Oh baked oatmeal, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… There’s Cranberry Apple, Banana Bread, Lemon Raspberry, Blueberry Banana, and let us not forget Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal. With each flavor I fall deeper in love with your warm, filling, and flavorful breakfast ways.
In this version, rich walnuts and warm cinnamon compliment small bits of naturally sweet chopped dates to create a perfect breakfast for cold winter mornings. As usual, this baked oatmeal is a breeze to whip up and is enough to provide you with easy-to-reheat breakfasts for the rest of the week. Just portion the oatmeal into single serving containers after baking and refrigerate until ready to eat. It can be enjoyed cold or warmed quickly in the microwave… because who wants to get out of bed early enough to prepare breakfast when it’s all cold out but toasty and warm under your covers? Not me.
People often mistake the baked oatmeals for being crunchy based on the pictures, but it’s soft, almost like a bread pudding. Not gooey like regular oatmeal, but not hard. The edges get a little chewy like the edges of baked brownies, but overall it’s pretty soft… soft and totally delicious!
Cinnamon Date & Walnut Baked Oatmeal
Cinnamon Date & Walnut Baked Oatmeal
Servings 8Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt ($0.75)
- 2 large eggs ($0.34)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.28)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1 tsp baking powder ($0.06)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 1/2 cups milk ($0.56)
- 1/2 cup dried dates ($0.88)
- 1/2 cup walnut halves ($1.92)
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.51)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Once the mixture is whisked smooth, add the milk and whisk until smooth again.
- Roughly chop the walnuts and dates until they are in small pieces. Add the walnuts, dates, and rolled oats to the milk mixture. Stir until well combined.
- Pour the oat mixture into a 8x8 or 9x9 inch casserole dish coated with non-stick spray. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the center is no longer wet.
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Nutrition
Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together 1 1/2 cups yogurt, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. It’s easier to whisk together these thicker ingredients first and then add the milk later—less splishy-splashy.
Once that mixture is smooth, pour in 1 1/2 cups milk and whisk again until smooth.
I used about 1/2 cup of walnuts and 1/2 cup of dried dates. I bought both from the bulk bins at the grocery store so that I wouldn’t have “leftovers” of each. I like to buy just what I need.
Give them a rough chop. Smaller pieces mean you’ll get some in each bite… but you don’t want the pieces to be so small that you don’t notice them when eating.
Add the chopped walnuts and dates, plus 3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats to the milk mixture. Stir it all up good.
Pour it into an 8×8 or 9×9 inch casserole dish (coated with non-stick spray for easy clean up). The oats don’t really expand at all while baking, so it’s okay if your dish is a little more full than mine (this is a 9×9 inch dish).
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is no longer liquid. Eat it warm or refrigerate it for the rest of the week. :D
I like to pour a little cold milk over top. YUM.
Baked this in a muffin tin! So cute and delicious. Half the recipe made 7 muffins, which conveniently didn’t quite fit in my toaster oven, but that’s okay.
This is delicious. I followed the recipe with no substitutions. I decreased the baking time 5 minutes because I baked it in a glass dish. Thank you.
I’ve tried almost all of your baked oatmeal recipes and I’ve gotta say, this one is my favorite now! I used unsweetened applesauce instead of yogurt and it came out fantastic. I’m happy I have something a lot more appetizing to take to work for breakfast everyday than dry cereal. :)
do you think greek yogurt would work for this recipe? Or would the tartness be wierd?
It would work, but you might need to add a bit more moisture somewhere else to make sure the oats soften enough.
Eating this right now, and man is it good.
LOVE LOVE LOVE all your baked oatmeal recipes! Can’t wait to try this one, too. In fact, you have so many variations on the baked oatmeal, it inspired me to make up a new flavor too! We are going to have eggnog baked oatmeal for Christmas morning this year :) Think about throwing in some raisins soaked in rum for added flavor!
YUM!!
This looks great! I am thinking I’d like to make your blueberry banana baked oatmeal for Christmas morning breakfast, and am wondering if I can prep it the night before and then pop it in the oven the next day. Will this work, or will the oats absorb too much of the moisture?
Thanks for your input!
I think it should work, although I’ve never tried it. It can’t really absorb too much moisture because your goal is for it to absorb all of the moisture as it bakes, anyway. :)
Mmm, I love oatmeal with an egg, milk and brown sugar in the microwave, but I’ve never tried baking it!
You forgot my favorite: Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal! This sounds SO good but I sincerely don’t know if I can tear myself away from the Gingerbread version (there’s currently a double batch of it cooling in my kitchen!)!
Your email was the first I read this morning when I rolled out of bed, and while I didn’t have all the ingredients, I did have some quality sub ingredients to make this lovely happen. First, no dates, but I just bought some raisins. Second, no walnuts, but I do have some TJ’s chopped pecans. (These subs reduced the chopping to nada.) My typical subs (almond milk and coconut oil – for cooking spray) worked too. I’m sure the original is beautiful, but my pantry ingredients did the trick. Thanks for the pallet – outstanding!
Good grief! I was just reading through the comments wondering “Would raisins, pecans and almond milk work as substitutions in this?” and there you were, already providing the answer! Belated thanks :D
Yum! I make date and walnut bars for the holidays from a family recipe. I love the flavors in them but they are certainly too rich to eat for breakfast so I’m excited to try this!
Your baked oatmeal seriously rocks my world!! Haha, I’ve been rotating all the different kinds for breakfast, making a new one each Sunday, and it lasts us throughout the week!
I really want to make this in the morning but don’t usually keep plain yogurt on hand. How could I substitute that? Whole milk, buttermilk, sour cream?
Whole milk or buttermilk will both work. :) Or you can try using some mashed up bananas or apple sauce (I use both of those in other baked oatmeal recipes with great success).
Ooooo I just bought a big bunch of bananas and I have some homemade applesauce too. Yum! Thanks!
Huh. Applesauce in oatmeal. One of those things that you wish you’d heard of sooner.
How much whole milk or apple sauce should be used as substitute for yogurt please? Thanks for the help.. :)
I usually do 1.5 cups of apple sauce and about one cup of milk for three cups of oats. :)
I love the texture of baked oatmeal. I’ve never tried it using yogurt. Definitely need to give your recipe a whirl soon!
Mmmm this looks great!