Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
Healthy baked oatmeal naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey! Change the fruit according to the seasons. Make some now for the rest of the week!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Spring is passing me by. I’m so utterly immersed in projects for my cookbook that I’m nearly missing the magnolias blooming outside. Fortunately, my dog Cookie always reminds me to slow down for a minute.
She starts pouncing on me every evening as the sun goes down, in her persistent, borderline desperate, but always cute sort of way. “Hey! Hey hey hey! Hello in there! Let’s go outside!” She gets her walk, and I catch some blooms as the sun sets.
I’ve also been forgetting to eat breakfast, which is a dangerous game. I got a big slap on the wrist for it last week, when I was photographing food and had to pause and sit down for a while. Shaky, lightheaded, sweaty—hypoglycemia symptoms are not cute, and never welcome. It was a reminder that I really have to eat well. We all do, or it will catch up with us eventually. My symptoms just come on sooner than most.
That’s why I started cooking in the first place. I couldn’t afford to eat out for every meal, but I had to eat well. So, naturally, I had to learn how to cook. I cook with wholesome ingredients, so I’m properly fueled for my days. Then, I find greater purpose in sharing those recipes with you all.
I feel good about sharing recipes that make me feel good. As a reminder to eat breakfast, I made some blueberry baked oatmeal for the week.
Healthy Baked Oatmeal Notes & Tips
This baked oatmeal recipe is loaded with wholesome ingredients—oats, nuts, maple syrup and blueberries. A couple of eggs bind it all together, and a light drizzle of butter on top makes it taste like a treat.
This baked oatmeal keeps me full all morning long, especially when I serve it with a big dollop of Greek yogurt.
Change It Up
I loved it as written below, but the recipe is highly adaptable. I used frozen blueberries (right from the bag), but you can use any fruit you’d like. You could also change up the nuts and spices, though you can’t go wrong with the recipe’s combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.
I think an apple version would be great in the fall, and raspberry-banana might be fun with cashews and coconut milk in the summer.
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments. I hope it becomes a staple in your kitchen, too!
Craving more healthy oat breakfast recipes? You’ll love these:
- Favorite Overnight Oats
- The Very Best Granola
- Homemade Bircher Muesli
- Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal and Perfect Steel-Cut Oats
Watch How to Make Baked Oatmeal
Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
This naturally sweetened baked oatmeal recipe features blueberries (or any fruit you’d like), wholesome oats, nuts and warming spices. You can bake some now and enjoy oatmeal for the rest of the week! Recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup roughly chopped pecans
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (or ½ teaspoon regular table salt)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ¾ cups milk of choice (almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk or cow’s milk all work)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 large eggs or flax eggs
- 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces or 1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries (or 2 ½ cups of your preferred berry/fruit, chopped into ½” pieces if necessary), divided
- 2 teaspoons raw sugar (optional)
- Optional toppings for serving: plain/vanilla yogurt or whipped cream, additional maple syrup or honey for drizzling, and/or additional fresh fruit
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish. Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, toasted nuts, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup or honey, egg, half of the butter or coconut oil, and vanilla. Whisk until blended. (If you used coconut oil and it solidified in contact with the cold ingredients, briefly microwave the bowl in 30-second increments, just until the coconut oil melts again.)
- Reserve about ½ cup of the berries for topping the baked oatmeal, then arrange the remaining berries evenly over the bottom of the baking dish (no need to defrost frozen fruit first). Cover the fruit with the dry oat mixture, then drizzle the wet ingredients over the oats. Wiggle the baking dish to make sure the milk moves down through the oats, then gently pat down any dry oats resting on top.
- Scatter the remaining berries across the top. Sprinkle some raw sugar on top if you’d like some extra sweetness and crunch.
- Bake for 42 to 45 minutes (if using frozen berries, 45 to 50 minutes), until the top is nice and golden. Remove your baked oatmeal from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top before serving.
- Serve as-is or with toppings of your choice. I prefer this baked oatmeal served warm, but it is also good at room temperature or chilled. This oatmeal keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 to 5 days. If desired, simply reheat individual portions in the microwave before serving.
Notes
Recipe inspired by Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it vegan: Use non-dairy milk, flax eggs and coconut oil.
Make it nut free: You can skip the nuts, or use pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) instead.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post is sponsored by Frontier Co-Op and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
Hi I am making this for a larger group and allowing them to put the berries on top after it’s baked. If I leave out the fruit on the bottom will it be too dry?
Thanks
This is a great recipe for freezing. I cut it up into squares and store in a zip lock bag. I place it into a bowl and top with a little maple syrup when heating. It’s super quick and easy. I used almond milk. Thanks!
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it as-is, and also increasing the maple syrup to 1/2 cup. I like it sweeter.
Here’s a really delicious PB&J variant for the original recipe: Melt the butter in the microwave along with 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter, and whisk until combined before adding the rest of the wet ingredients. Replace the pecans with roasted peanuts. Use frozen strawberries for the fruit (I roughly chopped them), and optionally dollop small spoonfuls of strawberry preserves on top alongside more chopped strawberry. It takes just a few extra minutes in the oven.
