Baked oatmeal is simply one of the most delightful ways to serve up a breakfast staple.
I actually like it better than overnight oats or birchermeusli. The texture is so chewy in the right way, thanks to roasting the oats first, before cooking them on the stove top till tender.
What Makes This Oatmeal Great
Like I mentioned, the first thing that happens is laying out the rolled oats onto baking sheets and roasting them till they are aromatic and turning golden brown. This creates that nutty flavour, and fabulous texture that stays through till it is all baked with spices, seeds and nuts. Layering sugar on the top before baking adds another layer of flavour as the sugars take on a caramelized flavour and crunch. You can add to the crunch by either broiling it at the end, or taking torch to it!
Once baked up, it can be served up right away, it scoops out so easily. I like to serve it with maple syrup and yogurt, but Jim likes it with milk or cream. And if you have leftovers, the next day a section can be sliced off, re-warmed in the oven to bring all the crunch back! This will last a few days for us, if your family is bigger, you may find it is done in one sitting!
Giving This Oatmeal All the Autumn Vibes
So, I have this huge bag of apples that we had picked a few weeks back, and I’m adding them into all sorts of meals. See my Roast Chicken with Beans, Garlic and Apples. And then I realized that this oatmeal would be the perfect place for some apple love. All you will need to do is cut up a medium apple ( I used Gala, since that is what I have at the moment, but Honeycrisp, Granny Smith or any favourite eating apple will work) into a small dice (about 1/4 inch cubes) and reserving some to decorate the top of the oatmeal before it goes into the oven.
Dried cranberries, cinnamon, brown sugar, and cloves round out the flavour profile. Very easy, and yet so aromatic. And for crunch, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds will also be joining the party.
The Sugar Top
Once the oatmeal and add-ons have been stirred together and spooned into the baking dish, you will smooth out the top, and sprinkle on a bit of cinnamon sugar. Then place the reserved apple slices on top as you see fit. Finally, sprinkle coarse or cane sugar on top of everything. This is the sugar that will take on the caramel flavour as it bakes in the oven, and add the final crunch.
If you want that brûléed effect, for the final few minutes, turn the broiler on to do it’s work. If that isn’t enough for you, and you have a kitchen torch, take the torch to the sugar and heat it till it melts and takes on a burnished crust effect. This makes for so much flavour! And since the oatmeal itself isn’t sweetened at all, this is really the only sugar in the dish, unless you add more on your own. I find that with a drizzle of maple syrup all my sugar needs are satisfied!
Final Thoughts
Keep this recipe handy for these autumn mornings or Sunday brunch. Have a bowl of greek or vanilla scented yogurt mixed with a little maple syrup to ladle In fact, I have been known to slice off a piece and eat it cold! Actually, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I wouldn’t mind this as dessert. Healthy and tasty at the same time. I have other baked oatmeals as well, if you want an alternative to this great Spiced Apple Oatmeal version.
Baked Seeds and Dried Currant Oatmeal Brûlée
Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal
Spiced Apple and Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups jumbo rolled oats
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Gala apple
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 tsp cinnamon, divided
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp coarse or granulated sugar, divided
- maple syrup for serving
- plain skyr or greek yogurt for serving
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425F
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Place the oats on a baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally till they smell toasty and are golden brown. About 10 minutes. Keep the oven on.
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Meanwhile bring the water to a boil. Add the toasted oatmeal and the salt. Stir and drop the heat to a simmer until the oats are softened and thickened, about 10 minutes.
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While the oats are cooking, dice the apple into 1/4 inch cubes, reserving a few to slice on top (optional). Sprinkle with the lemon juice Set aside in a small bowl.
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When the oatmeal has plumped up and most of the liquid is gone, stir in the diced apple, dried cranberries, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, 1 tsp of the cinnamon, the cloves, allspice and brown sugar.
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Transfer the mixture to a wide baking dish. Smooth out the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon and 1 tbsp of coarse or granulated sugar.
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Spread out the apple slices on top of the sugar (optional)
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Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until all the excess water has evaporated and the top is lightly browned and just firm to the touch. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Don't let it totally dry out though.
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Remove the baking sheet and oatmeal from the oven. Turn the oven to broil.
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Evenly sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top of the oatmeal, using approximately 1/4 cup of sugar.
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Switch the oven to broil. the broiler. Watch, until the sugar has melted and caramelized. See Note.
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To serve: combine 3/4-1 cup skyr or Greek yogurt and 3 tbsp of maple syrup and dollop some on each serving.
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You can bake off the oatmeal ahead of time. Then simply warm it in a 400F oven for about 15 minutes before brûlée-ing the top with the sugar.
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Options: Bake the oatmeal and just serve it with the yogurt; Take individual servings and place them in smaller baking dishes and warm as described above and then brûlée it.
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Serve it up with bacon, toast, fruit etc.
Recipe Notes
For broiling, you can move the rack up to the upper third, but keep an eye on the apple slices so that they don't scorch. If you omit the apple slices, you can even move the rack higher for optimum sugar crust!
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