We love entertaining with breakfast, it’s casual, easy and we love love love bacon – I know that has nothing to do with this particular recipe, but let me tell you, this would be perfect on a buffet table next to a plate of crispy bacon (just saying). Anyway, this is a winner of a recipe. We adapted it from Heidi’s (from 101 Cookbooks.com) lovely cookbook, Super Natural Everyday Cooking. Her version did not have the strawberries or chocolate and used cinnamon instead of our choice of Chinese five spice and orange zest, but the general concept comes straight from her. It’s delicious, hearty and is so pleasing to look at (and eat). You could even make this the night before and reheat in the morning!
Try Blackberry Baked Oatmeal!
UPDATE:
Since this baked oatmeal recipe was so popular, we made another baked oatmeal! Try our Blackberry Baked Oatmeal with Caramel Sauce, too! It’s flavored with lemon zest, nutmeg and packed with juicy blackberries! We know you’ll love it.
-Joanne
How to make Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Banana and Chocolate
Start by mixing together the dry ingredients — you could switch up the extras here. For example, we used walnuts and chocolate chips, but you could certainly use almonds or other nut (or none) and replace the chocolate with something else — dried cranberries would be lovely. We throw in a teaspoon of Chinese five spice, too — you can buy the blend at any grocery store, but if you don’t want to invest in another spice, go ahead and replace with ground cinnamon instead. One more thing, here — we actually only throw in half of the walnuts and chocolate during this step, because we chose to top the oatmeal before baking with the other half.
Now, add some sliced strawberries, again we only added half now and top the oatmeal before baking with the remaining half.
Grab another bowl and whisk together milk, one egg and vanilla extract.
Generously spray a baking dish with cooking spray (we used our Le Creuset rectangular baker) then pour in the oat mixture. Arrange the remaining walnuts, chocolate and strawberries on top, then do the same with some sliced banana.
Next, pour the milk mixture all over the oats. Then, shake or shimmy the baking dish so the wet ingredients make their way throughout the dry.
Place the baking dish onto a baking sheet (that is just in case anything bubbles over) and bake in a 375 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes until the wet ingredients have been absorbed, the oatmeal puffs up a bit and is golden brown on top.
If you feel like it, when the oatmeal is done, sprinkle just a little bit more brown sugar on top and slide it under a hot broiler for 20-30 seconds to caramelize.
Then, enjoy!
| Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Banana and Chocolate |
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces, chopped
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups milk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ripe banana, peeled, 1/2-inch slices
- Preheat oven to 375°F and generously spray the inside of a 10-1/2 by 7 inch baking dish with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, Chinese five spice, salt, half the walnuts, half the strawberries and half the chocolate. (Save the other half of strawberries, walnuts and chocolate for the top of the oatmeal).
- In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter and vanilla extract.
- Add the oat mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining strawberries, walnuts and chocolate on top. Add the banana slices to the top then pour the milk mixture over everything. Gently shimmy/shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. For an extra tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of extra brown sugar on top then place back in the oven under the broiler and broil for 20-30 seconds. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup.
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{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve made Heidi’s oatmeal and it is fantastic. Hmmm, maybe New Year’s Day calls for a batch….thanks for the inspiration.
Looks sooooo good!
So trying this tomorrow!!
I can’t believe I’ve never tried this before!
This looks so good. Can’t wait to try it this weekend.
This looks super delicious!
Yum! I tried it this morning, but used blackberries and apples (they looked good at the market). I served it with fresh banana slices and a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Delicious, and I’m excited that I’ll have breakfast for the next few days.
So happy you liked it! Leftovers are awesome – Joanne
Do we know how many calories is in this delicious recipe. I just found and want to try…
Hi Cathy, we have not calculated the number of calories, however, if you are concerned with calorie content removing the chocolate chips from the recipe would be a good option.
-Joanne
I calculated about 300/serving.
Do you think I could use quick-cook oats instead?
Hi Aimee — Yes, quick oats should work just fine. We just would not use the microwavable packets, while that would probably work, too, the texture would not be the same. The quick cooking oats (we buy Quaker Oats One Minute tub) would work great.
-Joanne
This looks SO good! My kids go back to school this week and this would be a great send-off for that first day.
