This Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal with Walnuts makes the most delicious Fall and Winter Breakfast that is perfect for the Holidays. Super quick and easy to prepare with no eggs and no refined sugar, this healthy apple baked oatmeal can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for days!
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Why we love this recipe
Don't you love a breakfast dish that is super quick and easy to prepare, can be made days in advance, is healthy AND tastes absolutely delicious!? This is exactly what this Baked Apple Oatmeal offers!
This Apple and Oatmeal Bake is perfect for the Holidays and Christmas Breakfast. It is made with no eggs, no processed sugar, is dairy-free/vegan friendly and gluten-free friendly so the whole family can enjoy it too.
The classic Apple and Cinnamon mix is always a winning Fall and Winter flavour combo. Those two ingredients can be used in so many different ways, whether it is to make Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins, delicious Puff Pastry Apple Tartlets, a festive Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread, or an easy Spiced Apple Loaf Cake.
This baked oatmeal can be made 'plain' or with the addition of your favourite filling and toppings like chopped nuts, seeds, coconut or dried fruits.
Ingredients
- Milk: I used Full Cream Milk, but you can basically use any type milk you want - see below for Dairy-Free Options.
- Oats: like for my Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Muffins, I used simple Rolled Oats but this recipe will work with plain instant/quick oats as well.
- Apples: depending on the size of the apples (and how much apple chunks you want in the oatmeal bake), you will need 1 or 2 apples. I ended up using 1 1/2 apples. See FAQ section below for the best apple variety.
- Applesauce: preferably a homemade applesauce, but you can use store-bought applesauce instead if preferred. Use a low sugar or sugar-free applesauce option when possible!
- Baking Powder: just a little bit to help lift up the baked oatmeal so it is not too dense
- Cinnamon: because what else but cinnamon to go with apples!? You can also use any other spices you'd like, such as Ginger, Allspice, Nutmeg,...
- Butter: unsalted and melted. See below for plant-based/dairy-free substitution option
- Honey: a delicious way to slightly sweetened the dish without using refined sugar. See below for vegan substitute
- Vanilla & Walnuts (optional): I added a little bit of Vanilla for flavour and Chopped Walnuts for an extra crunch. You can use any nuts you want - or discard it all together.
Make it Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and/or Vegan
- Gluten-Free: use Gluten-Free Certified Oats
- Dairy-Free: replace the Butter with a Plant-Based substitute like Margarine or Coconut Oil. For the Milk, you can use any of your preferred Dairy-Free/Plant-Based Milk like Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, Soy Milk, Oat Milk,... Just note that a flavoured milk like Coconut will slightly change the flavour of the dish.
- Vegan: use Maple Syrup - or your preferred liquid sweetener (Agave Syrup, Rice Malt Syrup,...) instead of the Honey as well as one of the the butter & milk substitution option.
How to make Spiced Baked Oatmeal with Apples
This breakfast is seriously so quick and easy to prepare; the 'hardest' part is to cut the apples... The process can be summed up in 3 main steps: slice/chop the apples and walnuts, mix them with all the dry ingredients and mix in all the liquid ingredients. Done!
Here is how to make Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal:
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F and lightly grease a baking dish. I used a 8x25 cm / 3x10 inch ceramic baking dish.
- Wash, core and slice the Apples into small cubes. You can leave the skin like I did or peel them if preferred. If adding Walnuts (or any other nuts), finely chop them. - photo 1
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the Apple cubes, chopped Walnuts, Oats, Ground Cinnamon and Baking Powder. Set aside. - photo 2 & 3
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all the liquid ingredients (they all need to be at room temperature, see tips section below): the Milk, Melted Butter, Applesauce, Honey and Vanilla. If needed, place the honey in the microwave for a few seconds so it is fluid. - photo 4
- Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. - photo 5 & 6
- Mix well to combine using a spatula or wooden spoon. You want all the dry ingredients to be well covered by the wet ingredients. - photo 7
- Transfer into the baking dish. - photo 8
- Optional: top with a few more apple cubes and any toppings you want, such as dried fruits, more nuts, coconut,...
- Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and set. Leave to cool down slightly before serving, or keep in the fridge covered until ready to eat.
Like any baking recipes, the exact baking time will depend on your oven. In this case, it will also depend on the size of your baking dish and how thick the baked oatmeal layer is.
There is no right or wrong here, it all depends on the texture you are looking for and or moist or crispy you want the dish to be! For a crispier finish, leave it in the oven for a few more minutes.
Tips to make this recipe
- Make sure all the wet ingredients have about the same temperature before mixing them. If you mix slightly warm melted butter with very cold milk, the butter will start to harden and create small lumps. If that happens, place the wet mix in the microwave for a few seconds to re-melt the butter and whisk well again.
