Learn how to make traditionally soaked baked oatmeal using a framework of nutritious ingredients that you can flavor any way you choose!
So, are we easing in yet?
Back to school rhythms? While my household definitely longs for the routine of school by September, we do tend to still cling to summer and the warm air for a bit longer. Before we know it, hats and scarves will be out, so for now…we enjoy our beach-y sunsets and the warm sand in our toes.
Breakfast staples for the school year
As always in using this space to write, I’m hoping to keep my recipes this fall super relatable, sustainable, and *practical.* I love finding super fun, “over the top” recipes to play with, but quite frankly in this season of life I very much get you, dear momma. With a 9, 7, and 5 year old at home, working from home, and everything that goes along with those items, I just need my life to have a flow. A rhythm. And a few ounces of practicality. And that includes having some breakfast staples that I don’t have to think too hard about.
Bake once, eat twice…
Or three times! This mindset is a game changer for so many busy families. Baked oatmeal is one of those breakfast staples that just about any kid will eat *and* just so happens to make enough for at least 2 breakfasts for most small to medium sized families. I’m also willing to bet larger families can double this into two 9×13 pans and have enough for 2 meals – if you have the oven on, you might as well do double time!
A baked oatmeal framework
There are so many different ways to dress up baked oatmeal. Keeping your baked oatmeal breakfast menu rotation full of variety is what will keep everyone from getting bored of having “the same thing” every week. This also ensures keeping the humble oat as budget friendly as we brag about it being. So the base of your baked oatmeal is always the same, but we can change up the flavor! You won’t find our winter baked oatmeal loaded up with fresh blueberries or peaches, because summer fruit is triple the price here in the winter, and that just isn’t sustainable. Instead, in the wintertime, you’ll find our baked oat slices filled with fresh apples or bananas, or sprinkled with dried fruit like raisins or cranberries that you can get year ’round.
More than just oatmeal
This is loaded oatmeal! And by that I mean filled to the brim with *balance.* Satiating and filling fats and protein from the nuts, seeds, eggs, and coconut milk (or milk), along with the slow burning fiber filled oats will make this breakfast last way past the first school hour of the day. And for so many kids, that is HUGE. Make every bite of their breakfast count – it is all packed into these little oatmeal squares.
Why soaked?
In short, it is what your ancestors would have done with any grains. Soaking any grain in an acid medium, such as yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, whey, lemon juice, or vinegar reduces anti-nutrients like phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors (which all grains contain). Grains have gotten a bit of a bad rap in the last decade or so, and while I think many Americans “over grain” their plates, eating it way more frequently than our ancestors would have, they do serve purpose in our diets if there isn’t a true food allergy present. Whole grains, like oats, contain an impressive nutrient profile, so long as you don’t cover up those nutrients by eating them without soaking first. Just a couple minutes to add the oats and acid to your mixing bowl the night before is really all you need. It actually helps with prep time the next day since that part of the recipe is already in the bowl!
Onto the flavor choices!
They are truly endless. You can keep it as basic as can be with just a bit of honey and cinnamon, or dress it up with pumpkin and apples for the fall, cranberries for winter, strawberries in the spring, and peaches for the summer! Just follow the basic frame work, and here are some ideas to change flavors up:
- apples
- pears
- bananas (cinnamon and bananas is seriously amazing!)
- raisins
- cranberries (Fresh or dried – and try almond extract versus the vanilla. So good!)
- pumpkin or butternut squashes (cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice blends work well here!)
- strawberries
- cherries
- blueberries (Fresh or dried)
- peaches
- raspberries
- Or, skip the fruit, and go with more of a maple flavor using syrup instead of honey, or use honey and cinnamon for flavoring your baked oatmeal. Sometimes less is more, and the girls love just cinnamon baked oatmeal too!
Add in options
I kept the nuts and seeds section of the recipe pretty general, so that you can change that part up too. Different nuts and seeds have different nutrient components, so it is nice to have some variety there. And since nuts and seeds have anti-nutrients like phytic acid just like grains, I do prefer to use soaked/dehydrated or sprouted nuts and seeds. You can soak/dehydrate yourself, or buy them sprouted (here you can find already sprouted seeds or sprouted nuts). I usually buy the organic nuts or seeds at Costco and just soak/dehydrate myself to save on my budget. If you have a nut free household, all seeds works just fine, or you can swap the nuts/seeds for shredded coconut or more oats. Directions for doing this is right in the recipe. Here are some nut/seed ideas to try:
A note on sweeteners and amount…
While 1/2 cup of sweetener may feel like “a lot,” keep in mind this is spread out across an entire 9×13 pan of baked oatmeal – it’s a lot of baked oatmeal. The half cup of honey leaves this baked oatmeal with a nice, mild sweetness. If you have older children used to sweeter foods, you may want to add a bit more. Or bake it off this way, and you can drizzle a little honey on the top of theirs if they mention that it doesn’t taste sweet to them. You can use whatever sweetener you feel comfortable using – honey, pure maple syrup, etc. I do like to use coconut sugar lately because we love the warm taste, and it has a lower glycemic index. Keep in mind coconut sugar does make the baked oatmeal darker in color because of the coconut sugar’s darker color. It just looks more rich to me. Pictured in this post is a combination of honey and maple syrup.
How to freeze and re-heat leftover baked oatmeal
Because that is really why we are here right?! To learn how to make a breakfast that serves itself twice!
- Completely cool the baked oatmeal.
- Cut the baked oatmeal into the sized servings you want.
- Individually wrap each slice of baked oatmeal with plastic wrap (you can use beeswax wrap if you wish), and then place them into a freezer bag. This will ensure they don’t get freezer burn. Alternatively, you can just put the squares into a freezer bag without individually wrapping them. If you plan to use the baked oatmeal within 2 weeks, you are not likely to get the freezer burn. If you plan to have them frozen for over 2 weeks, my suggestion is preventing the freezer burn, and using the wrap.
- The night before you want to serve the frozen leftover baked oatmeal, take the servings out of the freezer, and set them on the counter to thaw out. They will be thawed by morning and ready to warm up!
- To warm up the thawed out baked oatmeal, I like to place the servings on a baking sheet and set the baking sheet in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to pre-heat to 350 degrees. By the time the oven pre-heats, the baked oatmeal is gently warmed up! You can turn the oven off, and serve.
How To Make Soaked Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 5 cups oats Not quick cooking oats. If you are gluten free, be sure your oats say they are gluten free like THESE
- 2 ½ cups full fat coconut milk or raw milk
- ½ cup unsweetened full fat coconut yogurt or dairy yogurt. (Our grocer carries the large 32oz tubs of So Delicious plain coconut yogurt which is what I use.)
- 2 cups of nuts or seeds of choice chopped (I buzz them up in my food processor quick. I like to use soaked/dehydrated nuts for best digestion. *OR* you can skip the nuts/seeds and add in 1 more cup of oats to the soaking process. *OR* you can skip the nuts/seeds and add in 1-2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut. A mix of nuts/seeds and shredded coconut works too.)
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp flaxseed meal
- 8 eggs
- ½ cup sweetener of choice Raw honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1-4 tsp cinnamon depending on the fruit you are using – I like more with apples, bananas, pears, or raisins. And less if using berries and peaches
- 3 tsp aluminum free baking powder
- 1 ½ - 2 cups of fresh fruit OR 1 cup dried fruit (see above notes for ideas!)
Instructions
- Soak the oats 8-24 hours before baking. The day before you want to make this for breakfast, put the oats, coconut milk, and yogurt in a medium mixing bowl, stir to combine, and cover with a towel to soak overnight. You can also butter your 9x13 baking dish the night before so it’s ready.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add everything EXCEPT the fruit to the soaked oats, and mix in thoroughly.
- Fold the fruit into the batter, and pour the batter into the buttered the buttered baking dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. You can use the toothpick method to make sure the middle is set – it should come out clean if the baked oatmeal is done cooking.
Looks great! Does this taste sour? I’m finding that my older son isn’t eating much oatmeal when I soak it overnight which is a bummer because I know how much better it is for him. I’ve taken to buying the pre-soaked oatmeal but it’s much more expensive.
Hi Karen! You’ll smell the yogurt after the soaking, but once it bakes off it is not sour at all. I do know what you are talking about, because it took me years to get used to soured oatmeal 🙂 This does not taste sour – kids who don’t take to soaked oats well will like this.
Will this work with sprouted oats? I think sprouted oats were soaked already as part of the sprouting process. I usually use sprouted gluten free oats. Thoughts and thanks?!
Hi Heather! Yes, it will work with sprouted oats – you just don’t need to soak them 🙂 You can use the same amount of liquid.
Can you substitute the eggs? If so, what ratios would you recommend?
Hi Val! There is a lot of eggs here, so I wouldn’t recommend one egg subbing method. I would possibly try half the eggs as chia eggs and half the eggs as a fruit puree egg sub like applesauce or pumpkin. Maybe try to make a half recipe so you are only needing to sub 4 eggs, and see if it works? I’m sure there are many people that would benefit from hearing how your experiment goes, so please report back what you try!
Hi Renee, when you soak your oats do you leave them out on the counter or refrigerate them? Thanks!
Hi Sarah! You can leave them right out on the counter.
How so you recommend storing leftovers? I know you mentioned freezing but will this keep for a couple days at room temp or fridge?
Hi Jody! This will definitely keep for about 5 days in the refrigerator!
What can I substitute for the eggs since my son has an egg allergy?
Hi Val! There is a lot of eggs here, so I wouldn’t recommend one egg subbing method. I would possibly try half the eggs as chia eggs and half the eggs as a fruit puree egg sub like applesauce or pumpkin. Maybe try to make a half recipe so you are only needing to sub 4 eggs, and see if it works? I’m sure there are many people that would benefit from hearing how your experiment goes, so please report back what you try!
Baked oatmeal is one of my favorite things! Right out of the oven on a winter day there is literally nothing better for breakfast. And t I make it a lot on a Sunday and we eat it all week long. This recipe sounds wonderful – coconut milk makes it so luxurious I am sure!
I love that you explain about why you use a 1/2 cup of sweetener. I think it’s super important to allow some space for experimentation when it comes to the amount of sweetener used in a given recipe. The first time I used Stevia in lemonade, I hated it . Then I started using a combination of half stevia/ half sugar, eventually cutting back the sugar until I was using only stevia and now I love it! When our taste buds are used to something, it can be an adjustment and by allowing some space you encourage people not to give up after the first try!
I agree with that Linda!
I love that you soaked the oats for better digestion! I usually get bloated with oats but I bet I can enjoy these with no problem.
Oh this is so perfect!!! I love baked oatmeal and there’s nothing more nutritious than properly soaked oats. The thickness of this baked oatmeal is everything too – I LOVE that nice hearty, thick bite.
This looks like a great breakfast to start the day! I love how customizable it is and yes to soaked oatmeal! That’s the only way my husband can tolerate it. Thanks for sharing!
I am a HUGE baked oatmeal fan! Love it and often batch cook a couple and freeze the single portions. Also, I love how you said “make every bit of their breakfast count” . . .amen, sister!
Yes!
What an awesome breakfast idea! Would the soaking help the nuts digestion too? Or no because they are not rinsed first? Just curious! I think I would add some collagen to the mix too…b/c I love it!!
Hi Tessa! Yes, if your nuts/seeds are not soaked/sprouted, you can soak them right along with the oats, though nuts and seeds need salt for traditional soaking, so they would need that added. I tend to buy big bags of the organic nuts at Costco and soak/dehydrate them, so they are all ready to go when I need them!
Mmmmmm! Perfect for cool fall mornings. Can I live at your house?
Hehe! 🙂
I love baked oatmeal! Such a fun way to feed guests for brunch! This looks delicious and super easy to customize!
Wow, Renee, this is such a special and complete recipe. I love everything about it, from the soaking to all those eggs. I’d love mine with pears and sprouted walnuts — yum!!!! Pinning lots!! 🙂
This is exactly the type of recipe I need! I love all the flavor options — perfect for enjoying this breakfast year-round and changing it up with what’s in season. Definitely making!
My husband loves oats so I’ll be making this for him. What a lovely and cozy recipe for the fall !
Cannot wait to try this! Love overnight oats and you have given me so many ideas for variations!
Thanks. Perfect for cooler mornings… coming up!!
Wow – this is stunning and I love that you soaked the oats. This is perfect for my 80/20 paleo approach because sometimes, a good oatmeal bake just hits the spot. Perfect for meal prep!! Can’t wait to try xx
LOVE all the flavor variation ideas! My kids just absolutely adore this breakfast. And your photos are gorgeous!
Yes! Soaking your oats is so important but something so many people overlook or skip!
I Love this recipe Renee!! I’m heading to South Africa in a few weeks and we will be needing easy to pack breakfasts for early mornings in the game reserve, this is ideal!!
Wow, this looks so good and easy too which is always a bonus in my book! We still have tons of peaches and berries, so that would be the first flavor combo to try for me!
I most likely will use frozen fruit (berries) for this. In that
case,should I adjust the milk amount? I’m wondering of the frozen fruit will contribute more liquid? Thanks!
Hi Jen! I think I would thaw and drain the frozen berries first – like maybe set them out overnight while your oats are soaking so that you can just strain the water off in the morning!
Baked oatmeal is something I just don’t do enough of and your post has reminded me how great it is for busy mornings! Looks delicious!
I don’t have access to raw milk right now but I still want to try this recipe. Could I soak them in water with yogurt, then drain/rinse, and continue with the recipe?
Hi Anna! I soak using yogurt all the time – works great. You don’t need to rinse if you don’t want to 🙂
I’ve been craving some baked oatmeal but I’m completely new to this. Do I drain the oatmeal, milk, yogurt mixture after soaking it overnight? If I don’t have access to raw milk to I substitute regular milk or just use water?
Thanks so much for the recipe. I’ll be making a big batch this weekend. I have summer apples and peaches in the freezer begging to come out and into my mouth! 🙂 I bet my husband would love the banana cinnamon combo too.
Hi Terrie! No draining necessary! Just mix it all in in the morning! You can use regular milk if you digest that fine 🙂
So yummy! I’m so glad to have found your website. I made this this morning with shredded unsweetened coconut, frozen blueberries and cinnamon. YUM!
Looks so good! Can you sub something else for the yogurt? We don’t do dairy and I am out of df yogurt!
Hi Kaylea! Yes for sure – anything that would provide an acid medium. I think buttermilk or dairy free buttermilk would swap the best. You can make your own using milk plus apple cider vinegar if you don’t have access to good buttermilk. You can use regular milk or coconut milk. Butter milk is 1 tbsp acid per cup of milk. So for this recipe, you need just 1/2 cup yogurt. So what you will do is put 1/2 tbsp of ACV in a 1/2 cup measure and fill the rest of the way up with milk. Whisk it and let it sit for a minute and that is butter milk 🙂
I have made this recipe now 3 times since I stumbled upon it and IT IS AMAZING! Kinda feel like you’re cheating and eating dessert for breaky. So tasty. I’ve made it all 3 times with blackberries and cinnamon. We always drizzle a little maple syrup and raw milk on to eat it. So delicious. Thanks 🙂
Hi Jen! I’m so glad you have been enjoying this! We love it too!
Hi there, this recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! I usually eat soaked oats with a tbsp of flaxseed in each serve, could I add extra flax to the mix? Thanks
Hi Lauren! You could add some extra flaxseed and it shouldn’t change the recipe 🙂
So excited to try this out! This may be a silly question, but should I refrigerate the oats overnight or just leave them on the counter to soak? Thanks!
Hi Liz! Not silly! Leave it soaking on the counter!
Would this recipe work with soaked steel cut oats?
Hi Katie! I’m not sure as I haven’t tried! I’m sorry that isn’t very helpful!
Thank you for the recipe. I have been making baked oatmeal since I was young. I started soaking the oats over a decade ago and find that soaking my grains has really helped with bloating.
No salt or oil in this recipe? Would love to know the reason?
This is a wonderful recipe for Lactation. I added some nutritional yeast along with dried apricots. I love using black strap molasses (organic and unsulfured) for a sweetener, as it’s the best form of sugar and has health benefits. Looking forward to tasting this in the morning.
Hi Mariana! You can add a few pinches of sea salt if you like! It doesn’t really need the oil since there are so many eggs providing enough fat for moisture.
From reading the questions above it says it is fine to leave the oats out soaking over night. My question is, Is it still fine to leave out on the counter with the coconut yogurt in as well? I put mine in the fridge but now it’s too hard to stir.😳
Hi Mary! Yes, you are supposed to leave the oatmeal soaking on the counter over night – it is fine even with the yogurt.
Can I use almond milk for soaking? I also have whey, from draining my homemade yogurt. Should I put some of that in? I don’t use much dairy milk and I don’t have raw milk. I’m not sure what properties it has that I’m trying to mimic. But I want to get in the habit of soaking.
Hi Lisa! You just need an acid medium – the yogurt provides that. Whey, ACV, or lemon juice would work too! You can use almond milk as the liquid if you wish!
Yum! I used sliced almonds, diced frozen peaches and fresh blueberries. Very summery!
Can you substitute ground chia seed for the flaxseed and can you substitute ground chia seed for the whole chia seed?
That should be fine 🙂
Interesting article. I’m going to try this method, spread thin on cookie sheet; soaking oats prior to cooking in an effort to make oatmeal cookie more easily digestible. In ayurveda fruit is recommended to be eaten alone, but if cooked with (married) the oats, it’s said to be sattvic. I like amla berries! And I’ll add some soaked almond, maybe flax. I will also substitute butter for veg oil (sesame), as animal products (egg) create toxin (ama) if cooked in butter or ghee. I just also read article about making pancakes on sheet pan in oven, and it’s a great, overlooked method, if one needs a warm batch at once. Cherrio
I can’t wait to try this recipe! One question – I’m using oats that I already soaked, drained and rinsed. Should I add in the milk and yogurt just as the recipe says, or should I alter it? Thank you!
Hi Lindsey! I’m not sure how I would do the amounts, because the oats you have already have soaked in some moisture, and I’m not sure how much! You could add the eggs and then some milk and yogurt to look like the consistency in that photo above of the batter? It’s pretty hard to mess up baked oatmeal so maybe you can eyeball it!
Hi! I am a newer follower. I am not familiar with soaked nuts or what that process is like? Thank you!
Hi Lauren! This post should help! I do this sometimes but not all the time! https://www.raisinggenerationnourished.com/2014/03/salted-crispy-almonds/
What about putting it all together the night before then baking in the morning?
Hi Karla! I do this all the time. It works great!
Could this be made in a muffin tin? Also, what about assembling the night before, refridgerated and then baked in the morning?
Hi Karla! Yes, you can do this in a muffin tin – just pull the time to bake it down – maybe by half and see from there if it needs more? Yes, you can assemble the night before and bake – I do this all the time!
This looks so good! What a great breakfast for the whole family!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
can i use sprouted whole oat groats? so after night or 2 sprouting, i then soak in yoghurt then cook next morning? thanks
Hi Kelli! I’ve never tried this recipe with oat groats before – they will definitely cook up differently than rolled oats so I’m not sure how I would adjust the amounts.
Hey!
I have
raw milk kefir. How much should I use to soak the oats?
Hi Danielle! You can replace the yogurt with the milk kefir – the yogurt is the soaking medium in this recipe, so you can use the same amount of kefir!
Hey! Do you think this would work in the dehydrator? I’m looking to make some shelf stable lunch box snacks for my little girl.
Hi Lily! I have not tried it in the dehydrator! I do have a great granola bar that would work better for shelf stable though – https://www.raisinggenerationnourished.com/2023/02/healthy-cocoa-nib-granola-bars-fast-prep-nutrient-packed-and-gluten-dairy-free/
I’m curious if the baking powder is necessary? What does it do for the recipe? I try and only feed my family healthy things and I don’t know a lot about this ingredient. Thanks!
Hi Rachael! The baking powder is mostly a combination of baking soda and corn starch, and it’s purpose is making baked goods fluffy with soft texture. In this particular recipe, you could leave it out – the baked oatmeal would be denser but it will still taste good and turn out. Most other baked goods that you see baking powder in such as muffins and cookies will not work to leave the baking powder out since it helps with fluff and texture. I hope that helps!
When you mix the milk and yogurt with the oats to soak for the night, do you leave it on the counter or put it in the fridge?
Hi Alli! Leave it on the counter!
Hi Renee, I do not have access to raw dairy. I’m using pasteurized dairy, organic kefir. How do I know this is fine to leave out on the counter over night? Would this not cause food poisoning? Would the effect not be the same if I let it soak in the fridge? Thank you!
Hi Lori! You can soak the oats in regular dairy just fine! The acid medium (the yogurt or kefir) keeps any bad bacteria at bay – it is totally safe!
Can I use steel cut oats?
Hi Laura! The steel cut oats might work though the texture will be different. I have never tried so let us know how you like it!
I want to try this recipe! I plan to make it with steel cut oats (soaked), unsweetened almond milk, and non fat Greek yogurt. How will this affect the recipe? I think it will still be freest THANKS!
Hi Judy – steel cut oats bake differently than rolled oats and need a different amount of liquid, so since I have not used them in this recipe before, I’m not sure how the amounts would need to be adjusted!
What should the consistency be of the oats immediately after stirring, before they soak? I used can coconut milk and my oat mix is thicker than I expected. It’s not quite crumbly, but more like cookie dough.
Hi Christen! You can see the bowl in the image above is right after stirring everything in. Did your coconut milk have gums or anything? Sometimes if the coconut milk is thicker from gums it might feel different in texture. Also just be sure you used the correct amount of liquid!
Thank you for your recipes! I made this once and it was awesome! It’s my go-to baked oatmeal recipe now.
Question, how would you add pumpkin to this recipe? Any change to the base recipe? Thank you!
Hi Julia! I would swap it for either some of the eggs or some of the yogurt or milk! Just any of the liquid. So if you put in 1/2 cup pumpkin, take out 1/2 cup of liquid (either half cup milk or yogurt or about 2 of the eggs!)