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 effort—just 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 breakfast—creamy, 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) milk (dairy or nondairy)
- 2 large eggs*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) 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 rolled 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 350°F (177°C). 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 350°F (177°C) 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 | Whisk
- 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
Tasted great! But had two questions for next time I make it. First, once I had stirred the melted butter, milk, eggs, and syrup together there were kind of solidified parts or clumps of what most likely appeared to be solidified bits of butter. Not sure why this happened but figured I’d keep making it anyway. Then when it was done it looked like it had bits of cooked egg in it and also on the bottom. It still tasted amazing but didn’t know if you’d have insight into what I may have done wrong. Thanks!
Hi Sarabeth, were your eggs room temperature and was the melted butter slightly cooled? It sounds like the temperature difference between the two was too much and caused the eggs to start cooking. Using room temperature eggs and slightly cooled butter will help the mixture incorporate more evenly and without cooking the eggs or solidifying the butter. Hope this helps for your next batch!
hi!Can we freeze and then eat at room temperature?
Hi Kathy, absolutely. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then bring to room temperature before serving/eating if you wish.
This is one of my favorite recipes (delicious AND one bowl?!) and is on a biweekly rotation in our house. My personal recipe note is that I reduce the milk by 1/4 c if I am using frozen berries.
This dish is amazingly good! I don’t typically care for oatmeal, but the flavoring and berries are sooo wonderful together. I can’t wait to try it with apples, pears and cranberries.
Thank you for another winning recipe Sally and team!
Hi, has anyone tried cutting this recipe in half? Instead of freezing, I’m trying to have just enough for 5 days for 1 person.
Hi Melissa, you can certainly try halving the recipe for a smaller pan. Or, it freezes wonderfully if you want to make a full batch and freeze leftovers!
This is so fantastic! I’ve made it several times. Has anyone played with the ingredients to make it a bit more higher protein and lower carb but still yummy? Like what if I decreased the butter and maple syrup and added a couple more eggs or Greek yogurt?
This is a huge family favorite! My husband loves it and requests it often. I’m wondering if I can use ghee instead of regular butter? (It seems logical that you can, but I thought I would ask.)
Can’t see why not, Mary-Ellen. Happy baking!
I just took this casserole out of the oven and ate a sample. Very good warm. My only change was using almond milk. I had blueberries, strawberries, mashed banana and added 1\2 diced apple and pecans. I will buy some frozen mixed berries for next time. Nice that you can add whatever you want. I’d love mini chocolate chips another time. Sally, I use and enjoy many of your recipes. Thanks for all your work.
My bottom was soggy on the 1 bowl baked oatmeal. How can i fix that next t time?
Thank you, Sandra
Hi Sandra, the bottom will be soft, but feel free to bake for longer if you want your baked oatmeal more “set” especially if you are using frozen fruit.
Normally, I love your recipes. I found this to be bland. Next time, I will double the cinnamon and salt and add a little more maple syrup and vanilla.
I make this once a week for my mom and I. It not only tastes great, it is nutritious
Thanks for fruit suggestions but especially the pumpkin recipe. Tried three so far. All were great. I’m disabled and finding recipes that can be made ahead fo multiple meals is wonderful. Thanks again for all your hard work.
I loved this recipe!! I made it in school for a mothers day breakfast. My mother kept wanting more
I definately reccomend!
This recipe is perfect for me as a college student. It’s quick, healthy, and gives me something to eat for breakfast for a few days. The ingredients are relatively inexpensive too. I’m so thankful for this recipe since I don’t have time to make breakfast every morning before my 8 AM class!
Delicious! Made this super last minute for a brunch when I decided we didn’t have enough food. It was a hit! I ate a leftover piece this morning. So moist and delicious! I used whole milk, quick cook oats, cinnamon applesauce, and frozen raspberries because it was what I had. I’ll definitely be making it again!
I’ve been making this on repeat for my kids and me. They love it!
I love this recipe and how versatile it can be. I was wondering, can I add protein powder? If so, how much?
Thanks for your awesome recipes!
I used the Kodiak protein oats was delicious.
This was SO good! The only problem I had with this recipe was I couldn’t stop eating it!!!
My MIL introduced us to this recipe back in 2022 when we had our baby and I have been making it ever since! It’s a family favorite and requested by my now toddler ALLL the time!
Can you freeze these?
Hi Valerie, you sure can! We freeze this often. See recipe notes for make ahead / freezing instructions.
