Who needs those autumn-themed candles when you’ve got Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal in the oven? NO ONE. This warm and cozy oatmeal casserole, of sorts, is the epitome of fall vibes. Not only will this baked oatmeal make your house smell amazing, but it’s an easy way to meal prep breakfast for the week ahead. It’s cozy, delicious, filling, and EASY. 🙌
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What is Baked Oatmeal?
If you’re new to baked oatmeal, it’s kind of like bread pudding, but made with oats instead of chunks of bread. It’s sweet, rich, hearty, and absolutely amazing. The texture is soft and moist, but not goopy like traditional oatmeal can be, and it gets just a little bit crispy around the edges of the baking dish. You can eat it hot out of the oven and the leftovers can be eaten cold or reheated in the microwave. I like to pour a little cold milk over top for a delicious hot-cold combo. Baked oatmeal can also be frozen in single-serving containers for quick reheatable weekday breakfasts!
Ingredients for Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
This apple cinnamon baked oatmeal combines our usual baked oatmeal base with apples that are coated in a little cinnamon and sugar, and then baked until they form an apple pie-like layer on the bottom of the oats. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this incredible apple cinnamon baked oatmeal:
- Fresh apples: Pick a sweet or semi-sweet variety of apple, like Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp. And, of course, take advantage of the fresh fall apples for the best price and flavor!
- Oats: Make sure to use old-fashioned rolled oats for this recipe, not quick oats or minute oats, to achieve the best texture. Quick oats are too thin and will create a mushier texture.
- Milk and eggs: Milk and eggs create a custard that keeps the baked oats soft, tender, and moist. I like to use whole milk, but you can substitute it with non-dairy milk if needed.
- Brown sugar and applesauce: Using both broth sugar and applesauce to sweeten the baked oatmeal creates an even bigger apple pie-like flavor without having to use too much added sugar.
- Spices: Cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla make these baked oats that classic fall aroma!
- Lemon juice: A little lemon juice brightens up the baked apples and really makes their flavor shine.
- Cornstarch and baking powder: These two ingredients are added for texture. The cornstarch helps thicken the apple juices as they bake, creating a pie-filling-like texture. The baking powder lightens the oat mixture just a touch so it’s not quite so heavy.
How to Serve Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal is pretty versatile. You can eat it either hot OR cold. I love it just out of the oven with a little cold milk poured over top, but it’s also great cold after it’s been refrigerated overnight. You can top it with some nuts or even some whipped cream for an even more dessert-like treat!
How to Store The Leftovers
After baking, divide the oatmeal into single-serving portions and refrigerate until completely cool. The baked oatmeal can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, or you can transfer it to the freezer for longer storage (about three months). Refrigerated or frozen baked oatmeal can be reheated quickly in the microwave.
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Servings 6 (about 1.3 cups each)Ingredients
Baked Apple Layer
- 4 medium apples (about 2 lbs. total) ($2.66)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.06)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.06)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp cloves ($0.02)
Baked Oatmeal Layer
- 1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce ($0.91)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.12)
- 2 large eggs ($0.18)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.59)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 tsp baking powder ($0.06)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1.5 cups milk* ($0.72)
- 2.5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.72)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Core and dice the apples.
- Place the diced apples in the bottom of a 9×9-inch (or 2 qt.) casserole dish. Add the lemon juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir until the apples are coated in sugar and spices.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- While the apples are baking, prepare the baked oatmeal mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Then add the milk and whisk to combine again.
- Finally, stir the dry oats into the applesauce mixture and stir until fully combined.
- After the apples come out of the oven, give them a good stir, then pour the oat mixture over top. Return the dish to the oven (uncovered) and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
- After baking for 30 more minutes the oats should be golden brown on top and you may see some of the apple cinnamon layer bubbling up around the edges. Let the oats cool for about five minutes before serving.
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Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Core and dice four medium apples (about ½ lb. each).
Place the apples in the bottom of a 9×9-inch or 2-quart casserole dish. Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, ½ tsp cinnamon, and ⅛ tsp cloves. Stir until the apples are evenly coated in sugar and spices.
Cover the dish with foil and bake the apples for 15 minutes in the preheated 375ºF oven.
While the apples are baking, begin preparing the oat mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 large eggs, 1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ¼ cup brown sugar.
Add 1.5 cups milk to the applesauce mixture, then whisk again to combine.
Add 2.5 cups rolled oats (not quick oats) and stir until everything is evenly combined.
After the baked apples come out of the oven, give them a stir, then pour the oat mixture over top of the apples. Place the dish back into the oven (uncovered) and bake for 30 minutes more.