Also, where did those adorable cups come from that hold the berries and chocolate chips in the photos?? They are fabulous!
Megan, the cups were a gift from a friend, but we think they came from Anthropologie.
Have you ever had leftovers and tried to reheat it? If so, how does it hold up when reheated?
Hi Kelly, we have! The oatmeal keeps well for a couple days. The only thing we noticed was the the banana browns slightly over time. You could place the bananas on the bottom of the oatmeal instead of on top.
Hope that helps!
Joanne
Have you tried this with steel cut oats instead? I like them better than traditional oats but they get boring. So a new method might be nice
Hi Jules, We have not tried the recipe with steel cut oats. That said, if you want to use steel cut oats, try soaking them overnight before following our recipe in the post. Hope that helps!
Joanne
This looks so good! I can’t wait to try it! But where can I find Chinese Five Spice, or is it not that important?
Hi Ashleigh — We bought our 5 Spice from the Giant in our town.. so you should be able to find it at what ever grocery store you have near by. Just go to the spice isle. If you cannot find it there, try online http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/chinese-five-spice-powder
I just happened to come back to this page and saw your question, Ashleigh. I hope Joanne doesn’t mind me replying to you… I’ve found Chinese Five Spice just in the regular spice rack at my grocery store. I debated on using it or just cinnamon when I made this recipe, but I’m glad I went with the Five Spice. It added an extra layer of flavor that I wasn’t expecting, but was SO good.
We don’t mind at all! Thanks so much for your input
We thought the five spice made the oatmeal pretty special — plus, if someone were to purchase because of this recipe, there are lots of other uses. A favorite is to replace five spice with rosemary when we make these chicken drumsticks.
-Joanne
I also found the spice in the spice aisle of the grocery store. Only, be careful. The McCormick Spice looked right based on the list of spices on the bottle. There was another “Chinese Five Spice” that listed pepper. The McCormick one did not.
Making this right now, but just sent my hubbie out for szechuan pepper corns so I can make my own five spice!
I found myself out of strawberries by the time I went to make this so I used all of the ingredients, then added some peanut butter chips (went great with the bananas) and it was FABULOUS!!!!!! I plan to do this over and over again but will definately hide the strawberries next time so I can incorporate!
Thanks for such a fabulous recipe!
yum! love your addition of peanut butter chips!
-joanne
I should probably mention I left out the orange zest as well – wouldn’t have paired with the peanut butter too well
You should call this banana split oatmeal…. that is certainly what comes to mind when looking at the picture!!
Awesome name, Stacey! So glad you were able to re-create your own version, it sounds delish!
-joanne
just made this morning and it’s delicious!! should the leftovers be refrigerated??
Yep! Keep for up to 3 days.
-joanne
Yay! Something sweet but not too sweet for breakfast! I substituted half the strawberries for blackberries and it turned out very colorful and tasty. Also, frozen fruit works just fine if you’re looking for a cheaper out-of-season option. Thank you for the recipe!
Have you ever tried freezing oatmeal?
Hi Courtney, We have not actually tried this, but we found a recipe that had success freezing. Basically, after mixing everything together (before letting sit overnight) the oatmeal was covered tightly or poured into resealable plastic bags and frozen. Then, when you want to cook the oatmeal, just take it out of the freezer, thaw and bake as directed.
We do not see why it would not work for our recipe, we just suggest that the fruit is mixed into the oatmeal, not placed on top if you decide to freeze.
Here is the recipe I mentioned earlier
http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/06/freezer-friendly-baked-oatmeal-recipe.html
-Joanne
This sounds good and looks good.
Yummmy, i have kept this recipe in the fav untill this weekend as i finished exams, i was so excited to try it,
today i tried it, but i used kiwi, strawberry and roasted oat<3 , it's so so so delicious and my family admired it so much
Thank you for share ()
Maybe I’m just missing it, but where are the ingredient amounts? Looks yummy and I can’t wait to try it!!
Hi Lisa, Scroll down to the recipe, the amounts are listed in the ingredient list. We were battling a few site updates today, so that may have affected what you saw. Everything should be fixed now.
-joanne
okay… it’s there now! Thanks!
