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This Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal is the best make-ahead breakfast option! It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and packed with good-for-you ingredients. And it tastes delicious too!
Easy Baked Oatmeal Recipe
We love all things oatmeal around here. Everyone has been absolutely loving our Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal. So we decided to make another amazing, Fall inspired version!
You cannot go wrong with apple and cinnamon, right? This flavor combination is amazing! This oatmeal bake recipe is so easy to put together using only one bowl and makes the perfect easy, handheld breakfast, after school snack, or even dessert. 😉
Bonus: it’s healthy and tastes delicious! If that isn’t a breakfast win, then I don’t know what is!
What is Baked Oatmeal?
An oatmeal bake is essentially an oatmeal casserole! It’s made with a combination of oats, milk, flavoring, and eggs. Mix it all up, pour it into a casserole dish, and toss it in the oven.
Baked oatmeal is so simple, packed with nutrients, and so convenient for a quick, on-the-go breakfast or snack.
Is Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Healthy?
Absolutely! This oatmeal bake recipe is loaded up with good-for-you ingredients like eggs, oats, chia seeds, and cinnamon. It’s filling, nourishing, and tastes good too!
Ingredients Needed:
- Eggs: eggs kick the protein content up a notch and help bind the oatmeal bake together so it holds its shape.
- Milk: I prefer to use almond milk, but any type of milk will work.
- Applesauce: applesauce, of course, adds more apple flavor, but it also acts as a natural sweetener.
- Maple Syrup: more natural sweetness to give this apple cinnamon oatmeal the best flavor.
- Oil: avocado oil or coconut oil will work.
- Vanilla Extract: adds flavor depth.
- Rolled Oats: as always, I use gluten-free rolled oats. If you’re not gluten-free, feel free to use regular.
- Chia Seeds: I love to sneak seeds into oatmeal to boost the nutrition.
- Cinnamon: I think apples and cinnamon are the perfect pair.
- Baking Powder: prevents the baked oatmeal from becoming too dense as it bakes.
- Sea Salt: enhances the flavors in the oatmeal bake recipe.
- Apples: peeled and grated! Use your favorite variety.
How to Make Baked Oatmeal
This baked oatmeal recipe could not be any easier to whip up! Here’s how:
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a bowl, whisk the eggs, then add milk, maple syrup, applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients: Add in oats, baking powder, chia, cinnamon, salt, and grated apples, then mix to combine.
- Bake: Transfer the mixture to a greased baking dish, then bake at 350ºF until firm.
Yep. That’s it!
What Oats to Use for an Oatmeal Bake
I always use gluten-free rolled oats and the texture is perfect!
You can also use regular rolled oats if preferred or, in a pinch, you can use quick-cooking oats. Quick-cooking will yield a softer texture, but the oatmeal bake will still be delicious.
Serving Suggestions
There are a few different ways that you can serve baked oatmeal…besides digging right in with a spoon, of course! 😉
Either scoop it out into a serving bowl and add a little extra milk, like a warm cereal OR slice it into squares and eat it warm or cold. This is a great meal prep option!
How to Store
Store: This apple cinnamon baked oatmeal will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or wrapped tightly in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Freezer Tip: If you’re freezing the oatmeal, I recommend doing so in individual portions so you can just take what you need out when you want to serve it.
Reheat: To reheat, warm individual portions in the microwave. To warm a full bake, pop it in the oven at 350ºF until heated through.
More Oatmeal Recipes You’ll Love
- Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal
- Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
- Golden Milk Latte Overnight Oats
- Chunky Monkey Baked Oats
- Strawberry and Cream Overnight Oats
- Gingerbread Oatmeal Bake
- Carrot Baked Oats
- Maple Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup apple sauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 medium apples peeled and grated (see note)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8" x 8" oven-safe dish. If desired, prepare a parchment sling by cutting out a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than the pan and placing it inside.
- In a large bowl add eggs and whisk to combine. Then almond milk, maple syrup, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla and whisk to fully combine.
- To the wet ingredients add oats, baking powder, chia, cinnamon, salt and grated apples and mix until fully combined.
- Pour into prepared 8"x 8" dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the center is just barely firm.
- Scoop and serve warm as is or with almond milk, or cool and slice into 9 square portions.
Great recipe. I added chopped walnuts and raisins and baked them in a muffin tin (I made 12) for about 20-25min. I freeze them and take one out for breakfast. Topped with Greek yogurt and some more fruit- delicious 😋
any thoughts about using steel cut oats? thanks.
Forgot the rating in my post 🙂
Wonderful recipe, as always! I love these oatmeal bake recipes because they’re easy meal prep and also so versatile. I didn’t have apples so I used blueberries, which were so good. Also added some pecans, flaxseed, coconut sugar, and dark chocolate chips. YUM! So good, thanks Lexi + team!
Thank you so much!!!!
This baked oatmeal was so easy to make and is very delicious. I love all of your baked oatmeal recipes and make them regularly. They are the perfect nutritious breakfast dishes to serve to my family.
So happy, Alana!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe!!! I make it almost every week portioning it out into individual reheatable containers that I can have each morning.
I’ve also tried this recipe swapping out the apples for frozen mixed berries (I like blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries), and it works perfectly for those without any other changes needed to the recipe (and a little faster to prepare).
I recently tried adding some lemon zest to my berry version and it was like eating a (healthier) berry crumble, the only thing missing was some ice cream!
Hi Lexi,
How should we store this once it’s made? In the fridge or on the counter?
Thanks!
Hi! I made this today and I loved it! I made a couple of changes to the recipe since I read that for some people the final product was a bit dry. I doubled the milk and the apple sauce. Also, I added ground flax and lowered the amount of chia seed. I used pumpkin spice instead of cinnamon. I really liked it!
So delicious and easy! Tastes like apple pie!
Yes would love to know about egg replacer or sub as well…!
Yes, I used smaller apples—but three of them. Guess that wasn’t enough!
Agreed with Kelly, it is pretty dry when eaten alone.
Hi Tara! Sorry you didn’t enjoy the final result. I actually ended up testing this recently and that wasn’t my experience with it at all, as the grated apples added quite a bit of moisture. Any chance your apples were on the small side?
This looks so yummy! Is there a way to substitute the eggs in this recipe for something else? We have an egg allergy in our family. Thanks for all you do!
I made this apple cinnamon oatmeal last night, I find it much drier than the banana chocolate chip and not too much flavor to it. Is there anything I can add to make it not so dry (maybe more applesauce?) and anything to add for more flavor?
I would really like to try this baked oatmeal, as it look quite healthy. Thanks you for the recipe and keep sharing such disc.
what is the calorie breakdown for this? one serving = ? calories; 1/9 = 1 serving?
This is a new favorite in our house! It totally reminds me of a clean version of my favorite oatmeal packets growing up. The apple cinnamon was always the first to disappear 🙂
To up the fiber, I left the skin on the apples and added 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds. Next time I’ll try adding some collagen protein to the mix to add some extra protein. I did sprinkle the top with extra cinnamon, the smell of it baking had my hubby coming into the kitchen asking if I was baking apple pie. SO GOOD! I told him it was Lexi’s recipe (the one that came up with the best gluten free birthday cake) and he said, Thanks, Lexi! Lol
sounds wonderful!
we are doing keto, would you happen know what the macros are?
These aren’t keto!
Looks amazing! Wondering if replacing some of the oats with protein/collagen to up the protein content would be a possibility?
I’m all about baked oatmeal and it’s been far too long since I’ve made it! This apple-cinnamon edition looks so cozy and tasty!