Today I’m going to share one of my favorite breakfasts with you! Since Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season are upon us, many of us will be hosting guests in our homes. Baked oatmeal is delicious, filling, and no problem to prepare in advance. It can be mixed and baked the morning you want it. It can also be baked ahead to save time and oven space if that is necessary. It does require advance planning as there is a step at the very beginning that requires time.
There are many baked oatmeal recipes online that are delicious. But I hope you’ll choose to try this one as the nutritional benefits are far superior because of the soaking step. Soaking in advance will neutralize the constituents that protect the oats but aren’t helpful to us. Soaking increases digestibility and availability of the nutrients within.
To achieve those goals soaking must be done with an acid ingredient such as yogurt, kefir, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, etc. Since I don’t prefer lemon or vinegar in my oatmeal I always choose kefir. It’s very convenient for me as I make kefir daily. Yogurt works just as well, however.
This particular recipe came from a local naturopath who teaches free health awareness classes. Because all the ingredients are unprocessed or minimally processed this is the one I use.
The best way to utilize this recipe is to figure out when you want to cook it and then work your way backwards. I like to soak the oats 24 hours, but I’ve also soaked just overnight if I didn’t think about getting started earlier. For Thanksgiving, I’ll start a few days early. I’ll choose a morning to start the oats, placing them in a large mixing bowl. I’ll then add the soaking ingredients, mix and place a plate on top. The next morning the remaining ingredients go in and are baked. The baked oatmeal will then be stored in the refrigerator or in a cool place until needed.
What makes this even more delicious are the added toppings! My favorites are chopped organic apples with the skin on – much prettier that way – melted butter or coconut oil, and walnuts. Blueberries are also nice, or some apple butter spread on top. Leftover cranberry sauce could even be utilized! Really anything you’d like! I did want to mention that the final product is cakelike although more moist.
- 2 1/2 cups organic old fashioned oats
- 2 1/4 c warm filtered water
- 5 T kefir, yogurt or whey
- 1/2 c coconut oil, melted (butter would probably work as well)
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 c sucanat (whole cane sugar), maple syrup or honey
- 1 t aluminum free baking soda
- 1 t salt
- 2 t cinnamon
- 2 t vanilla
- chopped apples, pears, berries, nuts, warm milk, etc.
- In glass bowl mix oats, warm water, and kefir. Cover and leave on countertop 7 – 24 hrs
- When ready to prepare beat oil, eggs and sweetener together
- Add baking pwd, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla to the egg mixture and mix.
- Stir in soaked oats.
- Pour into a greased 9 x 13
- Bake at 350 for 20 – 30 minutes or longer, depending on oven. Oatmeal should be set and golden brown in color.
I hope you like this as well as we do!
Let's Eat 