I made this today and it was AMAZING! The only change was I used dried orange peel but had everything else on hand, and it was simple and delicious.
Hi there,
I am new to the blogging world and I am blogging about my first “Pinterest” project, which just happens to be your oatmeal. I would hate to break any copyright rules or upset ANYONE, so I am asking for a little assistance. You can private email me, or just reply here I guess. I want to know if I can copy your photo and make it a link (and how to do that). And of course I am linking to your recipe. I forgot to take a picture of my oatmeal, because it just didn’t even occur to me at the time. It was pretty good considering I didn’t have most of your ingredients… thanks so much for the inspiration!
Joleen
ps, you can call me, my phone number is on my website. i would just post it here, but I figure I should make it harder for strangers and hackers… the internet makes me act funny about stuff like that
sure! thanks for asking
-joanne
Can you make this without the brown sugar to make it a healthier option?
McKenzie, yes, you can remove the sugar, that should not affect the baking of the oatmeal, only the sweetness.
-joanne
What is the consistency of this after it bakes?
Because we add the egg, the baked oatmeal is a bit firmer than regular oatmeal done on the stove-top. The oats, however, still have great texture.
-joanne
Making this as I type!
Here’s hoping it tastes as good as it looks!
Baking in the oven right now! Can’t wait for it to be done and try it!
Do you think it would be okay to remove the chocolate? I hate chocolate! LOL!
of course! -joanne
I had to improvise ALOT because I wanted to make it and we didn’t have several of the ingredients on hand
So, I used blueberries instead of strawberries, didn’t use the brown sugar OR the chocolate chips (trying to make it healthier), and had to use mixed nuts. It was still pretty tasty, though I’m planning to do both types of berries and only use pecans or walnuts next time 
Delicious! I used cinnamon instead of the Chinese 5 spice, and I didn’t have enough orange zest so I added some ginger to freshen up the flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
This looks amazing! I am so making this tomorrow for me and a couple of toddlers I know would just love this dish!
Printed. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I made this this morning and was highly disappointed. Apparently there are different Chinese 5 spices. Mine came out so pretty, just like it is pictured here on this post, but was so salty no one in our family could choke it down. Upon investigating my 5 spice ingredients more, my bottle says it contains garlic, onion, salt, etc. But my bottle clearly says Chinese 5 spice. So, I will have to throw out the entire dish because I don’t think I can salvage it. I learned something today, for sure!
Becca, we are so sorry to read that it didn’t work out! We are currently researching which brands include more than the 5 spices we would expect to be included in a bottle of Chinese 5 Spice. There should definitely not be onion or garlic powder included. Once we research some more, we will update the recipe to warn other readers of this.
Thank you for letting us know!
-joanne
I plan to make this tomorrow morning, but for a crowd and see the serving size is only for 6. Is that pretty accurate? I need to feed at least double that. Can’t wait to make and eat this. Thanks!
Jessica, I would say you could feed 7-8, but that would be with fruit on the side or something. I would make two if you are serving 12.
-Joanne
I found this on pinterest & have made it for our family a few times now. Thank you for sharing, it is so delicious & much more nutritious than breakfast cereal.
would this be ok to prepare the night before and toss in the oven in the morning?
If using regular oats (not steel cut oats), we suggest you prepare the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Then, just toss everything together in the baking dish in the morning.
If using steel cut oats, since they usually need an overnight soak anyway, you could put everything together the night before.
Also, don’t place the bananas on top, instead place them on the bottom since they will brown over time. OR, just add them in the morning.
My sister sent me this recipe. It inspired me to put together a little brunch party, just so I would have an excuse to make this dish. It was fantastic. One of the guest (who is not a fan of Oatmeal) asked if she could take the leftovers home!!!
In my version I used dark chocolate chips and instead of the Chinese 5-spice used Cinnamon and Nutmeg.
Thank you for the inspiration!
That is so awesome! thank you so much for coming back and letting us know, Nadia!
Hi! I am about to make this before my family and I go out of town for the weekend! I have a feeling it will be a great quick breakfast on Saturday morning!We are out of milk and my son is taking his nap. We plan to leave when he wakes up, could you use water instead of milk??
Water should work fine. The flavor will be slightly different and the oatmeal not as creamy, but you should be ok.
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