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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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!
This sounds delicious. Would this recipe work as muffins / oatmeal cups instead of a casserole? If so, how many would it make?
Yes you could certainly place it into muffin tins. We haven’t made it that way yet to tell you exactly how many it will yield, but my best guess would be about a dozen.
This is a legitimate question coming from an inexperienced college student…what if I don’t have baking powder? I’ve heard to never use baking soda/powder interchangeably, but is there a substitute?
Great question! You can’t use them interchangeably, however with a few other ingredients to help, you can use them in place of one another. Here’s a great article on why, and then how you can! https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/baking-soda
FYI because I always want to know this about breakfast bakes and casseroles – I’ve made this recipe the night before a few times now and it turns out great. I make the oatmeal in its baking dish without the cherries, cover and refrigerate. The next morning, I set it out on the counter to warm while the oven preheats and add the cherries right before I put it in the oven. There’s slightly less liquid to bake off, but I still go a full 40 minutes and it’s always delicious!
Perhaps my favorite baked oatmeal so far. I was reluctant to buy almond extract just for this recipe, but it really adds a lot to the flavor so I’m glad I didn’t skip it.
Used fresh cherries, same bake time, worked out well, and plenty sweet enough
Thanks for the great recipe. There is no doubt in my mind that this delightful dish will be delicious. Take care.
I was looking for a recipe for baked oatmeal to use some dried cherries that I have on hand. Would it work to substitute the fresh or frozen cherries with the dried? This recipe sounds amazing!
Well, it won’t be quite the same because you won’t have that fantastic cherry juice in there. It will be more like raisins. :D
You could rehydrate the dried cherries, worked for me! :)
I’m trying vegan out but can’t bear to give up baked oatmeal – are there substitutions to make this vegan friendly? You mentioned soy milk instead of dairy in some of the other baked oatmeals recipes, but I’m not sure what to do about the eggs.
Several people have mentioned that they’ve used either soy or almond milk in the baked oatmeal recipes and they’ve worked well. Unfortunately I haven’t tried any egg substitutes, though. I think a couple of people have said they’ve use flax mixed with water to replace them, but I’ve never tried it. :(
This might be my favorite of your oatmeal recipes yet! Is there a reason that things like amount of eggs, milk, etc. change from recipe to recipe though? I’d love to just have a standard baked oats recipe I could swap out different flavorings with.
The changing quantities are sometimes me tweaking the recipe and then other times me changing them because of moisture content of add-in ingredients, etc. :)
Beth,
I made this tonight for my breakfast for the week. Well, after smelling it bake for 40 minutes we (hubs and I) had to dive right in. It is so delicious! I added a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to the top, doesn’t really need it but what the heck.
I love your recipes and am excited to try another in the near future.
Another winning recipe Beth! All I had in the fridge was 1% milk, so I was a little nervous, but it turned out delicous. And, I love that now I know about frozen sweet cherries…I’ll always have some in the freezer from now on. Thanks!
Great recipe Beth. First time making baked oatmeal – and it turned out a treat. Having it both for breakfast and desert! Now off to try your other oatmeal recipes.
Thanks for this! I’m always looking for more ways to make oatmeal without added sugar. This is actually really similar to a slowcooked steel cut oats recipe I make all the time. Not sure why I never thought to try it baked too!
This looks SO good! I might have to make it this weekend.
Beth, have you ever tried making a savory baked oatmeal? The internet has surprisingly few choices for specifically baked oatmeal.
I haven’t, although I’ve thought about it often!
Made this last weekend, it is SO delightful!!
Maybe others can learn from my mistake, though – I added the brown sugar at my husband’s request, and then decided to add a streusel on top at the last minute (brown sugar, oats, almonds, melted butter, flour). The struesel was a great addition, but it was WAY too sweet with the additional brown sugar in the oatmeal. My fault. So if anybody gets a hankering for a sweet crunchy topping, skip the brown sugar in the oatmeal itself!
This was really good! I didn’t have almond extract so I just doubled the vanilla. I love breakfasts like this – protein, whole grains, and fruit.