
My family has been eating baked oatmeal since the dawn of time, it seems. I remember being a little girl and waking up on a Saturday morning to the smell of cinnamon filling up the house as it baked. Fond memories to say the least. It was a tradition I raised my own kids with, and sharing with my grand kids too as they have come along. This is our traditional recipe that I grew up with, my father grew up with… Â We have the tendency to make it less sweet. Â You can make yours as sweet as you like. I am going to list what I actually used when I baked it this morning in another recipe section below. You can also add your choice of fruits, seeds or nuts. Â I make a couple batches at a time and freeze them in individual servings.
Baked Oatmeal – Traditional Recipe
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, prepare 13 x 9 inch casserole dish by greasing it. Â Can use shortening, butter or oil.
In a large bowl, mix in the following:
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 3 to 4 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger combo) you can add more or less to your own tastes.
In another large bowl blend the
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cups sweet item (orange juice, peach syrup, maple syrup, apple sauce, mashed banana etc)
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla or your favorite extract
- 2 1/2 cups of milk (almond, cows, rice, etc)
Add to dry ingredients.
Fold in
- 2 cups chopped fruit of your choice. Â You can use fresh, frozen, canned or dried.
Add ins:
- 1/2 to 1 cup nuts or seeds
- 1 to 2 cups dried fruits.
If you find that you need more liquid in yours, add more milk. Â If you want a little sweeter, add some brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, etc. Â If its too “soupy” add a bit more oatmeal.
Pour mixture into prepared pan, bake for about 30 mins, the top will be a golden color.
Cut into 12 servings and serve. Â If you let it set a bit before pulling it out of the pan, they hold their shape better, especially if you want to freeze the portions for quick breakfasts.
To Freeze and use later: Â
Wrap cooled slices in saran wrap, place in a zip lock freezer bag. Â Make sure you date and label the bag. Â I always write the reheat instructions on mine too.

Methods of reheating:
- Let it thaw and eat at room temperature. Â This is great for kid’s lunch boxes. Â I don’t know how I got so lucky, but my kids would pick this over cookies. Â The frozen oatmeal square would keep their other foods cool while it defrosted in their lunch box.
- Microwave right out of the freezer until defrosted and as warm as you like. Â I usually do it 30 seconds, check, 30 seconds more until it’s how I like it.
- Bake in 375 oven for about 10 mins.

And as promised, this is the recipe I made this morning. Â I always have a lot of dried fruit in my pantry. Â They work for everything, and if you need fresh or frozen, like cranberries for instance, dried reconstitutes nicely as shown in the picture here. Â If a recipe calls for 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit, you can add 1 cup of dried fruit to some liquid. Â Dried cranberries with orange juice are a perfect combination. Â I had a friend growing up, who’s mom made the best cherry pie from dried re-awakened cherries… Â That is another post entirely.
Baked Oatmeal – Bri K’s Toss Together Peach and Cranberry
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, prepare 13 x 9 inch casserole dish by greasing it. Â Can use shortening, butter or oil.
In a large bowl, mix in the following:
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger combo) you can add more or less to your own tastes.
In another large bowl blend together
- 2 large eggs
- 1 and 2/3 cups peach syrup from can ( I can my own so the syrup is not as sweet as store bought.)
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 cups of milk  (because I was using a liquid for my sweet, I only used 2 cups of almond milk.)
Fold in:
- 2 cups chopped canned peaches
- 1/2 cups of walnuts
- 2 cups of dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
If you find that you need more liquid in yours, add more milk. Â If you want a little sweeter, add some brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, etc. Â If its too “soupy” add a bit more oatmeal.
Pour mixture into prepared pan, bake for about 30 mins, the top will be a golden color.
Cut into 12 servings and serve. Â If you let it set a bit before pulling it out of the pan, they hold their shape better, especially if you want to freeze the portions for quick breakfasts.
Before I close, I should tell you there are various ways you can eat this. Â You can eat it as is… You can pour milk over it, top with vanilla yogurt, add fresh fruit or maple syrup, or my favorite, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to 1 cup of vanilla yogurt and whipping it together for a nice topping. Â The possibilities are really endless.
This sounds and looks delicious!