Apple Baked Oatmeal is a minimum effort, healthy, make-ahead vegan breakfast casserole that is full of hearty oats, chopped apples and spices. Bake it up at the weekend and enjoy it served warmed or cold for breakfast all week long!
This apple baked oatmeal is such a convenient and easy-to-make vegan breakfast and one of my favourites. Chop the apples, mix everything up in a bowl, bake, then enjoy it all week long!
If you aren't a fan of regular stovetop oatmeal but want to enjoy oats for breakfast this apple baked oatmeal or my strawberry baked oatmeal are fantastic alternatives.
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Once baked it slices up well and has a chewy and soft (but not too soft) oaty bar-like texture, punctuated with pieces of sweet chopped apple and crunchy nuts. It tastes like apple pie and is perfect for people who want to learn to like oatmeal because of the health benefits but dislike the porridge-like texture.
Ingredient & equipment notes
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
To make apple baked oatmeal you need some basic pantry-friendly ingredients. Here's a quick visual and below that I explain a bit more about each ingredient and why it's needed:
- Apples - Regular eating apples are fine. Any kind.
- Oats - Old-fashioned or rolled oats are needed for this recipe. Porridge oats if you are in the UK. Don't use steel-cut oats or quick oats. Use certified gluten-free oats if you need the oatmeal to be gluten-free.
- Sugar - Any type you have is fine. White, golden, brown or coconut sugar. You can also use the same amount of maple syrup instead.
- Ground flaxseed - A common ingredient in vegan baking. If you don't have any you can omit it but the baked oatmeal won't hold together as well when sliced.
- Walnuts or pecans - For great nutty flavour and crunch. If you don't have any or can't eat nuts for whatever reason you can safely omit them or use pumpkin seeds instead.
- Cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, salt - For flavour. Both cinnamon and ginger work really well with apples. If you don't have ginger though just cinnamon is ok.
- Non-dairy milk - Any kind. For moisture. It all gets soaked up as the oats bake and there is no visible milk remaining once it's done.
- Nut/seed butter - For healthy fats and satiety. These baked oats really do keep you feeling full for hours. Any nut or seed butter will do. I really like to use almond butter in mine! You can use ¼ cup of oil instead of the nut butter if you prefer but nut/seed butter adds healthy fats and keeps you feeling fuller longer.
You will also need an oven-proof dish. Anything from a ceramic casserole dish to a cast iron skillet to a cake pan. Just make sure it can hold about 2.5 quarts/litres.
How to make Apple Baked Oatmeal
Apple Baked Oatmeal is incredibly easy to make. Here's how:
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Mix the milk, vanilla and nut butter together in another bowl. Start by mashing the nut butter with a fork into a little bit of milk and gradually add more as you work out the bigger lumps. Some small lumps are fine! Or you can blend it all together in a blender. It makes it quicker to get the nut butter mixed in.
- Add the chopped apple to the dry ingredients.
- Pour in the liquid mixture and mix well.
- Spoon into an ovenproof dish.
- Bake.
Serving suggestions
Serve Apple Baked Oatmeal either cold, warm or hot. It's great fresh from the oven but also keeps incredibly well. I either eat mine cold or pop it in the microwave for a minute or two to warm it up.
My favourite way to serve it is with a dollop of vegan yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. It's also good with some non-dairy milk poured over and eaten more like traditional breakfast cereal.
Other accompaniments that would work with apple and cinnamon baked oats are applesauce, apple butter or stewed apples, a drizzle of nut butter, a scattering of berries like raspberries or blackberries, or some toasted nuts or seeds.
Storage & reheating
Once cool, cover and refrigerate the apple cinnamon baked oatmeal for up to 7 days. You can even slice it up and pop it into individual-sized containers to make your mornings even easier.
Apple Baked Oatmeal also freezes well for up to 3 months. I recommend freezing individual portions so that you can take out only what's needed. Let it defrost in the fridge overnight.
Enjoy cold or reheat. Simply pop an individual serving in a bowl in the microwave for a minute or two. Or you can put it on an oven-proof plate/dish and bake for about 10 minutes at 350°F (175°C). If using the microwave it will stay nice and moist, whereas the oven will dry it out a little so be sure to serve it with some vegan yogurt, maple syrup or a drop of plant milk if necessary to moisten it up.
Possible variations
Apple baked oatmeal is really easy to customize. Add a handful or two of blackberries, raspberries or blueberries when they are in season. Or keep the base recipe the same and swap out the apples for any other chopped fruit or fresh or frozen berries. Anything goes. My favourite fruits to use are blueberries, peaches (check out my peach & blueberry baked oatmeal), strawberries, banana, pear and frozen raspberries.
You can either omit the spices or switch them up to suit whatever fruit you're using and you can even throw in some dried fruit too. Raisins, dried cranberries and chopped dates are great in it. How about we don't rule out a handful of chocolate chips too ;O)
Apple baked oatmeal for one
You can safely scale this baked oatmeal recipe down to make a smaller batch, or make it in individual baked apple oatmeal cups by baking it in a muffin pan. Use liners and fill them to the top then bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until they are turning golden and feel firm. Allow the baked apple oatmeal cups to cool then refrigerate or freeze for up to 3 months. Take one or two out to defrost as you need them.
