Hearty rolled oats and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, combine with crisp apples in this Baked Oatmeal dish. Perfect for chilly fall mornings or even a fall snack or dessert.
Oven Baked Oatmeal
Did anyone else grow up living off those packages of instant oatmeal? The kind you ripped open, added to a bowl with water and microwaved for about a minute. My sisters and I loved them. My mom would buy the variety pack and the Maple & Brown Sugar flavor always was the first chosen. Apple and Cinnamon was second and then before you knew it, all that was left was plain (yuck).
It is definitely a convenient breakfast, but contains about 12 grams of added sugars.
This oven baked oatmeal recipe was designed to mimic those yummy flavors while trying to reduce the amount of added sugars and unnecessary ingredients. Sure, it takes a bit longer to prepare (since it has to bake in the oven), but it can be made in advance and just reheat in the morning for a delicious breakfast.
How is this a Mediterranean Diet Inspired Recipe?
While not a traditional Mediterranean style recipe at all, we like to show how almost any recipe can be tweaked a bit to fit into the Mediterranean diet suggestions.
This Baked Oatmeal recipe uses the following –
- Real apples
- Spices for flavor like cinnamon and nutmeg
- Olive Oil in place of butter
- Almonds
- Chia Seeds for Omega 3s
- Applesauce in place of 1/2 the sugar
- Rolled Oats which are a good source of fiber
Check out these 9 Mediterranean Diet Breakfast Ideas for even more great recipes!
A Fiber Filled Dish
We shared a few weeks ago, that the majority of American are Missing Fiber in their Diets. This recipe is a great example of a fiber packed breakfast recipe.
This recipe roughly breaks down into –
- Rolled Oats = 25 grams fiber
- Chia Seeds = 4 grams fiber
- Applesauce = 3 grams fiber
- Almonds = 4 grams fiber
- Apples – 1.5 grams fiber
Total Fiber = approximately 37 grams in the entire dish, which equals ~ 6 grams per serving
Fiber can help lead to decreased cholesterol levels, better blood sugar control, lower blood pressure and a decreased risk for heart disease and certain cancers.
Cinnamon Apple Baked Oatmeal (gluten free)
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups Rolled Oats (gluten free)
- 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1.5 cups Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Applesauce (unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1 cups Apples, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup Almonds, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray a baking dish with cooking spray (either a 9×9 or a 7×11 inch dish would work best)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients: milk, eggs, vanilla, applesauce, and olive oil. Mix until well combined
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl: oats, chia seeds, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder. Stir until everything is well combined
- Carefully fold in the diced apples and chopped almonds
- Spoon/Pour the oatmeal into your prepared baking dish and place in the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until majority of iquid has evaporated and oatmeal has set. See additional notes below.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving. Oatmeal can be stored for 3-5 days in fridge and reheated in microwave. We like serving with dollop of greek yogurt.
Notes
More Mediterranean Diet Breakfast Recipes
Check out some of our favorite breakfast recipes for new ideas.
- Non Egg Breakfast Ideas for Hectic Mornings
- California Breakfast Tacos
- 6 Simple Greek Yogurt Breakfast Bowls
- Brain Boosting Almond Butter and Blueberry Smoothie
- Bagel Brunch Board with All the Fixings
It looks very solid. Does it get hard, so you eat it like a bar? Or more like a forkable square of lasagna ?
It’s not like a bar, but it depends on how long you bake it for the end consistency. My family and prefer it not runny at all but if you like it more soft and oatmeal like then you can just reduce the cook time by a few minutes to make it to your liking.
Directions say to add salt but salt is not listed in ingredients. How much would you recommend adding? Thank you