This easy Apple Cinnamon Paleo Hot Cereal is ready in just 10 minutes, free of added sugar, Paleo, and vegan. Just as delicious for an afternoon snack as it is for breakfast!
I’m sneaking in a recipe today! On a Thursday – yes – this is the day I typically ramble on about thoughts and life, but, I thought you might want to get in on this preeeetty spectacular Paleo breakfast recipe.
A breakfast recipe, that – oh yes my friends – is SWEET and contains no eggs. Sometimes I just don’t want eggs. Or kale. Or meat.
Or even bacon for that matter. (Sounds crazy, but I’ve been on bacon overdrive lately and I’ve had enough. For one day. And yes I know bacon is a meat, but it goes in its own category as far as I’m concerned.)
I guess I’ve also been having a whole lot of CLEAN FUN with my apples lately, and had to see what else I could do. Don’t you guys love the cinnamon apple combination? Heck yes, for me.
I also find that cooked apples are so much more pleasant on my digestion, and I’m always happy to find new ways to cook them.
The thing about this yummy Paleo hot cereal is that you have options! Let me explain.
First, timing options. If you have NO TIME in the morning – whatsoever – you can make the entire thing the night before – minus toppings -and simply top with a bit of almond milk, heat, top and eat. Super simple.
You also have texture options. As a 10-minute cereal, the nuts remain a bit crunchy, but, if you prefer a softer, more oatmeal-like cereal you can simply add more almond milk (as explained in the recipe box) and cook longer.
As far as toppings go, the sky’s the limit (the sky, or paleo, however you view it!)
The first time I made this I went with sliced bananas and coconut butter for me, almond butter for Adam. The second time, I added bananas and nothing else and it was perfect. Add whatever suits your mood, or add nothing at all, up to you!
The last great thing? You can eat this any time of day and it just WORKS. Breakfast, lunch, light dinner (if you roll that way), dessert.
I actually just had this for lunch because I’m rushing to get work done before picking up the kids, and I had leftovers in the fridge! I love that it’s sugar-free (so not quite a baked-good) but still has some sweetness to it, along with healthy fats.
I hope you’re ready to start – let’s go!
Easy Apple Cinnamon Paleo Hot Cereal {Sugar-Free, Vegan}
Easy Apple Cinnamon Paleo Hot Cereal {Sugar-Free, Vegan}
Ingredients
For the hot cereal:
- 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
- 1 large apple or 2 small peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup raisins or chopped dates
- 1/8-1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- dash nutmeg
- 3 tbsp unsweetened coconut finely shredded
- 1 cup chopped raw nuts walnuts, cashews, pecans or a combination (I used cashews and walnuts)
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk* or canned light coconut milk
Toppings to serve with:
- 1-2 bananas sliced
- unsweetened almond butter or coconut butter
- Additional almond milk
Instructions
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Heat a large saucepan over med low heat and add the coconut oil until melted.
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Add the apples and nuts, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cook for about 1 minute until apples begin to soften and nuts begin to brown
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Lower the heat to low and add the almond milk, shredded coconut, raisins and cinnamon.
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Stir, raise the heat and bring to a boil. Allow to boil while stirring for a minute, then lower to a simmer, cover, and cook another 2-5 minutes* until the apples are soft and some liquid is absorbed. Nuts will soften but will still have a crunch*
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Serve hot with toppings like sliced banana, more almond milk and coconut butter or your favorite nut butter.
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You can also make the hot cereal ahead of time, store covered in the refrigerator (without toppings), heat prior to serving and then add toppings. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If you have more time and want a softer hot cereal, you can add 1/4-1/2 cup more almond milk and simmer about 10 minutes longer, or until desired consistency is reached.
Want more sweet Paleo breakfast recipes? Try one of these!
Sweet Potato Apple Breakfast Bake
Banana Blueberry Breakfast Bread
Hearty Cinnamon Raisin breakfast Bread
Paleo Hot Cereal on the web:
3 minute Coconut Almond Porridge
Tell Me!
How often do you crave a sweet breakfast?
How much time do you have in the morning to get breakfast ready for yourself?
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Hi! I'm Michele. Paleo eater and recipe creator, runner, and mom of 3. Welcome to my blog, where we obsess over all of it and love every minute! (It's way fun over here, promise.) Stay a while to eat, run, and rant with me! 
This looks amazing! I especially love the fact that it’s really chunky..I hate when oatmeal is super thin like soup. Thanks for sharing!
