Baked Oatmeal
This baked oatmeal is more like an oatmeal “cake,” but it is still healthy, moist, and very versatile! Your whole family will love it!
Thanks to my wonderful friend, Darcy (who humored all my talk about cooking and inspired me with this recipe and out of this world homemade pasta while I lived in Utah), this is now a staple in our house and has forced me to admit I can never go back to regular old oatmeal again.
More like an oatmeal “cake,” this breakfast dish is wholesome (yes, I consider large amounts of brown sugar wholesome), moist and very versatile.
You can add fruit to the batter before baking or lay it on after, you can douse your portion of baked oatmeal in milk and slurp it up with a spoon, or you can skip the milk and eat it with a fork.
Any way you try it, it is sure to please. Personally, my favorite way to eat it is covered in fresh strawberries and milk. Thanks, Darc!
Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 6 cups (600 g) oatmeal, either quick or old-fashioned
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup (113 g) applesauce
- 2 cups milk
- 4 large beaten eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9X13-inch baking pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with milk and/or fresh fruit.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from my friend, Darcy R.
A lot of work and ingredients for a very unexciting result. My family wouldn’t eat it. I question the two teaspoons of salt!
We love this recipe! When we don’t have the patience for it to bake in the oven, we can cut the ingredients by 1/4 and cook it in the microwave for 4 minutes!
I’ve been making this a few times a month for the past few years, it’s a family fav. Today I subbed brown bananas for the applesauce and made it in muffin pan. 375 for 21 min = perfect. Kids ate them in a bowl with milk, then grabbed a second to gobble on the way to the bus because that’s how we roll.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s a winner! Our favorite way to eat it is with a drizzle of real maple syrup on top. Delish!
I always make the half recipe (8 X 8 inch square pan) and bake for 25-30 minutes. I freeze the leftovers, cut into squares.
I love recipes that are easy, adaptable, and delicious – this one hits all those bases!
Hi, I am a baked oatmeal lover and always look for new recipes. I’ve made this in the past and usually add pumpkin for a good portion of the oil,keep the applesauce at 1/2 and only use 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites. I like to bake this til crunchy around the edges.
Would I be able to use melted butter, or mild olive oil for the 1/2 c of the oil ?
Yes, I think so!
This was delicious. Made with only 1 cup brown sugar and added 1 TB cinnamon to the batter. It was plenty sweet for us still. We served it up with the cinnamon apples from your waffle recipe. So good. I see that you suggested a day or two to eat it before it isn’t fresh. How well do you think would freezing pieces would work?
I think that would work great!
Has anyone had any luck freezing this after it’s been cooked?
Yes, I cut, put on wax paper on cookie sheet, freeze then put in freezer bag. We eat it all week until we need to make more!
Maybe I missed it and it’s been answered already, but can you put this together the night before and bake in the morning?
Yes, I think many others have done that with good success.
Do you think it would it work to mix this up and let it sit in the fridge overnight before cooking it?
I think so – you might want to watch the baking time closely and add or cut down as needed.
We are snowed in so I had to make due with what was in the pantry for dinner tonight. This was perfect!
I had to make a few changes. I halved the recipe, added cinnamon and nutmeg, and substituted one ripe banana for the apple sauce. I was out of baking powder so I substituted 2 tsp vinegar and 1/2 tsp baking soda. I also added 1/4 cup crushed almonds for a little extra protein and cubed apples (2 small gala apples baked in the casserole dish with a little butter and cinnamon for 15 minutes, then poured batter over the apples and baked as directed).
Delish! This will be a go-to for now on.
Felt like I should comment since this is a recipe we make frequently! We have added all sorts of fruit, pumpkin purée, and played with the applesauce/oil proportions–it is very adaptable! We serve with milk. I have mixed up the dry ingredients ahead of time, brought it up to our family cabin, and then finished it there so we could have a yummy, comforting hot breakfast. Always a hit. Thanks!!
OK, I know that this recipe is several years old, and has been made a bazillion times, but for anyone with food allergies, I thought that I would share some modifications that I have tried and been successful with. First of all, I always substitute 1 c. pumpkin puree for the oil and water, as well as add 3 t. pumpkin pie spice–because that’s the way I tried it the first time, and to be honest, it’s so good, I can’t bring myself to try it any other way! I also have tried a gluten-, dairy-, sugar-, and salt-free version where I use gluten-free oats in the same amount, maple syrup instead of sugar (1 c. because it tastes sweeter than brown sugar), refrigerated coconut milk–only 1 3/4 c. to make up for the added moisture in the syrup, sodium-free baking powder, and omit the salt. I will admit that I missed the salt a little bit–it didn’t taste quite the same as when I make my fully-leaded version, but I was surprised at how good it was! I would highly recommend it!
Thanks for an awesome recipe with real ingredients that allow for some creativity!
Love the variations, Emily. Thank you!
Have been making a baked oatmeal recipe for about 10 years but wanted to try this one. We loved it! It’s just as good as my original recipe – really – it’s even better. Didn’t use any oil – just applesauce. Added 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 c. slightly-thawed frozen blueberries. Had to bake it a little bit longer because of the blueberries but it turned out beautifully! Served with milk. My 11-year-old gobbled it up.
This has become our go to pre-long run snack for marathon training. Thanks for sharing.
I made a baked oatmeal “cake” for my daughter today. Both kids (4&6) gobbled it up. Thank you!!!
I made this baked oatmeal this morning and my boys (5yrs and 2 yrs) and I devoured it! I halved the recipe into an 8×8, used 1/2 cup applesauce only, and reduced the brown sugar to a 1/2 cup and it was plenty sweet. I baked for 27 minutes and cooled for 5 before serving. Did add a few drops of milk over the top, it was a little thick, but I baked it longer so it wouldn’t be soupy. Thanks Mel!
I was not expecting this to be as good as it was…holy moly, it’s delicious!! My husband took it for a breakfast potluck at work and everyone loved it and wanted the recipe! Thanks for another winner!
Hi Mel! I made this for breakfast on Christmas morning, and my husband and I loved it. So easy, so delicious. My favorite part was the bit of crust around the edges. We topped ours with a blueberry sauce (like from your “Best Blueberry Muffin” recipe) and it was super delicious! I just had frozen blueberries and I thought, “I’m going to make the blueberry sauce from Mel’s muffin recipe!” We had lots of leftovers, since it was just the two of us, so I took them to my in-laws for brunch, where it was also a HUGE hit. Thanks for the great recipe.
Just made this for breakfast. Yum!! My kids loved it. I didn’t have any applesauce so I put in pumpkin, it was great! Thanks for a recipe that everybody eats!
Made this this morning before church. It was easy, yummy, and warm!! We put canned sliced peaches on top. Both my kids ate it up. My son asked if there was any left (yes!) but when he had finished his bowl his was full!! Very filling. Thank you! My hubby is looking forward to eating up the leftovers before work tomorrow. I made a 1/2 recipe for 4 of us with a good helping leftover.
Hi, I just thought I’d tell you that my mom introduced me to this recipe around the time you originally posted it and I loved it. I woke up in the wee hours of this morning with my teething 1 yr old and couldn’t stop thinking about the recipe even though I hadn’t enjoyed it in about 2 years. I have since baked it, put my little one back to bed, and enjoyed a generous helping. Thanks for making my morning better!
PS. I like it with raisins baked in.
Lorie – I haven’t tried it with pumpkin but if it were me, I’d throw about 1 cup pumpkin puree into the batter and bake it like normal. Let me know if you try it!