Really good recipe. I’ll definitely make it again. I doubled it for my family, used flaxseed egg alternative, and sweetened it with a combo of honey, maple syrup, & date sugar. Thank you C+K.
It’s so yummy! I’m panicking because I left it out on the counter when I went to work! Is it going to stay good or do I need to throw it out?
Love this! I reduced maple syrup to 1/4 cup which is sweet enough for us! Serving with thick Greek yoghurt, a touch of honey and hemp seeds.
I’ll try a version with Apple too I reckon :)
I enjoyed making this very much. It was not complicated and I was very pleased with the result. Served it with whipped cream to my husband as a desert. He loved it.
Mostly good, but way too heavy on the salt. I would say 1/4 tsp max would be enough
I am making this for a church breakfast. If I triple it, what size pan and how long to bake? Thank you. Any other tips?
Hi Kim, I would suggest making 3 individual 9×9 size dishes rather than try to make scale it for a larger dish. I think the smaller size makes sure it cooks evenly, and it makes it easy to cut in 9 even portion sizes.
I was able to save dishes by making the whole thing inside the baking dish, with no bowls. I melted the butter inside my (microwave safe) baking dish, added the wet ingredients, whisked, added dry ingredients, mixed, added fruit, and mixed again. Turned out totally fine!
Can’t recommend enough! I share this recipe with everyone! I bring it for meal trains to new parents. We like to eat with Greek yogurt on top. I’ve made this so many times! Easy to make and delicious! You can also double the recipe and put it in a 9×13.
I have this in the oven as I type! I make this for my husband almost every Sun for him to have for breakfast before work. The only adjustment I make is adding dark chocolate chips at his request. He is a happy hubby every morning having this with his coffee! Thank you for this filling, easy, yummy dish!
Great recipe! I use Splenda brown sugar as the sweetener and a mashed ripe banana instead of oil or butter. I also swapped in sliced almonds for the nuts. So good and very filling!! I portion it out for my breakfast for the week and I’m set!! Can’t wait to try with apples in the fall.
This is a great recipe! I just tripled it for the freezer. My only suggestion is to use a non-saturated fat base instead of butter or coconut oil. Next time I will try this with maybe avocado oil. I only eat oats for heart health, and eating them with butter increases LDL! Great recipe overall! Thank you!
Pufas are not heart healthy. Use butter.
A little salty but delicious nonetheless. I like salt, and I used the fine sea salt (3/4 tsp), but it was a little much. I bake a lot of bread, and I weigh all ingredients, including salt (on a jeweler’s scale!). I find that fine salt and sea salt weigh about the same, so next time I will use the 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt. I used four kinds of berries leftover from making a gigantic Berry Chantilly cake, but the strawberries had an unappetizing color and texture after baking. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries for the win!
I made a whipped topping from yogurt and cottage cheese for extra a protein.
This is fantastic. Made as instructed, no substitutions. My husband said it well, “the flavors are so well balanced”, and I agree. The perfect hint of salt with sweet puts this over the top. I’ve made many different kinds of baked oatmeal and this one steals the show. Thanks for this recipe.
can this be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Was a delicious recipe. I added apples and blueberries. I didn’t add the sugar on top and thought it was plenty sweet with just the 1/3 cup of maple syrup. Thanks for the great recipe. We will definitely make it again.
I LOVE this recipe. So healthy, so adaptable. I make it in a nice pie dish for bunch or in a muffin tin for easy portability. I make one significant change: I add either a small container of Greek yogurt or about 1/3 can pumpkin puree. I find the “liquidy solid” (sorry, I am not sure how else to describe it) gives this an almost cake like texture and makes it hold together more. Plus you are adding either extra protein (yogurt) or healthy veg (pumpkin.) It’s always a hit in our house. So good.
Thanks for sharing your adaptation, Evin!
Can I leave this uncooked in the fridge overnight the night before and bake fresh?
Hi Amber, I haven’t tried that method, but I imagine it would be fine.
Awesome recipe with one exception. I stir the wet and dry together in a bowl first. This method gave me salty and dry patches, though I followed instructions exactly.
I’ve been getting creative with blending the oats first and adding other mix-ins. It always comes out scrumptious!
I love this recipe! It’s uncomplicated and simple and sooo good! Instead of pecans I used 1/3 cup of chopped cashews & 1/3 cup chopped pistachios (we have an allergy to pecans) and it was perfect. The blueberries really make it awesome. Try not to eat the whole thing at once!
What is the carb count for 1 serving?
Hi Julie, you can see approximate nutritional information by clicking the “show nutrition” button.
I would love to make this recipe but I’m on Weight Watchers and there is no way to calculate the points becasue there is no nutritional information like calories, fat,carbs, fiber.
Hi Michele, there is a nutrition calculator if you click on “show nutrition” at the bottom of the recipe. I hope this helps.
I make this often. I had some leftover pumpkin puree from a different recipe and added about a half cup of that to it and it was divine.