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.
I love using oatmeal in my recipes. Not only is it really good for you, it's also extremely versatile! I make everything from hearty pumpkin spice oatmeal to gluten-free strawberry oatmeal blender pancakes, to savory oatmeal breakfast muffins and easy overnight oats.
But my favorite way to eat oatmeal has to be baked oatmeal. If you've never experienced the wonders of baked oatmeal, you must try this Blueberry Apple & Walnut Baked Oatmeal.
Whole grain oats, walnuts, blueberries, and apples are baked together in a hearty and comforting breakfast dish that tastes so good it almost feels like dessert. And the best part is, it tastes even better the next day!
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The Perfect Make-Ahead Breakfast
I’m always looking for healthy breakfast ideas that will give me energy to get through the day. I work long 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.
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.
If you're looking for more make-ahead breakfast ideas, try my chocolate baked oats, healthy make-ahead breakfast burritos, berry chia pudding or banana chocolate chip muffins.
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. 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 your risk of heart disease.
- Blueberries are superfoods too. They provide vitamin C, fiber, and powerful disease-fighting antioxidants. I love using blueberries in popsicles, smoothies, and fruit crisps.
- Walnuts are also packed with a wide variety of important nutrients. Did you know that one ounce of walnuts has 2.5 grams of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), 4 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fiber? This combination helps keep you feeling full and satisfied.
How to Make Blueberry Apple & Walnut Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal is so easy to make! Here are the steps. Scroll down to the recipe card below for full recipe amounts and instructions.
- Mix your dry ingredients together (rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt).
- 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 8x8-inch baking dish. 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!
Chef's Tip
- This baked oatmeal can easily be adapted to suit all types of diets! To keep it vegan, you can use plant-based milk, yogurt, a flax egg, and coconut oil. If you're watching your sugar intake, you can leave out the maple syrup or use any sweetener of your choice. If you're following a gluten-free diet, use certified gluten-free oats.
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 Peach Baked Oatmeal pictured here 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!
How To Serve This Dish
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?
Looking for even more apple recipes? Check out my Best Apple Recipe Round Up!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this baked oatmeal is the perfect make-ahead dish! You can assemble the whole dish the night before and refrigerate it. The next day, just pop it in the oven and bake as directed.
Yes, you can freeze baked oatmeal. You can wrap the dish with plastic wrap and freeze the whole thing or cut it into pieces and freeze the individual portions. The whole dish can be reheated in the oven. The individual portions can be reheated in the oven or microwave.
Yes, you can use quick oats in this recipe as some of my readers have noted. Quick oats are just rolled oats that go through further processing to decrease cooking time. They're partially cooked and then rolled out thinner than old-fashioned oats. Using quick oats may give the baked oatmeal a slightly finer, more cake-like consistency, which is delicious!
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Recipe
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
- ⅓ 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
About the author
Dr. Sonali Ruder
Meet Dr. Sonali Ruder aka The Foodie Physician- ER doctor, chef, culinary creator & mom.
Doug Rarden says
Made this last weekend and absolutely loved it. I have a question though. Does it need to stay refrigerated? I was thinking it would make a great breakfast on a weekend camping trip but wasn’t sure if it would go bad if not kept cold
Dr. Sonali Ruder says
So happy you enjoyed it! That's a great question. I always refrigerate it but I think it could probably sit out at room temperature if wrapped properly, similar to baked cakes and cookies.
Sandra says
Delicious! I substituted with unsweetened almond milk and coconut yogurt
Dr. Sonali Ruder says
Those sound like great substitutions! So happy you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
Cynthia says
Any suggestions what I can substitute for the nuts? We have tree nut allergies in our house.
Dr. Sonali Ruder says
You can just leave out the nuts- you'll still have plenty of flavor and texture from the blueberries and apples. Another reader substituted shredded coconut for the walnuts- I've never tried it but it sounds delicious!
Sue says
So, spouse says good, declined syrup offer. I find a bit crumblier than I expected but I did change up ingredients due to availability. Very tasty!
Dr. Sonali Ruder says
Great! So glad you liked it! Yes, I think the crumbly texture may be because you didn't use the full amount of milk. I like the idea od using instant espresso powder! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