I’m not a soupy cereal person either! I like a little crunch and chunkiness 🙂
Do you find that cooked fruit and cooked veggies are better on your digestion? I think I’m finding that too, but I can handle some raw veggies and fruits.
And this looks EPIC. Chunky is my favorite.
100% easier to digest for me, I don’t eat raw veggies besides salad greens and cherry tomatoes really, and with fruit I’m okay with raw berries and bananas but everything else I try to cook.
Hi there! This was a complete hit for my boyfriend and I on my first day of Whole 30. What do you guess the calorie count would be for one serving? Thanks!!!
Ahhh! Did you hear my happy scream thousands of kilometers away? haha After 6 days of whole30 egg casserole this is EXACTLY what I need. I will have to adjust a little because nuts used to give me major tummy aches but will try to include a little amount at first and see how it goes. Thanks for sharing, perfect timing!
I think if you try it you should cook it longer so perhaps the nuts are more digestible, or you could go heavier on the shredded coconut and sub flax meal if you can do that. More of a “porridge” then but I bet it would be great! I totally hear you on the eggs, lol 🙂
I was told that Almond milk Whole30 compliant??? That’s what the Whole30 book says too.
Oops, i was told almond milk is NOT Whole30 cpmpliant???
Michelle, what is the whole 30 that you keep referring to?
Hi! It’s basically 30 days of strict paleo for the purpose of resetting, reducing inflammation, and then reintroducing the eliminated foods one by one to observe reactions. It’s how I got into Paleo to begin with in 2013 – here’s the website: http://whole30.com
Can’t wait to try this! I’m doing the January Whole30 too so something different for breakfast is so great!
Hi Michele! Love your recipes!! I am not paleo or whole30 but eat very healthy and love a lot of those recipes. This I am gonna make for sure! But, am not a fan of raisins and not sure if I want dates in it either. Think if I leave them out it’ll change the texture or flavor? Thanks!
I’m going to try it with dried cranberries instead!
As an oatmeal junkie, I could never imagine eating eggs everyday for breakfast on the Whole30, so this recipe gives me hope that I can last all 30 days!
Ate this for breakfast yesterday and it was deelish! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear!
I love this idea, and it’s so nice to have a warm bowl of food in the morning. It really sets the day off right. Ave and I are on an oatmeal kick. We had strawberries in our bowls this morning and at one point, I thought she had blood on the side of her head…nope just strawberry juice. Thank goodness. 🙂
She’s such a good eater! Love that you can share your favorite foods with her, so cute 🙂
So delicious! My kids loved it too. thank you for the great recipes! I put hemp seeds on top. I agree with you that coconut butter makes everything delicious!
Ooh that sounds so good! Glad you guys liked it!
What is the white sauce drizzled over this? I can’t wait to make this. I’m halfway through my Whole30 and need something NEW! 🙂
Almond milk is NOT Whole30 compliant??? At least that’s what I was told and the book says.
Almond milk is a “read your labels” food for Whole30, meaning if the ingredients on the label are compliant, then it’s good to go. Here is the info: https://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/
Just made this for breakfast because I was NEEDING something new for breakfast – so filling and SO delicious! Excited to have leftovers for tomorrow’s breakfast 🙂 your recipes are making Whole30 so much easier! Thank you!
That’s awesome, so thrilled to hear it Rachel!!
Same question as above…what is that delicious looking drizzle?
It’s melted coconut butter, so yummy!
On Day 7 of my second whole30 and my boyfriend’s first. I was scrolling through pinterest looking for whole30 breakfast recipes because we were looking for something without eggs. We are already so burnt out on eggs!!! My boyfriend looked over and saw the picture and demanded it for dessert. We split one serving and didn’t even finish it, it was so rich, delicious, and filling! We are saving our leftoers to accompany breakfast in the morning, and we will definitely make this recipe again and again!
Omg… That was amazing!!! I used pears since I was out of apples and they worked well.
So glad you liked it! Love pears too 🙂
I started the #whole30 aboutt a week ago. Was craving my oatmeal lately. This was sooo much better than oatmeal. Thank you! Used banana and blueberries for topping. Yum!
any thoughts on making this with cashew milk instead of almond milk?
Yup that would work well 🙂
Have you ever frozen this? I’m making a big batch and was wondering how t would be frozen and thawed later? Love this recipe! I use half regular almond milk and half unsweetened chocolate and add pumpkin spice seasoning.
