Pumpkin Overnight Oats (Low Cholesterol Breakfast)

Looking for pumpkin overnight oats that are actually filling? These are. You stir everything together in about 5 minutes, divide it between six jars, and the fridge does the rest while you sleep.

For those of you I haven’t met, I am Veronica, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. I work with people who want to lower their cholesterol and blood pressure using food they already know how to cook.

Below you’ll find what goes into these pumpkin overnight oats, why they suit a heart healthy breakfast, how to make them, and a few swaps if your pantry looks different from mine.

Why make pumpkin overnight oats

Mornings are rushed, and breakfast is often the meal with the least time and the least planning behind it.

Pumpkin overnight oats fix that. You make six jars on one evening, and you have breakfast for the next few mornings. There’s no cooking, no blender and nothing to wash except a bowl and a spoon.

They also taste like fall. Pumpkin, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice give you the flavor of a pumpkin pie, without the pie crust. If you’re collecting more breakfast ideas like this, my roundup of 19 healthy overnight oats recipes has plenty.

What’s in these pumpkin overnight oats

Rolled oats are the base, mixed with pure pumpkin purée, milk and plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt makes the oats creamy and adds protein, so the jar keeps you full well past mid morning. If you want to boost the plant protein a bit more, add 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds to get you over the 20 grams of protein per serving mark.

Chia seeds and ground flaxseed soak up the liquid and thicken everything overnight. They also add soluble fiber, and important part of the Portfolio Diet. If you want to know how chia compares with other seeds, I wrote about chia seeds vs hemp seeds.

A diced or grated apple gives a little natural sweetness and some texture. Maple syrup is optional, 1 to 2 tablespoons for the whole batch, so you can start with less and add more if you like it sweeter.

Chopped pecans or walnuts go on top just before you eat, so they stay crunchy.

Why pumpkin overnight oats are good for your cholesterol

Oats are one of the best known sticky fibre foods or soluble fiber. Soluble fiber is the kind that forms a gel in your gut and helps carry cholesterol out of your body before it gets absorbed. You can see where oats land in my soluble fiber food list, and I explain more in oat fiber nutrition.

This recipe stacks several of those foods in one jar. Oats, chia seeds, ground flaxseed and apple all bring fibre, and one serving of these pumpkin overnight oats has 11 grams of it.

The nuts matter too. Nuts and seeds are one of the five parts of the Portfolio Diet, an eating plan I use a lot with clients who want to lower their LDL (the cholesterol people call “bad”). You can grab the Portfolio Diet PDF free on my site.

I also want you to notice the fat in this recipe. There’s 15 grams per serving, and only 2 grams of it is saturated fat. Most of the rest comes from unsaturated fats like nuts, chia and flaxseed. Eating enough saturated fats is another important part of the Portfolio diet, which will further help you lower your LDL cholesterol levels.

Does pumpkin help your heart?

Pumpkin purée is a handy way to add vegetables to breakfast. It gives these oats vitamin A and potassium, and one serving has 531 mg of potassium and only 60 mg of sodium.

Potassium is a mineral that works against sodium in your body, which is why it comes up so often when we talk about blood pressure. I won’t tell you a jar of oats will lower your blood pressure by itself. But a breakfast that’s high in potassium and low in sodium is a good place to start.

If blood pressure is your main goal, my list of breakfast foods for high blood pressure has more ideas.

Looking to lower your cholesterol?

Here are a few ideas from my shop

A real story from my community

One of the members of my Heart Connection community shared her latest bloodwork with the group. Her total cholesterol had dropped almost 30 points, her LDL was 13 points lower, and her triglycerides, which had always been low, dropped 37 points.

She didn’t credit a crash diet. She wrote that she attributed her results to “the small but significant changes to both my diet and my outlook in general.”

Individual results vary, and every person’s health is different. But a breakfast like this one is the kind of small change I mean. It’s easy to repeat, which is what makes it count.

Pumpkin overnight oats and diabetes

Many of my readers have diabetes or prediabetes, so here’s how these oats fit. One serving has 38 grams of carbohydrate, 11 grams of fibre, 14 grams of protein and 9 grams of sugar.

Fibre and protein slow down how quickly carbohydrate turns into blood sugar, so a jar like this tends to be steadier than a bowl of sweetened instant oatmeal. The apple and the pumpkin bring some of the sugar, and the maple syrup is optional.

How to make pumpkin overnight oats

Start with a large bowl. Combine the oats, pumpkin purée, milk and Greek yogurt, then stir in the chia seeds, ground flaxseed, diced apple, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup.

Divide the mixture evenly between 4 jars or containers. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours. In the morning, stir, add a splash of milk if it has thickened too much, and top with chopped pecans or walnuts.

Watch the video here

Tips for the best pumpkin overnight oats

Use a jar with room to spare. The chia seeds and oats swell as they soak, so leave a little space at the top and the jars won’t overflow.

Stir well before you divide the mixture. Chia seeds like to clump, so a good stir at the start means an even texture in every jar.

Grate the apple if you want it to disappear into the oats, or dice it small if you’d rather have little bites. Either one works, but my family prefers the texture of the diced apple.

Taste before you add the maple syrup. Some apples are sweeter than others, so you may need less than you think.

Pumpkin purée or pumpkin pie filling?

Use pure pumpkin purée, which is just cooked pumpkin. Check that the label says pumpkin and nothing else.

Pumpkin pie filling is a different product. It usually has sugar and spices added, so your oats would end up sweeter, and you’d lose control over the flavor.

If you’ve roasted your own pumpkin, that works too. Let it cool, then mash or blend it until it’s smooth before you measure it.

Swaps and variations

Dairy or soy milk both work in this recipe. Use unsweetened soy milk if you want a little extra plant protein to reach your Portfolio diet goals.

Plain Greek yogurt can be swapped for another plain yogurt, though the oats will be a little less thick and have less protein. Pick a plain one so you control the sugar.

Don’t have walnuts? Pecans are the other option in the recipe. A spoonful of pumpkin seeds on top gives you the same crunch.

If you like your breakfast warm, spoon some into a bowl and heat it in the microwave for a minute. Add a splash of milk afterward.

How to serve pumpkin overnight oats

Eat them straight from the jar, cold, with the nuts on top. That’s the simplest way, and it travels well if you’re taking breakfast to work or setting it on the counter for the kids.

A spoonful of plain Greek yogurt on top adds protein and a little tang. Extra cinnamon, a few apple slices or a small drizzle of maple syrup finish it off if you want it to feel more like dessert.

Pair a jar with a cup of tea or coffee, and you have a breakfast that covers fibre, protein and healthy fats without turning on the stove.

Make ahead and storage

These pumpkin overnight oats are meant to be made ahead. Make all six jars on a Sunday evening, and you have breakfast ready for the first few mornings of the week.

More recipes to try with pumpkin and oats

If you’re in the mood for more pumpkin, my 10 healthy pumpkin recipes roundup has breakfasts, muffins and treats. The healthy pumpkin bread with oats is a good one if you want something to slice.

For a different kind of breakfast, try my blended overnight oats if you don’t like the texture of whole oats, or the pecan pie overnight oats with maple syrup for a dessert style jar.

And if you want an easy snack to go with your coffee, the pumpkin protein balls come together in about 5 minutes.

Like this recipe and want more inspiration? Join The Heart Connection membership for weekly heart healthy meal plans, live coaching calls with me and a community that cooks along with you.

Final thoughts

Pumpkin overnight oats are an easy way to start the day with fibre, protein and a little pumpkin spice. Make a batch tonight and see how the next few mornings go.