Baked Oat Bowls

When a dear friend sent me the Baked Oats recipe (originally discovered on TikTok and then on SavoryNothings.com), I knew I would love it! When a healthy dish tastes like eating cake for breakfast, how can you not love it?!?

Baked Oats are so easy and simple to make and are created with only 6 main ingredients for the batter. The best part is that they are relatively healthy, super easy and fun to make, kid-friendly, and the combinations you can make are endless! You can also avoid many of the common allergens as well as the base flour is made from oats and it is non-dairy! These taste delicious and are very similar to cake or muffins in regards to taste and texture!

All that is required are the following ingredients (per serving) plus your desired toppings / mix-ins. You can make a single serving or make enough for a family or brunch guests! You can use individual ramekins or a muffin pan for single servings or make a larger batch in a casserole dish.

BATTER INGREDIENTS (per serving):

• 1 ripe banana

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup oats (quick oats or rolled oats)

• 1 Tbs honey or maple syrup (or more to taste)

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• pinch of salt

Again, the above ingredients are for 1 single serving. If you want to do more, just multiply each ingredient amount by the number you're making!

INGREDIENT / COOKING NOTES:

• Oats: For the oats, you can use quick or rolled oats, just not steel cut oats as they won't blend as finely.

• Honey: You can substitute agave or maple syrup for the honey.

• Egg: I've read you can use a flax egg to make these vegan, but I've never tried it. It may not bake as fluffy though since the egg helps make it nice and fluffy.

• Banana: Even though it calls for a banana in the batter recipe, you really can't taste the banana at all. If you like the taste of bananas, I'd suggest adding sliced bananas to your bowl!

• Batter: After blending the batter together, let it set for 5-10 minutes if you have the time. It will help make a fluffier cake.

• Baking: Don't over-bake. Each oven is different, so check them periodically. I found the zucchini ones take longer to cook, but that was my personal experience. I also don't think I squeezed out all the water... I found 8 oz ramekins bake well for 20-30 minutes (possibly longer, depending on your oven. the size of the ramekins, and how full you pour them. I ended up baking ours for almost 45 minutes, but we had larger ramekins). If baking in a casserole dish, you'll need to increase cooking time. An 8×8 inch pan should bake in around 30-35 minutes, but still check periodically and add more time as needed.

After you combine the above ingredients, you'll blend them in a blender until smooth. You can't over-blend since there is no gluten in the recipe.

We LOVE our Vitamix Professional Blender for smoothies, frozen adult drinks when we have company (hello margs and mojitos), soups, salsas, and so much more! We use it almost every day for smoothies and then for so many other fun recipes.

Involve your kiddos when making these as they will enjoy the process and think adding the mix-ins is fun too! My little sidekick loves to help any way she can.

After the batter is blended, pour and divide the batter into the ramekins (about 3/4 full), then add toppings/mix-ins, and bake!

For the toppings, the options are endless! I had my in-laws over when I first attempted this recipe, so I tried to make it fun by letting everyone come up with their own baked oat bowl!

I just had the toppings ready, gave a few suggestions, and let them create their magic!

If you're making all the same flavor, I'd recommend mixing the flavors/toppings into the batter (before you pour them into the ramekins) to evenly distribute the flavors/toppings throughout the batter and then top with a few more toppings. If you're making different flavors, then just mix in the toppings and then finish with a few mix-ins on the top.

COMBINATION VARIATIONS:

• Chocolate Chip: Stir in 2 Tbs chocolate chips. To make it dairy free, add dairy-free chocolate chips. You can add some shaved chocolate or chocolate chunks on top to make it look even more tasty!

• Banana Chocolate Chip: Stir in 2 Tbs chocolate chips and sliced bananas (dairy-free chocolate chips if desired). Note: Even though it calls for a banana in the batter recipe, you really can't taste the banana at all. If you like the taste of bananas, I'd suggest adding sliced bananas to your bowl as well!

• Blueberry Banana: Stir in blueberries and banana slices, top with blueberries, banana slices, and a few oats.

• Raspberry Almond: Add raspberries and 1 tsp thinly sliced almonds. Chocolate chips optional, but add a nice taste!

• Strawberry Almond: Add strawberries and thinly sliced almonds. Chocolate chips optional, but add a nice flavor!

• Blueberry: Just add blueberries and top with a sprinkle of oats (for picture purposes).

• Carrot Cake: Stir in 1/4 cup finely grated carrots, 2 Tbs finely chopped pecans, 2 tsp raisins, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp brown sugar. Drizzle with cream cheese frosting or icing after baking for an extra sweet touch.

• Chocolate Zucchini: Stir in 1 Tbs cocoa powder and 1/4 cup finely shredded/squeezed zucchini and top with a few chocolate chips. Make sure to squeeze most of the water out of the zucchini first before you add it in or the batter will be too watery and also add to the cooking time. For the sweet tooth's, add in 1 Tbs of honey, maple syrup or chocolate chips.

• Peanut Butter & Jelly: Remove a scoop of batter from the ramekin. Then add 1 Tbs of peanut butter and 1 Tbs of jelly, the top with batter and a strawberry slice (for picture purposes).

• Free-for-All: As my 3 year old daughter prefers, add whatever toppings you'd like and roll the dice! She seemed to enjoy it, but I can't say it was a household favorite...

I'm sure you can guess which one my 3 year old made... Her strategy was the more toppings the better (as she obviously tried every topping possible).

Starting from the top at 1:00, we made the following: chocolate chip, blueberry banana, strawberry almond, free-for-all, blueberry almond, 3-year-old-free-for-all, and carrot cake. The one in the middle is chocolate zucchini.

We filled our ramekins to the top which added a little more cooking time, but despite what I thought would happen, they didn't overflow and just got puffy on the top. The house favorite was the chocolate chip and chocolate chip banana.

For the finished product, starting from the top at 1:00, blueberry almond, carrot cake, free-for-all, blueberry banana, chocolate chip, strawberry almond, and 3-year-old-free-for-all. The one in the middle is chocolate zucchini.

These baked oat bowls taste best warm out of the oven. If you have leftovers, I found eating them at room temperature works well as reheating them in the microwave can dry them out a little. You can also cover them with aluminum foil and rewarm them in the oven for a few more minutes too.

BATTER INGREDIENTS (per serving):

• 1 ripe banana

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup oats (quick oats or rolled oats)

• 1 Tbs honey or maple syrup (or more to taste)

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• pinch of salt

TOPPING INGREDIENTS: See notes above and add whatever your heart desires!

STEPS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Grease or spray ramekins with cooking spray.

3. Place all batter ingredients into blender. Blend until smooth.

4. Let batter sit for 5-10 min (if you have the time). Transfer batter to ramekins.

5. Bake for 20-30 minutes (until batter puffs up and bowl is cooked throughout). Cooking time varies based on size of ramekins and how full they are. I ended up cooking mine for 45 minutes.

6. Serve hot and enjoy!

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