The festive season is upon us and with it, a myriad of shared meals. We usually host a raucous holiday potluck for our fellow expat friends, but since several of us have had babies recently, we've switching things up and doing a holiday brunch this year.
If I'm hosting brunch, I like to make things that come together with minimal fuss and are more or less hands off. As much as I love making pancakes for a crowd, it generally means being chained to the stove and not really getting to socialize much. Might I suggest a baked oatmeal instead?
If you haven't tried baked oatmeal before, it is amazing. Crispy on top, custardy in the middle, and studded with nuts and fruit, it's the ultimate comforting yet still healthy breakfast offering. This version is completely vegan, made with flax eggs and almond milk, and is packed with heart-healthy oats and walnuts. It's definitely on the lighter side, but still feels stick-to-yer-ribs indulgent. And it feeds a crowd with minimal effort.
Got leftover baked oatmeal? Try cutting it into slices and pan-frying in a bit of coconut oil, then serving with a bit of maple syrup drizzled over the top. It doesn't get much better than that.
Ingredients
- coconut oil for greasing the dish
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 4 tablespoons warm water
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup walnut pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ tsp fine-grain salt
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
- zest and juice of one large naval orange about ½ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F, grease a 9 x 9 inch square or 5 x 8 inch rectangular casserole dish with a bit of coconut oil.
- Combine the flax seeds and warm water in a small bowl, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, walnut pieces, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond milk, orange zest and juice, and maple syrup. Add the flaxseed mixture, and stir to combine.
- Scatter a handful of cranberries over the bottom of your casserole dish, followed by about half of the oat mixture. Add the remaining cranberries, and finish with the remaining oat mixture.
- Pour the wet mixture over the oats, and give the casserole dish a little shake to ensure it has reached all of the nooks and crannies in there.
- Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until the top is puffed and golden.
- Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Oh my that looks amazing! Just shared on twitter.
Thank you!
This looks delicious! Can it be cut into bars, or is it better served with a spoon/fork?
Fresh out of the oven it's best served with a spoon, but leftovers will firm up and can be sliced - but I'd still eat the slices with a spoon or fork.
This looks so good! I sadly can't eat flax but do eat eggs -- could you suggest how many regular eggs to use instead of the flax eggs? Thanks!
If using regular eggs you'd want to use two large eggs.
This looks lovely! I keep chickens so really need to use up eggs all the time. How many actual eggs do you use in place of the flax? I'd use cows milk too and assume that would just be the same quantity?
Also I'd love to make this for my 1yo- would it work with the walnuts ground up or would it be better to skip them?
Thanks 🙂
Two large eggs would replace the flax eggs in this recipe, and yes, the same quantity of cow's milk would do just fine. I think either ground walnuts or skipping them would work fine - depends if you want the flavour and omega-3's from the walnuts or not. But you won't lose anything recipe wise from leaving them out.
It looks and sounds fantastic, Katie. I like the sound of those fried leftovers 😉
The fried leftovers are sooooooo good!
hi Katie this recipe looks wonderful! I'd like to make it Christmas morning, do you think it would be ok pre-ensembled the night before?
sorry for the typo 🙂 pre-assembled
Assembled!
I like ensembled! I think that you could put together the dry mix and the wet mix separately, the night before, and then combine then combine them in the morning. If you put the whole thing together the night before the oats would absorb too much of the moisture and become more like an overnight oats texture, which I don't think would bake as well.
Love it! Made it twice recently. First per recipe which was perfect, then made again last evening while preparing supper-- the whole thing sat combined for about 30 min while I waited for the oven to empty. I am having it re-heated this morning and yes, the texture is drier and more like an overnight oats texture. It's still good, but I prefer the more custardy version better.
Do you have a breakdown of nutritional info?
thanks!
This looks lovely and will definitely be a part of our holiday eating. We will be five adults (two couples staying at Dad's house!) and somehow breakfast can get to be a production. Too much activity before coffee!
One question, though - your two pan recommendations result in very different sizes! (81 sq inches vs 40 sq inches). Which would be better, do you think?
Thank you!
The only difference is in the surface area... so if you baked in a 5x7 loaf pan you'd have less crispy top and more custardy inside, and if you baked in an 9x9 square pan you'd have more crispy top. Does that make sense? I went for the loaf pan because I think it's prettier, but I think either option is perfectly fine! You have to bake the loaf a little bit longer because it's deeper, so keep that in mind, but we're only talking about a few minutes.
JUSt made this and it's delicious!
Is there a calorie count per serving?
Thank you!
Hi made it and it's great?
Is there a calorie breakdown available per serving?
Could you use steel cut oats with this?
Thanks!!
Hey Jodi! To be honest, I'm not sure. I think if you used the steel cut oats you'd either have to use extra liquid or soak the oatmeal overnight so they're not too hard. If you do try it, please let us know what you did and how it turns out!
I've already made this a few times and am baking it in the oven right now for breakfast. Today I'm using oat milk instead of almond milk. And halfway through baking, I sprinkled more cinnamon on top because you can never get enough cinnamon. I get so bored with a plain bowl of oatmeal, so this is a real treat, and with the added flaxseed, walnuts, and cranberries, it couldn't be any more nutritious! Thanks for the great plant-based breakfast.
I'd love to see if anyone has variations of this recipe. Thanks for posting.