Blueberry Apple & Walnut Baked Oatmeal- oats, walnuts, blueberries, and apples are baked together in this hearty breakfast dish that’s so good it almost tastes like dessert! Make a batch on the weekend and enjoy it all week long.
The Perfect Make-Ahead Breakfast
I’m always looking for healthy breakfast ideas that will give me energy to get through the day. I usually work 12-hour shifts in the ER so keeping my stamina up throughout the day is really important. I like to pack my own meals on work days. That way I don’t have to rely on what the hospital cafeteria is serving up. Plus I never know when I’ll be able to take a quick break to eat. This baked oatmeal is the ideal breakfast for me because I can bake it on the weekend for my whole family. Then I can take the leftovers to work the rest of the week.
This Dish is Packed with Superfoods
This recipe is packed with superfoods! Superfoods are foods that are rich in compounds that have the power to positively affect our health, ward off disease, and increase longevity. Oats are nutritious whole grains that are packed with fiber. To learn more about the nutritional benefits of whole grains, check out my post Everything You Need To Know About Whole Grains.
Fiber helps keep things moving along smoothly in our intestinal tract. A diet high in fiber also helps reduce cholesterol, regulate blood sugar levels, regulate blood pressure, and lower our risk of heart disease. Blueberries are superfoods too. They provide vitamin C, fiber, and powerful disease-fighting antioxidants.
How to Make Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal is so easy to make! You simply mix your dry ingredients together (rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt). Then mix your wet ingredients together (milk, Greek yogurt, egg, maple syrup, coconut oil or butter, and vanilla extract). A lot of recipes just use milk but I like to add some Greek yogurt to my dish. This adds a nice boost of protein. Scatter some blueberries, chopped apple, and walnuts around the bottom of an 8×8-inch baking pan. Top them with the dry ingredients. Then pour in the wet ingredients. Press it all down so that the dry ingredients are submerged in the liquid. Finally, top the dish off with some more blueberries, apples, walnuts, and a dusting of cinnamon, and pop it in the oven. In 40-45 minutes, you’ll have a delicious, hot, baked breakfast dish that’s bursting with flavor. And your kitchen will smell delicious!
Baked Oatmeal Has Endless Variations
Once you get the basic recipe for baked oatmeal down, you can make endless variations using your favorite ingredients. In the summer, you can make baked oatmeal with sweet summer berries or luscious stone fruit like plums, nectarines, apricots or cherries. In the fall, you can make a batch with apples and cranberries. My Peaches and Cream Baked Oatmeal pictured on the right is a reader favorite that you must try! Warm, cinnamon-infused oatmeal is studded with sweet peaches and topped with thick, creamy vanilla yogurt. Yum! It’s super easy to make and your whole family will love it!
I love to eat baked oatmeal warm with a some milk drizzled on top or a dollop of Greek yogurt and maple syrup. But it’s also really satisfying eaten cold, straight out of the fridge the next day (or as a midnight snack if you can’t wait until morning!).
A hearty and satisfying breakfast that’s bursting with flavor, whole grains, protein, fiber, and antioxidants. What more can you ask for?
Blueberry Apple & Walnut Baked Oatmeal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts, divided use
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus extra for garnish
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups milk, any type (I used 2%)
- ½ cup plain low fat Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups blueberries, divided use
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped, peeled apple, divided use
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Finely chop ½ cup walnuts and place them in a bowl along with the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Whisk the milk, yogurt, egg, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla together in another bowl.
- Arrange 1 cup blueberries and 1 cup chopped apple in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Scatter the oat mixture evenly on top. Pour in the milk mixture and press to submerge all of the dry ingredients in the liquid. Roughly chop the remaining ½ cup walnuts and scatter them on top along with the remaining ½ cup blueberries and ½ cup apple. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Bake 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and the oats are set. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve as is or topped with milk, Greek yogurt or maple syrup.
Nutrition
Not only does this look beautiful, it sounds delicious. I love blueberries (especially now) and they pair so well with walnuts!! Yum!
Count me in! I love a meal that tastes better the next day, too! I have to say, CA Walnuts got a great deal of recipes from this contest! What a fabulous follow up from your veggie patties!
