Baked Apple Oatmeal
Baked Apple Oatmeal features tender apples, warm cinnamon, and sweet maple syrup for a wholesome breakfast that's sure to become a new favorite!
If you enjoy apple cinnamon breakfast recipes, you'll also love Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Muffins, Blender Applesauce Muffins, and Overnight Slow Cooker Apple Pie Steel Cut Oats!
Y'all already know that I'm a baked oatmeal aficionado, so it should come as no surprise that I've concocted a new seasonal rendition for you.
Three cheers for Baked Apple Oatmeal! It's loaded with chewy oats, studded with chunks of apples and crunchy pecans, spiced with cinnamon, and sweetened with maple syrup...and it's the perfect way to warm up on a chilly (or not chilly) morning!
But juuuust in case you're new to the whole baked oatmeal phenomenon...
How to Make It
I'm happy to report that Baked Apple Oatmeal is extremely quick and simple to make.
- First, stir together the ingredients -- typically rolled oats, some sort of milk, a couple of eggs, a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup, fruit and nuts (if desired), and flavorings or spices. I also like adding some melted coconut oil to give an extra boost of nutrition to my baked oatmeal.
- After your ingredients are well-combined, simply spread the mixture into a greased baking dish.
- Pop it in the oven until the oatmeal is set and golden on top.
- Then slice and serve warm! I typically like to top mine with drizzle of milk and a sprinkle of toasted nuts.
Reasons to Love Baked Apple Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal is fabulous for a lot of reasons, and this apple cinnamon baked oatmeal is no exception:
- It’s quick and easy to make.
- It's an ideal make-ahead breakfast. Not only is it tasty fresh from the oven, but it's also delicious the next day (or the day after that, if it lasts that long), because it reheats beautifully with a splash of milk.
- It's tasty and easy to customize. All three of my kids love it, and y'all, that's saying a lot.
- It’s wholesome, filling, and full of healthy ingredients...AKA, the perfect breakfast for staying satisfied until lunchtime!
Possible Substitutions
It's easy to customize this Baked Apple Oatmeal recipe to your liking:
- Apple. Any type of apple will work...some varieties just become softer than others during baking. I used a Braeburn apple for this batch because that's what I had on hand. You can leave on the skin (I do) or peel the apple, if you prefer.
- Milk. I typically use whole milk in this recipe, but you may use skim milk or even a dairy-free option, such as almond milk or oat milk.
- Applesauce. I always use unsweetened applesauce because I prefer controlling the sweetness of my baked oatmeal, but sweetened will work as well.
- Oil. If you wish, you may substitute a different type of neutral oil (such as sunflower) or melted butter for the coconut oil.
- Maple syrup. Honey may be substituted for the maple syrup for a slightly different flavor.
- Nuts. Pecans (or your favorite type of nut) may be swapped in for the walnuts.
Baked Oatmeal with Quick Oats?
I prefer using old-fashioned rolled oats in my baked oatmeal for the best texture.
That being said, quick oats will work if that's all you have on hand. You'll just probably need to use slightly less since they're packed more tightly when measured out.
This Baked Apple Oatmeal is filling, wholesome, and lightly sweetened. I think it's delightful as is, but feel free to serve it with an additional drizzle of maple syrup, should you feel so inclined. Just don't tell my kids I said that.
Oh, what does it matter? They'll be too busy fighting over the last piece to hear you anyway. 😉
Helpful Tips, Tricks, & Equipment
- The reason the milk and eggs should be at room temperature is because if they are cold, they will cause the coconut oil to resolidify. To quickly warm everything up, I usually just put the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes and zap the milk in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Reheat oatmeal by placing an individual serving on a plate, drizzling with a little milk of your choice, and then heating in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
MORE Tasty Flavors/Variations!
Baked Apple Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup diced apples, about 1 medium apple
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup milk OR almond milk, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
- Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly grease (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) an 8- by 8-inch glass baking dish.
- In a large bowl, combine oats, walnuts, cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt. Mix in diced apples, applesauce, milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, and almond extract. Stir in coconut oil until all ingredients are well combined.
- Spread mixture into prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until set and light golden brown on top. Allow to cool in the baking dish for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with optional garnishes, such as warm milk drizzled over the top and additional chopped walnuts.
Video
Notes
- Your milk and eggs should be at room temperature because if they're cold, they'll cause the coconut oil to resolidify. To quickly warm everything up, I usually just put the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes and zap the milk in the microwave for 20 or so seconds.
- Reheat oatmeal by placing an individual serving on a plate, drizzling with a little milk of your choice, and then heating in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Nutrition
Post originally published on September 3, 2015 and updated on December 29, 2018, and January 10, 2021.
is there a way i can substitute the walnuts? i have a tree it allergy (coconut doesn’t count). can i leave them out or do i have to substitute them with something else?
