I have an intense love for cranberries, but you can usually only find them in the supermarket for a few months out of the year. So this year, I bought a couple extra bags and tossed them in the freezer so I could enjoy them for months after the season had ended. Well, that day is today and I used some of my cranberry stash to make this delicious Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal. And if you didn’t happen to stash any cranberries last fall, you can sometimes find them in the freezer section year-round. Baked oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfast meal preps because it’s SO easy to make and the leftovers are great. Plus, it’s freezer-friendly!
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What is Baked Oatmeal?
Baked oatmeal is a lot like bread pudding, but instead of chunks of hearty bread baked into the custard, it’s rolled oats. The end result is a soft, moist, scoopable oatmeal that is not at all gloopy like those instant oatmeal packets. It’s filling, rich, slightly sweet, and one of my absolute favorite ways to enjoy oats.
Ingredients for Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal recipes are super simple by nature, and this apple cranberry version is no exception. Here’s all you’ll need to make this baked oatmeal recipe:
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce keeps the baked oatmeal soft and moist, adds a delicious apple flavor, and provides some natural sweetness to the baked oatmeal so you don’t have to add as much sugar.
- Eggs: Eggs combine with the milk to create the custard that helps the baked oatmeal bake firm up into a scoopable texture instead of the thick porridge-like texture that you get with stovetop cooked oats.
- Brown Sugar: A little extra sugar helps balance the tart flavor of the cranberries and makes the baked oats just sweet enough that you feel like you’re having a treat.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract helps the oats taste extra rich.
- Cinnamon: A touch of cinnamon gives the baked oatmeal a warm and cozy flavor.
- Salt: Salt helps all of the individual flavors of the oatmeal pop.
- Baking Powder: A small amount of baking powder gives the baked oatmeal loft so it’s not quite so dense.
- Milk: Milk softens the oats and combines with the egg to create a rich custard.
- Cranberries: Cranberries give the baked oatmeal a deliciously sweet-tart flavor and gorgeous pink color. We used cranberries that had been previously frozen, but you can use fresh as well.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Oats are the main ingredient, the star of the show. Make sure to get old-fashioned rolled oats instead of quick oats because they have a lot more texture and will keep your baked oatmeal from being too mushy.
Is It Breakfast or Dessert?
Baked oatmeal can be served as either breakfast or dessert! It’s only slightly sweet, so it’s still a balanced breakfast, but it’s delicious enough that I’d happily eat it as a dessert or sweet treat. If you want to make it even more dessert-like, try topping it with a simple streusel before baking. Just combine ¼ cup flour, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp white sugar, and 3 Tbsp softened butter until it forms a crumbly mixture that resembles wet sand. Sprinkle that over the baked oatmeal before baking and it turns this baked oatmeal into a decadent dessert!
How to Serve Baked Oatmeal
People always ask if baked oatmeal is supposed to be served hot or cold, and the answer is that it can be enjoyed either way! I love it when it’s still warm out of the oven and topped off with a splash of cold milk. But when I’m eating the leftovers for meal prep, sometimes I eat it cold and sometimes I warm it in the microwave. It’s totally up to you!
Whether you enjoy it hot or cold, I love to add a little milk or half and half to my bowl, or even a scoop of Greek yogurt for extra protein. If you have any walnuts on hand, they would also make a great topper for this Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal flavor. Or, if you want it a little sweeter, try topping it with some maple syrup!
How to Store The Leftovers
To store the leftovers of your baked oatmeal for meal prep, divide it into single portions and place them into air-tight food storage containers. They can be refrigerated for up to five days. Or, once cooled in the refrigerator, you can transfer them to the freezer for longer storage (about 3 months). To reheat frozen baked oatmeal either let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then microwave until hot, or reheat straight from the freezer using the microwave’s defrost function.
Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce ($0.95)
- 2 large eggs ($0.28)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.14)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder ($0.04)
- 1 cup milk* ($0.48)
- 1 cup cranberries (frozen or fresh) ($0.67)
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.58)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Add the apple sauce, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder to a large bowl and whisk together until smooth. Add the milk and whisk until smooth again.
- Slice the cranberries in half (no need to thaw if frozen) and add them to the bowl of wet ingredients along with the rolled oats. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Pour the oat mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake the oatmeal in the preheated 375ºF oven for 45 minutes, or until the surface is a light golden brown and it is no longer sticky in the center. Serve hot or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together 1.5 cups of unsweetened applesauce, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¾ teaspoon baking powder.
