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Warning: post contains recipe video. 😛 Keep scrollin’ to see it.
This Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal sounds simplistic, but it required FOUR TRIES to attain perfection. Probably because I was trying to video myself while making it. This videography business seems to be all the rage so I thought I should probably join the club and attempt to keep up with the Joneses since I’m already behind the eight ball. (Pardon the mixed metaphors.) Whether this was a bad idea or a good idea is still to be determined. I didn’t think the first attempt was too bad for a first attempt, but I sense a tremendous scope for improvement.
Yes, I made (and videoed) this thing 4 times. My original idea of making the baked oatmeal an apple upside-down cake was a dismal failure because the “sauce” and the “cake” kind of became one and the same when they were refrigerated together overnight before baking. (I much prefer the texture of baked oatmeal when it is refrigerated overnight before it is baked. I tested this recipe both ways and stand by my conclusion, and if you don’t refrigerate it first, the results are on your own head.) After that, either the apples were too big (grating them was my mother’s idea…thanks, Mom! Don’t know what I’d do without you!) or the oatmeal was soggy. To add insult to injury – because I was getting injured by the fact that a simple baked oatmeal recipe was taking so long to perfect – my camera ran out of card space and repositioned itself surreptitiously by turns.
When the 4th try turned out, I was ecstatic. Partly because I was getting tired of eating apple pie baked oatmeal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
According to my mom (who helped me eat all the flops), this final result is perfectly sweetened. The grated apple topping gets perfectly tender and juicy and since the apples are in small pieces, you get apple with every bite. Please don’t leave out the cloves! They are an important part of the apple pie flavor!
I enjoy this Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal warm or cold! Leftovers keep well in the fridge and can be enjoyed for breakfast throughout the week. Baked oatmeal = my go-to make-ahead breakfast.
Yes, I only showed myself grating one apple, not two. (I figured you could figure out how to grate the second one yourself.) And I accidentally cut the part where I added the xylitol. Other than that, it’s pretty much real-life. Why did I choose “In the Hall of the Mountain King” (Grieg) as the background music? Because it so accurately represents how I feel (and look) when I cook. Can you relate? I think I’m going to use this music in all my videos. It’ll be my recipe video trademark. 😛
You may also enjoy:
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STARTING THM
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my recipe index
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recipe index by fuel type/allergy/theme
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Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
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Ginger Peach Oatmeal Cake
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Pumpkin Chip Baked Oatmeal
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for extra info. Check out the links in and below the recipe to see the products I use and recommend. Some of the links included in the recipe and blog post are affiliate links, which means that if you make purchases through these links, I make a small commission to help defray the costs of running this blog (at no extra charge to you). Thanks for your help!
Need more yummy breakfast ideas? Check out my cookbook, Necessary Food! My 2018 recipe calendar, Necessary Time, has a Mocha Chip Baked Oatmeal recipe that you may enjoy as well. Both of these would make excellent Christmas gifts to give – or receive!
- 2 c. old-fashioned oats
- 1¼ c. unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ c. egg whites
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. each maple, vanilla extracts
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
- ⅛ tsp. ground cloves
- -
- 2 med. apples (grated)*
- ¼ c. xylitol
- 1 T. lemon juice
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- Mix the oatmeal ingredients together and pour into a greased 8"x8" pan. Spread out evenly.
- Mix the grated apple, xylitol, lemon juice, and cinnamon together. Spread on top of the oatmeal layer, using your fingers to gently distribute it if necessary so the apple doesn't become completely submerged in the excess oatmeal liquid. (This liquid will soak into the oats, don't worry.)
- Refrigerate the unbaked oatmeal overnight. In the morning, bake at 350* for 40-45 minutes, let sit for a few minutes to solidify before cutting, then enjoy! Store leftovers in refrigerator and enjoy cold or reheat.
This oatmeal needs to be refrigerated overnight before baking for the best texture. I don't recommend baking it immediately after mixing it up.
NUTRITION (per serving): 239 calories, 4 g fat, 45 g carb., 7 g dietary fiber, 10 g protein (Carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols: 32 g)
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Just revisited this recipe. We like the apples chopped in small pieces rather than shredded and 1/3 mixed in the oats. Since xylitol doesn’t play well with pets, I used Swerve brown sugar. Yum.
Thanks for so many dairy free options! I’ve been grain free for a bit while my body was healing and now that I’m cleared for oats (praise God!!) I am super excited to try this. Question though…we are a dog family and I no longer use xylitol. I tend to like things on the sweeter side, so did you have success with Super Sweet or THM Stevia (all I use or have on hand?)