I haven’t frozen it so I’m not sure what to expect with the reheating! I would think it would turn out fine since you’re not really looking for crunch anyway, and can always reheat a bit longer if there’s too much liquid. Glad you like it!
Hi Michele! I’m currently on my first Whole 30 journey and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I’ve featured another one of your recipes on my latest blog post:
15 Quick & Easy Whole30 Breakfast Ideas
http://www.happilyeverhauser.com/2017/03/13/15-quick-easy-whole30-breakfasts/
Awesome! Hope you like this 🙂
Hi,
What is the sauce on top? It looks far too thick to be regular almond milk. Thanks!
Melted coconut butter 🙂
Hey Michele!
This really opened my mind to new ways to look at breakfast. This was so yummy! Thanks for sharing such an awesome healthy recipe!
I’m so happy you liked this 🙂
I think I’m going to try making this because it looks so delicious! 🙂
I like to make bigger batches of meals ahead and then eat throughout the week (I only cook for myself). How long do you think this would keep? I assume the apples would be the only thing that might begin to go bad.
Thanks!
I made this this morning and it was awesome! I topped it with banana and some heated up natural peanut butter. I can’t wait to eat it again. And it was super filling!
Great to hear! That sounds delicious 🙂
Hi! This looks delicious and I just attempted it but it still looks pretty…liquidy – unlike your picture. Unsure of what went wrong! Is it suppose to have that milk consistency? Yours looks dry with a drizzle on it.
Thanks so much!
Sounds like cooking a bit longer, or on a higher heat setting to let more liquid boil off would do the trick. You can always add more at the end if it gets too dry.
Delicious!
Glad you enjoyed!
Don’t you think the number of calories is high for one serving? I usually keep my calories for breakfast under 250. This just seems high.
You can keep it lower by having a smaller serving, it’s very nutrient dense due to the nuts and coconut.
While this looks yummy, it is not Whole30. This confuses so many people new to Whole3!
I agree 1000%. Recreating cereals & sweet breakfast bowls isn’t compliant, and definitely not in the spirit of the program. Recipes like these tagged as Whole30 are so confusing to new folks.
Not trying to gang up on you, but Melissa posted about a similar recipe on her instagram today and stated it wasn’t whole30 compliant 🙁
Hi! This is an older recipe and I do agree with you now, I’m removing the Whole30 labels from the post and replacing with “sugar-free”
I’m not really sure why it wouldn’t be whole30 compliant….all the ingredients seem to check out
Whole30 tags in the post have been removed and replaced with “sugar-free”
Have you tried this with dried figs instead of dates or raisins? I have some and might give it a go!
I think that would be delicious 🙂
This was very tasty & satisfied my oatmeal craving. However, even though I let this simmer for 10min it was still too watery for me. I’ll definitely make again if I figure out how to thicken it.
To get it thicker you can simply cook it longer. You can also bake it as I did in this apple cinnamon breakfast bake:
I’ve been trying out new breakfast recipes the past couple of weeks and I have to say, this was one of, if not the best so far! I made it the night before and heated it at a lower wattage in the microwave in the morning so it wouldn’t burn. It smelled so amazing that I only topped it with banana and more milk to start, but I think next time I’ll try the new chestnut spread I just bought. Because I will definitely be making this again!
Oh that’s great to hear!
I have to admit. At first, I wasn’t quite sure how this was going to turn out. The pictures look amazing, but for a person just diving into the “no sugar” world, I felt as if it was gonna miss something. You know, like plain oatmeal, it just lacks a some pizazz. But, WOW was I wrong. This is DELICIOUS. Almost too good to be considered healthy. Upon first bite I was hooked. I never leave comments on blogs, but had to come back and let you know just how amazing this simple recipe is. 🙂
This is delicious! I had to cook the apples and nuts longer because when they are at a “raw” state, I get a huge stomach ache. I don’t like raisins or dates so I omitted them both. Still delicious!! And I topped it with melted coconut butter! AMAZING!
Michele,
Thanks so much!!!! I am a vegan and diabetic….trying to eat the whole 30 program, so thrilled to find an egg less breakfast……can’t wait to try this today!!!! My mouth is watering as I type this!!!!! And under my calorie count too!!!! Rock on!!!!
Dianna
So yummy! And so good with the banana!! Great recipe, you are making my Whole30 delicious!
Oh that makes me so happy to hear!