Baked oatmeal is bread pudding for breakfast! Made with a handful of healthy ingredients, this easy recipe comes together in 1 bowl and leaves you satisfied all morning.
What is Baked Oatmeal?
Baked oatmeal is a warm breakfast casserole made from oats, milk, and other kitchen staples. Stovetop or instant oatmeal has a creamy porridge consistency, but baked oatmeal, like bread pudding, combines chewy, soft, and creamy all in 1 casserole dish. You can add berries for a juicy burst and walnuts for a crunchy topping. This breakfast recipe is a texture lover’s dream and your oven does all the work.
Basically, baked oatmeal is regular oatmeal with even more texture. If you’re looking for individual serving sizes, try my baked apple cinnamon oatmeal cups or chocolate chip baked oatmeal cups.
You can bake oatmeal ahead of time and reheat it for a quick breakfast during the week. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing and the whole family, young daughter included, LOVES it. This baked banana oatmeal is a hit, too! Busy parents certainly appreciate the convenience!
And if you want even more family friendly recipes, be sure to check out this list of 30+ back to school recipes.
Gluten Free, Healthy, 1 Bowl Breakfast
This baked oatmeal combines simple and healthy ingredients and can be adapted for any allergies or flavor preferences. Stir the ingredients together in 1 large bowl, pour it into a greased baking pan, and bake. You need:
- Oats: I recommend whole old-fashioned style oats for a hearty and satisfying texture. If you eat gluten free, choose certified GF oats.
- Milk: Use the variety of milk you drink. This baked oatmeal is wonderful with whole milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, skim milk, and everything in between.
- Eggs: 2 large eggs, while adding protein, bind all of the ingredients together. Have an egg allergy? Use extra applesauce or mashed banana.
- Applesauce or Mashed Banana: Adds flavor and binds. You can use more of either to replace the eggs. For a heavily banana-flavored version, see below!
- Maple Syrup: I recommend pure maple syrup for the best flavor, but other unrefined sugars such as coconut sugar or honey work too. 1/2 cup sweetens the entire dish.
- Baking Powder: Lifts it all up!
- Melted Butter: A few Tablespoons of melted butter prevents the dish from tasting rubbery. Don’t replace with a non-fat alternative. Melted coconut oil is a wonderful dairy-free substitution.
- Vanilla, Cinnamon, & Salt: Each add sweet satisfying flavor.
- Berries: I asked, you told, and I’m delivering! Add some fruit for flavor, texture, and all-around deliciousness. Replace with chopped banana, apple, peaches, pears, raisins, dried berries, chocolate chips, or even a spoonful of your favorite nut butter.
For the BEST baked oatmeal texture: use whole oats and don’t over-bake! You want a deliciously soft & moist spoonful.
Ok let’s recap…
This Baked Oatmeal Is:
- Prepped in 1 bowl
- Made with unrefined sugar
- Not overly sweet
- Packed with fruit
- Warm & satisfies for hours
- Soft, chewy, & creamy
- Adaptable for flavors, allergies, etc
- Like a casserole version of my blueberry banana breakfast cookies
Plus it requires minimum effortโjust what our mornings need!
Complete your breakfast! Serve baked oatmeal with Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, frittata, individual breakfast egg muffins, or my crustless vegetable quiche. (Also simple, healthy, & gluten free!).And for even more inspiration, see my complete list of 30+ healthy breakfast recipes.
P.S. The recipe below calls for banana, but for a heavily banana-flavored baked oatmeal, here is my banana baked oatmeal recipe. This one is a favorite.
1 Bowl Baked Oatmeal
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: serves 9
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This baked oatmeal combines simple ingredients that can be adapted for any allergies or flavor preferences. It’s like bread pudding for breakfastโcreamy, soft, chewy, and delicious all in one! Make ahead and enjoy all week long. Try my baked oatmeal cups, too!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (420ml)ย milk (dairy or nondairy)
- 2 large eggs*
- 1/2 cup (120ml)ย pure maple syrup*
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled*
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolledย oats*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups (225g) fresh or frozen mixed berries, (do not thaw)
- optional for topping: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Spray a 9×9 inch square pan, or an 11×7 inch rectangle pan with nonstick spray. Any similar size pan that holds around 3 quarts works, though 8×8 inch square pan would be too small. The pictured dish I’m using is this white casserole dish. See recipe Note for 9×13 inch pan.
- Whisk all of the ingredients together in 1 large bowl. Pour into prepared baking pan. Top with nuts, if desired. (Or stir into the oatmeal mixture.)
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the center appears *almost* set, which gives us a soft oatmeal as pictured above. For drier and more solid baked oatmeal, bake until center has set.
- Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon or slice and serve with yogurt, if desired. Cover leftovers tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Bake the oatmeal, cool completely, and store in the refrigerator all week for easy breakfasts. Reheat in the microwave or cover and bake in a 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) oven for 10 minutes. To freeze, bake and cool oatmeal. Cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Warm to your liking. I love cutting the cooled baked oatmeal into bars or servings and freezing them individually for a quick breakfast to thaw. Wrap each in plastic wrap and place in a large freezer bag or container.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×9 Inch Square Pan, 11×7 Inch Rectangle Pan, or Similar Size Casserole Dish | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whiskย
- Don’t: Do not make oatmeal batter ahead of time. The oats will soak up all the liquid! Whisk it all together, then bake right away. See make ahead instructions above for alternative.