- Adjust the quantity of Honey (or liquid sweetener) to suit your taste. I have actually made this recipe with no added honey at all and it works just fine. If you have a sweet tooth, feel free to increase the quantity of honey as well.
- Top the apple baked oatmeal with your favourite ingredients before baking it to customise it: dried fruits like Raisins, Goji Berries or Dried Cranberries, more Chopped Nuts, Coconut, Seeds,...
- The exact baking time will depend on your oven, the size of your baking dish and the texture you are looking for. After 35 minutes, my baked oatmeal was still nice and soft, moist and just set (how I personally like it). You can keep baking it for a little bit longer if you are after a crispier finish.
How to serve this Breakfast
I served this Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal with a simple Honey Drizzle (could be replaced with Maple Syrup too), but there are many other ways to finish this breakfast. It all depends on your personal preferences and how fancy you want this dish to be!
Here are a few ideas:
- Fresh fruits like Berries, crunchy Apples or even Pears
- Keep the Apple Theme with Caramelised Apples, Stewed Apples or a homemade Applesauce.
- A fruity sauce like a Strawberry Coulis, Mixed Berry Compote, Raspberry Coulis or even Stewed Rhubarb
You can also find lots of delicious toppings amongst those 30 delicious Sweet Toppings Recipes!
Recipe FAQs
You can basically use any type of apples that bakes well - it all depends on personal preference and taste! I used Pink Lady Apples for this recipe, but you could also use Fuji, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Cortland, Honey Crisp or even Granny Smith for a fresher flavour.
You can read more about choosing the best apples for baking here.
If not served straight away, this apple cinnamon baked oatmeal should be kept in the fridge. You can store it in its baking dish covered with wrap or foil, or transfer it into a sealed container if preferred.
Absolutely, it will last for days in the fridge! I personally prefer to keep it for maximum 4 or 5 days maximum so that it keeps a nice texture, but it will stay fresh in the fridge for up to a week. Don't forget to re-heat it before serving!
It can be re-heated either in the microwave or in the oven. For the best texture, I would recommend using the oven (5 to 10 minutes at 180'C/350'F) especially if re-heating the whole tray.
Individual slices can be simply re-heated in the microwave for about 1,5 minutes.
I do not recommend freezing this dish.
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Banana Chia Seed Pudding
- Fluffy Japanese Souffle Pancakes
- Classic French Crêpes
- 3 Ingredients Banana Pancakes
- Easy Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
- Lemon Sweet Rolls
- Buckwheat Banana Pancakes (Gluten-Free)
- French Buckwheat Crêpes
- No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
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Recipe
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 Apples - (* see note below)
- 50 gr (1/2 cup) Walnuts - optional
- 150 gr (1 1/2 cup) Rolled Oats
- 1 1/2 teasp. Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teasp. Baking Powder
- 360 ml (1 1/2 cup) Full Cream Milk - or your preferred Dairy-Free/Plant-Based Milk.
- 120 gr (1/2 cup) Applesauce - Preferably unsweetened
- 1 1/2 teasp. Vanilla Extract - optional
- 60 gr (1/4 cup) Unsalted Butter, melted - or your preferred Dairy-Free/Plant-Based alternative.
- 90 gr (1/3 cup) Honey - or Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F and lightly grease a Baking Dish with Oil or Butter.
- Wash and Core the Apples and cut them into small cubes (with or without the skin). Finely chop the Walnuts (or your choice of nuts). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the Apple Cubes, Chopped Walnuts, Rolled Oats, Ground Cinnamon and Baking Powder. Stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients (all at room temperature, see note 1): Milk, Applesauce, Vanilla, Melted Butter and Honey.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients in the first bowl and stir to combine with a spatula or spoon.
- Transfer into the greased baking dish and optionally top with your choice of dried fruits, chopped nuts, seeds, coconut,...
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (see note 2). Leave to cool down for about 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- To smoothly combine all the wet ingredients, they all need to be at approximatively the same temperature. If you mix warm melted butter and cold milk, the butter will start to harden straight away and you will see small lumps appear in the batter. If that happens, simply place the bowl in the microwave for a few seconds to help melt the butter again. If using a Honey that is a bit hard, also melt it for a few seconds in the microwave so that it becomes fluid again.
- The exact baking time will depend on your oven, your preferred baked oatmeal texture and the thickness of the oatmeal layer. In my baking dish after a 35 minutes bake, the oatmeal was set but still moist. For a crunchier texture, bake for a few more minutes.
