Baked Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a great belly-warmer, especially in chilly months. Try my delicious, flavor-packed Baked Oatmeal. Terrific as a make-ahead. Perfect for a breakfast on-the-go that’ll fill you up and hold you for the morning.

I love oatmeal anytime, but especially when the weather turns chilly. But, one of my terrible habits is I rarely eat breakfast before I head to work. No particular reason other than once I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go! In the interest of eating healthier and taking better care of myself, I started working on portable, make-ahead breakfasts that I could either eat in the car on my commute or eat once I got to work.

I came up with this favorite as a mash-up of a couple recipes I have. It has hints of spice and maple syrup, and is loaded with fruit. It makes a 9″ x 9″ pan, so I can get several breakfasts from it in a week. I either grab a scoop, microwave for 1 minute, then head out the door, or heat it when I get to work. While this recipe uses old-fashioned oats, it also works well with steel-cut oats. Quick-cook oats don’t seem to hold up well, so I wouldn’t use those. When reheating this dish, if you find it’s drying out simply drizzle a bit of additional maple syrup on it to boost the moisture.

As for the fruit in this recipe, with the exception of the apples, I use all sorts of dried fruits, so use what you have. Try diced dates, apricots, dried blueberries or cherries, dried pineapple…you name it, it’s delicious! I also switch up the nuts based on what I have on hand. I also add in flax seed or chia seeds, sunflower seeds, or peppitas.

Manga! Hope you enjoy…