- Can I Make This in a Muffin Pan? Yes. For baked oatmeal cups, divide the batter into a greased 12-count muffin pan. If using muffin liners, spray them with nonstick spray. The oatmeal cups stick to the liners a bit regardless, so I recommend skipping them. Fill the cups all the way to the top. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and top appears set. If you added extra add-ins, you may have more batter and need a 2nd greased muffin pan.
- Eggs: Eggs bind the casserole and add wonderful flavor. If needed, you can replace the eggs with 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana.
- Sugar: I recommend pure maple syrup because the flavor is outstanding and the baked oatmeal is extra moist! You can also use packed brown sugar, coconut sugar, or honey.
- Butter: What wonderful flavor! The baked oatmeal can taste rubbery without it. Don’t replace with a non-fat alternative. Melted coconut oil is a wonderful dairy-free substitution.
- Oats: Whole oats give you the best texture. Quick oats soak up more moisture and dry out the baked oatmeal. If using steel-cut oats, soak the oats in the milk for 20 minutes, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
- Add-ins: Instead of berries, try the same amount of peeled chopped apples, peaches, pears, bananas, or other fruit. Or 1 cup chocolate chips, dried cranberries, nuts, or raisins.
- 9×13 inch Pan: Double the recipe for a 9×13 inch pan. The baked oatmeal will be extra thick and require at least 10 extra minutes in the oven. Tent with aluminum foil if the edges are browning too quickly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 256
- Sugar: 13.8 g
- Sodium: 120.8 mg
- Fat: 6.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.4 g
- Protein: 5.8 g
- Cholesterol: 54.9 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
I used regular vanilla yogurt (Activia,) in place of the Apple Sauce. Then 1/4 C brown sugar & 1/4 C pure maple syrup, b/c my grown kids use that combo in lesser amounts on their morning oatmeal. I ended up using an entire pint of fresh blueberries.
This is such a cozy comfort food when warmed 25 to 30 seconds in the microwave. It’s good cold, but much better served warm.
I am about to make another batch.
Iโve made this twice now in one week. My first time was Sunday morning and now again on Wednesday because my husband and I liked it so much. I added a small amount of white chocolate chips to this second batch and left out the pecans so my daughter can enjoy it. He and I sprinkle in the pecans before heating and it is just fine. Itโs easy, I made it on a week day before getting dressed for work.
I love the cranberry-orange flavor combo and it so happened that I had about a cup and a half of frozen cranberries left over from the holidays. So I made this with the following alterations based on what I had on hand: 1% milk, honey, ghee instead of butter, 1/2 tsp orange oil instead of cinnamon, the frozen cranberries and sliced almonds. Yum! I would have used orange zest but don’t like consuming zest if I don’t have organic citrus. In many recipes, I sub orange oil with success.
I baked it in a 7.25 qt oval Lecreuset dutch oven, which based on math (it was pi day!), is about the same surface area as 9×9 square. 35 mins at 350ยฐF in my Breville pro oven was perfect.
One note on the ingredients. I initially measured the oats by weight but it was only about 2 2/3 cups. The weight given in the recipe is less than the label on my rolled oats would suggest for 3 cups. My oats gave the weight of a half cup of dry oats as 45g, or 270g for 3 cups. I used 3 cups by volume. Otherwise I think the texture might have been too mushy.
This was even better than I expected. Thank you for the recipe!
QUESTION : Would plain or vanilla yogurt work as a sub for the unsweetened applesauce
That should work just fine!
Delicious recipe! It was quick and easy to make. Super filling as well!
I was wondering if the berries could be replaced with other fruits? Maybe chopped apples or banana slices?
Hi Ariadna, definitely! See the recipe note re: Add-ins: โInstead of berries, try the same amount of peeled chopped apples, peaches, pears, bananas, or other fruit. Or 1 cup chocolate chips, dried cranberries, nuts, or raisins.โ Enjoy!
Ahhh I love this recipe, so do my friends! They asked for the recipe.
I broke all the rules: I did make the batter the night before, bc we had an early morning. AND used quick cooking rolled oats. In the morning, I added a few splashes of milk to make it look like the night before, then baked it. Used apples, bananas for the mix in . For toppings one row of pumpkin seeds, one row of pecans, and one row of dark choc chips. So good! Thanks for the recipe.
Iโve made these 3 times. Last batch I didnโt have the banana or applesauce and the squares turned out to be more formed, or firm. Which really doesnโt matter because I reheat with milk. Nuts are a must in my opinion. Another winner from Sally!
My friend made these for me and they are my favorite! We just had our first daughter so these are such a blessing to be able to grab throughout the day. They are very satisfying.
When freezing, what’s the best method for unthawing?
Thanks so much!!
I thaw over night. Then heat in microwave 30 ish seconds in the morning. It’s even better served warm. Ccareful with berries, they can get hot in the middle.
I’ve made this baked oatmeal recipe many, many times for my family. We love it. And I just saw tonight, after stirring it up and popping it into the fridge to wait till morning to bake, that you caution us not to mix ahead of time. I mix ahead nearly everytime, then pull it out of the fridge in the morning, pop it into the oven and bake… the result is lovely. Also, I moved to a Greek island a year and a half ago. Whole rolled oats are not avaliable here. Quick oats work just fine. I also substitute Greek yogurt for the mashed banana, cut way down on the sweetener and sprinkle dark chocolate chunks on top before baking. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
Hi Sally,
First, thank you for this recipe! It is a life saver! If I donโt have it ready a week ahead of time, I panic. Question, I need to use quick oats, got so excited bought 3 big cartons in error. How do I adjust the recipe to use them, if I can.
Thank you for all you do!
Hi Michelle, you can use quick oats, but they soak up more moisture and can dry out the baked oatmeal. Still tasty though!