Baked Oatmeal

I have a sad confession to make. As much as I rave about oatmeal in cookies, I hate it as breakfast on its own. I’ve tried and tried to eat it – with raisins, brown sugar, maple syrup, instant, steel cut, microwave, stove-top, slow cooker – you name it, I’ve tried it. The problem comes down to texture; oatmeal is mushy. And I’m not a huge fan of mushy (see also: why I don’t like mashed potatoes).

So this recipe was a treat. It combined my love of crispy oatmeal from cookies or granola, fruit, and maple syrup without being terribly mushy. I actually enjoyed oatmeal for breakfast! That Heidi Swanson is a smart chick. This isn’t what I would call an easy breakfast – there’s too long a baking time for that – but it is relatively simple and would work great for a large crowd to feed.

Baked Oatmeal

From Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day 

You can store the extra and reheat it for later if you don’t finish this the first time. I choose to reheat in the oven to try to preserve as much of the crisp top layer as possible, but if you’re strapped for time, the microwave will do fine. I used frozen mixed berries in place of fresh blackberries and they tasted great. I just threw them in frozen (thinking that if I defrosted them first they might get mushier) and it worked just fine. So don't feel constrained by whatever fresh fruit is in season!

When I made this the first time, you can see that I used two smaller glass containers instead of an 8x8. I wouldn't recommend it, there wasn't enough surface area and the ratio of crispy top to more traditional oatmeal wasn't ideal. I also skipped adding an egg and just threw some additional water in. Which is leading up to say, if you want to use almond milk and soy butter to make a vegan version and skip the egg entirely, I think you'll be fine.

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnut pieces
1/3 cup natural cane sugar or maple syrup (and more syrup for serving)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups milk
1 egg
3 Tablespoons butter melted and cooled slightly
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 bananas, cut into 1 inch slices
1 1/2 cups blackberries (blueberries, raspberries, or a mixture)

Equipment:

8x8 baking dish, mixing bowls

Preheat oven to 375

Butter baking dish and add banana slices and half of the berries. In a separate bowl, add oats, half of walnuts, sugar or maple syrup, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt together and mix well. Pour into baking dish. In a second bowl, add milk, egg, butter, and vanilla together and whisk until ingredients combined.

Pour wet ingredients into baking dish, stirring a few times to make sure all the milk is incorporated into the oats. Top with remaining walnuts and berries.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top of the oatmeal is golden and mixture is set. Serve with additional maple syrup or melted butter.