Pumpkin Parfait Oats

Why does pumpkin taste bad, how to fix it, and a high-fiber high-protein recipe that's perfect for meal prep all week long

A lot of people think pumpkin tastes bad or “bland”. And they’re right! Plain pumpkin puree straight out of a can is bland, it’s flavorless and unseasoned. Baby food at best, mushy squash water at worst. Pumpkin is amongst a group of foods that needs to be cooked twice. Things like eggplant, sugar, and chicken bones must be cooked fully, cooled, and cooked again to taste good. Or as the french say, Coquere (twice-baked).

If you think about plain sugar, it’s technically been cooked (heated in extraction) and is safe to eat, but it’s not palatable until it’s cooked again. Same with chicken bones, even if they’ve been cooked, to extract the flavor they must be cooked again in water to make a tasty broth. Think of this process like browning butter. Plain butter is delicious and has technically been cooked (pasteurization), but once you cook off the water and caramelize the milk sugars, it takes it to a whole new level in terms of flavor. Once you have brown butter chocolate chip cookies you can’t go back and you’ll feel the same with pumpkin.

Plain pumpkin puree is two things: unseasoned and mostly water. Most people that enjoy pumpkin things actually enjoy pumpkin pie spice and sugar. To actually get the fragrant squash flavor of pumpkin we need to cook off most of the water, caramelize the squash sugars, and season it. I HIGHLY recommend doing this process for pretty much every recipe that calls for pumpkin puree.

To make pumpkin taste good it’s very simple. Add your puree to a small saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and the seasonings of your choosing. Over medium heat using a spatula, continuously stir the pumpkin for about 10 minutes till it reduces by half, is fragrant, and has significantly deepens in color. You’ll know it’s done when it’s stopped steaming (water has cooked off) and begins sizzling. You can add this browned pumpkin mixture to any recipe!

These pumpkin parfait oats are a new special going in my farmers market booth and have been an absolute hit amongst friends and family!

As always thank you for subscribing, I’m happy you’re here paid or not! I’m coming up on my due date for my cookbook manuscript and I can’t wait to share all the things I have in store for you guys 💕

Pumpkin Parfait Oats

106KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Pumpkin Parfait Oats

GF, Vegetarian

---

Yields about 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree

• 1 tsp pumpkin pie mix

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 cups almond milk or the milk of your choosing

• ½ cup maple syrup

• 1 ¼ cup whole rolled oats

• ¼ cup chia seeds

• 32 oz Greek Yogurt

• 12 oz Snickerdoodle nut butter

Instructions

1. Add the pumpkin, pumpkin pie seasoning, sea salt, and vanilla to a small saucepan over medium heat. Use a spatula to stir continuously for about 10 minutes until the pumpkin reduces by half and becomes toasty and brown. Set aside to let cool.

2. In a large bowl whisk the almond milk, pumpkin mixture, and maple syrup until fully combined and no clumps remain.

3. Add in the oats and chia seeds. Whisk until fully combined and set aside to let soak for at least 30 minutes until it’s a thick scoopable texture.

4. Using a ¼ cup scoop, scoop one scoop of the pumpkin chia mixture into each jar.

5. Using the same scoop, scoop one scoop of yogurt on top of the chia, use a spoon to evenly distribute.

6. Drizzle almond butter on top of the yogurt. Repeat the layering process until the jars are full.

7. Seal and store in the fridge.