I feel like I’ve been holding out on you guys. It hasn’t been intentional, but I’ve been making this baked oatmeal over and over for the past few months and I can’t believe I haven’t shared it with you yet. My feelings regarding oatmeal have made a complete about face in the past year or so. Before, I thought it was bland and pretty much only liked it if it was mixed into a cookie. Then I learned to use mix-ins or toppings to jazz it up a bit. Not long after, I was introduced to steel cut oats and I started eating oatmeal almost weekly. Previously I had tried a few recipes for baked oatmeal but none of them were much to write home about. That is until I tried this version.
Three reasons why I love this recipe and you will too: 1. It is quick and easy to prep, 2. It’s healthy, 3. It is very easily adapted to suit whatever fruits are in season and what you have on hand. I have made it so far with the original combination of bananas and blueberries as well as peaches with raspberries, nectarines with blackberries, and most recently with apples and cranberries. The natural sweetness of the fruit as well as a bit of maple syrup is all this really needs to be a tasty and satisfying breakfast, and it reheats well as leftovers on subsequent days. I do add an extra sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to the apple and cranberry version to offset the tartness of the berries. You can also use different types of nuts depending on what you have around or what you prefer. I’m thinking a summer version with cherries, apricots and almonds could be pretty great. This has become a staple in our breakfast menu and as you can see here, it is a hit with the boy as well :)