Regardless of how tasty this comes out, I am giving it one star because the recipe states to not thaw, frozen berries, and instead to see the note. There is no note. I’ve searched the page 4 times. Now I am left with a fully prepared recipe, having to guess at how to adjust for the berries and possibly wreck my food.
Hi Diana, the Note relates to the various add-ins you can use. You don’t need to adjust the berries.
Hi Sally,
I understand that the recipe has notes about various yummy add-ons. What my comment was stating is that there is no note regarding the berries *but* there is a sentence saying that if you choose to use frozen berries, you need to go look at the note. When readers look at the notes available, none address the frozen berries. It is confusing and makes readers think they need to make adjustments for the frozen berries, but Sally provides none and directs us to hunt through notes for frozen berry adjustments that do not exist.
Please remove the statement that directs readers to “the note” if they are choosing to use frozen berries, as there are no notes pertaining to this. This recipe is insanely delicious and I am happy to change my rating if the page is updated so others do not continue to have this frustration.
Somebody had a case of the Mondays cooking this!
This came out with a nasty texture and a weird soggy flavor. I don’t appreciate the author’s passive aggressive replies to folks reviewing her recipe badly either…makes me not want to try other stuff of hers or recommend her site to folks. Maybe your recipe wasn’t up to par, and that’s ok, it’s not a personal attack! Try again next time.
Hi Sarah, I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you. Sogginess can sometimes happen from oven differences, ingredient swaps, or measurements, but I’ll revisit the recipe to see if I can add clearer tips. I truly appreciate all feedback—positive or negative—because it helps me improve and serve home bakers better. My goal is always to provide recipes that work for as many home kitchens as possible, and I’ll keep your experience in mind as I continue testing, updating, and offering feedback.
I agree, this is super confusing and should be updated in my opinion to be more clear bc I have commented with the same exact question! It definitely makes it sound like it relates to using frozen blueberries.
However , the recipe is still 5 stars, it’s soooo so good.
This is to make up for Diana’s 1-star rating.
Come on, Diana. Lighten up.
So easy and delicious! Easy to customize with whatever you have in your fridge. I’ve made this two weeks in a row for a quick and healthy breakfast to have on hand. I found it to be a little bit sweet so I reduced the maple syrup to 1/3 c.
Has anyone made a blueberry lemon? If so, please include details! I’m not that good at figuring out how much of each to add!
Can the peach juice be used instead or applesauce or banana?
Hi Heather, we haven’t tried that, but banana or applesauce is used as a binding ingredient. It may be better to try juice in place of some of the milk.
I make a double batch of this almost every week for our breakfasts. It keeps well and warms up nicely. I typically stick with frozen blueberries but have made it with chopped apple and a dash of nutmeg for a pie-like vibe.
This recipe is everything I’ve been looking for! So nice for school mornings, and absolutely DELICIOUS!!!! Thanks so much!
I’ve made this once already and it was amazing!! My husband and toddler loved it. I don’t even like oatmeal normally and i absolutely adored it.
Just one question. Could peanut butter be added in before baking for some extra protein? If so, how much would you recommend?
Hi Lydia, we make this baked oatmeal with peanut butter or almond butter all the time! We usually reduce the butter down to 2 Tbsp and add 1/2 cup of our favorite nut butter. You may also enjoy these peanut butter banana chocolate chip oatmeal bars!
Delicious! Not too sweet, so it feels healthier, but I could definately enjoy this as a dessert if I wanted to. Lol Drizzle some maple syrup over the top and yum!
This is my go-to baked oatmeal recipe. It is easy and our family loves it. I often squeeze a kids fruit pouch in if we don’t have bananas or applesauce on hand. Also use avocado oil in place of butter and it is excellent every time! Yum!
PERFECT! I’ve used other recipes for berry baked oatmeal, and something was always missing. I think it may be the butter! This recipe works beautifully. I used frozen berries and increased the baking time by about 15 minutes. I also added 1/4 cup chia seeds for additional fiber. I’m trying to figure out why the instructions call for baking the oatmeal in the bottom third of the oven. Hmmmmm….. Wondering if there are other baked goods I should be baking on the down low.
Hi Jane! We find that the lower third is best for even baking, and we usually do recommend baking most things there, unless otherwise noted.
Do you add the 15 minutes extra time for any frozen fruit?
Hi Sally. Quick question, would you add any extra milk to this if you were to add chia and flax seeds for extra fiber?
Hi Elizabeth, you can add some chia and ground flax seed with no other changes.