Baked Apple Oatmeal

I have been on baked oatmeal kick lately, so much so that I've made this twice in the last few weeks! When I first saw the recipe for baked apple oatmeal I knew that I had to make it.  I also knew that I would be making some changes, because that's obviously what I do.  This is another simple pantry recipe that is easy to put together.

Baked oatmeal is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or dessert.  It can be served with extra fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup, or a splash of milk.  I personally like it as a dessert with some strawberries and bananas.  I don't know about you, but I usually like to end my night off with something sweet and this feels like it's a dessert without being too bad for me.  No matter how you decide to have this, I hope you like it a much as I do!  This keeps well in the fridge and you can reheat it in the microwave for a quick breakfast or anytime snack.

You can certainly use what ever kind of apples you have on hand, I love Honeycrisp apples so that's generally what we have.  I try to keep apples in my fridge at all times, not only do they last a long time but you can bake them into so many different recipes.  I have a great apple bread recipe that I like to make when I want to change things up from my normal banana bread.  Interested in either of those recipes?  Let me know in the comments and I can work on getting them up here!  I know there are so many banana bread recipes out there, but this is one that I make all the time and everyone seems to love it.  

Baked Apple Oatmeal

Adapted from A Beautiful Mess

Yields 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats

1/3 cup monk fruit sweetener (you can use granulated sugar)

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 1/2 cups milk (I used milkadamia, but you can use what you have on hand)
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 medium apples, chopped (approx. 3 cups)

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350°F.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, monk fruit sweetener, walnuts, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together milk, egg, vanilla extract, and melted butter.  Pour this mixture into your large bowl with the dry ingredients and just mix to combine.

3. Mix the chopped apples into your mixture and pour into a 8x8 glass square pan.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on how big you chopped your apples.  My apple pieces were larger so it took about 45 minutes for them to get softened.

4.  Cool slightly before serving, serve plain, with fruit, maple syrup, or milk.

Enjoy!