BLOOD ORANGE VANILLA OATMEAL

It’s winter again here in the forest and I woke up craving warm and creamy oatmeal. I also had a few blood oranges that I’ve been meaning to use in a recipe, so I made a quick flavorful blood orange vanilla oatmeal. There are a few simple tricks to making creamy oatmeal so I thought I’d share my tips with you. Hope you find them helpful!

How to make creamy oatmeal

• Water and plant-based milk: I put my rolled oats in a saucepan and pour equal amounts of water and plant-based milk to cover the oats (exact measurements in the recipe below). I’ve come to the conclusion that water really helps make the oats creamier, so I always add water and plant-based milk. The milk adds another level of creaminess and lovely flavor, too.
• Soaking the oats: Next I let the oats soak in the liquid! I let them soak while I make coffee and do some other morning prep. So about 5-10 minutes. Soaking makes the oats cook faster, and I find it makes them creamier too.
• Vanilla: Vanilla makes oats taste creamy and adds a depth of warm flavor.
• Nut butter: Nut butter adds the ultimate level of creaminess…cashew butter is my favorite. Also coconut butter is delicious and the combination of cashew-macadamias and coconut butter is heavenly (get the recipe here)
• Extra tips: I cook my oats in medium-low heat, stirring every now and then. If the oats look too sticky and clumpy, I add a bit more water or plant-based milk. If I have time I let the oatmeal stay covered (under a lid) in the saucepan for a few minutes after cooking. Keeping the lid on adds more moisture to the saucepan making the oatmeal even creamier!

If you’re thinking it’s a bit weird to add citrus fruit to oatmeal, let me assure you it’s a very delightful combo! Here are my favorite citrus combos with oatmeal: blood orange + raspberries, lemon + coconut butter + turmeric, and orange + grated carrot cooked in coconut oil. The combo I’m sharing today is the most “candy” like – there’s something so uniquely sweet about blood orange combined with raspberries 🙂 And I love enhancing the unique flavor by sprinkling coconut sugar on top.

Sending you sweet vibes from the forest!

♥ Tiina

Print Recipe

Blood Orange Vanilla Oatmeal

Creamy and sweet, this blood orange vanilla oatmeal will brighten up your day! It's ready in 15 minutes and tastes a bit like candy...but of course it's much healthier 🙂

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: vegan

Keyword: blood orange, oatmeal

Servings: 2

Author: Tiina from My Berry Forest

Ingredients

Blood orange vanilla oatmeal

• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup oat drink (or other plant-based milk) I use Kaslink AITO organic oat drink
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp cashew butter coconut butter works too! And also white chocolate butter (recipe link in this post)
• pinch of salt
• if you want a sweeter oatmeal, you can add sweetener e.g.maple syrup would work well
• the juice of one blood orange

Toppings

• blood orange slices
• cashews
• raspberries
• coconut sugar

Instructions

• Optional: Place the oats in a saucepan, add water + milk and let soak for a few minutes.
• Bring the oats + liquid to a boil and reduce heat. 
• Cook the oats in medium - low heat stirring every now and then until the oatmeal is soft and creamy (5-10 minutes). Add more liquid if needed.
• Optional: Turn off heat and remove the saucepan from the heat. Put a lid on and let the oatmeal stay covered for a few minutes.
• When the oatmeal is ready stir in the vanilla, cashew butter and salt.
• Squeeze the juice of one blood orange to the oatmeal, give it a little stir and serve the oatmeal with toppings.
• Enjoy this lovely sweet breakfast!