This extra easy baked oatmeal recipe with fresh strawberries, bananas, and chocolate is one of our favorite things to make for breakfast. Make it in the morning or assemble the night before and bake the next day! Jump to the Baked Oatmeal Recipe
How to Make Baked Oatmeal
There’s something special about entertaining in the morning — it’s casual, laid back and really can start the day off right. This easy baked oatmeal is where we turn when there are more than the two of us in the house. It’s really flexible. Feel free to play with the add-ins to our recipe. We love adding strawberries, banana and chocolate, but add whatever you love. Or, add that odd amount of nuts, raisins or cranberries left in your pantry from another recipe. It’s up to you! To see how we make regular oatmeal, here’s the oatmeal recipe we follow almost every morning.
If you take a read through the comments below, you’ll see so many who have shared this baked oatmeal recipe with family or friends. Some have even taken it to work.
You can mix all of the ingredients the night before cooking and then bake in the morning. If you do this, place bananas on the bottom of the dish and not on top of the oats since they may brown slightly over night. For another overnight recipe, take a peek at our favorite overnight oats recipe.
Some readers have tried freezing the oatmeal: After mixing everything together, tightly cover the oatmeal or pour into resealable plastic bags and freeze for up to one month. Then, when you want to bake the oatmeal, just remove from freezer, thaw and bake as directed. If you decide to do this, we suggest that you mix the fruit into the oatmeal instead of placing on top to prevent browning – especially the bananas.
You may also like these Easy Homemade Blueberry Muffins from scratch. We make them in one bowl in under 30 minutes.
Recipe Substitutions
This baked oatmeal recipe is easily adapted for dairy-free and egg-free diets. While we call for one egg in the recipe, we have had success removing the egg completely or you can substitute the egg with one flax egg. Another easy substitution is replacing soy, almond or even coconut milk for the milk called for in the original recipe.
You can, of course, change the fruit and chocolate in the recipe, too. To reduce calories or level of sweetness, eliminate chocolate from the recipe all together. You could also substitute blueberries, blackberries or other fruit for the strawberries and banana
Finally, if you wish to reduce the amount of sugar, readers have had success eliminating the sugar all together. You could do this or replace the sugar with honey or agave nectar.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Great for crowds, our Easy Vegetable Frittata might be one of our favorite dishes.
- Here’s another baked oatmeal recipe for you. This one has blackberries and a simple caramel sauce spooned on top.
- If you love scrambled eggs, this is the only way we make scrambled eggs in our house. They are creamy, soft, and delicious.
A side of bacon is never a bad idea, here’s how we bake bacon in the oven so that it’s crispy and perfectly cooked.- Another crowd pleaser: Breakfast Enchiladas with Ham and Peppers.
Recipe updated, originally posted December 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear and added a quick recipe video. – Adam and Joanne
Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our extra easy baked oatmeal recipe with fresh strawberries, bananas and chocolate is such a crowd-pleaser. You could make this in the morning or if you’re short on time, prepare it the night before and bake in the morning. There are lots of substitutions you can make, here. A few ideas: replace the milk with soy milk, remove the egg, reduce sugar a little, or change up the fruit, nuts and chocolate to something you love. We talk a bit more about recipe substitutions in the article, but you can also read below in the comments to see what others have done.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 cups (175 grams) old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup (70 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice or substitute cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup (55 grams) walnuts, chopped
6 ounces strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup (60 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups (470 ml) milk, dairy or non-dairy
1 large egg, see notes for egg-free version
3 tablespoons butter, melted (substitute melted coconut oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ripe banana, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
Directions
- Prepare Oatmeal
1Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 2-quart 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. Add to prepared baking dish.
2Scatter the remaining strawberries, walnuts, chocolate, and the banana on top of the oats. In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla extract, then pour over the oats and fruit. Gently shimmy and shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.
