This green apple caramel oatmeal recipe saves time with store-bought dulce de leche!
Trick or treat? Hmm…there’s is a little bit of both in this playful Royal Oats original recipe. Creamy oatmeal. Tart green apple. Crunchy pecans. And sweet, salty, gooey caramel.
Ok, so the treat part is pretty obvious, but the trick is in the caramel. Cut your time down at the knees by using dulce de leche! ‘Cuz who has time to make stovetop caramel in the morning? Not me.
Another surprise is that this fall festival-inspired oatmeal is not overly sweet because it’s made from a slowly reduced and caramelized sweetened condensed milk that is–dulce de leche. Therefore, there is no stovetop cooking required. Just pop everything into the microwave for a quick, festive, kid-friendly breakfast.
What you will need to make it
All you need are a few fridge and pantry-friendly ingredients:
- Old-fashioned or rolled oats (heartier texture than instant oatmeal with can be quite mushy)
- Sea salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Water
- Sweet cream flavored coffee creamer (I use International Delight Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer)
- SUBSTITUTE: Half and half + sugar + vanilla extract (or flavored coffee creamer of choice)
- Almond milk
- Dulce de leche (Nestle La Lachera Dulce de Leche was used)
- Green apple (Granny Smith)
- Chopped pecans (optional)
How to make Salted Caramel Green Apple Oatmeal: Step-by-step
1. Cook up some creamy oatmeal.
Rolled or old-fashioned oats provide a heartier texture than instant oats and are my preference. However, feel free to use whatever you’ve got in the pantry. I mix the oats with a pinch of salt, cinnamon, and flavored coffee creamer, (yum), and almond milk. Super creamy, super dreamy.
2. Make the easiest salted caramel sauce of your life!
Making caramel sauce on the stovetop is just too much to ask for breakfast. So you can cheat a bit and use glorious dulce de leche instead. It’s a thick and rich milk-based caramel which makes it even more nutritious than sugar-based caramel. For me, that throws the dessert for breakfast guilt out the window!
3. Cook the green apple slices.
Tart green apples provide a nice balance to the sweet and rich caramel sauce. Just add a little sugar to the apple slices before microwaving them to further bring out their flavor and tenderize them a little.
4. Put it all together.
This is the best part! Be generous by drizzling a couple of spoonfuls of caramel sauce over the warm and creamy oats. Then, add a layer of apple slices, more caramel (of course), and some chopped pecans. Make it even prettier with a few dashes of cinnamon. Oh, yeah…there it is, baby! Enjoy.
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More healthy dessert-inspired oatmeal recipes
Who says you can’t have a little fun with breakfast? Feel like a kid every morning with these playful and nutritious Royal Oats (Gourmet Oatmeal Recipes):
More caramel green apple oatmeal recipes
Salted Caramel Green Apple Oatmeal
A nostalgic and fall festival-inspired breakfast. Creamy oatmeal. Tart apple. Crunchy pecans. And sweet, salty, gooey caramel using dulce de leche. A few tricks, but ALL treat!
Ingredients
Oatmeal
- 1/2 c old-fashioned or rolled oats
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 c water
- 2 TB International Delight Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer*
- 1/4 c almond milk, unsweetened vanilla
Caramel Sauce
- 4 TB dulce de leche
- 1 TB half and half
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Dash of cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Apples
- 1/2 green apple, peeled, cored, sliced
- 1/2 TB sugar
- Chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the oats. In a small bowl, combine the oats, salt, and cinnamon, water, and creamer. Microwave on high for 2 minutes 30 seconds or as instructed on the product's packaging. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in the almond milk. Set aside.
- Make the caramel sauce. In a small glass bowl, combine all of the Caramel Sauce ingredients except the salt. Microwave the mixture on high for 1 minute or until it is a sauce-like consistency. Sprinkle in the salt and stir thoroughly.
- Cook the apples. In a separate dish, combine the apples and sugar. Microwave the apples on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until they have softened.
- Put it together. Layer on top of the oatmeal some caramel, all of the apples, more caramel, and pecans. Enjoy the nostalgia, my friend!
Notes
Recommended Products
- Nestle La Lachera Dulce de Leche
- International Delight Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer (I use this in all of my sweet oatmeal recipes)
*How to Make a Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer Substitute
- Combine 2 tbsp half and half + 1/8 tsp vanilla extract + 1½ tsp sugar
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 466Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 858mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 5gSugar: 55gProtein: 9g
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used. I am not a doctor, nor a certified nutritionist and make no claims to the contrary. Each individual’s dietary needs and restrictions are unique to the individual. You are ultimately responsible for all decisions pertaining to your health. Please consult your personal physician with any questions you may have regarding your own health and diet.
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