Spring is passing me by. I’m so utterly immersed in projects for my cookbook that I’m nearly missing the magnolias blooming outside. Fortunately, my dog Cookie always reminds me to slow down for a minute.
She starts pouncing on me every evening as the sun goes down, in her persistent, borderline desperate, but always cute sort of way. “Hey! Hey hey hey! Hello in there! Let’s go outside!” She gets her walk, and I catch some blooms as the sun sets.
I’ve also been forgetting to eat breakfast, which is a dangerous game. I got a big slap on the wrist for it last week, when I was photographing food and had to pause and sit down for a while. Shaky, lightheaded, sweaty—hypoglycemia symptoms are not cute, and never welcome. It was a reminder that I really have to eat well. We all do, or it will catch up with us eventually. My symptoms just come on sooner than most.
That’s why I started cooking in the first place. I couldn’t afford to eat out for every meal, but I had to eat well. So, naturally, I had to learn how to cook. Frontier Co-Op asked me how I cook with purpose—I cook with wholesome ingredients, so I’m properly fueled for my days. Then, I find greater purpose in sharing those recipes with you all.
I feel good about sharing recipes that make me feel good. As a reminder to eat breakfast, I made some blueberry baked oatmeal for the week.
Healthy Baked Oatmeal Notes & Tips
This baked oatmeal recipe is loaded with wholesome ingredients—oats, nuts, maple syrup and blueberries. A couple of eggs bind it all together, and a light drizzle of butter on top makes it taste like a treat.
This baked oatmeal keeps me full all morning long, especially when I serve it with a big dollop of Greek yogurt.
Change It Up
I loved it as written below, but the recipe is highly adaptable. I used frozen blueberries (right from the bag), but you can use any fruit you’d like. You could also change up the nuts and spices.
I think an apple version would be great in the fall, and raspberry-banana might be fun with cashews and coconut milk in the summer.
I used Frontier’s cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. I love that their spices have stories that you can trace back through their labels. Like, the Fair Trade ceylon cinnamon that I used in this recipe came from a co-op of farmers in Sri Lanka. The vanilla comes from Madagascar, where Frontier helped dig 49 wells to provide clean water to nearly 25,000 people.
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments. I hope it becomes a staple in your kitchen, too!
Craving more healthy oat breakfast recipes? You’ll love these:
- Favorite Overnight Oats
- The Very Best Granola
- Homemade Bircher Muesli
- Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal and Perfect Steel-Cut Oats
Watch How to Make Baked Oatmeal
Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: American
This naturally sweetened baked oatmeal recipe features blueberries (or any fruit you’d like), wholesome oats, nuts and warming spices. You can bake some now and enjoy oatmeal for the rest of the week! Recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup roughly chopped pecans
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 2 teaspoons Frontier Co-op ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (or ½ teaspoon regular table salt)
- ¼ teaspoon Frontier Co-op ground nutmeg
- 1 ¾ cups milk of choice (almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk or cow’s milk all work)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 large eggs or flax eggs
- 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces or 1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries (or 2 ½ cups of your preferred berry/fruit, chopped into ½” pieces if necessary), divided
- 2 teaspoons raw sugar (optional)
- Optional toppings for serving: plain/vanilla yogurt or whipped cream, additional maple syrup or honey for drizzling, and/or additional fresh fruit
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish. Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, toasted nuts, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup or honey, egg, half of the butter or coconut oil, and vanilla. Whisk until blended. (If you used coconut oil and it solidified in contact with the cold ingredients, briefly microwave the bowl in 30 second increments, just until the coconut oil melts again.)
- Reserve about ½ cup of the berries for topping the baked oatmeal, then arrange the remaining berries evenly over the bottom of the baking dish (no need to defrost frozen fruit first). Cover the fruit with the dry oat mixture, then drizzle the wet ingredients over the oats. Wiggle the baking dish to make sure the milk moves down through the oats, then gently pat down any dry oats resting on top.
- Scatter the remaining berries across the top. Sprinkle some raw sugar on top if you’d like some extra sweetness and crunch.
- Bake for 42 to 45 minutes (if using frozen berries, 45 to 50 minutes), until the top is nice and golden. Remove your baked oatmeal from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top before serving.
- Serve as-is or with toppings of your choice. I prefer this baked oatmeal served warm, but it is also good at room temperature or chilled. This oatmeal keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 to 5 days. If desired, simply reheat individual portions in the microwave before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my baked oatmeal with blackberries and bananas, which was originally adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it vegan: Use non-dairy milk, flax eggs and coconut oil.
Make it nut free: You can skip the nuts, or use pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) instead.
▸ Nutrition Information
This post is sponsored by Frontier Co-Op and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
AlohaNoreen
Hi Kate and Cookie,
I added the butter or coconut oil to the oats. This way it doesn’t need rewarming, nor does it clump up.
