We love oatmeal! Lately, we have fallen in love with baked oatmeal! We have several flavor combinations we enjoy but the whole house favorite is Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal.
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We have oatmeal in some form almost every day! From our Instant Pot Oatmeal that is featured prominently in our weekly meal plan, to our Overnight Oats, heck, even the Apple Oatmeal Muffins are an oaty favorite.
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal is a cheap plant-based favorite. Other than apples, the rest of the ingredients are common plant-based pantry staples. Thankfully I stocked up on our favorite oats a couple of months ago.
You want to use rolled oats. Don’t use steel cut oats or quick cooking oats for this recipe.
Choosing Apples for Baked Oatmeal
The best kind of apple to use is the one you already have! We usually have Honey Crisp apples and Gala apples in our kitchen. Crisp apples hold up well but I’ve never eaten a baked apple I didn’t like. Use whatever you have on hand.
Lately, our curb-side grocery pick up has been giving us bruised apples that my kids will not eat. Baked Oatmeal is the perfect solution for bruised apples, the kids never suspect a thing. I peel the apples and cut the bruised part off but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t notice it after being baked. I also like to squeeze some lemon juice over the freshly cut apples but it’s not required.
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Plant-Based Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dessert! Our family loves this easy baked oatmeal recipe, even our pickiest eater!
Ingredients
- 2 Flax Eggs (2 Tbsp ground flax seeds plus 6 Tbsp water)
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup peeled, diced apples
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup rice milk
Do
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix up your flax eggs and set them aside to give them time to set up.
- Grab your favorite big mixing bowl and add applesauce, vanilla, salt, maple syrup and cinnamon.
- Core, peel and dice your apples. My apples were small so I used two but you need about 1 cup of diced apples. A little more or less is OK.
- Pour in your flax eggs that have hopefully set up and your baking soda. Give it all a good stir.
- Add your oats and stir again.
- Add your rice milk or what ever kind of plant-based milk you prefer. Stir it all again and let it rest while you get your pan ready.
- Use an 8×8 pan. If you only have a round cake pan or a 9×9 pan that will work too. Psst…You can also use a muffin pan!
- If your food tends to stick in your pan, you can use parchment paper or a small amount of cooking spray and rub it around. I’ve rubbed it around with a paper towel to remove all the excess but still retain some nonstick ability. If your pan is non stick you don’t have to do anything special.
- Pour the oatmeal into your pan and smooth it out. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before eating.
Reheating and Storage for Baked Oatmeal
Since this recipe is plant-based and doesn’t contain any animal products, it can be stored at room temperature for a day or two. I prefer to store it in an air tight container in the fridge. We’ve eaten it cold but I personally prefer it heated up. I usually use the microwave for about 30 seconds.
This recipe makes 9 squares. If eating it for breakfast I prefer to eat two squares but one square is perfect for a snack.
(See note about substitutions and additions below)
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal is a cheap, plant-based family-friendly recipe your whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 2 Flax Eggs (2 Tbsp ground flax seeds plus 6 Tbsp water)
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup peeled, diced apples
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup rice milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix up your flax eggs and set them aside to give them time to set up.
- Grab your favorite big mixing bowl and add applesauce, vanilla, salt, maple syrup and cinnamon.
- Core, peel and dice your apples. My apples were small so I used two but you need about 1 cup of diced apples. A little more or less is ok.
- Pour in your flax eggs that have hopefully set up and your baking soda. Give it all a good stir.
- Add your oats and stir again.
- Add your rice milk or what ever kind of plant-based milk you prefer. Stir it all again and let it rest while you get your pan ready.
- Use an 8×8 pan.
- If your food tends to stick in your pan, you can use parchment paper or a small amount of cooking spray and rub it around. I’ve rubbed it around with a paper towel to remove all the excess but still retain some nonstick ability. If your pan is non stick you don’t have to do anything special.
- Pour the oatmeal into your pan and smooth it out. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before eating.
Notes
If you only have a round cake pan or a 9×9 pan that will work too. You can also use a muffin pan but you'll need to decrease the cook time. I recommend checking at 20 minutes.
Missing an Ingredient
This recipe is very forgiving! If you don’t have an ingredient you may be able to substitute something else.
Don’t have flax eggs, no problem. You can use any egg replacer or leave it out. The texture may be slightly different.
Out of applesauce? Use mashed bananas or try this applesauce substitute.
No Maple Syrup? You can use 1/4 cup of your favorite sweetener instead of maple syrup. If it’s a dry sweetener like cane sugar, you may need slightly more liquid.
No Vanilla? Skip it, you probably won’t notice.
Favorite Add Ins
There are many great combinations for flavors for this recipe. Feel free to add your own favorites, almonds or walnuts work great, hemp seeds and chia seeds add nutrition but don’t change the texture or flavor. You can also add dried fruit like dried cranberries or raisins. You can also substitute pears or other fruit that needs to be used.
Have you tried Baked Oatmeal?
Jacqueline says
Calories?
Holly says
Hi Jacqueline, I don’t count calories or list nutritional data on recipes.
Estee says
I made this tonight and added raisins and frozen blueberries. This will be a great grab and go breakfast for hubby. He requested a change for breakfast and gave big thumbs up.
Holly says
Oh Estee,
Thanks sounds like a winner. I have made it with blueberries, and with a combination of all the random leftover fruit (up to 2 cups for my big version), and it always tastes great. Another version I liked was peanut butter and pureed strawberries! Tastes just like a PB&J.
Estee says
That sounds terrific!! Thanks for sharing.
Katie says
This is freaking delicious! I tried this recipe as my first time making baked oatmeal, and it did not disappoint! I used a combination of honey and brown sugar because I didn’t have maple syrup. Next time I might double the amount of cinnamon (I can’t particularly taste it once cooked) and use 1.5 cups apples instead of 1 cup (I really really liked the apples in it!). Thanks so much!
LouAnn says
Could I sub date paste for the maple syrup??