This Delicious Recipe Turns Leftover Sweet Potatoes Into a Fiber-Packed Oatmeal in Minutes

The first few days after Thanksgiving are the best time of the year for leftovers—and I won’t let anyone tell me otherwise. While most day-after dishes are best-suited for a savory sandwich or casserole at lunch, the sweet, rich taste of sweet potato casserole is just begging to get repurposed for a hearty breakfast. This year, Chef Daven Wardynski, director of food and beverage at Omni Amelia Island Resort in Florida, has exact instructions for what to do with leftover sweet potato casserole: Make it into a delicious, fiber-packed oatmeal breakfast.

Oatmeal’s one of those foods that land a spot on every dietitian’s grocery list, for good reason. A half-cup serving of oats contains five grams of protein, one gram of healthy monosaturated fatty acids, and four grams of dietary fiber, including a unique form of soluble fiber known as beta-glucan which is great for satiety and heart health. Pair that with sweet potatoes—which contain another four grams of fiber, skin-healthy vitamin A, and plenty of potassium—and you’ve got a post-Thanksgiving dish that’s juggling all sorts of nutritional roles.

The thing is, you could definitely just swirl sweet potato casserole and oatmeal together, and wind up with a pretty yummy breakfast. But below, Chef Wardynski shares a recipe that adds plenty of gourmet touches to make the dish extra-special. Depending on how much time you want to spend in the kitchen, you can skip out on the streusel topping and just whip up the oats. It’s up to you, chef.

Chef Wardynski’s sweet potato oatmeal

Serves two to four

Ingredients

For the oatmeal 

• 1 cup leftover sweet potato casserole
• 1 1/3 cups steel-cut oats
• 3 cups milk or alt-milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 oz. dried cranberries (for topping)
• 2 oz. candied pecans (for topping)

For the streusel

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• A pinch of salt
• 1 cup butter, melted

Instructions

1. 1.
   Heat the milk, water, and salt to a simmer in a medium pot on the stovetop.
2. 2.
   Stir in the steel-cut oats and simmer for 15 minutes, or until cooked.
3. 3.
   Remove from the stove and stir in the leftover sweet potato casserole.
4. 4.
   Combine all of the streusel ingredients in a small bowl.
5. 5.
   Divide the sweet potato oatmeal mixture between two to four bowls and top with dried cranberries, streusel, and candied pecans. Serve and enjoy!

What a dietitian wants you to know about potatoes:

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