Hi Lisa! I wanted a less concentrated sweetener (higher volume) with the apples to create a bit of a syrup, which is why I used the xylitol. I haven’t tested with anything else, but you’re welcome to experiment! (Xylitol Free) Gentle Sweet would be the best replacement, especially if you have a big sweet tooth – obviously you’d use less than called for because it’s more concentrated than xylitol – or maybe you wouldn’t if you want it sweet! I would use Super Sweet if you don’t have that though. You’ll have to taste and adjust according to your preference.
I rarely leave reviews on recipes I find online but this one definitely deserves some love! This is fantastic. I didn’t have xylitol so I used THM super sweet blend (same amount) and it came out awesome. I followed everything else to a T. I have been craving oatmeal lately and this hit the spot. It’s a crazy cold 40 below morning where I’m at right now so this is perfection. Thank you for giving it so many tries to get it just right!
Aw, thanks so much for coming back to leave a review! I’m so glad you liked it.
We were given a bunch of instant oats. Could instant oats work in this recipe?
Probably! I’d try it with the same amount first, then if it’s too dense try decreasing the amount of oats next time.
I couldn’t find xylitol at my grocery store. Any suggestions as to an appropriate substitute? I’m really looking forward to making this!!
Feel free to use your favorite low glycemic sweetener to taste in its place. In this case, a less concentrated granulated sweetener would probably work better than something super concentrated like pure stevia extract powder.
I used this recipe to make a peach version (halved the cloves and added the same amount of nutmeg, diced the peaches and didn’t add anything to them). I didn’t let it sit overnight, just put the ingredients together and let them sit while I cut up the peaches. We loved it! Great flavor and texture. I’ll have to do the overnight version at some point to compare. Thanks for a delicious and easy recipe!
This oatmeal is amazing. I love it and so do my kids. Briana you are amazing!
Aw, I’m so glad you all enjoy it!
I just started THM this weekend (again, for like the hundredth time). Nothing else seems to work. This time I’m going in with the mindset that I’m not trying to lose weight, though I need to. I’m trying to gain health, feel better and get my cholesterol and hormones normalized. Losing weight would be a happy extra, but it’s not my goal this time around. I’ve been trying keto, so having all these carbs is giving me anxiety…but I’m going to trust the process. And this Apple Baked Oatmeal is SOOOOOOO good!! Definitely going to be part of my weekly meal planning/prepping. Thank you!!! (I ordered your books last week and can’t wait to get them!)
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the baked oatmeal – and thanks so much for ordering my cookbooks! I think your strategy this time around sounds much healthier and will actually be more sustainable (and see more results) in the long run. 🙂 Blessings!
Lovely Briana, and your choice of music is wonderful, you are such a kindred soul.
Can I freeze this ahead of time, then thaw overnight and bake?
I’ve never done that, but you’re welcome to try! You could also just bake it, then freeze and reheat later.
I love all these baked oatmeal’s. Can you come up with a mint chocolate one for Christmas? Thanks!
Hi Anna! Thanks for the suggestion. I’m glad you enjoy the baked oatmeal recipes! Mint chocolate baked oatmeal doesn’t sound very appealing to me personally and I have a lot of other recipes already planned that I’m going to try to make and post around the holidays, but you’re welcome to use the basic baked oatmeal recipe (any of these recipes minus the extra flavors) and add cocoa powder and peppermint extract to taste. 🙂
You cnan putthe baking powder in and let it sit overnight? Doesn’t that running n the baking powder? ?
Since baked oatmeal is fairly dense anyway, the baking powder works well enough after overnight refrigeration. 🙂 I wouldn’t do it for a regular cake.
Only had steel cut oats, and didn’t have very much patience to grate apples so they are chopped, but excited to try this tomorrow morning, hope it turns out with a different type of oatmeal. Thank you for being inspiring!
Would you edit the recipe instructions to read ‘refrigerate the UNBAKED oatmeal’ overnight to avoid confusion. Thanks sweet girl (I get to call you girl because I believe I started reading your blog when you were like 17) ?
Thanks for the suggestion!
Hello, I just want to say that this is THE BEST baked oatmeal recipe I’ve tried. Such wonderful taste! I even reheated it this morning, and it was still yummy. Thanks!
Briana-
Made this last night. My husband had it for breakfast this morning…said it was like having dessert!!
He didn’t bother heating it up. This is definitely a keeper!!
Thank you
Sarah
Woohoo! I love to hear that!
I made this yesterday for breakfast and it was awesome! I did use the quick cooking oats (I bought a large container on accident) and cooked it right away without refrigerating it overnight, and I think it came out perfect!
I made this for the first time last week and it was SO GOOD! My husband agreed 🙂
It was a bit too much work for me to make it more than once a month or so, but I’m definitely keeping this in mind for next time my in-laws come for a visit. It did taste just like apple pie to me!
