Warm Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal

Some mornings need a warm bowl of something, and nothing else will do. Not cold cereal, not toast on the run — a proper bowl of oatmeal, steaming, sweet with apples and cinnamon, the kind of breakfast that makes the whole house smell like autumn. That is what this recipe is for. It takes fifteen minutes, most of it just the oats bubbling away while you make a cup of tea, and it sets you up for the whole morning.

This is warm cinnamon apple oatmeal, and it is the breakfast I make when the days start getting colder and I want something kind. The apples are cooked with cinnamon until they are soft and sweet, the oats are creamy and thick, and the whole thing is finished with a little honey and a handful of nuts. It is simple food, the kind my family asks for again and again.

Watch: Warm Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes | Servings: 2 bowls

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 cups milk (or half milk, half water)
• 2 medium apples, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, plus more to serve
• A pinch of salt
• A splash of vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or almonds
• A pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Method

1. Start with the apples. Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat, add the diced apples, and cook them for three or four minutes until they start to soften. They should smell wonderful already, before you have even added the spice.
2. Sprinkle in half the cinnamon and a little of the honey, and stir the apples around for another minute until they are coated and starting to caramelise at the edges. Then take the pan off the heat and set it aside — the apples will finish in the oatmeal.
3. Put the oats, milk and salt into a saucepan, and bring it to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. Stir it now and then while it heats, so the oats do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
4. When it is simmering, turn the heat down low and cook for five to seven minutes, stirring often, until the oatmeal is thick and creamy. It should fall off the spoon in thick ribbons — if it looks too stiff, add a splash more milk.
5. Stir in the cooked apples, the rest of the cinnamon, the vanilla and the nutmeg if you are using it. The apples will melt into the oats, and the whole bowl will turn the colour of warm honey.
6. Taste it before you serve it. Add a little more honey if you like it sweeter, or another pinch of cinnamon if you want it warmer. Oatmeal should be seasoned to your taste, the same as anything else.
7. Spoon the oatmeal into two bowls, and pile a few of the warm cinnamon apples on top of each one. Scatter the chopped walnuts over the top, and add one last drizzle of honey.
8. Eat it straight away, while it is still warm and steaming. A spoonful of yoghurt on top is lovely if you have it, but the plain bowl, just as it is, is honestly my favourite.

Serving and Storage

Serve this oatmeal the moment it is ready, in warm bowls, with a spoon and nothing else — it cools quickly, and it is at its best when it is steaming. Leftover oatmeal keeps in the fridge for two days in a covered bowl, and it reheats well with a splash of milk stirred in. The cinnamon apples keep separately in a small container, and they are just as good spooned over yoghurt later.

Tips

A few things that make this bowl better. Use rolled oats, not instant ones — instant oats go gluey, and rolled oats hold their texture. For the apples, a tart one like Granny Smith works best with the cinnamon and honey; a very sweet apple can make the bowl too sweet. And do not skip the salt — a pinch of salt in oatmeal sounds odd, but it wakes up all the other flavours.

That is warm cinnamon apple oatmeal: fifteen minutes, one pot, and a breakfast that tastes like someone looked after you. Make it on a cold morning, sit down with it properly, and see if it becomes your cold-weather habit too. It is easy to make your own as well — a handful of raisins or dried cranberries stirred in with the apples is lovely, and a spoonful of peanut butter melting into the warm oats makes it richer, in the best way. In the depths of winter I sometimes swap the apple for a pear, which cooks up just as sweetly, and in summer, when apples are out of season, frozen berries work surprisingly well. The method stays the same, and the bowl stays warm and kind. If you try it, tell us on our Contact page — we love hearing what home cooks do with the recipes here.