Before anybody goes ahead and freaks out at me using the word “oatmeal”: DON’T PANIC! Fear not, I haven’t started posting recipes with grains in ’em. I’m just too lazy to come up with a “no-oats-meal”, “n’oatmeal” or “faux-tmeal” type name. This recipe looks like oatmeal, tastes like oatmeal and can be gussied up a million ways like oatmeal… but isn’t oatmeal. In fact, this Apple & Cranberry Paleo Oatmeal recipe is pretty sneaky, since it hides an extra boost of veggies in its grain-like texture! I’m like the Veggie Whisperer up in here today.
One of the most popular recipes in my cookbook Nourish is the Coconut Oatmeal you can find hanging out in the breakfast section. It’s about the time of year when people are starting to crave something warm and comforting in the morning. I know this because people have started tagging me in the photos they’re taking of their Coconut Oatmeal creations. Which got me to drooling and then to thinking of a festive, holiday themed paleo oatmeal recipe that I could share with you guys here.
Nothing screams “holiday season” to me more than fresh cranberries! These little guys are ridiculously cute, festively jewel-toned and sometimes staggeringly sour, not to mention a staple of winter feasts throughout Thanksgiving and Christmas. I paired them with the natural sweetness of apples to make this paleo oatmeal both seasonal and perfectly balanced: no need to reach for one of those shady microwaveable pouches ever again!
You can make this recipe ahead of time, portion it out and then gently reheat it in the mornings, which makes it a great addition to your batch cooking routine. Between the stealthy squash-and-apple combination, I don’t personally feel the need to add any extra sweetener, but if you like, you can drizzle a little maple syrup or raw honey on top just before serving.
Looking for more oatless oatmeal recipes? Try my Spiced Banana Bread Oatmeal, Golden Milk Oatmeal with Orange & Spices, Rooibos Tea Oatmeal with Vanilla Scented Blueberries, or my Tropical Plantain Oatmeal Bowls with Coconut & Mango!
PrintApple & Cranberry Paleo Oatmeal {aip, dairy free}
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large acorn squash
- 2 cups / 480 ml coconut milk
- 3/4 cup / 60 g unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup / 215 g peeled & grated apple (about 2)
- 1 cup / 80 g fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- Optional, to serve: pure maple syrup or raw honey
Instructions
- ROAST: Preheat the oven to 400 F / 205 C. Carefully cut the acorn squash in half, then scoop out the seeds. Cover the bottom of a 7 x 11 baking dish with water, then place the acorn squash halves, cut side down, into the dish. Roast until the squash is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- SIMMER: When the cooked squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out 2 cups / 400 g of the flesh and add it to a medium sized saucepan. Add all other ingredients to the pan over medium heat and bring almost to an even simmer, stirring to combine the ingredients evenly. Reduce the heat a little to maintain an gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apple and cranberries have softened and the oatmeal has thickened, about 20 minutes. Serve drizzled with a little maple syrup or raw honey, if you like. I like to finish mine off with some extra chopped apples as a nice crunchy topping, too!
Looking for more AIP Breakfast Ideas?
Check out 85 Amazing AIP Breakfasts! Your favorite AIP bloggers – myself included! – got together and compiled our best breakfast recipes to answer that ever popular question: “What do you eat for breakfast on the AIP?!”
WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT AMAZING AIP BREAKFASTS:
- All of the recipes are 100% compliant with The Paleo Approach
- It’s been created by 26 bloggers who all use the AIP themselves
- It has 85 breakfast themed AIP recipes, many of which were created specifically for this book
- Over half of the recipes can easily be modified for low-FODMAP, GAPS/SCD, low-histamine, and coconut-free diets using the handy substitution charts included in the book
WHAT’S IN AMAZING AIP BREAKFASTS:
- Beverages: How about trying a delicious herbal AIP Coffee (check out the sneak peek recipe here!) or Rooibos “Latte” again?
- Bowls: bring back foods like Apple Cinnamon “Porridge”, Biscuits & Gravy or Sweet Potato Muffins in Bacon Bowls!
- Skillets: one pan meals are the best and you have recipes like Sweet Potato, Pancetta and Apple Hash, Sausage Fennel and Cherry Stir Fry and Cinnamon Pork and Apple Skillet to choose from!
- Soups: these are actually my favorite thing to eat in the morning – just warm and enjoy! How about creamy Leek & Sweet Potato Soup or Slow Cooker Breakfast Stew?
- Patties: you don’t have to stick to plain sausage! Try an AIP Breakfast Stack, some Tuna Cakes with Green Olives or some Ginger Green Onion Pork Patties to liven things up
- Pancakes: choose from 7 pancake recipes… then move on to Plantain Waffles or Applesauce Muffins
See all the details and scoop up your copy of 85 Amazing AIP Breakfasts here!
How many servings does this make? I just make enough for 1 person, so how much should this be cut down for a single serving?
This will make enough for about 4 servings 🙂
can you substitute almond milk for the coconut milk? will it provide the same texture?
I’m not personally familiar with using almond milk since I don’t eat nuts, but I don’t see why you can’t substitute in some almond milk. That said, I suspect most pre made almond milks will be a little thinner / lower fat than coconut milk, so I would start off with a little less milk than the recipe calls for at first. If it’s too thick, you can always add some more a little at a time, until the texture is as you like it. Hope that helps! 🙂
Absolutely delicious and filling! It makes a lot–I packed up containers to bring to work.
Glad you enjoyed it! I do the same thing, portion it up and then grab and go in the morning 🙂
This looks inviting and like comfort food, we do not have acorn squach in South Africa, could I use butternut squach?
Hi there! You could try butternut as a base, but I suspect that it will give you a thicker, starchier and maybe a little sweeter result. If that happens, you may wish to thin the recipe down with a little extra coconut milk and perhaps serve without any extra honey or maple syrup, to taste. Hope that helps! 🙂
This recipe is amazing! Instead of chopping up apples, I used apple sauce and added ground cloves and nutmeg for the spices. So yummy and not too sweet!
So glad you enjoyed it – and that’s a great trick with the apple sauce 🙂
I just made this for breakfast for me and used as side dish for dinner. Everyone loves it! I portion out for breakfast “grab and go”. Thankyou!
Yay! So happy to hear that! (Sadly, I’m the only oatmeal lover in my home, which is both a blessing (it’s aaaal for meeeee!) and a curse (my husband refuses to even try it, ha!). So I’m always doubly happy to hear this recipe working out for other people 🙂
will butternut work instead ?
Hi Megan, yes, I think it would work out just fine! It’s a tiny bit sweeter, so maybe hold back a tad on the sweetener you add at first and adjust to the way you like it 🙂
So let me tell you what this is. It is not oatmeal. It is BETTER. I had a spaghetti squash that I put in the instant pot that came out a bit too mushy. I needed something to do with it and grabbed the Nourish cookbook but remembered I saw this recipe on the site. I followed the recipe to the letter only subbing the acorn for spaghetti squash (which I used an immersion blender to chop up even more). FABULOUS. No sweetener needed. It’s 1 degree out and this was the perfect breakfast! Will never buy the expensive packaged “aip” type hot cereals again!