Overnight Pumpkin Spice Oats Parfait (again)

I had every intention of sharing a pumpkin baked good recipe with you today, but two factors convinced me to save it for next week:

1. The crisp cool weather that we enjoyed for a few days has been replaced by warm humidity, so it once again feels like summer (which, yes I know, is the season we are still in).
2. I loved the pumpkin overnight oats parfait that I shared with you in Monday’s post so much that I thought it deserved its own post, complete with actual (i.e. not iPhone Instagram) photographs.

This parfait is the perfect breakfast for those of you who – like me – are just itching for fall-inspired treats, but are still craving cold and refreshing eats.

My food moods are absolutely dependent on the weather; so as long as the mornings are warm, I will be eating cold breakfasts like this one.

I typically make overnight oats with banana slices chilling right along with the other ingredients, but the banana soft serve that this recipe calls for will make your breakfast feel like dessert.

Plus, the layering parfait technique is SO much prettier than a blah (photogenically speaking) bowl of mush.

I added some crumbled graham crackers for flavor and appearance… but even more so for texture. Although my cold-weather classic breakfast of hot stovetop oats isn’t complete with a spoonful (or two) of nut butter, a crunchy or crispy topping is the way I roll for overnight oats.

I apologize for putting the mystery (unless you’re a fan of HFFL on Facebook, that is) pumpkin baked good on hold, but I promise you it’ll be worth the wait!

And in the meantime, you can get your pumpkin fix with this breakfast parfait.

Overnight Pumpkin Spice Oats Parfait

Printer-Friendly Recipe

yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 3 Tbsp pure pumpkin puree
• ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, & cloves to taste
• splash of pure vanilla extract
• 1 large banana, peeled & sliced
• 4 squares whole wheat graham crackers, (equivalent of 2 sheets), such as MI-DEL

Directions:

1. The night before you intend to eat the parfait, combine the oats, yogurt, milk, pumpkin, spices, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
2. Also the night before, place the banana slices in a ziploc bag and freeze overnight.
3. In the morning, place the frozen banana slices into a food processor (or high-speed blender) and process/blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Place the graham crackers into a plastic bag and crush with a skillet or other heavy item until they turn into coarse crumbs.
5. Layer the cold pumpkin spice oats with the banana soft serve and graham cracker crumbs.

Nutritional Information:

433.6 calories, 4.6 grams fat, 13.9 grams fiber, 27.3 grams sugar, 14.4 grams protein