Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Apples and Pecans

For the past year (or longer), I’ve eaten variations of the same thing for breakfast every weekday morning. Greek yogurt, sweetened with honey, and topped with some combination of fruit, nuts, and/or cereal.  Sure, I mix it up on the weekends, but Monday through Friday, it’s all about the yogurt.  

But times, they are a-changing.  There’s been a new breakfast item gracing my bowl every morning for the past week, and there’s not a drop of yogurt in sight.  I’ve turned from cold and creamy to warm and dreamy with Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Apples and Pecans.  And I don’t plan on going back… at least not anytime soon.

This isn’t your average bowl of oatmeal.  Nutty, wholesome, steel-cut oats are cooked in a mixture of almond milk and water until thick and creamy.  Cubes of tender-crisp, cinnamon-spiced apples and crunchy, toasted pecans add sweetness and textural contrast to the creamy oatmeal.  A drizzle of maple syrup finishes everything off.  What more could you ask for on chilly winter/spring mornings?

One Year Ago: Swiss Chard with Feta and Pine Nuts - one of my favorite vegetable recipes!

Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Apples and Pecans
Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake

This recipe reheats well, so you can easily double it to have extra for your family for the week. Or do what I do, and keep all four bowls for yourself! When you reheat the leftovers, add a splash of almond milk to each bowl and stir it in to loosen up the cold oatmeal.

Ingredients:
1 cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats
1 cup water
1 cup almond milk, regular or vanilla-flavored
Pinch of salt

2 large apples, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 T. water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 1/2 tsp. maple syrup, divided

1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:
In a medium pot, add the oats, 1 cup of water, almond milk, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to rest, covered, for 5 minutes.

While the oats cook, combine the apples, 1 tablespoon of water, the cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup in a small pot.  Cook over medium heat until the apples have softened a little and turned syrupy, about 5 minutes.

Stir the toasted pecans into the cooked apples. 
 

Stir the apple mixture into the oatmeal.
 

Divide the oatmeal among four bowls.  Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the maple syrup over each bowl. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.