Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats (Naturally-Sweetened!)

Kick off your day with these decadent ultra nutritious pumpkin pie-inspired overnight oats! Made exclusively with whole foods like oats, chia seeds, Medjool dates, pumpkin, and cashew butter, they’re also 100% naturally-sweetened, so they make the perfect nourishing breakfast - plus they taste like pie! Vegan & naturally gluten-free.

There are few things that I love more than delicious breakfasts, particularly if they involve zero labor in the mornings! 😈 Which, realistically, translates into either someone making me breakfast, OR, as is usually the case, having to prep breakfast (read: make overnight oats) the night before. Since I’ve talked about my love for overnight oats countless other times before, I’ll keep my latest love profession brief. They’re absolutely delicious and incredibly nutritious, and an awesome breakfast goes a long way toward setting my mind (and body!) up for a great day.

Now that it’s the end of October and the weather has started cooling down in NYC, I’ve started craving all the pumpkin things. I’m talking pumpkin bread, pumpkin granola, pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes, etc. - you get the point. And because I’ve entered my “I want to eat something pumpkin-y every single day” era, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to develop a pumpkin pie-inspired overnight oats. It should go without saying that these are *peak fall* in a jar, as they’re loaded with pumpkin and warming spices, and they’re just as irresistible as they sound, while also being made entirely with whole foods. They’re THE breakfast of the season!

Why You’ll Love these Overnight Oats

Super nutritious. If you love starting off your day with a nourishing breakfast like I do, these oats are IT! They’re made entirely with whole plant foods - whole grain oats, pumpkin, Medjool dates, chia seeds, and cashews - so they pack all the fiber and nutrients found inside each and every one of those ingredients, which makes them a super nutritious breakfast option! On top of that, they taste so divine that those who are a bit less experienced with just how amazing whole foods can taste wouldn’t necessarily guess these are as nutritious as they are! Good for you ingredients 🤝 good flavors = the ultimate breakfast to leave you feeling good!

Bonus tip: If you enjoy the flavor of soy milk and want to kick up the nutrition another notch by adding in extra protein, you can use soy milk in these!

Insanely delicious flavors! @ the real reason we’re all here, isn’t it?! By combining pumpkin purée with warming spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves), vanilla extract, and Medjool dates, we get a mix that tastes really a lot like pumpkin pie filling! So on top of being really nourishing, these also taste super indulgent. Truly the perfect breakfast for all those days when you don’t have leftover pumpkin pie sitting around. 🤤

Naturally-sweetened with whole foods: Medjool dates! Pumpkin itself is quite savory (think about it: it’s just another squash!), so we need some sort of sweetener (along with spices and vanilla) to transform the pumpkin to create a sweet, pumpkin pie-inspired breakfast. You could easily do that with maple syrup or another sugar, but I’ve found a way to sweeten these without adding any types of sugars: Medjool dates! By blending in dates, which are nutritious whole foods, we can achieve that delicious pumpkin pie flavor experience without any actual sugar. This gives us all the added nutrients from the dates (like fiber, vitamins, potassium, and more), which you wouldn’t get from any non-whole food sweeteners like maple syrup. It’s a sneaky (and super delicious!) way to incorporate more whole foods - and who wouldn’t want to level up the nutrition of their breakfast!?

Easy to make. When it comes to prepping food, it doesn’t get any easier than making overnight oats. You basically just combine all the ingredients together and let them sit overnight to soak and infuse their flavors. In this recipe, you’ll have the added step of blending the wet ingredients before adding them in with the dry (this is how we break down the Medjool dates so we can use them as a sweetener for the oats!), but this extra step really only adds about an extra minute of effort. After that, combine everything together, stick the jar in the fridge overnight, and breakfast is ready for you the next morning!

Ingredient Overview

Rolled oats. The base of overnight oats! Oats are incredibly nutritious whole grains that are loaded full of vitamins, nutrients, fiber, and protein - not to mention they’re also super tasty! Just make sure to use “rolled” or “old-fashioned” oats, and not “quick” oats, for the right texture.

Chia seeds. For a BIG nutrition boost of fiber, protein, and healthy omega-3 fatty acids 🧠, and to thicken the texture of the oats.

Pumpkin purée. 🎃 Not only is pumpkin the building block of everyone’s favorite fall flavor (you know you love the pumpkin spice!! 😈), but pumpkin itself is actually quite nutritious. In particular, it’s a great source of beta-carotene, the compound that our bodies convert into vitamin A! You can certainly use a homemade pumpkin purée here, but the canned stuff works great! And let’s be honest, it doesn’t get any easier than using canned pumpkin purée, does it?!

Spices and vanilla extract. To complement the pumpkin and infuse those warming pumpkin pie flavors!

Non-dairy milk. To soak the oats! Oat milk is my go-to in overnight oats, but feel free to use your favorite non-dairy milk. If you want to up the protein content, and you enjoy its flavor, go for soy milk!

Medjool dates. To sweeten the oats naturally, which avoids the need to add any sweeteners. Plus they pair WONDERFULLY with pumpkin and really complement the whole pumpkin pie flavor vibe here! By replacing your typical sweetener (like maple syrup) with dates, we’re swapping out a simple sugar with a whole food, which has all the fiber, antioxidants, potassium, and other nutrients found inside the dates, instead of just the sugars you’d get from using sweeteners (all sweeteners are practically void of nutrients). And to incorporate that in, we blend the dates with the non-dairy milk to pulverize them so they can add in that sweetness we need.

Cashew butter. To layer in just the right amount of creaminess to balance out the pumpkin and give these oats their namesake pumpkin pie flavor. Plus this also adds some healthy fats and a bit of protein to help keep you feeling full for longer!

Optional toppings. These overnight oats taste so decadent that they really don’t need any extra toppings. But if you have some on hand, some toasted pecans are wonderful, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds always adds a little boost of protein, fiber, vitamins, and healthy fats.

More Overnight Oats Recipes

If you’ve landed on this recipe and pumpkin-flavored things are not currently the vibe (i.e. it’s not fall), I’ve got a few more overnight oats recipes for you to try! These are all also 100% naturally-sweetened and made with whole foods to kick start your day with a big dose of fiber, nutrients, and (of course) delicious flavors!