After 30 minutes the oats should be golden brown around the edges and you might see some of the apple cinnamon layer bubbling up around the edges. Remove the baked oatmeal from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
The bottom layer will be sweet and tender baked apples and the top layer will be a soft baked oatmeal. SO GOOD!
I like to eat my apple cinnamon baked oatmeal with a splash of cold milk on top!
We have made this multiple times a month every year for at least four years — possibly more!
I add two extra eggs for extra protein, and the amount of apples is always flexible depending on how many we have. We can eat this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and it’s a huge hit.
Easy to make, easy cleanup, and wonderful to eat. Makes a great snack! (refer to nutrition count for portion size) – and would make a tasty dessert (nicer than a Crisp, in my opinion)
Easy and yummy!
I so badly want to try this recipe but my daughter is allergic to eggs. We normally swap out eggs with applesauce – 1/4c per egg. Do you think adding extra applesauce in place of the eggs would still turn out the same?
It looks delicious!
I’m not sure that it would turn out the same but it might work! I’ve heard of people using flax eggs in place of the egg here with success!
I am a vegan and use Budget Bytes constantly for recipes. I really haven’t found any issues tweaking ingredients and this recipe is no exception. I use same amount flax eggs and oat milk and when people comment this is as good as pie, it is:). Any non dairy milk works but for whatever reason, oat milk makes this perfect. I would recommend using amounts suggested when first making recipe but I have started using more apples in this recipe just because it is a family preference. This recipe is a keeper! As a side note – I have made just about every BB baked oatmeal recipe with flax egg and oat milk and they ALL come out great!
First time making this recipe & it was worth it! It’s like a healthy apple crisp. I think serving it for dessert would be wonderful. I thought it was good warm, but I like it even better cold. Very yummy!
This is my favorite of the baked oatmeal recipes on this site. I make a big batch of homemade applesauce and keep portions in the freezer just to use for this recipe. I find Gala apples make the best sauce. Just core the apples, no need to peel. Cook with a bit of water or cranberry juice until soft and then puree with an immersion blender. For the baked oatmeal layer I add a few scoops of protein powder to give it an extra nutritional boost. Served warm with a dollop of Greek yogurt it makes a fabulous breakfast.
Another good oatmeal bake! Question: could you use canned apple pie filling?
Hmmm… We haven’t tried it, but I think it could work! I would just skip that first step of baking the apples. Pour in the apple pie filling and then top with oatmeal mixture. There’s a chance it may come out a bit more wet though so keep that in mind.
Wow! This is delicious! My husband was skeptical at first but he loved it so much, he went back for seconds! As he was eating it, he said that maybe next time I could add walnuts. I wanted to test this recipe out before Christmas. I believe my guests are going to love it!
Yum! Another winner. I was a little worried the apples might stick to the bottom of the pan with no oil/cooking spray, but they didn’t! Turned out great and made the apartment smell wonderful. What a great way to welcome fall.
A-MAZ-ING! Thanks for this deliciousness!
It was phenomenal with apples and I made it today with peaches! I only had 1/4 c applesauce so I added ~ 3/4 c extra coconut milk, and then it seemed too wet so I added an extra 1/5 c oatmeal. It came out perfect! I’ve been serving it with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and couldn’t be happier. This is perfect for breakfast or dessert-I’m so happy I found this recipe!
Was very mushy the next day for meal prep.
Yes, the texture of baked oatmeal is supposed to be soft. :)
Try freezing it next time. Dry sitting right next to wet for 24 hours = mushy
I thought this recipe was great. Not as sugary and decadent as a lot of baked oatmeal recipes while still being really delicious. And the second layer could actually be fully prepared while the first layer was in the oven :) which is rare in my experience.
This recipe turned out really well. A few things I changed slightly: I used full-fat oat milk rather than dairy milk, and I didn’t have lemon juice so substituted with about 2/3 tbsp water and 1/3 tbsp apple cider vinegar. I also baked it for longer than 30 minutes, putting it back in for 2 or 3 minutes a few times until the top had a little more golden-brown to it. All of our ovens are going to be slightly different, so the important thing is to look out for signs that something is done rather than follow the exact timing in the recipe.
I will definitely be making this again!
Excellent. Very custard like an so creamy.
I used flax eggs and soy milk for a more plant-based recipe, and it worked great! I also added about a scoop of vegan vanilla protein powder and it blended in really nicely!
The apples turned out SO perfect! I’m officially obsessed. It’s like a healthy apple crisp.