This looks so delicious and packed with flavor! I can't wait to make this using gluten free oats!
Baked oatmeal is always one of my favourite breakfasts as you can make up a big batch and either freeze it or enjoy it all week long! This looks absolutely perfect!
Blueberries and walnuts are such a delicious combo – but especially with apple added in too!
This looks heavenly! My kids and I are big fans of Baked Oatmeal. Can't wait to make this!!
I want to dive into that bowl! Looks SO delicious!!
I have never thought to make a breakfast like this before! I can't wait to enjoy this on a nice fall morning 🙂
This is the best looking breakfast recipe! I've already pinned it to my private little "must make" board.
What delicious way to eat oatmeal! I love the sound of this!
I don't know why, but I've been craving some hearty warm breakfasts lately and this is perfect!! I love that I could make it for when my family visits too!
Sonali, I so love baked oatmeal and this looks amazing! I love your addition of walnuts into this and ooh – just look at those ready-to-burst-blueberries! Good luck with the contest!
This looks absolutely amazing! I need to make this one for sure.
I really can't wait to make this! Thanks for such an awesome recipe Sonali!
I rarely make baked oatmeal but it does make for one glorious breakfast!
I like baked oatmeal, and blueberry one is my favorite because the berries basically melt into the oats introducing a fantastic texture. I think I've never added apples and walnuts along with blueberries though, but this sounds and looks great! Well done, Sonali!
Yay! I'm all about baked oatmeal! I've done a blueberry one before, but never thought to throw in apples too! Great idea! *-*
Besides the amazing flavors, what I love best about this is making it on the weekend and enjoying it during the week. My mornings can be so busy, that I just don't have time for anything besides blending a smoothie, or scrambling an egg. I would have time to reheat a serving of this deliciousness!
Is it ok to leave out or reduce the coconut oil, as I’m trying to reduce saturated fat and this meal contains a high percentage of rda in the 1st meal of the day.
Yes, you can reduce the amount of coconut oil. You could also substitute a different type of oil that’s high in unsaturated fats or applesauce.
This sounds delicious!! Can it be made dairy free?
Can I use more milk instead of yogurt?
Yes, you can. I would cut back a little on the amount of milk so that it’s not too liquidy.
Is it possible to make this dairy free by using coconut yoghurt instead of Greek? I’ve made this many times and it’s delicious I don’t want to miss out now I’m dairy free ;( Thanks – Cat
I’ve never tried it but it should work fine. Otherwise, you can leave out the yogurt and add extra milk.
O.M.G…..I love love love this recipe !!!! It’s my new fav .This is the second time I have made it ..I use a little less syrup and use a red delicious apple. Otherwise I make exact recipe 😋It is The Best !!!!
Thank you!!! So happy that you love it!
Delicious!!!
I made this with several changes:
• I put it in the slow cooker for four hours on low and it came out perfect.
• I left out the sweetener and it was sweet enough in my opinion.
• I forgot the oil.
• I used 1 1/4 cups lite coconut milk in place of milk and yogurt.
• I added extra blueberries to the top.
• I halved the amount of walnuts.
It was so good that my sister who hates oatmeal said she could even stand it. I will be making it again!
Thank you very much!
That’s great! So glad you liked it!
Can you use frozen blueberries or will that be too liquidy/messy?
Yes, frozen blueberries will work!
I see a dietation for a variety of issues and she gave me this recipe – as it sits in the intersection of something healthy and suitable for an adult with the palate of a 12 year old. Also, it helped me discover that I actually LOVE fresh blueberries – so thank you so much! Very delicious!
Thank you so much for this enlightening post, I have significantly got some thing right here and I will bookmark this page for your next upcoming post.
looks really good. I’m wondering if I could cut way back on the maple syrup. I’ve been on a no added sugar regime and that sounds awfully sweet! (I do love maple syrup, tho) I’ll give it a try because this looks so good!
Made this for breakfast this morning and it was delicious! So good, that we had a small piece for dessert tonight with a little vanilla ice cream!
Could you omit egg & use something for a replacement? I really want to make this, but we cannot have eggs.
Yes, you can use a flax egg. To make a flax egg, mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water in a bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then use in recipe to substitute for 1 egg. Let me know how it goes if you try the recipe!