Baked Oatmeal

I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that we like oatmeal a lot at our house. We’ve put it in muffins (here and here), banana breads (here and here), and desserts. We’ve served it up breakfast-style and made it taste like cookies. One thing we’ve never done before now though, is bake it. And what a mistake that was.

Baked oatmeal is a perfect breakfast food. It’s warm, hearty, nutritious, and incredibly filling. You can jazz it up with whatever fruits and nuts you like. Same goes with the spices. No matter what you add to it, you’ll end up with a breakfast treat that tastes and looks like cross between a traditional bowl of oatmeal and an oatmeal cake. Even better is the fact that you can make a big pan and enjoy a warm bowl of baked oatmeal all week long.

Basically, if you’ve never baked your oatmeal before, now is the time to try!

One Year Ago: Banana Bread

Baked Oatmeal
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups milk (I used skim)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 T. unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, brown sugar, cranberries, walnuts, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, applesauce, butter, eggs, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour the oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the oatmeal is set and golden brown on top.

Serve warm. You can serve the oatmeal plain or drizzled with yogurt or a splash of milk.

Serves 8.