Once the previous ingredients are evenly combined, add 1 cup of milk and whisk again until evenly combined.
Slice one cup of cranberries in half (if frozen, no need to thaw) and add them to the bowl along with 2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats. Stir the cranberries and oats into the milk mixture.
Pour the oat mixture into a 9×9-inch (or 2-quart) casserole dish.
Bake the oatmeal for 45 minutes or until it’s golden brown on top and the center is no longer wet.
Serve the apple cranberry baked oatmeal warm or divide into single portions and refrigerate until ready to eat!
I like to enjoy my Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal with cold milk poured over top! 🤤
I just finished my first serving and this is a great recipe. I think my cranberries may have been a little under ripe because I found myself wanting a bit more sugar to balance them out. I ended up using some leftover cinnamon syrup I had and it was perfect.
(Cinnamon syrup: 1/2 white sugar, 1/2 brown sugar, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup water. Thoroughly combine everything in a small saucepan. Boil 5-8 minutes stirring constantly until you get a syrup-like consistency. Remove from heat. Easy-peasy!)
Those are 1/2 CUPS of sugar in the cinnamon syrup recipe. Oops!
Yum, that sounds good!
Have made this four times now, and adore it. This time I added some diced candied ginger — divine! Great as always, Beth.
Do you think this would work well in a crockpot overnight?
Probably, although I’ve never tried it. It’s not a gooey texture like regular oatmeal, but more like a soft oatmeal cake.
Holy monkey, this stuff is so good! Added an additional 1/4 tsp vanilla, a bit more cranberries, and dotted lightly with butter. Also, I was a half cup short on oats, so I added 1/4 cup white rice out of desperation. Soooo goood!
Bought cranberries for first time and didn’t know what to do with them- thought this would be perfect. It was, but I didn’t realize out of oatmeal(not that cold in Ca yet) so I used 6 packets of my daughter’s instant peach flavored oatmeal. Delicious! Will make again with regular oatmeal. Almost like cobbler!
I’ve never had baked oatmeal before, but since it’s that time of year for all things cranberry I decided to give it a try. Surprised and pleased how fantastic this was. Next time will add a bit of orange peel.
Any suggestions for egg substitutes?
Some people have had luck using a mixture of ground flax seed and water, although when I tried it I wasn’t a fan of the results.
I don’t eat eggs, so I replaced one of the eggs with one tablespoon of ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons of water. I replaced the other egg with a banana. You could also add a little more applesauce (1/4 cup applesauce + 1 teaspoon baking soda = 1 egg). Using the applesauce or banana as egg substitutes works very well in this recipe because it adds to the flavor.
This looks and sounds heavenly! Making it for breakfast in the morning!
If I baked this a little longer, do you think it could turn into baked oatmeal bars? Or decreased some liquid? I’m looking for a more portable recipe since I typically eat breakfast on the go. This sounds so good!
Hmm, I don’t think I could say off hand. I would need to do quite a bit of experimenting to figure out how to make that work. I don’t know if you’ve seen these Soft Oat & Nut Bars, but they are a good option.
This is delicious. We have been enjoying the banana-blueberry bake oatmeal since summer and this is a wonderful change for fall. I make a double batch and am thrilled that my husband is eating a healthier breakfast. Thanks so much..
Very good. eating it for breakfast right now. The best part is the aroma when it’s baking.
Doubled this recipe (except I used half a bag of last year’s cranberries from the freezer and chopped up four smallish apples into the mix) and baked in one 9″ square dish and one 8″ round one. One for the freezer, one for tomorrow morning! (We will all heat up our own as we get up and moving.) thank you!
This is my favorite baked oatmeal yet! Thank you :)
If you have time, could you do a raisin date walnut oatmeal recipe? I’ll happily donate a bag of Bob’s Red Mill date crumbles for you to test with! My husband bought a case of them to use in granola, but they are too hard for that. Soaking and baking them into oatmeal should work though.
Oooh, now that does sound good! I know I can get little date bits pretty inexpensively from the bulk bins at whole foods. I’ll have to give that a shot. Thanks for the idea!
I was really looking forward to making this recipe,and it is okay but not as good as expected. I wanted to use up the whole bag of cranberries, so doubled recipe which was fine, but found it perhaps needed more sugar or maybe the cranberries were too tart or something – some seemed a little underripe. I usually eat oatmeal just with raisins, and no sugar. Wondered about drizzling honey on for some sweetness. Just needs something.