Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats with Sunflower Seed Butter
Creamy apple cinnamon overnight oats made with grated raw apple and sunflower seed butter, so they're completely nut-free and ready to grab after one night in the fridge.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 3 min
- Rest
- 8 h
- Serves
- 2
Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats with Sunflower Seed Butter is a vegan breakfast recipe made with apple, lemon juice, unsweetened sunflower seed butter. It takes 13 minutes of hands-on time, plus 8 hours resting, serves 2, and each serving has 592 calories, 18 g of protein and 14 g of fiber.
Grating the apple on the large holes of a box grater is what makes this jar taste like apple rather than like oats with fruit in them — the shreds release their juice into the milk overnight and soften to the same texture as the oats, no cooking or purée required. Sunflower seed butter stands in for the almond or peanut butter most versions lean on, giving the same rich, toasty body while keeping the whole thing safe for nut-free classrooms and lunchboxes. A little lemon juice tossed with the apple keeps the shreds pale through several days in the fridge, and chia seeds thicken the mix so it sets up spoonable instead of soupy.
A dietary need (nut-free, school-safe) + seasonal produce (grated raw apple instead of cooked purées) take on our Blueberry Chia Overnight Oats.
Ingredients
Oats
- 1 medium182 gapple, coarsely grated (skin on)
- 2 tsp10 glemon juice
- 3 tbsp48 gunsweetened sunflower seed butter
- 1⅓ cups323 gunsweetened soy milk
- 2 tbsp40 gmaple syrup
- 1 tsp4.2 gvanilla extract
- 1 tsp2.6 gground cinnamon
- 1 pinch0.2 gfreshly grated nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp0.8 gfine sea salt
- 1 cup81 gold-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 tbsp24 gchia seeds
Topping
- 2 tbsp18 graw sunflower seeds, for toasting
- ½ medium91 gapple, finely diced (optional)
- 2 tsp13 gmaple syrup, for drizzling (optional)
Kit: box grater, 2 pint jars or lidded containers, small skillet, whisk
Tips
- A firm, tart-sweet apple such as Honeycrisp, Braeburn or Granny Smith holds its texture best; soft apples like McIntosh break down into mush overnight.
- Leave the skin on when grating — it disappears into the oats and saves a step.
- For a school lunchbox, check that your sunflower seed butter and oats are both labelled nut-free, and pack the seeds in a separate twist of foil so they stay crisp.
- Use certified gluten-free oats if you need the jars to be gluten-free.
- If your sunflower seed butter is the salted, sweetened kind, cut the added salt and maple syrup back by half and taste before chilling.
Swap ideas
- Tahini instead of sunflower seed butter
- Still nut-free, but noticeably more savoury and bitter — add an extra teaspoon of maple syrup to balance it.
- Grated pear in place of the apple
- Softer and juicier, with a honeyed flavour; thin the soy milk by 2 tablespoons since pear releases more liquid.
- A tablespoon of hemp hearts stirred in with the oats
- Adds protein and a mild seedy richness without changing the texture.
- Oat milk for the soy milk
- Sweeter and creamier tasting, though the oats set a little looser.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
592kcal per serving
Everything else · 2 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 2.8 g 14%
- Sugars
- 31 g
- Sodium
- 231 mg 10%
- Potassium
- 743 mg 16%
- Calcium
- 358 mg 28%
- Iron
- 5 mg 28%
- Vitamin C
- 7 mg 8%
- Vitamin B12
- 1.37 µg 57%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Lemon juice, raw, Seeds, sunflower seed butter, without salt (SR Legacy), Soymilk, original and vanilla, with added calcium, vitamins A and D, Syrups, maple, Vanilla extract, Spices, cinnamon, ground, Spices, nutmeg, ground, Salt, table, Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry, Seeds, chia seeds, dried, Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried
Method
Toast the sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking often, until they smell nutty and are lightly golden, 3–4 minutes. Tip onto a plate to cool — they scorch fast if left in the hot pan.
Grate the apple on the large holes of a box grater, stopping at the core. Immediately toss the shreds with the lemon juice so they stay pale, and don't squeeze out the juice — it flavours the oats.
In a medium bowl, whisk the sunflower seed butter with about a quarter of the soy milk until smooth and pourable, then whisk in the remaining milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Working the seed butter with a little liquid first is what keeps it from sitting in clumps.
Stir in the oats, chia seeds and the grated apple with all its juice until everything is evenly coated. The mixture should look loose and soupy at this stage.
Let the bowl sit on the counter for 5 minutes, then stir once more to break up any chia clusters that have settled on the bottom.
Divide between two jars, seal, and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight, until the oats are tender and the mixture holds the shape of a spoon.
To serve, stir well and loosen with a splash of soy milk if it's thicker than you like. Top with the toasted sunflower seeds, the diced fresh apple and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Storage: Keep covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. The oats thicken as they sit, so loosen each jar with a splash of soy milk before eating. Add the toasted sunflower seeds just before serving so they stay crunchy. Not suitable for freezing — the grated apple turns watery on thawing.
Questions
- How much protein is in apple cinnamon overnight oats with sunflower seed butter?
- Each of the 2 servings has 18 g of protein, 14 g of fiber and 592 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is apple cinnamon overnight oats with sunflower seed butter vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does apple cinnamon overnight oats with sunflower seed butter take to make?
- 10 minutes of prep and 3 minutes of cooking, so 13 minutes of hands-on time, plus 8 hours of unattended resting.
- Can you make apple cinnamon overnight oats with sunflower seed butter ahead?
- Keep covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. The oats thicken as they sit, so loosen each jar with a splash of soy milk before eating. Add the toasted sunflower seeds just before serving so they stay crunchy. Not suitable for freezing — the grated apple turns watery on thawing.
- What can I substitute in apple cinnamon overnight oats with sunflower seed butter?
- Tahini instead of sunflower seed butter — still nut-free, but noticeably more savoury and bitter — add an extra teaspoon of maple syrup to balance it.. Grated pear in place of the apple — softer and juicier, with a honeyed flavour; thin the soy milk by 2 tablespoons since pear releases more liquid.. A tablespoon of hemp hearts stirred in with the oats — adds protein and a mild seedy richness without changing the texture.. Oat milk for the soy milk — sweeter and creamier tasting, though the oats set a little looser..
- Does apple cinnamon overnight oats with sunflower seed butter contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 20, 2026 ·American
