These easy, vegan apple pie overnight oats have been on regular rotation in my house. They’re perfect for apple season and a great way to use all those apples from apple picking this year!

A sweetly seasonal breakfast

I love, love, love overnight oats. They’re a great meal prep option and perfect for breakfast throughout the week. In our house, we eat them for our afternoon snack. I love them so much that I designate one dinner a week for “oat night,” when I just eat a big bowl for dinner. In fact, that’s what I had for dinner last night. When I say I love overnight oats, I am not exaggerating.

I was recently fixated on my Pumpkin Cheesecake Overnight Oats, but now I have moved on to this apple pie variation. To say I am obsessed would be an understatement. I’ve been making these for the past three weeks, and my husband and I really can’t get enough of them.

You can use nearly any apple that you like for these. Last year, I fell in love with Lucy Glo Apples, and I ordered a few when I saw them available at my local grocery store. They’re so beautiful, and I love the pink flesh. They have a sweet flavor with subtle berry undertones that I haven’t picked up on other apples, which is why I love them so much! I like to mix and match with this recipe. I used one Lucy Glo apple and another one called Cosmic Crisp. Whenever a new fruit comes into season, I like to try all the different varieties of it, so I always have an assortment of different apple varieties during autumn.

Like I said, feel free to use your favorite apple in this recipe. Each unique variety can bring a different level of sweetness, crispness, or tartness to your overnight oats.

While you can make your own apple pie spice blend (this recipe looks great!), I opt for a McCormick’s pre-made blend to make my life easier.

What you need

You don’t need many ingredients for these vegan overnight oats!

Rolled oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not instant. I also prefer rolled oats over steel-cut oats, but you can use those if that’s what you have. I just find them to be a bit too firm, and they don’t get as creamy in my experience.
Apples: You’ll need about two cups of diced apples. Two apples are usually enough to yield two cups, but don’t fret if you have more or a bit less than two cups.
Oat milk: I use Oatly oat milk but you can use your favorite non-dairy milk.
Chia seeds: I like the extra oomph from chia seeds, but you can skip them if you don’t have them.
Maple syrup: I recommend starting with ⅓ cup maple syrup and increasing from there. I almost always go with ½ cup maple syrup, but you can adjust to suit your sweetness preferences.
Pecans: I use pecans, but you can use walnuts or sliced almonds instead.
Apple pie spice: As I mentioned, you can make your own, but I use a store-bought blend to keep it simple. If you don’t have this, you can also just use cinnamon instead.
Vanilla extract: I like a subtle vanilla flavor, but this isn’t a mandatory ingredient. If you don’t have it, just skip it.

How much milk to add to overnight oats?

I typically start with a 1:1 ratio with milk and oats for overnight oats. This usually creates a thick oats that aren’t too wet or too dry. I’ve made this particular recipe with a 1:1 ratio of milk and oats and I’ve made it with a slightly higher ratio of 4:3 by simply adding an extra cup of milk to the oats. I found that I preferred these apple pie overnight oats recipe with the higher ratio of milk. You can always start with the 1:1 ratio and add extra milk if you like.

How to make it

This recipe is really just three simple steps.

Step 1: Core and small-dice the apples.
Step 2: Lightly crush the pecans or walnuts. I usually just break them apart with my hands, but you can crush them in a bag with a heavy-bottomed skillet or a mallet if you want them broken apart more.
Step 3: Throw all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine.

That’s it! From there, transfer the oats to a storage container of choice and refrigerate for at least one hour. I love to use a big glass bowl with a lid.

How long do overnight oats keep in the refrigerator?

Overnight oats will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator, provided you keep them in an airtight container. This recipe makes enough for 8 hearty servings for the entire workweek!