Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal - Everyday Annie

This is our family’s newest breakfast kick. I posted not long ago about another baked oatmeal that we have made many, many times. Now that fall has arrived, a pumpkin version seemed a necessity. This recipe uses a combination of old-fashioned and steel cut oats, giving it a nice hearty texture. Caramelized bananas are layered underneath the oatmeal before baking. They may seem like an odd combination with the pumpkin but they are actually very good. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m certain some caramelized apples would be a wonderful and possibly even better addition.

Andrew especially loves this for breakfast, and requests it almost every weekend. This does make a lot of oatmeal but it just happens to be the perfect amount to feed our family for one weekend breakfast as well as my own breakfast for several days afterward. I mix in a little extra milk when I reheat the leftovers and they taste great. This comes together quickly and easily and the hardest part is waiting for it to finish baking. We try to make the most of the wait by enjoying some Sunday morning finger painting, playing with toys, reading or cuddling. Today may be Monday, but we’re already looking forward to the weekend :)

Yield about 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
4 cups very hot water
2 medium bananas, sliced
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. brown sugar, lightly packed, divided
2¼ tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
3 cups old-fashioned oats
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash ground cloves
½ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

01
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Place the steel cut oats in a large bowl with 4 tablespoons of the butter. Pour the hot water over the oats and cover the bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes.
02
Meanwhile, make the caramelized bananas. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bananas, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of the cinnamon to the pan. Toss gently and cook briefly, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
03
After the steel cut oats have finished soaking, stir in the old fashioned oats, remaining ½ cup of brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the pumpkin, milk and vanilla. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the oat mixture.
04
Spread the bananas over the bottom of a lightly greased 2 quart-ish baking dish. Pour the oatmeal mixture on top of the bananas. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Source

adapted from Becky Bakes, originally from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking