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
- Measuring Cups Spoons
- Whisk
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!
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