- Bake Oatmeal
1Bake oatmeal until the top is golden brown and the milk mixture has set, about 35 minutes. For an extra tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of brown sugar on top of the oatmeal, and then place back in the oven under the broiler and broil for 20-30 seconds.
- Storing and Reheating
1Store the baked oatmeal in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or a warm oven.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- For gluten-free oatmeal, use certified gluten-free oats.
- For egg-free oatmeal, you can leave the egg out completely. The oatmeal will be a little looser when baked. You can also substitute with a chia or flax egg.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
I can not thank you enough for your wonderful website and great culinary talent in the kitchen. Everything is perfectly well explained and ALL the recipes that I have tried from you so far have not disappointed. This makes me to want to try more and more of your yummy and succulent meals and desserts very often. God Bless You!
I have made this half a dozen times now, I love it! I made the original recipe the first time, but I can never leave well enough alone. Some of my variations: I have used pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon instead of 5 spice; added coconut flakes; omitted the chocolate chips; used pecans instead of walnuts and it’s in my oven right now with blueberries instead of strawberries. The addition of coconut was genius, it gives a chewier texture almost like a cookie. Yum! Thanks for the recipe guys, FIVE STARS!
I just made this today for breakfast. It is delicious! Love the sweetness of the chocolate chips. This recipe was like eating dessert for breakfast.
sounds yummy
This is my go to oatmeal recipe for meal prep, to eat for the week for breakfast or even a fast lunch. It is delicious and I make it often! Thank you!
Does this work well with frozen fruit or is it best to use fresh?
Frozen fruit will work.
Hi! This recipe sounds delicious. I just wanna ask – if i baked it and ate some, could I then seperate it into portions then put in freezer? To take out and eat as and when. Or would it become gross somehow?
Yes, absolutely.
I just made this and it’s delicious! I substituted oat milk and added blueberries, along with the strawberries and banana, to make for a Fourth of July brunch. It was a little sweet so I scrambled some eggs with some hot sauce, and the combination of sweet and savory made this the perfect dish. Thanks for this scrumptious recipe!
Can I substitute the melted butter with any oil? One of my kids is allergic to cow’s milk protein. Thanks!
Coconut oil would be my preference, but you can also try a fruity olive oil.
What can I use to replace the milk and butter for a more healthier version due to severe health conditions? The fats are the problem!!
Hi Pamela, You can reduce or leave out the butter completely. As for the milk, you can use skim milk or a non-dairy milk. Water would also work, but you will lose out on some flavor.
Will steel cut oats work just as well?
They will work, but the liquid might need to increase. I’m planning on testing this soon and will update the recipe notes section with our tested suggestion (I’m assuming it will be closer to 3 cups of liquid instead of the 2 cups required for rolled oats).
Hi i”m a diabetic would it be possible to use other types of sugar and how much .
Hi Alexandra, Yes, you can use alternative sweeteners. I’d go based on your tastes. You could always leave out the sweetener altogether and then sprinkle the baked oatmeal with something (honey/stevia/whatever you usually use) based on your tastes.
I just made this using 1/4 cup coconut brown sugar and 1/4 cup erythritol, which is a bit less sweet than sugar. It was delicious. Reminded me of the Quaker strawberries and cream packets I used to like as a kid, but more rich in flavor and wholesome (we avoid processed and convenience foods when possible). I also didn’t use chocolate chips or bananas. Only strawberries and pecans, because I didn’t have walnuts at home. I’d like to try it with bananas next time.
If I want to bake this in individual ramekins, will the bake time change much?
Hi Megan, The bake time will be a bit less. I’d keep an eye on them while in the oven and take them out when the oatmeal has set.
This is one of my favorite recipes!!! We always make this before a weekend of skiing – it makes getting up really early so much easier. 🙂 If I mix it up the night before and leave in fridge to cook in the morning. Should I reduce the cook time? Does consistency change a lot?
Nothing should change if you make it the night before.
Can this be refrigerated after cooking and warm up individual portions later?
Absolutely. The baked oatmeal should last 4 to 5 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.