Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
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Enjoy the cozy flavors of fall with our scrumptious Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal recipe! Filled with sweet, tender apples and warm spices, this comforting breakfast treat is a must-try for cool mornings. Take it over the top with our Maple Whipped Cream on top!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Oatmeal is incredibly good for you. It’s a whole grain loaded with fiber and keeps you full longer.
- It’s kid-friendly. Like in our Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal, kids love the apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar combo.
- It’s a great meal to take new moms.
- It’s freezer-friendly. Like most of our make-ahead breakfast recipes, Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal can be prepped and frozen before baking.
- Or, it can be prepped ahead of time and stored in the fridge for a few days until you’re ready to use it.
Ingredients
This baked breakfast treat is sweet but not too sweet, autumnal (I love that word), and packed full of sneaky nutrition. You likely have all of the ingredients in your pantry! Here is what you will need to make it.
Ingredient Notes
- Oats – Like our Mixed Fruit Baked Oatmeal, you can use quick oats or rolled oats.
- Ground flaxseed – This purely for nutrition. It can be left out or replaced with more oats if you don’t have it.
- Milk – Any kind will work, including plain non-dairy milk.
- Apple – You can use a peeled or unpeeled apple. Leaving the peel on adds a little more nutrition.
Note: Find our full printable recipe with ingredient amounts and directions at the bottom of this post.
Variations and Substitutions
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- Dairy-Free Option: Use plain dairy-free milk in the recipe.
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- Gluten-Free Option: Make sure your oats say “gluten-free” on the package.
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- You can omit the flaxseed or replace it with more oats.
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- You can use quick oats instead of old fashioned oats in the recipe, but the recipe will be a bit denser.
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- Top with nuts like sliced almonds or chopped pecans for additional protein and crunch.
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- If raisins aren’t your thing, feel free to leave them out or replace with dried cranberries instead.
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- Take it over the top with our Maple Whipped Cream on top!
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Combine ingredients
Similar to other baked oatmeal recipes like Banana Baked Oatmeal and Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, you will mix the dry ingredients together and the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Stir together all ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine dry and wet ingredients. Stir in the apples and raisins until evenly distributed.
Bake
Bake the oatmeal as directed. This recipe doesn’t rise much, but you can tell it’s done when the top starts to brown a little.
Serve warm in bowls with a little milk over the top.
How to Freeze Baked Oatmeal
We are big fan of freezer meals. In fact, we’ve worked hard to create valuable freezer meal resources for you–including two cookbooks, 1 Hour Freezer Prep sessions, and an index of tried and true freezer meal recipes.
Here’s the best way to freeze baked oatmeal:
Freeze For Later: Assemble the baked oatmeal but don’t bake it. Tightly wrap the dish in a few layers of plastic wrap or foil (or a tight-fitting lid) and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw completely in the refrigerator. Bake according to instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can prep baked oatmeal (unbaked) ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months. Thaw and bake per instructions.
You can also fully cook and cool the baked oatmeal ahead of time and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just rewarm individual portions in the microwave. Our readers have told us that they freeze fully cooked, individual portions of baked oatmeal in the freezer, as well, and rewarm in the microwave.
Let it cool completely. Cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
While you can use quick oats in baked oatmeal, it’s best to use rolled oats because they give the dish a heartier texture. Quick oats or instant oats can result in a denser, mushier result.
Baked oatmeal can be made gluten-free or dairy-free with these substitutions:
Dairy-Free Option: Use dairy-free milk in the recipe.
Gluten-Free Option: Make sure your oats say “gluten-free” on the package.
Yes, this recipe will also work in a smaller dish. Just cook it 10-15 minutes longer or until it’s set in the middle.
What Goes Well With Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal?
Here are some easy recipes that would go well with this baked oatmeal:
- Baked Omelette
- Baked Ham & Egg Cups
- Oven Baked Bacon
- Maple Whipped Cream – Top your bowl with this for a decadent treat!
- Crock Pot Pumpkin Spice Latte
More Baked Oatmeal Dishes You’ll Love
If you enjoy baked oatmeal as much as our families do, give a few of these others a try. They all work well to freeze before baking, as well.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
This recipe is hearty, healthy, delicious, and fairly adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand. Plus, leftovers keep well in the fridge for several days. Serve it up as a tasty start to your day or as a “breakfast-for-dinner”, along with bacon and a fruit salad.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed (or substitute more oats)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk (your choice)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
- 1 apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
- 1/4 cup raisins (sub: dried cranberries)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flaxseed, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together melted (and cooled) butter, eggs, and milk.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until combined well. Gently stir in the walnuts/pecans, apples, and raisins.