Dorene
I make this all the time..its our favorite but wondered if everything can be assembled the night before to pop in the oven in the morning?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! I wouldn’t recommend mixing the night before. You could try wet and dry separately, then combine. Or, it reheats pretty well!
Susan Moore
Trying it for my 78 yr old husband who is recovering from a heart attack and doing well. We’re starting on a healthier plan of eating and am excited to try this!!! Will let you know how he likes it!!! Our daughter says it’s wonderful!!! Thank you for sharing! God bless you!
Kate
I hope he recovers well! I’m glad this one was a great one for your family. Sending your family my thoughts, Susan!
Shawna
Waaay too salty – I’d put 1/4 tsp sea salt next time. My kids had to add quite a bit of maple syrup to make this palatable. It was seriously very salty. But potentially good with less salt.
★★
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe. You can adjust next time. Are you sure it wasn’t more than that? Fine grain should be subtle.
Kelly
Do you think this could be made ahead of time and freeze well? Would you recommend freezing before or after baking? I made it this morning and it is delicious! Thank you!
Kate
Hi! I haven’t tried to freeze this recipe, but it does reheat well throughout the week.
Rachel
OMG….
This recipe has become a staple for me and my 9 mo old. I usually make it 2/3 x a month using frozen mixed berries and we’ll eat it for breakfast for the week.
The last time I made it I did frozen cherries and added 1tsp of almond extract.
So good I couldn’t stop munching the day I made it!!!
50 out of 10 would recommend making it that way!
*I aso reduced the salt to just a pinch.
Kate
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Rachel.
Kash
Tried this and I thought it tasted awesome! It is really high in calories so next time I may just bake as a desert but overall easy and great tasting! Would make this again for sure, will probably find some lower calorie alternatives but overall Love it! Thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Kash! Thank you for your review.
Emily
I am sorry to write this but this was probably the worst thing I have ever tasted. I am not a picky eater… I can eat many things but this was straight out terrible. I added a lot less salt than the recipe mentioned and it was still inedible. I think the fact that you mix the baking powder with the dry ingredients and then it just gets stuck on the bottom and top in a massive concentration due to not mixing together the wet and dry ingredients. It was a waste of materials and my time.
★★
Kate
Hi Emily, I’m sorry to hear you are disappointed by this recipe. I tested this method several times and found it worked. Maybe mixing your ingredients more may help. Also, ensure you are using aluminum free baking powder.
Kelli Stone
Just made baked oatmeal for the first time. Its so good! It won’t be the last. I made it with blueberry raspberry and strawberries, delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Kelli! Thank you for your review.
Sara Hulse
Hi! I can’t eat eggs or flax. Do you think I could substitute eggs with applesauce? Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
I don’t think it would work here, sorry!
Sylvie
Could I use a really mild Olive Oil instead of the Coconut Oil? On a Mediterranean diet for cholesterol and the Coconut Oil is a no-no for me. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Kate
Hi! Unfortunately, butter or coconut oil worked the best for me.
Camille
Love the concept. I agree that it was way too salty. I found that adding the salt to the dry ingredients (when you don’t actually stir them with the wet ingredients) also made the distribution really uneven so some parts of the dish were inedible. I ended up throwing mine away and am going to make it again adding (way less) salt to the wet ingredients before combining in the pan.
★★★
Kate
Hi Camille, I’m sorry to hear you found this too salty. I have made this several times while testing and since and haven’t quite got that same taste. O appreciate your feedback and may revisit at a later date.
Crystal
This is an awesome recipe. I like adding some orange zest and a dollop of honey cream cheese on the side. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Crystal! I appreciate your review.
Katie
Sooooo salty. Had to throw the whole thing out. Would have been good otherwise.
★★
Kate
Hi Katie, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this one.
Danie
I left out the butter/oil to lower the fat content. Here’s to hoping it still turns out and that that was mostly for flavor and/or browning
Geraldine
Loved this recipe. Only used a punch of salt. Reheat, add a drizzle of maple syrup and some natural yoghurt. Yum!
★★★★★
Kilee
I made this yesterday morning as something a little different for my boys (ages 1 & 3). My youngest refuses to eat eggs so I was looking for something different than just plain old mushy oatmeal which is what he normally eats. I’m SO GLAD I found and tried your recipe. They BOTH loved it and so did I! I wish I would have had this recipe when I was nursing to boost my supply! It would literally be good with any type of fruit (peaches, raspberries, apples, strawberries, you name it) Or even no fruit with some extra cinnamon and honey. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great! Thank you for your review, Kilee.
