Apricot Almond Protein Oats

A decadently creamy, fruity, fragrant bowl of Apricot Almond Protein Oats, that will remind you of that lovely Apricot Almond tarte you might know from your favourite French bakery. Ready within about 15 minutes. Dessert for breakfast, guilt free. It also keeps you full and satisfied for hours, with a low-calorie count due to the high fruit content and unsweetened almond milk. Did I mention no added sugar?

 

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• Why You Will Love This
• The Ingredients
• How to Make This
• Meal Prep

Why You Will Love This 

TL;DR

• Creamy, Fruity, Breakfast Dessert – Inspired by apricot almond tarte, this warm oat bowl is ready in 15 mins, with no added sugar and keeps you full.
• Protein-Rich & Filling – Protein powder adds creamy custard-like texture and boosts muscle-building fuel without graininess.
• Simple & Smart Cooking Trick – Cook oats mostly in liquid, then stir in protein mixed with milk at the end to avoid lumps.
• Loaded with Fruit & Fibre – Fresh or dried apricots soften into jammy sweetness, plus optional blueberries for extra antioxidants.
• No compromise on taste or nutrition — cozy, comforting, and perfect for starting your day right.

What Is A Day Without Breakfast? Unthinkable!

Well to me at least. Even if I often eat my first meal of the day very late. I like getting some things done and out of the way first. I have this strange thought, that the day only starts with breakfast, so everything I do before, doesn’t really belong into the day, which means having all chores done before gives me a whole free day after! Yes, I know I’m weird. And proudly so.

Now being German, I absolutely love any breakfast that includes bread and I promise one day I will share a beautiful typical German breakfast with fresh Whole Wheat Pretzel Buns with you, but today, as on so many days recently, I wanted something warm and cosy. God it was a wet and long winter, wasn’t it? *shivers*.

Enough With The Rambling, How Does This Help Me?

Apologies, I got sidetracked by breakfast dreams

One of my main ways to lose 70lb in one year was, to add fruit and/or veggies to every single meal or snack I was having throughout the day. So, of course adding a lot of fruit and protein to my breakfast is perfect.

In this case it’s either fresh or dried apricots going in with the oats at the start. Which means they get lovely, soft, and jammy. I also happily add blueberries occasionally, but for this one I wanted to keep it with the Apricot-Almond tarte theme. Especially since I found these super pretty pink apricots!

But Doesn’t Protein Get All Grainy When Cooking?

Exactly my Point! Now you know why you are here. 🙂
My method to avoid the disgusting grainyness you get when you either just stir the powder in at the start or end is the litte “secret” behind these super creamy oats!

Why Protein And Which One Is Best?

I struggle to get enough protein, to build muscle and lose weight, so I keep trying to find ways to smuggle more into my meals. Ideally without eating meat or endlessly drinking protein shakes. It also adds incredible creaminess to the recipe.

Why Do I Add Protein?

You mean apart from the well known physical benefits of protein for the body like helping you to build muscle, keeping your bones strong and increasing satiation, meaning you stay fuller for longer and with that can maintain your weight easier?

Lesser known is, that it also effects the brain by helping it to effectively transport information through neuropathways using the amino acods found in Protein.
This even has been shown to help protect from age related dementia.

If you’d like to read more about how and why I use protein, I wrote a blog post about it.

And another one about my weight loss journey, shedding 70lb within 1 year. Protein played a big part in that too!

With all those benefits, it’s no surprise that the recipes containing both sourdough and protein were popular enough for me to shift my focus.

Wait what? Creaminess From Protein Powder?

I don’t know about you, but to me 99% of protein powders I tried taste either grainy, floury, chemical, or just…sorry vegan powders…plain disgusting. Until I tried the one that stole my heart. This is entirely unsponsored, unaffiliated, or otherwise beneficial for me to share, except for my desire to have you enjoy your daily protein as much as I do now: “MyProtein”. Which is honestly the best protein powder I have tried so far. And that’s what we all need on a weight loss journey, isn’t it? Something that is good for us and enjoyable.

In particular the flavour “Jelly Belly – Buttered Popcorn”. I started with an emphatic “Oh. My. God!” And literally licked the lid of my shaker the first time I tried it. Apologies for the picture in your mind now.
It’s creamy, sweet, but without that weird sweetener aftertaste, absolutely no grainy feel and tastes like, yes, buttered popcorn. In form of creamy vanilla custard. More so when made with soy milk I found.

How To Make Protein Powder Act Like Custard?

Now for anyone who has tried adding protein powder to hot oatmeal, you probably stirred it in at the end, as I saw in most recipes and tried, which results in fairly inconsistent results at best and a lumpy mess most of the time. So that clearly wasn’t something I’d ruin my beloved breakfast with.

And sure, if you make cold overnight oats, you could just shake it and pour over, but I wanted warm and cosy. Boiling the protein powder with the oats, let’s just say the results are even less desirable.

Which is how I came to the conclusion I needed a split approach: Cook the oats in 2/3 of the required liquid, add the last 1/3 with a scoop of your favourite protein powder to a shaker, mix really well and only add at the end of the cooking process, when the oats are cooked to your liking, getting a bit too dry. Pour over, stir in, warm through on low heat until it reaches your desired consistency. Just try not to boil it.

The soy milk here adds even more of that custard feeling to the protein mix, but is optional. You could just use another part of almond milk (or your favourite milk) instead.

Ingredient Notes

• Unsweetened almond milk, to keep the calories low and boil the oats in,
• Soy milk for the special step that will give you the incredible creamy results
• Rolled oats of course
• Chia seeds for added healthy fats and nutrition
• Apricots – I used fresh, but dried works perfectly well too.
• A pinch of salt to bring the flavors to life
• And almond extract for the the almond tarte flavour. Just a little, as it can be overwhelming.
• Optional flaked almonds for decoration and crunch.
• And, for the step that makes these special, Protein powder. My favourite one.

Equipment Used

Measuring Cups

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Saucepan

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spatula

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How to Make this

Cook the Oats

• In a medium-sized pot, combine the rolled oats, chia seeds, almond extract, and pinch of salt. Stir to combine and add the unsweetened almond milk.
• Add the chopped dried or fresh apricots to the oatmeal and stir to combine. If you prefer your apricots with more bite or acidity, add them towards the end.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the oatmeal has thickened and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Mix the Protein Powder

• Add the Soy Milk and protein powder to a shaking cup and shake vigorously until creamy and no lumps are left. Don’t skip this step, it adds the incredible creaminess.

Add Protein Mix to the Oats

• Lower the heat and pour in the creamy custard like protein shake. Enjoy the look and smell for a second, then stir it into the oats.
• Let the whole mix warm through without boiling for a few minutes. The oats will soak up more of the liquid and you will get a very luxurious texture.
• Once it has reached your desired creaminess, pour into a bowl, and serve with a little more chopped apricot (dried or fresh) for the contrast in texture and flavour and sprinkle with almond flakes if desired.

Meal Prep

I often boil a large portion of the base recipe, then add the protein milk mix when re-heating in the microwave. That way I save myself 10 minutes each day. Which, let’s be honest, in the morning makes quite the difference!

This recipe makes a very creamy bowl of Apricot Almond Protein Oats with about 520 calories and high protein content of 38g. A great way to start the day!

And trust me when I tell you these were still lovely and warm once I had my pictures and enjoyed immediately with a lovely cup of hot coffee. They kept me full until dinner quite happily, knowing I had a balanced meal with all the nutrition my body needed.

Other recipes you might enjoy

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

And if you enjoyed this recipe, please consider rating, sharing, or leaving a comment – your feedback truly helps my blog grow!

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