My hubby wasn’t interested in trying the banana-blueberry baked oatmeal (despite his being a blueberry fan), but he liked this one and had several of the servings, hooray! I didn’t have cloves so I subbed 1/2 cinnamon and 1/2 nutmeg. I ADORED the way this made my home smell! I may have to make it again with gala apples. Thank you, Beth!
Does anyone know if this can this be frozen?
Yes, baked oatmeal freezes great! :)
Thank you 😁
I made four giant servings for 415 calories each, made exactly as is but with unsweetened almond milk. I didn’t think it was too salty per another commenter.
Update: I also made this with 3 pears instead of apples, with everything else the same, and it was awesome!
I love your baked oatmeal recipes, and I’ve used them several times. This was my first time making the apple pie ones, and I was surprised that there was so much more salt than in other recipes. I’ll definitely be cutting the salt in half in the future, otherwise it was wonderful.
Thank you for the simple and tasty recipe! I’ve made it twice now. The second time, I had an extra apple and strawberries so I made my own strawberry applesauce for the recipe and it turned out delicious.
Has any one tried substituting honey for the brown sugar?
Maple syrup works really well!
Excellent.! The tastiest baked oatmeal I’ve ever made. I used a little less salt, about 3/4 tsp, and vanilla almond milk. I can’t wait to make it for our house guests.
Thanks Sandra!
Can’t wait to try this. Do you have the nutritional info?
Thanks for the request! We do get that request a lot, but unfortunately we don’t have a reliable source for the nutrition information. The calculators and databases that most bloggers and websites use to calculate the info can be extremely inaccurate, and for something that can so severely impact the health of people with health conditions, we just don’t feel comfortable publishing unreliable numbers. We prefer to leave it up to the reader to use the database or calculator they trust. I’m sorry and I wish accuracy were easier than shipping the food off to a lab for analysis!
I don’t have any unsweetened applesauce (or any applesauce) on hand. What could I substitute? Or would it be alright to just leave it out?
I often times use mashed banana or yogurt in my baked oatmeals, so you could try that, but it will no longer taste like apple pie if you substitute the applesauce. :) I have several other baked oatmeal recipes on the website if you want to try a different flavor. Here is a link to baked oatmeals.
This was a delicious recipe and I will be making it again! I used Granny Smith apples . Also, I used the full teaspoon of salt and did not find the recipe salty tasting- it was just right . I cut the oatmeal into squares, heated in the microwave, and topped with whipped cream! Yum 😋
I needed to use up some honeycrisp apples, so I decided to make this recipe. OMG! It is delicious. I made it as part of my meal prep. I heat up a serving with a little almond milk in the microwave (and a little maple syrup if I’m feeling decadent). Best part of my morning!
This is absolutely wonderful!! We’ve made it three times in the past month and it turns out great every time! We use a 13 x 9 baking dish and cut back the bake time to 40 minutes.
Beth, thank you for posting so many amazing, budget-friendly recipes on your site!
Can I make this the night before or does it have to be baked immediately?
I’ve never tried assembling the night before, so I’m not sure how that would affect it. I can’t imagine it straight up wouldn’t work, but the texture may be a little different since the oats will be absorbing the milk all night.
I have made this before with apples, but got a great deal on a flat of strawberries this week and made it with them. Also amazing! Love your simple, delicious recipes!
The Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal is so good!!! My apartment smelled heavenly when I made the baked oatmeal for breakfast this morning. I’m looking forward to enjoying this for breakfast this week. Thanks, Beth!!! :-)
This is probably my favorite of your baked oatmeal recipes! I veganized it very easily by swapping out the eggs for ‘flax eggs’ and used cashew milk.
Anyone know if you can subsitute quick oats for the rolled oats?
You can, but the final product will have less texture.
I did and it was still great
A great combination of easy and tasty. For those asking about substitutions, I used flax eggs for the eggs (1 egg = 1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water) and soy milk for the milk.
Hi,
Just wondering if I could substitute quick oats for the rolled oats? How would I adjust it?
You can just switch them out, same amount used. The final result will have less texture with quick oats, though.
I just tried this this morning. It was delicious! I have tried a few of your baked oats recipes, but I think this one is my favorite. I am still getting used to the texture/consistency of baked oats, but I bought a huge box of old fashioned oats so i am all set to try every recipe! ;) I think I will try the lemon one next…
This was really salty–and I didn’t even use quite the full teaspoon (glad I didn’t!). I see other versions of baked oatmeal on your site have only 1/2 tsp salt–is this one meant to have the full teaspoon? When I make it again, I’ll increase the spices (they are very subtle) and decrease the salt by about half.
