It’s been a long time since I’ve made baked oatmeal, but when I came down with a “summer cold” this weekend, the thought of a warm comforting baked oatmeal sounded perfect. And, to throw a new summery spin on the old classic, I made this fruity Apple Cherry Baked Oatmeal.
If you’ve never had one of my baked oatmeals before, they’re similar to bread pudding, but made with oats instead of a loaf of bread. They’re soft, a little sweet, and almost custard-like in texture (not at all crunchy).
Although my previous baked oatmeal recipes only use a very small amount of sugar, I wanted to attempt a baked oatmeal with no added sugar. I relied completely on the sweetness of fruit for this Apple Cherry Baked Oatmeal, and skipped the tart yogurt that would usually require some extra sugar for balance. Some fruit is more tart than others, so I made sure to stick to two low acid fruits: apple and cherry. No sugar added apple sauce replaced the yogurt and chopped up frozen dark cherries added a little pop of extra sweetness (not to mention a stunning deep purple color). If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where fresh cherries are affordable, by all means use fresh. Just don’t forget to pit them first. ;)
This Apple Cherry Baked Oatmeal can be enjoyed warm or cold and I love it with a little cold milk poured over top. If you do like things a little sweeter, feel free to add 1/4 cup brown sugar to the mix, or just top your bowl with a little honey or maple syrup. If you have a few extra pennies, sliced almonds would be an amazing addition to this dish. Just stir about 1/3 cup into the oats before baking. YUM.
Apple Cherry Baked Oatmeal
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen pitted sweet cherries ($1.56)
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce ($1.31)
- 2 large eggs ($0.32)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.14)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract ($0.14)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder ($0.03)
- 1 cup milk ($0.44)
- 2 cups uncooked old fashioned rolled oats ($0.34)
Instructions
- Take the cherries out of the freezer and allow them to thaw. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Once combined, add the milk and whisk until smooth.
- Roughly chop the cherries and add them to the bowl of liquid ingredients, along with the rolled oats. Stir with a spoon until combined.
- Lightly coat an 8″x8″ or 9″x9″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour the oat mixture into the dish and then bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top and no longer tacky in the center. Divide into six portions and serve warm.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Apple Cherry Baked Oatmeal – Step by Step Photos
Allow one cup of frozen cherries to thaw, then roughly chop into smaller pieces. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce, 2 large eggs, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp baking powder. Whisk until smooth.
Add 1 cup of milk and whisk until smooth again.
Finally, stir in the chopped cherries and 2 cups of uncooked old fashioned dry oats. While this recipe can be made with “quick oats”, I prefer the old fashioned rolled oats because of their heartier texture. It makes the final dish a bit chunkier and less pasty.
Lightly coat a casserole dish with non-stick spray and pour in the oat mixture. I suggest an 8″x8″ or 9″x9″ casserole dish, but I used an oval dish today. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown and no longer sticky in the center. If you have a larger shallower dish (like a 9×9) it will take closer to 40 minutes, while a smaller but deeper dish (like an 8×8) will take a bit longer.
When it’s done baking it will be golden on top and a little more brown around the edges. It will be soft, moist, and very warm and comforting!
You can eat the Apple Cherry Baked Oatmeal plain or topped with cold milk, or even a dollop of yogurt. I <3 baked oatmeal!
Fabulous as written, but spring strawberries are calling and I wanted a fancier option for an upcoming family event. Subbed a generous cup of diced fresh strawberries and set timer for 35 minutes. Made a crumble with 1 oz dehydrated strawberries, 2 T sugar, 1/4 C spelt flour, 1/4 C sliced almonds and 3T butter. Texture more like coarse sand than classic crumbles, but it binds well with the oatmeal when sprinkled on top. Baking uncovered for 10 minutes was perfect in my oven, but start checking at 7 or 8 minutes as it burns quickly.
Thank you! Totally love this. I didn’t have straight frozen cherry but I had frozen cherry berry blend mix from Aldi. Oh my! Nom nom nom. Delicious! It was sweetened perfect to me, didn’t need the extra sugar. Even hubby loved it and he likes extremely sweet stuff. Next time am gonna add the sliced almonds. Thank you for all you! 😁😁
I used fresh cherries which were $1.79/lb here in the Midwest. I used a bamboo skewer to pit them which took some time but wasn’t too hard. It helped to stab a hole in the bottom of the cherry first, then push the pit through the top from the stem hole. They didn’t bleed in the batter like I was worried about, and turned out beautifully with sliced almonds on top. Thank you!
Can you use other frozen fruit instead of cherries.. I have a bag of blueberries and trying to think of ways to use them. I already use them in my oatmeal.
You could certainly give it a try!