Hungry for more?
Love oats? You might also enjoy these recipes:
- Oat Milk
- Healthy Breakfast Bars
- Chunky Monkey Overnight Oats
- Oatmeal Waffles
- No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars
- Healthy No-Bake Bars
📖 Recipe
Apple Baked Oatmeal
Author:
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups / 248 grams rolled oats , or old fashioned oats (porridge oats in the UK)
- ½ cup / 100 grams sugar
- ½ cup / 55 grams chopped walnuts , or pecans (omit for nut-free)
- 2 tablespoons / 14 grams ground flax
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ cup / 4 tablespoons nut or seed butter , of choice (or the same amount of oil)
- 1½ cups / 360 mls milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 medium apples , (use as much or as little as you like)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375° F (190 °C) and have a large oven-proof dish or pan ready. One that will hold a minimum of 2 quarts/ litres. The pan I use in the photos is 2.5 quarts. Anything ovenproof will do, such as a ceramic dish, skillet or 8 x 8 cake pan.
- To a large bowl add the oats, sugar, nuts, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Mix together to combine.
- To another smaller bowl add the nut/seed butter then gradually add the milk to work out the big lumps until it's mostly combined. Some small lumps are fine. Mashing with a fork makes it easier. Then add the vanilla. If you have a blender you can blend it altogether if you want to be super quick.
- Core the apples and chop into small ½ inch chunks. There is no need to peel them unless you want to. The colour of the skin is nice in the finished oatmeal. If you want to decorate the top of the oatmeal keep half an apple aside and slice it thinly.
- Add the chopped apple to the dry ingredients then pour over the milk mixture. Give it a really good stir so you can no longer see any dry ingredients and so the apple is distributed througout. .
- Spoon into the oven-proof dish or pan, push it down with a spoon or spatula to level the top and add some apple pieces for decoration if desired.
- Bake for 40 mins.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Recipe FAQs
Baked oatmeal is not like regular stovetop oatmeal in texture. It is sliceable and firm, with a chewy and crispy top and sides and a soft, hearty inside, with added texture from the added fruit and nuts too.
Yes, baked oatmeal needs to be refrigerated and if stored like this it should keep well for up to 7 days.
Baked oatmeal can be made ahead. Follow the recipe, bake it then allow it to cool completely then refrigerate for up to a week.
Lacey says
This is amazing! I had to double the recipe because I had 7 smaller grannies. I used walnuts, golden raisins and tons of pumpkin spice and this really hits the spot for fall! Mel, your recipes are always spot on!
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you Lacey. I'm really pleased you're enjoying it!
Genevieve says
This oatmeal bakes turned out great! Thank you for the recipe. I used 3 apples and used applesauce instead of the nut butter/oil. I used maple syrup instead of sugar as well, I used 1/3 cup but 1/2 cup would work if you want it sweeter.
Jen says
Hi there! Is there a way to minimize the sugar in this... I am trying to move away from it towards more natural sweeteners. Wondering if I used maple syrup instead if it would mess it up?
TIA :0)
A Virtual Vegan says
You can use any type of sugar you like so coconut sugar would be fine. And maple syrup will work too.
aeriadne says
Hello! To help keep the fat down, what would you think about replacing the nut butter with apple butter? Or would that make it too apple-ly?
A Virtual Vegan says
I think flavour-wise it would be ok if you don't mind it being a little more apple-y. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It might affect the texture a little though because apple butter contains a lot of moisture. Nut butter acts a bit like glue and holds it together too so it might not slice as well.
If you're ok with that then go for it. Hope you enjoy it!
aeriadne says
Thanks! And one more question: would almond flour possibly work in lieu of almond butter? Trying to avoid the oil that a lot of nut butters are made with.
A Virtual Vegan says
I wouldn't use almond flour. It will make it drier. Almond butter works as glue to hold it all together. Most almond butters just have one ingredient. Almonds. They don't have any oil added, so basically it's the same nutrition-wise as eating almond flour.
Hope that helps!
elena says
Hi,
I may try to make this Apple Baked Oatmeal, and considering:
How would it work if I replace part of the Oatmeal by Quinoa flakes, say half of each, thanks.
All vegan recipes from "A Virtual Vegan" I have tried are delicious, nutritious, healthy practical to make, thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you're enjoying my recipes! I've never tried replacing the oatmeal with quinoa flakes so I can't say how it would turn out. They have very different absorbencies though so I would think the liquid in the recipe might need adjusting a little. It's hard to say without trying it though. Maybe start with just a third the first time and if it turns out ok increase it a little the next time. Hope that helps!
elena says
Thanks for advise, I will try with 1/3 of quinoa flakes and see...
elena vito says
Well, I have finally made the Apple Baked Oatmeal. I have mixed 200gs oats and only 50gs quinoa flakes and it appears the two didn’t hold evenly together. While the quinoa is lighter when dry it becomes heavier when mixed with milk and ends up in the bottom of the pan. However, it tastes lovely and I will make it again with just oatmeal and perhaps more walnuts.
Thanks for your advised not to use too much quinoa in the mixt. I'm not an experienced cook, only started cooking when became vegan so "the virtual vegan" recipes well explained are my favorites to try, Thanks again.