I get a lot of recipe requests and ideas from readers and, although I can’t try them all, I absolutely love hearing them. They’re so inspirational! Not too long ago, Sarah dropped me a line on Facebook asking if I had ever thought about making an oatmeal cookie flavored baked oatmeal. Well, what could be more natural than Oatmeal Cookie flavored Baked Oatmeal?
What’s in Oatmeal Cookie Flavored Baked Oatmeal
So I asked myself, “what makes an oatmeal cookie taste like an oatmeal cookie? What could I add to my generic baked oatmeal recipe to make it less like regular oatmeal and more like an oatmeal cookie?”
Of course it will need a little extra sugar, but I still want my baked oatmeal to be breakfast worthy and not just a large casserole dish full of dessert. So, I used a little extra brown sugar, increased the vanilla and cinnamon, added a pinch of nutmeg, threw in some raisins (obvi), and used up some unsweetened apple sauce that I had left over in my fridge (for added sweetness). Oh yeah! And butter. We’re going for “cookie” here, so I added a lil butter. The result?
It’s like an oatmeal cookie’s older, more healthful sibling. Not quite as rich and sweet as an oatmeal cookie (otherwise it would just be one), but it shares the same genes for sure. And yeah, this Oatmeal Cookie Baked Oatmeal WILL make your house smell like oatmeal cookies while baking!
What is Baked Oatmeal Like?
This tends to be a source of confusion on all past baked oatmeal recipes: the texture of baked oatmeal is not crunchy. It’s soft and moist, yet solid. Baked oatmeal is just oats baked into a custard. So think of it like bread pudding, but made with oats instead of bread.
How to Eat Baked Oatmeal
I love baked oatmeal because it can be served several different ways. It’s great hot right out of the oven, reheated in the microwave, or even cold. Sometimes I eat it as is, sometimes I add cold milk on top. This one is sweet enough for me, but if you want even more sweetness you can add a drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
Meal Prep It!
Baked oatmeal makes a great breakfast meal prep, or make-ahead breakfast. It will last about 4-5 days in the refrigerator, or can be frozen for long term storage. I suggest dividing the baked oatmeal into single serving containers just after baking, then refrigerating them overnight. Once completely chilled, transfer some to the freezer for later and save a few in the refrigerator for the next few days.
“Oatmeal Cookie” Baked Oatmeal
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce ($1.00)
- 1 large egg ($0.27)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract ($0.42)
- 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 tsp baking powder ($0.06)
- 2 Tbsp melted butter ($0.20)
- 1.5 cups milk ($0.56)
- 1/2 cup raisins ($0.75)
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.51)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, egg, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and melted butter. Once whisked smooth, add the milk and whisk until smooth again.
- Add the raisins and dry rolled oats. Stir with a spoon until the mixture is combined. Lightly coat a 9×9 casserole dish (or any 2-3 quart casserole dish) with non-stick spray, then pour the oat mixture into the dish.
- Bake the oatmeal uncovered in the fully preheated oven for 45 minutes. Divide into six portions and serve. Baked oatmeal is good warm or cold and tastes great with cold milk poured over top.
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Nutrition
How to Make Oatmeal Cookie Baked Oatmeal – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together 1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract, 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, and 2 Tbsp melted butter.
Whisk those ingredients together until smooth.
Then add 1.5 cups milk and whisk again. It’s easier to add the milk after the thicker ingredients are already combined because it will be really splashy if you try to add the milk first.
Add 1/2 cup raisins and 3 cups of dry old-fashioned rolled oats. I like old-fashioned rolled oats the best because the pieces are large and have a lot of texture. If you use quick oats, there will be less texture variation in your final product.
Switch from a whisk to a spoon and stir the oats and raisins into the wet ingredients.
Lightly coat the inside of a 2-3 quart casserole dish (about 9×9 inches if using a square) with non-stick spray. Pour the oat mixture into the dish.
Bake the oats uncovered in the fully preheated oven for 45 minutes. The oats will absorb the liquid and become tender, but slightly chewy. The outer edges and surface should be ever so slightly browned.
Baked oatmeal tastes just as good cold as it does warm. Sometimes I reheat it in the microwave in the morning, but sometimes I just eat it cold. I love it with some cold milk poured over top.
Baked oatmeal 4 life! (Especially when it’s OATMEAL COOKIE Baked Oatmeal)
I have tried a few of your baked oatmeal recipes and this is my favorite, though that’s probably mostly because it’s a bit sweeter. In any case, it’s very good. I’ll be having it for breakfast this week.
Nutritional data?
This was absolutely delicious! I doubled the recipe and it made a 9×13″ pan and an 8×8″ pan, so now I have some to stock the freezer.
Love all of your baked oatmeal recipes! They’re great for heat-and-eat breakfasts before work! Quick question: if I don’t have any applesauce on hand, what would you recommend substituting? More milk?
I would do mashed banana or yogurt. You definitely want something with a little more body than milk. :)
applesauce is really easy to make – peel, core and cut up apples, put them in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and just enough water to get it going – simmer til tender, stirring every now and then. Cooking time will depend on the size of your apple pieces. Puree or use a potato masher.
This was delicious! My husband and I both loved this recipe. Thank-you Beth!
Love this oatmeal bake! Great snack for the family. Thank you!
Holy crap this is phenomenal! I added 3/4 cups of chopped walnuts to give it more crunch and I replaced the raisins with cranberries because I hate raisins. It turned out amazing! I can’t wait to bake it for my friends at our next boardgame night. Thank you!
Beth, how long do you think it’ll keep unrefrigerated? I’ll be travelling without a fridge (or rather, I will be staying in a hotel without a minibar fridge during the week, I’ll be home during weekends) and I’m thinking to make these in muffin moulds and just take them as snacks/quick breakfast.
Usually I would put it in the fridge and consider it to be good for a week, but without that… I can grab breakfast at a bakery at the end of the week, but I’d like to take some from home and maybe just grab a small yoghurt from a store to go with it on my way to appointments. Any advice? (I’m asking this for basically every baked oats recipe, not just this one.)
I’m basing room temp storage on this http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-baked-oatmeal-cups-222825
Their baked oatmeal looks a lot drier than mine, more like a muffin texture, so it might be safe unrefrigerated. My baked oatmeal is a little bit more custardy, so I wouldn’t suggest keeping it more than a couple hours unrefrigerated–just to be safe.
I made it the first time and followed the recipe exactly and it was great. Reheating it and pouring some milk over is my new go to breakfast. To sweeten it up for a dessert version, I added some white chocolate chips and loved it. Great recipe.
I just made this! However I used steel cut oats. I used one cup of the oats and slightly under 2 cups of milk. All other ingredients,were kept the same. I did have to cook it longer…a little over and hour. It was delicious!! I will make this over and over again! It stays in my fridge all week for a quick, hearty, on the go breakfast! Thank you!
This was it! A baked oatmeal that I liked! This is a good baked oatmeal for people with texture issues, I think. I love oatmeal in other contexts: stovetop oatmeal, overnight oats, granola, oat bars…etc, so I really wanted to like baked oatmeal, but when I first tried making it a few years ago I just did not like the texture. Last fall, having mostly switched over from cereal to oats for breakfast, I decided to give it another shot and made your pumpkin baked oatmeal. That was better, but I still wasn’t sold on the texture and was meh on the pumpkin flavor, and I unfortunately forgot it needed refrigerating so by day 3 it had a bit of an off flavor and I had to throw the rest out.
Then you posted this recipe, and again, it sounded so good…When I read the recipe and saw it had closer to a 1:1 wet:dry ratio and had only *1* egg rather than 2 like most of the others, I decided to give it another try, because those two changes sounded like they’d fix the issues I’d had with past baked oatmeals (really soft oats and custardy texture, respectively). Lo and behold, I did like it! :D Ok, I admit, I did make two small tweaks: I added in 1/4c flour to help with the custard texture issue, and added less vanilla (ended up doing 1/2 tsp) as per another commenter’s recommendation. Next time (!!!) I’ll try without flour as written, or with maybe a bit less milk, to keep the oats firmer.
Hooray for finally finding a baked oatmeal that I like! :D
I am totally making this over the weekend! Awesomeness!
This is so good! I work at a job with unpredictable hours and I am also trying to go on a spending fast after this holiday season, so while I had a slow week at work made a batch to keep in my freezer. Now that things have gotten busier I can just pop a piece in the microwave for breakfast! Instead of the applesauce I used plain yogurt I had lying around that needed to be used up. I made up for sweetness by increasing the sugar to 3/4 cup although in hindsight 2/3 probably would have been just fine. I love your baked oatmeal recipes and I am so glad I learned you can freeze them because I don’t necessarily like eating the same thing for breakfast all week so now I can have some to keep in the freezer just for when the mood strikes!
This is by far my favorite baked oatmeal on your site. I have tried a bunch (not all). I was wondering if there was any formula that you follow for the liquid to oat ratio. All the recipes seem to be so different. I want to know how to make a baked oatmeal based on whatever I have on hand.
I vary them a little from recipe to recipe based on the amount of moisture in the add-ins or based on how much bulk the add-ins have (if it’s really bulky I’ll use less oats, but then I also have to reduce the liquid, etc.). So it’s a loose formula that I tweak for each one. :)
Hi Beth!
I love your ideas and your website, you opened up a whole new world for me! :)
Unfortunately I’m on the FODMAP diet right now and can’t have apples (or pears or plums or any of my favourite fruits). Do you think I could use banana puree as a substitute for the applesauce?
Keep on cookin’!
Tineke
Yep! I think that would work. I’ve used mashed bananas in other baked oatmeal recipes and it works quite well. :)