You’ll be blown away by the flavor of this baked oatmeal! It’s so easy to make and endlessly versatile: a true go-to recipe. Vegan variation, too!

Here’s a recipe that’s so full of cozy-spiced flavor, you’ll wonder where it’s been all your life. Meet this incredible easy baked oatmeal! Here’s that perfect breakfast or brunch recipe you search for when you have house guests to impress. But guess what? It also works for quick mornings! Bake up a pan in advance and then grab a square to go. It’s beyond easy, and the combination of the cinnamon, allspice and maple makes magic. In fact, we could not stop eating it. It’s that irresistible! So beware when you whip up a pan. Here’s what you need to know about the basic recipe, and a vegan baked oatmeal variation, too.

Ingredients in the best baked oatmeal

This baked oatmeal recipe is pretty ideal, if you ask us. First of all, it uses all ingredients we normally have in our pantry and fridge. It’s gluten free, and we’ve got a vegan variation too. We also created this recipe to taste like our favorite Maple Pecan Granola, so there’s that. It’s got just the right cozy-spiced flavor, gooey but set texture, and the apple is the perfect fruit for baked oatmeal (in our opinion). The main ingredients for baked oatmeal are:

• Rolled or old fashioned oats: Do not substitute steel cut oats, as they have a much different texture! Instead, go to Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal.
• Pecan pieces or other nuts
• Cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla
• Baking powder
• Egg
• Milk
• Maple syrup
• Apple or other fruit (see below)

Use any type of fresh or dried fruit!

Here’s the great thing about baked oatmeal: it’s endlessly customizable! You can make it with any type of fresh or dried fruit. Over here we think apples are perfect for baked oatmeal because they meld into the texture well and enhance the overall flavor. We’re not raisin fans in our baked oatmeal, but we’ll leave that up to you! You can use 1 cup of any type of fresh or dried fruit for your oatmeal, like:

• Chopped apples
• Chopped pears
• Sliced bananas
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Sliced strawberries
• Raisins
• Dried cranberries
• Dried cherries

Use any nut (or omit)

You can also use any type of nut in your baked oatmeal recipe! We prefer pecans because it reminds us of our favorite maple pecan granola: but you can leave the nuts out and it’s just as good! It’s nice to have a crunch and the added plant-based protein, though. Here are a few other ideas for nuts or seeds to use in baked oatmeal:

• Pecans
• Almonds: chopped, slivered or sliced
• Walnuts
• Pistachios
• Pumpkin seeds

The secret to this baked oatmeal: allspice

This baked oatmeal has just the right blend of spices! There’s the ever-present cinnamon, of course. But the kicker? Allspice. It’s got just the right hint of intrigue that makes taking each bite irresistible. If you don’t have allspice on hand, it’s worth getting for this recipe: trust us!

Don’t want to make a trip to the store? You can omit it, or use the same amount of ground ginger. Just make sure to try it with allspice the next time, ok?

Vegan variation

This recipe is easy to make into vegan baked oatmeal! Here are a few simple swaps you can make to make this into a vegan breakfast:

• Use a flax egg instead of egg. A flax egg is simple to make with ground flax seed and water, a trick used in lots of vegan baked goods.
• Use your favorite non-dairy milk. Almond milk and oat milk are the most common in our refrigerator.
• Use coconut oil instead of butter. Pour over a little melted coconut oil and maple syrup for the final flavoring.

Make ahead instructions for baked oatmeal

Here’s one thing to note about this baked oatmeal recipe: do not make the entire pan in advance and refrigerate overnight! Some recipes like overnight oats call for this, but don’t attempt it here. The problem? The oats will absorb all the liquid and be much too dry. You can mix up the wets and dries separately and store in separate containers (with the wets refrigerated), then pour them together in the morning and bake.

The easiest way to make this for healthy breakfasts throughout the week? Make up a pan on a Sunday night, then refrigerate it for eating off of throughout the week. You can refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week, and re-warm them in a 300 degree oven or the microwave.

More oatmeal recipes

Oatmeal is our whole grain breakfast of choice around here, if you haven’t noticed! If you love this baked oatmeal recipe, here are a few more of our basic oatmeal recipes to check out:

• Best Oatmeal Here’s the very best oatmeal recipe that we make every day, vegan and plant based with tasty peanut butter and jelly toppings.
• Easy Instant Pot Oatmeal Pressure cooker oatmeal is an easy breakfast! Made with rolled oats, toasted until fragrant then cooked for just 3 minutes.
• Instant Oatmeal DIY genius for a quick healthy breakfast: it’s cheaper, healthier, and tastier than store bought packets.
• Cherry Cardamom Baked Oatmeal One of our best loved breakfast recipes. It’s delicious, simple to make, naturally sweet, vegan, and gluten-free.
• Carrot Cake Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal This cozy oatmeal is carrot cake flavored, with cozy spices and pecans.

This baked oatmeal recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, see the swaps below.

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A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes