This dairy free Caramel Apple Oatmeal has all the flavors of warm apple pie with a luxurious sweet swirl of caramel. It’s the perfect bowl of comfort food if you’re craving something sweet for breakfast, or any time of day, really.
The Oats
I use quick oats in this recipe, but any type of oats will work. Just be sure to follow the cooking instructions on the packaging, as they do vary. Steel cut are usually my favorite form of oats to make because they have a bit more fiber, and are a bit more coarse and chewy. But for this recipe, I prefer rolled or quick oats because the texture we’re trying to achieve is smooth and soft.
The Apples
Any type of apple will work in this recipe, but granny smith apples would be my least favorite for this. I’ve used fuji, pink lady, honeycrisp, and cortland apples all with delicious results. The cooking time for the apples may vary a bit depending on the variety that you choose. In this recipe I used fuji, and they softened in about 6 minutes. Just keep an eye on them and test with a fork to check for softness. You don’t want to overcook them and turn them to mush, unless of course you’re cooking for them for a toddler in which case that may be preferable for you.
The Caramel
Dairy- free caramel can be a tough ingredient to find, but my favorite by Hey Boo is available right on Amazon. If you didn’t see my review of this amazing product, you can find it here. Other options to look for are the organic caramel sauce from Date Lady, dairy free classic caramel sauce from Avenue Sweets, and sugar-free caramel flavored syrup by Pyure.
Variations
If you prefer not to use a dairy-free milk, water, apple juice, or apple cider all work great in this recipe. Just be aware that using juice or cider will add sweetness, and may make this recipe to sweet for some people. It will also change the nutritional content of the recipe, and will add more sugar and calories. If dairy-free butter isn’t something that you prefer to cook the apples with, coconut oil also works great here. Garnishing with nuts is completely optional and not needed for this dish to be delicious, so if you’re avoiding nuts you will love this recipe just as much without them.
Dairy Free Caramel Apple Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 apples peeled, cored, diced (about 2 cups). I used Fuji.
- 3.5 cups milk of choice water, apple juice, and apple cider also work well
- 2 cups quick oats
- 2 tbsp coconut oil dairy free butter also works
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp brown sugar coconut sugar also works
- pinch of salt
- dairy free caramel for drizzling
- chopped walnuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the oats
- Bring your milk (or liquid of choice) and a pinch of salt to a boil in a medium sized saucepan over medium low heat.
- Once the liquid is boiling, stir in your oats. Boil them for about a minute and give them a stir.
- Remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the oats rest for five minutes.
Prepare the apples
- While your oats are resting, heat the oil (or dairy free butter) in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Add your apples and cinnamon to the skillet and cook them until they start to soften, about four minutes. Stir in your brown sugar, and continue cooking until the sugar has melted and the apples are soft. It should take another two or three minutes. Be sure to stir your apples occasionally so the apples are evenly coated with the sugar syrup.
Assemble your bowls
- Stir your apples into the oatmeal gently. If you'd like you can leave some apples out to garnish the top of the oats with some chopped walnuts to make it pretty.
- Layer your oats in a bowl, top with your apples and walnuts if you're garnishing, and give it a good drizzle of your dairy free caramel.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this Dairy Free Caramel Apple Oatmeal?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @milkfreemom on Instagram and hashtag it #milkfreemom. Don’t forget to pin it for later!
You may also like my Vegan Apple Crumb Pie.