- Pour batter into baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve with warm milk and a bit more brown sugar on top, if desired.
Freeze For Later: Prepare according to directions but freeze the baked oatmeal before baking. Wrap tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap and one layer of foil. Place in the back of the freezer for up to 3 months.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours and bake according to directions. You can also defrost in the microwave and bake.
Notes/Tips
- Dairy-Free Option: Use plain dairy-free milk in the recipe.
- Gluten-Free Option: Make sure your oats say “gluten-free” on the package.
- You can use quick oats instead of old-fashioned oats in the recipe.
- Take it over the top with our Maple Whipped Cream on top!
- Because this recipe is so easy, it works great to double and freeze like we do in our 1 Hour Freezer Prep Sessions.
- Top with nuts like sliced almonds or chopped pecans for additional protein and crunch.
Amy m says
Easy to make and super yummy
Carla from Thriving Home says
So glad you enjoyed this Amy. Thanks for leaving a review.
Sue says
This is a very tasty breakfast and extremely filling. I love it warm with yogurt. Since it’s just my husband and I it made a large amount so I baked, saved some for the next 3 days and froze the rest for a future week.
Carla from Thriving Home says
Hi Sue. Glad you enjoyed it and got some frozen for a future week! Thanks for leaving a review.
Anna says
This is such a delicious recipe. Great for people who don’t really love traditional oatmeal too. I served it with Greek yoghurt & extra fruit. The leftovers heat up perfectly in the microwave. I’m slowly working my way through all the Thriving Home baked oatmeal recipes, this one is another winner!
Carla from Thriving Home says
Glad to hear you’ve found another winning baked oatmeal. I like to have different flavor combinations to make with things like baked oatmeal so I can change it up whether it’s just for my family or for guests too. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review Anna!
Amy McFadden says
Really delicious! Next time going to try the maple whipped cream
Carla from Thriving Home says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed this Amy. The maple whipped cream does take it over the top with fall flavors in my opinion. 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review.
Amber says
Love this recipe. I make it regularly.
Carla from Thriving Home says
Baked Oatmeal is so delicious and so easy! I love how many variations we have on our site. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review Amber!
Elene says
so delicious and lasted for a few days in the fridge!
Carla from Thriving Home says
Hi Elene. Thank you for taking time to leave a review! Hope you enjoy some of our other baked oatmeals as well.
Lori says
Very easy to put together. Makes the house smell wonderful while its cooking. The only thing that I added was a little vanilla. Drizzled a little maple syrup on my portion. This recipe makes it clear that you can customize it to suit your preferences. It was a hit with my family.
Carla from Thriving Home says
Thank you for the review and suggested additions for other readers Lori.
Edna says
Our family loves this apple cinnamon oatmeal bake. It’s easy to put together. I triple the apples because I love apples😋. I’ve been making it since you posted the original recipe. Thank you!
Carla Fletcher says
Hi Edna! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I don’t know how the rest of my family would feel, but I would love lots of apples like you!
Kristen Yorston says
My family absolutely loves this apple cinnamon oatmeal. I substituted prunes for the raisins and 2x the cinnamon.
It freezes wonderfully for a weeks breakfasts.
Rachel Tiemeyer says
That’s great to hear and thanks for the substitution idea, Kristen. Appreciate the comment and review!
Dianna says
Besides replacing butter with olive or coconut oil, any suggestions on a replacement for the milk? I’m going dairy free 🙁
Rachel says
Good question, Dianna. I use unsweetened almond milk all the time in this recipe! Vanilla or plain flavored would work.
Brianna says
I made this a few months ago as a freezer breakfast option since we were expecting our first baby. I did bake it first and froze in individual servings so it would be easier to just pop a square in the microwave for simple breakfasts. I did reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup and used olive oil in place of the butter. It tastes great and really holds up so well to the freezing! Thank you!
Rachel says
Thanks for the feedback, Brianna. Love your ideas for healthy tweaks. I’ve used coconut oil and avocado oil in place of the butter and it’s delicious, too.
Ali Barnes says
I made this for church. Several people asked for the recipe. It was a great thing to make for a large group and it went over well with all age groups! Thanks for sharing!
Rachel says
Hey, that’s awesome. Thanks for sharing, Ali.
Nicole says
Can this be made with steel cut oats?
Rachel says
I have never tried this with steel cut oats, but I have tried this recipe below with steel cut oats. They definitely requires more liquid, an overnight “soak” in the fridge, and a longer cooking time. The casserole will be denser but I’m sure it could still be tasty! Hope that gives you a little direction.
https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2015/11/baked-chocolate-steel-cut-oatmeal-freezer-meal/