It's fine to just leave out the nuts, Brooke. 🙂
Absolutely delicious! We are in the middle of the Texas winter storm and short on flour to bake a breakfast treat. I came upon this recipe and the family loves it! We are vegan, so I swapped the egg with Red Mills egg replacement and used almond milk. 🙂
So happy it was a hit! We're in the middle of the same storm right now...hang in there!
It was very good. We ate it as a dessert.
Me, my husband, and our 2 year old are obsessed with this!! Can it be frozen?
Hi, Sarah! Yes, this recipe is freezer-friendly! Sometimes I make my baked oatmeal in a muffin pan for individual servings (like this recipe), then pop the "oatmeal muffins" into a freezer bags for individual servings that you can later thaw. Alternatively, you can bake your oatmeal as usual in a large dish, slice into serving-sized squares, freeze on a baking sheet for a few hours until hard, and then transfer into a freezer bag for storage (the squares might fall apart or stick together if you don't freeze them separately first). Or you can just freeze the whole dish of baked oatmeal and then thaw and reheat before serving. Hope that helps!
How many servings does this make? Saw nutritional info but no serving size.
The entire recipe is 6 servings, so one serving is 1/6 of the baking dish. It's listed in the green section at the top of the recipe card, but I'm sorry if it was hard to find!
Delicious, made for breakfast today, easy and fast! (I had to leave out nuts for health issues)
Delicious!!!
Delicious! Made this yesterday and we all loved it. Thanks!
Really enjoyed this recipe today! My husband agrees!
I have made this twice now and it is so yummy! The tips on warming up the ingredients was very helpful too.
We loved it!
I made this for the first time this morning. Doubled it since I have 3 teens & wanted some leftovers. It came out a little dry & not as sweet as they would like. However, the tip of adding almond milk or yogurt helped & they added some more maple syrup for extra sweetness. This is a healthy and different spin of a breakfast casserole and regular oatmeal! Thank you!
I have tried many versions of this type of this recepie. This was by far the driest.
This looks so good! What a perfect breakfast meal prep for the whole family!
I made this for breakfast this morning and it was a hit! I didn't have walnut hand so I used chopped pecans and they worked perfectly fine. I love baked oatmeal as a great breakfast alternative for my kiddos and how easy it is to throw together and toss in the oven! I can't wait to try some of your other variations. :o)
So happy to hear that it was a hit, Becky! And yes, it's fun to experiment with other flavors once you know you enjoy baked oatmeal. 🙂
This is my go-to recipe (minus the nuts)! I use cortland apples in season and usually decrease the real maple syrup to 1-2 TB. Then, folks can use syrup at the table if they want it sweeter. Compared to other recipes, I think it's the coconut oil that gives this a great texture. I use this same recipe to make blueberry baked oatmeal, and decrease the cinnamon to 1 tsp, add some fresh grated nutmeg, and skip the ginger. Instead of chopped apples, I add the fresh blueberries. I also decrease the maple syrup and let folks choose. I like a maple syrup drizzle at the table, so I find I like doing the decrease in the recipe itself.
I'm glad you enjoy this recipe so much, Adrienne, and thanks for sharing your adaptations. 🙂
Any suggestions if you don't have applesauce? I've got a ton of apples to use and want to make this tomorrow fof breakfast.
Hello Erika,
Make applesauce from scratch. Peel, core and cut some apples. Little water and maybe sugar thats up to you. Cover and let it cook until apples are soft and mash. Let it cold before using.. Old school applesauce. Im doing this tomorrow. Im just like you plenty of apples and no applesauce.
This was a very nice breakfast for all the members of our family. Thanks!
I love this. So easy and yummy for get togethers!
I made this for breakfast this morning and I already can't wait to make it again! Thanks for sharing!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Jessica!
This was AMAZING!!!!
All my kids enjoyed it, hubby enjoyed it and it was even a hit with my inlaws.
A breakfast that pleased the whole family, well I don't need to tell you, that is gold dust!
Thank you for such a great recipe (and so easy!)
Yay, Claire...so happy to hear it! 🙂
Thanks for a great Versatel recipe. I have food allergies so had to leave out the eggs and dairy.
The applesauce was my eggs, did an ok job of binding. Used my vegan “butter”. Reduced the cinnamon, my Costco cimmamon seems very strong and it was perfect. I didn’t add the liquid, didn’t need it. Have made it several times. And enjoying it on vacation! I made it this morning with 10 dates instead of the sugar. Is very sweet. Could have used only 7. Being allergic to milk, wheat and eggs this will definitely be in my rotation of breakfast and snack foods. Thanks for sharing.