a little bit of your yogurt and freeze it so you have a culture for next time.
I hope this helps you can do it with coconut milk and soy milk if you have allergies. This recipe is from a book called french woman don’t get fat. One of my favorite cook books.
Thanks for sharing Sandra!