Haha love it! I worked at a camp that would play a weird techno version on In the Hall of the Mountain King and all the boys would do pushups or hang from the rafters and do chinups or lift tables and benches haha brings back memories! This recipe looks super yummy! Sadly, I dont have any thm sweeteners yet, so its eggs for breakfast again today!
This recipe was a hit with two grandsons and me. It has been requested for breakfast tomorrow, too!
Very tasty. Planning on using it for snacks and maybe dessert as well as breakfast.
I don’t have any pure stevia extract. How much gentle sweet or super sweet can I use instead? Or, I do have “sweet drops” Stevia drops if that would work, but still don’t know how much of that either? I really want to try this recipe! Looks fantastic!!
This sweetener conversion chart can help convert between sweeteners. 🙂 https://media.trimhealthymama.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/07222306/THM.Sweetener-Conversion-Chart.pdf
Personally, when I’m substituting sweeteners, I just taste and adjust to make it perfect for me. Always start with less than you think you’ll need, then increase slowly and taste as you go so you don’t accidentally oversweeten.
DELICIOUS!! I used 1.5 TBS of gentle sweet and it’s perfect!! Really, really yummy! Thank u! (I tried to rate it 5 stars, but the stars wouldn’t highlight!) 6 Stars!!! 😉
I’m so glad you liked it, Carole!
You are funny and clever. And so creative. Thanks you for making our lives a little easier and our meals very delicious! I’m going to this right now so I have a yummy breakfast tomorrow!! Thank you. ❤️
Do you tell whether the dishes are S/E or fuel pull???
Are you referring to recipes here on my blog, or in my cookbook? Here on my blog, you can find the fuel type in the description section of the printable recipe (right below the picture and above the ingredients list). =) In my cookbook I came up with my own corresponding fuel type categories due to copyrights.
I love it, Briana!! And the oatmeal looks fantastic! Baked oatmeal is one of my favorites! 🙂
I have made this similar with applesauce and it’s delicious! I usually make it in a bowl and put in the fridge over night. Then pour it into my pan of choices. They make great muffins, too!
Hi Brianna, I’m new to your blog and have been on THM for a month. Youre recipes sound wonderful! Are all your recipes compatible with THM?
Yes ma’am! Glad you’re here!
Please remove my previous comment. I just noticed I forgot the egg whites. I will try it again.
Oh dear! I’m sorry! I hope it turns out better for you next time. 🙂 Please don’t omit the overnight refrigeration step either – it’s really important for the texture (and the flavor)!
Nicely done Briana. I usually don’t watch cooking videos unless there is a step in the recipe I don’t understand, however,you put so much love and effort in the things you post, I had to watch it. ?? Any idea how to make this work with steel cut oatmeal? Thank you.
Thank you, Cindy! I’m afraid I haven’t worked with steel cut oatmeal so I’m not sure.
I love your music choice! This recipe looks like just what my fall mornings need. Thank you!
I love the way the music built up!! That was fun to watch!
Can’t wait to try this recipe, too. I’ll use Gentle Sweet for the apples since that’s what I’ve got, but oh my, apple pie oatmeal, warmed up with a squirt of FF Reddi Whip–yay! 😀
Great job on the video, love the music!
Do you think these could be divided into 8 muffin holes and refrigerated overnight, then baked the next day as Apple Pie Muffins?
You could definitely try! I bet it would work. You may not need to bake quite as long.
I don’t use Xylitol because I have dogs. What could I use in place and how much?
You can use your favorite low-glycemic sweetener to taste, or use this chart to help convert. 🙂 https://media.trimhealthymama.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/07222306/THM.Sweetener-Conversion-Chart.pdf
I only have Stevia here, Pyure, what would be the amount to use in place of the Xylitol? Would it taste different using Stevia instead of Xylitol? Does Xylitol make it sweeter?
Hi Julie! You can use Pyure instead of xylitol if you like. If you find out how it measures in comparison to sugar, you can use this chart to help convert between sweeteners: https://media.trimhealthymama.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/07222306/THM.Sweetener-Conversion-Chart.pdf
I’m guessing Pyure is stronger (more concentrated) than xylitol, so you’ll probably use a little less Pyure than you would xylitol. The easiest way is to just add a little, taste, and keep adding as you go until it tastes right. That way you don’t accidentally get it too sweet! I’ve found that people’s taste buds vary a LOT in the sweetness department!
May I ask what you use to grease the pan for this recipe?
I just have an olive oil cooking spray that I buy at Walmart. 🙂 Coconut oil spray would be better at higher heats, but I’ve heard that things often still stick.
That video was adorable!
looks delicious! your video was fine, but don’t worry, there are some of us who prefer to read than watch a video..I can read a whole lot longer than it takes to watch a video. But you did just fine and I think I will try this oatmeal for tomorrow. Thanks for your hard work!
I can read a whole lot “faster”, not longer..guess I need to read my own stuff before I post..LOL