I have a few requirements for breakfast. It has to be easy, yummy, and help keep me full. I also want it to be something that is fairly light, so I don’t use too many macros early on in the day. This Easy Pumpkin Oats and Greek Yogurt Bowl does just that!

The Inspiration

If you’ve been around here for a while, you might remember that I used to love eating Kodiak Cakes every morning for breakfast. In fact, I ate them for well over a year, and I never got sick of them! But then I began to see lots of oat varieties floating around on my Instagram feed, and I thought it might be time to mix it up.

There was only one problem with all those delicious-looking oats: they contained egg whites. Anything with eggs is an absolutely no-go for me since I have an egg allergy. So I knew I wanted to try to make my own version of oats that I could eat but still have a good dose of protein with it.

The Recipe

The first thing that you will need to make this recipe is oats. I decided to go with quick-cooking oats, since they don’t take as long to cook. Plus, they can be easily prepped in the microwave. Being easy and quick to prep in the morning is a must with little kids running around or if you need to rush off to work! Old Fashioned Oats will also work but may need a longer cook time.

After oats, you’ll add in some canned pumpkin puree. This will give the oats their pumpkin flavor, plus add some volume to your oats for hardly any macros. To help liven up the pumpkin, you’ll add in some pumpkin pie spice or just plain cinnamon will do, too.

Before you begin cooking your pumpkin oats, you’ll need to add some water. This is where your preference will come into play. If you like your oats thicker, you’ll want to add in less water. Likewise, if you want them to be looser, you’ll want to add more water. For me, I found that 100-120 grams of water worked out perfectly. The oats still thickened up nicely (especially after they cooled a bit), but they were also soft like a traditional bowl of oatmeal. You might need to play around with this portion, as microwaves can vary how quickly your oats soak up the water, too!

After the oats come out of the microwave, allow them to cool for a bit if desired. They are very hot after they are cooked! Then, top with a serving of Greek yogurt and additional toppings (I have ideas listed below) and enjoy! So simple and breakfast will be ready in minutes.

Toppings

First things first, you’ll notice that this recipe does not include ANY sweetener. This means your oats will NOT be sweet unless you add in your own sweetener of choice. I like to top mine with sugar- free maple syrup (& sometimes I stir it into the oats before topping with Greek yogurt, just to sweeten the oat mixture as well), but your sweetener of choice will work just fine. If you’re looking for some ideas honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, liquid stevia, or swerve brown sugar would all work well. It just depends on your preference.  Remember, the macros do not include your sweetener, so you’ll have to add it into your food diary.

Some other ideas for toppings:

1. Chopped Almonds/ other nuts
2. Almond Butter/other nut butter (and allow it to get all melty on the warm oats. Heaven.)
3. Bananas
4. Granola
5. Diced Apples
6. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
7. But really, the sky is the limit!

The Macros

The macros for one bowl with the ingredients listed below are rounded to 1F/26C/21P or 197 calories. Remember to include your sweetner of choice, plus any additional toppings in your food diary. But I love that with macros this light, you can afford to add some fun toppings (looking at you, almond butter).