Berry Baked Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Sweetened with maple syrup, this vegan baked steel-cut oatmeal is a mix of berries, cinnamon, chopped almonds, nut butter (peanut or almond) and oat milk with easy ingredient swaps.

Weekends are when I like to skip my usual smoothie and put a little more effort into breakfast. But that doesn’t mean it’s over-the-top. I just turn on the oven. No matter if they involve eggs or oats, baked breakfast and brunch recipes are great because they can easily feed 4 to 6 (and sometimes more) people.

This baked oatmeal makes the most of the convenience of frozen berries. The final result is lightly sweet oatmeal with bites of fruit that almost become one with the oats. Chopped almonds give it some crunch, which is a good match for each bite.

What Are Steel-Cut Oats?

Smaller than the usual old-fashioned oats you think of for standard oatmeal and oatmeal cookies, steel-cut oats are special. Rather than being rolled, for steel-cut oats, whole oat groats are chopped into pieces. They end up looking more like short rice grains.

Because they have this shape and aren’t flat, they do take longer to cook. But the wait is worth it. These oats have bite! I like to compare them to perfectly cooked al dente pasta, which is a bit chewy and has a satisfying texture when you eat it.

You can simmer steel-cut oats on the stove with water, which takes about 30 minutes. You do need to stir them every so often to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Baking these oats is very hands-free and you can easily infuse other flavors and ingredients with them while they bake.

Also, they are gluten free and a good source of fiber. 

Ingredients & Substitutions

This is what you need for the recipe:

• Steel-cut oats: If you don’t want too commit to an entire package of oats, you can often find steel-cut oats in the bulk section of the grocery. Do not switch to old-fashioned oats for this recipe.
• Oat milk: Since it’s oatmeal, it makes sense to use oat milk, right? Almond milk, soy milk or another milk (including cow’s milk) would also work.
• Berries: I love baking with frozen berries because they tend to spread and get more jam-like when they bake. If it’s berry season and you have fresh berries, you can use them instead. Or save fresh berries for topping each bowl.
• Ground flaxseed & water: To keep the recipe vegan, I whisk together ground flaxseed and water to make a flax egg. You can swap that out and use an actual egg if you prefer.
• Coconut oil: This oatmeal is nutty! Coconut oil is the base of this toasty flavor, but you won’t taste strong coconut.
• Nut butter: Take your pick, either peanut butter or almond butter.
• Maple syrup sweetens the oatmeal, but it isn’t too much. It has a nice balance with the berries and cinnamon.
• Vanilla extract: I include a half-teaspoon of vanilla extract in the recipe.
• Cinnamon is basically a requirement for oatmeal—at least I think so.
• Almonds: Chopped roasted almonds have crunch. I prefer unsalted, so they don’t overwhelm the rest of the ingredients.
• Baking powder helps the oatmeal rise slightly and puff up as it bakes.
• Salt: You need just a pinch to activate all the flavors in the oatmeal.

How To Make Berry Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Whisk together the ground flaxseed and water.
3. Melt the coconut oil and nut butter.  The easiest way to do this is in a bowl in a 30-second blast in the microwave. Just stir it around afterward to distribute the heat and finish any melting as needed.
4. Stir in the oat milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
5. Whisk in the flaxseed-water mixture.
6. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl including the steel-cut oats, almonds, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients stirring until fully combined.
8. Pour the oatmeal into an 8-inch-square baking dish.
9. Scatter the berries over the oatmeal.
10. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the oatmeal turns deep brown and puffs up. It should still be a spoon-able consistency.
11. Divide into bowls and serve topped with a splash of oat milk, fresh fruit and cinnamon.

Serving

You can use a serving spoon to put the oatmeal into bowls. Then pour in a little oat milk and top with fresh fruit, chopped almonds and cinnamon.

For additional fruit, if you don’t have fresh berries, try sliced bananas or apples.

Leftovers

I love eating leftover oatmeal cold from the fridge. It is really good paired with Greek yogurt. Sometimes I will make this recipe for myself knowing I will have it chilled as leftovers during the work week.

More Baked Breakfast Recipes

Mushroom Pepper Feta Crustless Quiche
Tomato Kale Pesto Frittata
Baked Almond Butter and Jelly French Toast
Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls
Mini Spinach Frittatas

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Berry Baked Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Sweetened with maple syrup, this vegan baked steel-cut oatmeal is a mix of berries, cinnamon, chopped almonds, nut butter (peanut or almond) and oat milk.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast & Brunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Calories: 312kcal

Author: Paige Adams

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter or almond butter
• 2 cups oat milk plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 1/3 cup chopped roasted unsalted almonds plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 10 ounces frozen mixed berries
• Additional fruit for serving including fresh berries and sliced bananas or apples

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed and water.
• Combine the coconut oil and peanut butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Then stir the melted oil and peanut butter with the oat milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk in the flaxseed-water mixture.
• In a large bowl, combine the steel-cut oats, almonds, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir everything together until fully combined.
• Pour the mixture into an 8-inch baking dish. Scatter the berries on top.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes until the oatmeal turns deep brown and puffs up. It should still be a spoon-able consistency.
• Divide the oatmeal into bowls. Add a splash of oat milk and top with additional fruit, nuts and cinnamon.

Notes

• Instead of whisking together the ground flaxseed and water, you can use an actual egg, Just whisk it in once you have the other wet ingredients combined.
• If you have fresh berries, you can use them instead of frozen. Fresh berries will not spread as much throughout the oatmeal like frozen.
• Also, you can use any plant-based milk or cow’s milk instead of oat milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 312kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 134mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 187IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 2mg