Everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Everyone also knows that breakfast can be the most boring meal of the day. It becomes all too easy to fall into a rut of grabbing toast while you run out the door, the same old bowl of cereal, or a calorie-laden Starbucks pastry. Okay so that last one might not be boring, but it’s certainly not healthy! This baked oatmeal is a wonderful alternative to traditional breakfast foods – it’s warm, hearty, filling, and full of good-for-you stuff that will make you feel like you started the day right. Looking for an added bonus? You can bake this up and have enough left to be reheated for breakfast every day of the work week. That’s right, 5 days of breakfast ready and waiting for you – no wondering what you’re going to eat or what you’ll have time to make when you wake up in the morning.
There is nothing complicated about baking up this oatmeal, so get to it! I enjoyed mine with an extra sprinkling of chopped walnuts, a few more raisins, and a drizzle of honey.
Baked Oatmeal
(Source: Cooking Light)2 cups uncooked oats
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins (or dried fruit of your choice)
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1½ cups milk
½ cup applesauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
Cooking spray1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg in a separate bowl. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Tags: Breakfast & Brunch, Oats
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This sounds delicious. I’m already a huge fan of oatmeal. Baking it sounds like a great way to jazz things up a bit. Plus, your pictures look delicious. I’m a huge breakfast fan, so I’ll take any breakfast suggestions I can get!
What a great idea! I’ll have to try this.
I love baked oatmeal. I am glad you made a healthier version. Can’t wait to try it!
I’m always looking for new oatmeal recipes, and the fact that this is from Cooking Light is even better! Thanks!
What is the texture of this like? I’ve always loved the idea of oatmeal, but can’t get over the slimy texture.
HALEY — This is a pretty dry, loose texture. In fact, my mom dislikes oatmeal because she refers to it as “soupy” but she LOVED this baked dish because of the significant difference in texture. I hope you give it a try and I’d love to know how you liked it!
I made this last night and am planning on having delicious warm breakfasts for the rest of the week… Tastes great, and I didn’t even add the butter! Thanks for the recipe.
Great idea about cooking extra for the rest of the week. I just started doing that with my rice. Now I can do the same for breakfast.
Hi Chelle – Just wanted to let you know I made the Baked Oatmeal this morning and my husband and I loved it! We had a 50 degree temperature drop overnight here in Chicago (!!!) so this was the perfect breakfast. Thanks for the recipe!
I fixed this last week with dried cranberries, slivered almonds & orange zest–it was yummy! It was nice to have breakfast already fixed & all I had to do was warm it up for less than a minute in the microwave.
Made it this morning with Cranberries and chopped pecans. Then I topped it with plain greek yogurt. So delicious.
Thanks for the excellent recipe!
This sounds amazing! I am on a huge oatmeal kick right now, but was looking for something just a little different. This is perfect! How many servings does this make?
Alissa, I’d say 4 to 6 servings.
my roommate and i make this every time we want an awesome breakfast! Thanks so much for not just a healthy and yummy recipe- but a college student friendly one!
Just stumbled upon this while looking for healthy recipes… I love oatmeal and as a former bodybuilder (getting back into it again!), I am always looking for new ways to enjoy it. This is great! I am not new to pre- cooking meals for the week, so this fits right into my hectic schedule… Thanks for the tip! Also, you can use Splenda or brown sugar Splenda instead of brown sugar, omit butter, and use only egg whites to make it even more body-friendly… Love your blog!
I made this for my family for breakfast this am. It was delicious and easy.
This is GREAT! I just made it tonight and can’t wait to have oatmeal ready for my 2 year old every morning! He eats oatmeal almost everyday.
I made this today, and it was amazing! I have always hated oatmeal because of the slimy texture, but this is almost more like a cross between oatmeal and oatmeal cookies- it tastes so good, I almost feel bad eating it for breakfast! The possibilities of add-ins are limitless, so it just can’t get old. I did craisins & almonds, what have others tried successfully, of unsuccessfully?
Hey Michelle, what kind of oats did you use in this – steel-cut or old-fashioned rolled? Do you think it makes a difference? Thanks!
Hi Rashmi, Old-fashioned rolled oats. And yes, it will make a difference since steel cut oats absorb water and cook down differently.
Really delicious. But also curiously rich and luxurious, so I can eat only a few bites at a time. I found the texture to be reminiscent of a pudding or custard. Am looking forward to making every week with different add-ins and devouring for breakfast (and for snacking throughout the day!).
Someone in my family is allergic to walnuts. Is it okay to leave it out?
Absolutely! Enjoy!
Thanks! Looks delish! Can’t wait to try it out!
Any substitution ideas for the applesauce?
Not particularly, it acts as a binder and sweetener. You could use honey, but I think the flavor might be too strong, and it would definitely cause the sugar content to be drastically increased.
I love it. I omitted the butter and added about 1/4 flax seed to add to the nutrition level. I also omitted the brown sugar, the raisins made it sweet enough. I can always add honey on top if I want it sweeter that morning. Rather than making oatmeal every morning I just heat up a serving with some rice milk. YUMMY!!!