Yum. Sounds good. I have never baked oatmeal but will have to try it, takes a long time though so I’ll have to get up early if I want it for breakfast haha… can’t wait to try all your pumpkin and apple recipes now that fall is upon us :D
I made this last night. I didn’t have applesauce, though. Instead, I omitted the spices and brown sugar and used my spiced apple butter instead. I got inspired and added a splash of maple flavoring. It turned out fantastic! I also made it with lactose free milk and had no issues. So now my hubby can enjoy it for breakfast with now worry!
I came to the comments section hoping to find a substitute for apple sauce. Thank you for sharing your ideas!
I used Granny Smith apples. The result was profoundly excellent. It made the kitchen smell like apple pie, and was so tasty that when I tried it there was no but-it’s-not-apple-pie let down at all. I especially like that it’s relatively low in sugar. I will be making it again soon–probably very soon, because I don’t see this batch lasting very long at all.
Beth, you mentioned you freeze single-serving portions. Have you ever tried baking this in muffin cups? If so, how’d you adjust the recipe?
I haven’t tried baking it in muffin cups, but I know other readers have and with success (I don’t know baking time, though). After baking it I usually divide it up into single serving portions (in those reusable Ziploc containers), freeze a few, and leave a few in the fridge for the week. They reheat really well in the microwave from both the refrigerator and freezer. :)
Beth, do you know if the readers who made them in muffin cups used paper liners? I am making this for a work breakfast tomorrow, and I would prefer to bake it as muffins to make it single servings. I know you haven’t personally done it as muffins, but do you think the consistency would hold up ok in a paper cupcake liner or is the apple layer too wet?
Thanks!!
WAIT! In case anyone else was wondering this same thing, I just had a brilliant solution idea to my own question. Foil cupcake liners!! That should take care of the sogginess factor!
I did not use cloves, vanilla extract, white sugar or apple sauce and it still turned out amazing. I used a bit of apple cider vinegar mixed with the oats and instead of white sugar I topped it with honey at the end. This is so good and it made the kitchen smell wonderful.
I forgot to mention that I used Golden Delicious apples.
Has anyone tried the oatmeal mix with honey instead of brown sugar? My girls love your baked oatmeal for dinner, but I don’t want to give them too much sugar before dinner (not that 1/4 cup is a lot, but still.) Also Beth, I can’t wait for your book to come out! I love your website and recipes so much!
Nice recipe! We made it last weekend to have breakfast for the whole week. We froze half of the batch to enjoy later. We added some fresh cranberries that we had on hand after making your cranberry apple baked oatmeal recipe.
This recipe was delicious! I made it with one braeburn and one honeycrisp because that’s what was in my fridge, and I diced the apples up pretty small. Served with frothed milk and a teeny tiny splash of brown sugar cinnamon syrup. Yum!
So after beginning this recipe I realized that I didn’t have any applesauce… Luckily I had a bottle of Redd’s Strawberry Apple Ale in the fridge. It also just so happened to be approx. 1.5 cups…Coincidence? I hope so! I’ll check back with the results.
I’m happy to announce that it turned out awesome! Very good and I’m glad I was able to make it work! Great recipe!
I would like to give it 5 stars but for some reason it won’t let me…
seriously delicious, thankyou!
Are you able to freeze this after you make it?
Yep, I freeze my baked oatmeal recipes all the time (in single serving sized portions). Then I just microwave it straight from the freezer and chow down!
Another gluten free winner! My boyfriend eats oatmeal almost every day but the normal microwave sticky goopy ick way, this is much better :)
This is awesome and I never change a recipe but today I did. Today I substituted 2 apples with 3 fresh peaches and instead of applesauce I used a bag of frozen peaches and blended them up for my peachsauce. That is all I changed and WOW……..
OF COURSE I find this recipe within 20 minutes of convincing myself that it’s okay to eat apple crumble for breakfast. Now I don’t have an excuse to have dessert for breakfast because i know your recipe will be delicious.
I used apple pie filling, mashed it up a bit, added some Splenda and it was super good!
I just made this–so good! I’m actually going to take it to a breakfast potluck in a few weeks. I replaced 1/2 cup of the oatmeal with ground flaxseed. Turned our perfectly! Thank you!!
This oatmeal is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever put in my mouth. Thank you, Beth!
Renee – I think some people have used a flaxseed + water mixture, but I’ve never tried it myself, so I can’t vouch for the results. I don’t know the quantities either, but I’m sure a quick google search for “flax egg replacement” will tell you how much to use in place of one egg.
Is there something I can replace the eggs with? I have a boy who can’t eat eggs.
