Some of you might wonder why I’m talking about Oatmeal again and it’s because it’s such an easy pantry item to meal prep the night before and pop into the oven the next morning for breakfast. It satisfies the whole family which is always a win in my book instead of watching my son throw the food on the ground during a pandemic. My two current favorite baked oatmeal recipes are this one by Lidey and this one by Love & Lemons. Both of these recipes call for fresh fruit, but I only had frozen so that’s what I used in my recipe. You could easily use fresh instead of frozen. I omitted some things that I don’t have on hand and made substitutions.

Baked Oatmeal with Frozen Fruit

Adapted from Love & Lemons Recipe and Inspired by Lidey’s Recipe

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoons warm water
• 2 cups old fashion rolled oats
• ½ cup hemp seeds
• ⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (flakes are fine too)
• ¼ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar (I used brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ cup Almond Milk, at room temp
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 frozen banana, chopped*
• 1 cup frozen strawberries, sliced*
• ½ cup frozen blueberries*

Directions:

1. If using Frozen Fruit take it out of the freezer and spread it into a single even layer on a large plate to bring to room temperature. This takes about 30 minutes. It doesn’t have to completely defrost, but just be soft enough so you can chop the banana and slice the strawberries.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8x8x2 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flaxseed and warm water and set aside to thicken for about 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl combine the hemp seeds and shredded coconut. Set aside 2 Tablespoons of the hemp seeds and shredded coconut in a separate small bowl. In the large bowl, add the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the almond milk, maple syrup and coconut oil and whisk to combine. Stir in the flaxseed mixture and blend until smooth.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
7. Layer the bananas and strawberries in the baking dish and spread the oat mixture on top. Sprinkle with the blueberries and pat them into the oats a bit. Then sprinkle the reserved hemp seeds and  shredded coconut on top.
8. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the middle is set. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.*

*Notes / Tips:

1. I omitted the almonds that Lidey and Love & Lemons suggested because I was afraid it might be a choking hazard for my young toddler. Instead, I added nut butter to my reheated oatmeal in the morning and a splash of milk. It doesn’t really need the splash of milk unless you add nut butter which can make it a little drier in taste.
2. You can use fresh or frozen fruit.
3. I like to meal prep this so I usually cook it on the lower end of time, let it cool, store it in the fridge overnight, and then reheat pieces the next day at 350 degrees.

It’s so good!