I’ve been experimenting a lot with oatmeal recipes lately, especially those that I can whip up quickly. Since oatmeal is so filling and relatively healthy, I’ve been trying to eat more of it. The thing is, I can’t eat it plain. In fact, I can’t even eat it with just a bit of brown sugar or something in it. I need STUFF. Chunks, variations, flavors.

The other night, I found a can of pumpkin puree sitting in my cabinet and it got me thinking: could I make an easy pumpkin oatmeal recipe with this? Turns out, I could! Check out my very own delicious (if I do say so myself) 5-minute pumpkin oatmeal recipe!

5-Minute Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Recipe

Main Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup instant oats (I used Quaker, which I still had left over from my For the Love of Play post)
• 2-3 heaping tablespoons of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (if you do decide to use the pumpkin pie puree, you can skip this)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Optional ingredients (although I’d add them, they made it taste great)

• small handful of walnuts (maybe 2 tablespoons)
• sweetener of your choice. I actually used a brown sugar Splenda blend so I didn’t need to add any extra sweetener. Another favorite of mine is Agave in the Raw.

Directions:

• Start by simmering your milk and pumpkin puree together over a medium heat until it just begins to boil a bit.
• While that’s happening, mix your oatmeal, brown sugar, sweetener (if it’s a dry ingredient) and pumpkin pie spice in a little bowl
• When the milk and pumpkin begin boiling, dump your oatmeal mixture in and stir well
• Let cook for about a minute, until it’s all nice and hot. If it’s runny, add more oatmeal. If it’s too thick, add a smidge more milk.
• Take off heat, sprinkle in your walnuts and enjoy!

This either makes two small servings or one really nice big bowl of oatmeal for yourself.