Stephanie
After reading the comments, I omitted the salt and mixed all the ingredients in one bowl before pouring in the pan. It was so good! My whole family ate it up. I only wish I had gotten up earlier to make it because it does take 45 minutes to bake. Will be making this again with other fruits for variety. I did love the blueberry yum
★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your feedback, Stephanie. I’m glad you found the comments helpful and were able to enjoy it.
Tom
I don’t understand the complaints about this dish being too salty. My wife is hyper-sensitive to salt & she had no issue with the flavor. If I have one complaint/observation, it is that the result was a bit dry. Otherwise, a very tasty meal & I look forward to having it as a leftover.
★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Tom! Thank you for your review.
Reem
Absolutely delicious. I’ve been using this to keep me going during Ramadan. It’s so easy to make, I’ve been making it the night before so it’s ready for my wake up and it’s perfect to eat cold in the night. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
Bonnie
Can you prep this the day before and bake it in the morning?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Bonnie, I wouldn’t suggest it. You could maybe to do the dry and the wet ingredients separately then combine. Let me know if you try it!
Mairage
Would it be an issue if I were to substitute bananas instead of using the honey?
Kate
Hi Mairage, I’m not sure that would work here as you need the liquid ratios for this to come out as written. Sorry!
Ashley
Typically love your recipes but the salt and nutmeg were overpowering. Not to mention that the flavors were uneven because you just pour the wet ingredients over the dry.
I’d make this again but would cut back on the salt and nutmeg, and I’d mix the dry and wet ingredients thoroughly in the bowl, then add the fruit, then put into the pan.
★★
Kate
Hi Ashely, I’m sorry you didn’t love this one. I appreciate your feedback.
Jordan Wilkie
This sounds delicious! Can I use instant oats with this? I have ulcerative colitis and that’s the kind we’re supposed to use.
Kate
You can try instant oats, but you texture and time will vary. The liquid may need to be adapted too since it doesn’t seem to need as much. I don’t have measurements without trying it.
Jessie
I made this for lunch today and it was delish. I didn’t put the blueberries at the bottom bc I failed to watch the video or follow directions but it turned out fine. I’m sure there is a little magic in your process because that’s what usually sets your recipes apart from other food bloggers. Your process always yields the perfect product. I’ll follow directions next time but wanted to say it was still amazing and I followed the recipe exactly- just not the directions. I served it to my super picky husband and he ate it.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it, Jessie. Thank you for your review!
Kelsey
I’m confused about the butter/oil. You say to divide the oil and only use half the mixture but what do I do with the other half? I checked a bunch of times but couldnt find what to do with it.
Kate
You can drizzle it over the top at the end. I hope this helps!
Rebecca
My kids (2.5 and 4.5) and I love this recipe! I haven’t had any problems with it being too salty, or too soggy. I make this in a muffin pan (spraying it first, but no cups necessary) or silicon cups to make it easier to freeze individual portions. So to make it easier, I just add the wet and dry ingredients all together in the bowl, with the blueberries, and spoon the whole mixture into the cups. I start checking at 25 minutes, but I think it still takes 30-35 minutes to bake. I don’t add the extra sugar or drizzle of butter on top, nor do I sprinkle extra berries on top, and we all gobble it up. Thanks – have loved every recipe we’ve tried from this site!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy this has turned out so well for you, Rebecca. I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Erica
How long do you think this would keep in the freezer?
Kate
I’m not sure this is the best recipe to freeze, sorry!
BeckyH
I’m sorry but this was not good. I spent an hour making this and followed the recipe exactly. In my opinion it would be better to just have a bowl of oatmeal with some blueberries on top. Way too time consuming and now it has to go in the trash. It was mushy and fell apart. The other person that said it was too salty was right. When I first read her review I thought how? It’s not that much salt in an entire recipe. It’s because the salt never gets mixed in right. When you put salt and seasonings into a dry mixture there is nothing there to keep them spread out. So after baking you get a bite that’s way too salty and then the rest of it is bland. The salt should have been stirred into the liquid ingredients to keep them evenly dispersed. I’ve been baking for a long time and this was a disaster.
★
Kate
Hi Becky, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this. I just retested this and didn’t seem to experience what you are sharing. It’s important to make sure your dry ingredients are mixed well and that you use baking powder instead of baking soda. If using frozen berries, you may need to increase the time.
Dru
Really good! 2nd time making this. I used half the salt this time, as my husband found it salty first time. I used a mix of frozen blueberries/raspberries. Reheats well, I really look forward to the leftovers :)
★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you both loved it and have made it again! Thanks for sharing, Dru.
Carolyn
I made the recipe and it smells delicious (haven’t tasted it yet) but I was wondering — what is the texture supposed to be like? Mine ended up a bit soggy
Kate
Hi Carolyn! I’m sorry to hear it seemed soggy. How long did you bake it? Did you end up liking it when you tried it?