We all know oatmeal’s good for us, right? This whole grain is a great source of soluble and insoluble fiber, and can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol.
But sometimes a bowl of mush for breakfast just doesn’t cut it… and that’s where baking oatmeal comes in. Oatmeal’s easygoing flavor mixes with every fruit and nut out there. Baking transforms its texture, delivering golden caramelized crusts and corners.
Even better, you can bake these oatmeal casseroles, bars, cookies and muffins ahead of time. Which means a supply of portable breakfasts for the days ahead.
There are plenty of vegan, dairy-free, and Paleo options among these 20 recipes. So let’s get into the kitchen. Ready, set, bake! (To quote a favorite English cooking program.)
So what’s a casserole anyway? It’s two things, actually. It’s the type of pan you make a casserole in, and it’s the type of food you make in the casserole pan. Got it?
The pan is deep, and can be oval, square, or rectangular. If you’re making an oatmeal casserole, use an oval pan. If you’re making bars, it’s all about right angles.
1. Baked oatmeal casserole
Oh yeah, these crunchy, chewy bars are the sweet stuff of food blog dreams. In this recipe, raspberries boost the health benefits of the oats and pile on the flavor.
The natural sweetness of the fruit is amped by a moderately decadent 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. We’re here for it.
2. Dairy-free fruit and oat casserole
Peaches, blueberries, and apples bring delicious flavors and natural sweetness to this winner. The blogger calls for canned peaches because she says they hold up better during baking. Look for low or no-added-sugar options.
When peaches are in season… go for fresh.
3. Amish oatmeal bake
The homey flavors of apples, walnuts, and cinnamon make this old-fashioned bake a cozy favorite. Along with being one of the best-loved baked fruits ever, apples are a good source of fiber, half of which is pectin, a prebiotic fiber important for gut bacteria.
4. Blueberry oatmeal bake
If you love blueberries, and you really should because they are a nutritional powerhouse, this recipe is for you. It works well with frozen blueberries, so keep a couple of bags on hand to meal prep portable breakfasts.
5. Strawberry apple baked oatmeal
This recipe draws upon a pretty standard list of pantry staples, plus apples and strawberries.
That means you can whip up a batch whenever a craving strikes, or follow our lead and use it as a distraction on Sundays when you don’t want to admit to yourself that you have work tomorrow.
Bonus: You’ll have breakfast set for the workweek.
6. Baked raspberry and coconut oatmeal
This dish tastes like a breakfast bread pudding, and with its bright raspberries, it seems festive, even though it’s super easy to make. Plus, it’s so yummy, and filled with healthy whole grains, nuts, and coconut. We suggest swapping in un-sweetened shredded coconut.
7. Healthy chocolate peanut butter cup baked oatmeal
All you need to know is this bake tastes like Reese’s peanut butter cups in a bowl. As in “gooey center.” And yes, add the optional chocolate chips. It’ll make everyone happy.
8. Honey berry baked oatmeal
It’ll be hard to go back to regular oatmeal after trying this baked version. Honey brings sweetness, blueberries and raspberries add juiciness, and nuts give it a satisfying crunch. All the things.
9. Cranberry walnut oat bars
For our dairy-free friends, these chewy bars swap in almond milk for regular milk. They get some natural sweetness from applesauce and added sugar from the dried cranberries, so we like to cut back on the cane sugar in these guys.
10. Maple cinnamon breakfast bars
Bananas and maple syrup sweeten these squares of portable goodness. This is a fun, easy recipe to do with kids, too. And teach ’em young: eat these warm. Yum.
11. Peanut butter oatmeal breakfast bars
There’s just less than 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup in each serving of these bars. Most of the sweetness comes from bananas and applesauce. These are easy and sure to please.
12. Three-ingredient vegan breakfast cookies
The title (almost) says it all. These soft, chewy cookies are naturally sweetened with banana, and flavored with peanut butter goodness. And sooooo easy to measure, mix, roll, and bake.
13. Dairy-free vegan oatmeal breakfast cookies
Now this one has a lot more ingredients, but they all add up to so much dairy-free vegan goodness, that it’s worth the project. Plus, they freeze well.
Oats are boosted by flax and almond meal, and healthy fats come in the form of almond butter, coconut oil, and walnuts. Good morning!
14. Gluten-free oatmeal breakfast cookies
This blogger uses certified gluten-free oats in these soft, chewy little bites. They’re lightly sweetened with honey and applesauce. Extend the servings by adding currants or raisins to the dough.
15. One bowl berry breakfast cookies
A gluten-free pancake mix is the key to these berry-filled breakfast treats. They’re sweetened with coconut sugar instead of regular. An egg is used in this recipe, too, and we like the results.
16. Banana almond baked oatmeal cups
These single-serving almond oatmeal cups are perfect for dividing up over the course of a week. Or freeze them for those times you forgot to make breakfast prep. They reheat well.
They also taste like a super almondy granola bar, lightly sweetened with maple syrup. There’s no other refined sugar. Thank you, banana!
17. Blueberry oatmeal bars
There’s something about blueberries that says breakfast to us more than any other fruit (with the exception of banana.) The sweeteners here are honey and brown sugar in a batter made of quick oats and oat flour.
18. Pumpkin baked oatmeal muffin cups
These on-the-go breakfast cups are ready when you are. The autumn faves pumpkin and spice are available year-round. The optional cranberry and walnut add-ins, really drive a Thanksgiving theme home.
These golden babies are sweetened with honey and raisins, and cute enough for your Instagram grid.
19. Classic blueberry oat muffin
These muffins rise up in the tin as they bake because they have wheat flour as well as oats. Interesting technique used here: the blogger first soaks rolled oats in milk. She uses cow’s milk, but you can swap in your milk of choice.
20. Apple carrot oat muffin
These moist muffins are made with whole-wheat flour to give some lift to the batter. Nuts and raisins, cinnamon and ginger, grated apples and carrots bake in to some fine-tasting muffins.
Oatmeal doesn’t have to be a bowl of mush. Bake it into casseroles, bars, cookies, and muffins to expand your breakfast menu. Even better, these recipes are do-ahead and portable. Fall in love with oatmeal again!
