Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal

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Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal makes a decadent, gluten-free breakfast!

Yeah, you heard me. I said, Cherry. Chocolate. Oatmeal. Omigosh! This bowl of oats really makes a statement in all of its romantically sweet, bitter, and tart splendor. Sweet and tart cherries are paired with mildly bitter, semi-sweet premium chocolate and roasted almonds. It is so decadent and delicious that I had it for two breakfasts in a row!

What you’ll need to make it

Take a second and scrummage through your pantry for some staple items to accompany fresh (or frozen) sweet cherries.

Here’s the lineup:

• Old-fashioned oats
• Sea salt
• Ground cinnamon
• International Delight Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream flavor* (see substitutes in recipe card Notes)
• Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• Semi-sweet chocolate (Baker’s Premium Baking Chocolate Bar, Semi-Sweet 56% Cacao was used)
• Fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved (or frozen ones)
• Cane sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Roasted sliced almonds (garnish)

How to make Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal

1. Prep the cherries

Begin by pitting the cherries with a small paring knife. Just cut them in half, around the seed. Then, carefully carve out the seed with the tip of the knife. Sprinkle them with a little sugar and a splash of vanilla. Stir them a bit and pop them in the microwave for a few seconds until slightly softened.

Pick the right type of cherries

Although this cherry chocolate recipe has some tart elements from the cherries, you want to use sweet versus tart cherries. Sweet cherries (typically Bing cherries) are darker in color, have more tender skin, and are sweet and juicy. Tart cherries are lighter in color, have tighter skin, and are quite tart, not making them as pleasant to eat in their freshest state. In fact, they are typically frozen, jarred, juiced or dried.

If fresh sweet cherries are not easily accessible due to the current season, you can use frozen ‘dark sweet cherries’ and just increase your cooking time to heat them thoroughly. Just expect a major difference in the texture and a bit more cherry juice leftover for pouring over your oats.

2. Make the oats

Let’s make a tasty backdrop for the cherry chocolate topping to come! In a small serving bowl, add the oats, spices, and salt. Next, pour in the water and sweet cream coffee creamer; stir to combine. Microwave for 2 minutes 30 seconds or as instructed on the product’s packaging.

3. Add some chocolate to the oatmeal

Semi-sweet chocolate provides balance in this cherry chocolate oatmeal recipe

Anytime that I can guiltlessly have chocolate for breakfast, I jump to the chance. And as you know, chocolate and cherries are a match made in sweet-tooth heaven. I like to use Baker’s Premium Baking Chocolate Bar, Semi-Sweet 56% Cacao because it is just sweet and bitter enough to complement the fruit, which provides its own natural sweetness.

Considerations for using other types of chocolate

If you are partial to milk chocolate, I would recommend skipping on the flavored coffee creamer in the oatmeal. Especially because milk chocolate is much sweeter and creamier than semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

I would not recommend using dark chocolate alone because your bowl of oats may become too bitter to enjoy. And who wants a bitter breakfast to start the day? Not me!

4. Top the oats with the cherries

Create a picturesque bowl for breakfast and scoop a mound of those tender, plump cherries on top of the chocolatey oats. Glorious!

And since cherries are pretty good pals with almonds, feel free to add a heavy sprinkle of some sliced plain oven-roasted or honey roasted almonds over the entire bowl.

If you want to impress your special someone with breakfast in bed, choose this Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal recipe to do the trick!

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Also try these other berry-licious oatmeal recipes

• Strawberry Cheesecake Oatmeal
• Wild Blueberry & Lemon Curd Oatmeal

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