Denae – Some of the baked oatmeals that use yogurt are fine with baking soda/powder combo, but I think the rest are probably better with just baking powder.
Do you recommend making the change to the baking powder in your old recipes as well or just removing the foil?
Have you tried freezing individual portions of this and defrosting in the morning for quick breakfasts? I wonder how it holds up.
I made a pan of this, and my daughter is thrilled to get “apple pie” for breakfast!
I added a bit of allspice, cardamom, and nutmeg – I’m a warm spice nut! We’ve had it with milk and maple syrup, and with ice cream.
This was so good! Definately the best of the three baked oatmeal recipes I’ve tried, with blueberry banana in second. I added raisins.
Kulio – I’ve never tried refrigerating it over night, but I’m sure it would work just fine. The baking with the foil thing is what I used to do with the baked oatmeals, but I don’t bother with it anymore. It works better without! :)
Can you mix this up the night before and bake it the next morning with good results? Also – you say you baked it half the time with foil on top and half without?
Adrienne – Many people have reported using soy and almond milk with great results :D
Yum! I’m going to make this over the weekend.
Adrienne, I’ve used soy milk in several of Beth’s fantastic baked oatmeal recipes and they turned out fine. Just cut the milk back by 1/4 cup or so since it’s thinner than cow’s milk. Or if you forget like I did a couple of times, bake it for 10-15 minutes longer until the center is cooked.
I love the idea of the apple pie bottom and oatmeal top, can’t wait tot ry this!
this sounds ridiculously good! love all of your oatmeal recipes!
I was very excited the find this new recipe because someone just gave me a whole basket of apples Monday and I found a place by my job that sells oatmeal in bulk for 1.49lb. So I made some last night and I was blown away by how good my house smelled! I didn’t have any cloves, but I added half a teaspoon of nutmeg since I had that handy. It was so good that I had two pieces, yum!
Oh, and I had a falling out with moo milk too and use vanilla almond for the recipes. I don’t think it really adds that much sugar, most of the sweetness I noticed came from the apples.
Beth, do you know if a non-dairy “milk” works well in these? Milk and I have had a falling out, so I drink almond milk now. I usually drink vanilla almond, but I suspect it would be too sweet. Maybe plain?
I took ready made apple pie from a shop and felt it good taste. Its very easy to make and delicious a lot with great smell and a lot of beauty.
This just looks delightful! My family will be getting a treat this weekend! How would you make this for the slow cooker?
i’ve been eating your blueberry baked oatmeal every day for the last 2 months. one recipe made on a sunday lasts me all week (which is key, since grad school + baby = not a whole lot of extra time in the mornings!) i made an apple version a few weeks, but adding cornstarch for a pie like filling is an awesome idea! will definitely be trying this for next week. . .
I made this earlier today and the smell was fan freakin tastic! It tasted very good too. I can’t wait for your cookbook!
awesome. smells great on a dreary october day, baking away. And its good for two weeks of my daughters breakfasts… or at least on the days she doesnt havecereal. thank you.
I tried crockpot oatmeal this weekend because I’m looking for new, fall weather breakfast ideas (it turned out terrible.) I will definitely try this recipe this weekend because it looks so good (will half it.)
Powers – Yep, I’m sure that would work just fine :)
Looks amazing! This is probably a dumb question, but… I have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old who would love the taste of this but but hate the texture of the apple chunks. Would they still work as a base if they were more finely chopped in the food processor first? Thanks! ~ A North Louisiana fan
I’m eating this right now. yum! I used almond milk, and it turned out great. Next time I may make it a bit sweeter and add some nutmeg. Thanks for another great recipe.
Jamie – Making alterations to fit steel cut oats would probably take quite a bit of experimentation. Steel cut oats require twice as much moisture and a good bit more cooking time than rolled oats… so, unfortunately, I don’t have a quick solution for you :( I think some people have tried the other baked oatmeals with steel cut oats, but I don’t know what alterations they made or how they turned out.
Do you think steel cut oats would work well with this? Any recommendation on how to use steel cut instead of quick?
And seriously, yum.
Apples are stupid expensive because of the poor harvest this year. I’ve made one cake because I can’t bring myself to buy them more. The baked oatmeal sounds really good though! I’m always looking for new ideas!
Lindsay – Yogurt will still work, but you’ll definitely have less apple flavor. Maybe try half of one and half of the other!
No joke, I was seriously googling apple baked oatmeal earlier today. I ALWAYS use your baked oatmeal recipes (because they rock my face) and I knew I had to make an apple version. I see that you replaced the yogurt for applesauce, do you think that the yogurt would still work here?