Warming Apple Spiced Steel Cut Baked Oatmeal

Warming Apple Spiced Steel Cut Baked Oatmeal made with feel-good ingredients like almond butter, apples, steel cut oats and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. This easy, vegan apple baked oatmeal is perfect for making ahead for breakfast during the week!

It's that time of year again. When the oats start rollin' out. Only today, we're talking steel cut oats! I had a huge can of steel cut oats from awhile back that desperately needed some attention and to be used up. I was already planning on doing a spiced apple oatmeal bake but thought it would be fun to experiment with steel cut oats instead and wowza am I glad I did.

This healthy apple baked oatmeal is packed with warming spices making it perfect for the fall season! It's made with feel-good ingredients making it naturally gluten free, egg free, dairy free and vegan friendly, too. The texture of steel cut oats is much more thicker and chewier and is really complimentary to the crunchy walnuts and soft caramelized apples. Plus, a generous drizzle of maple cashew cream... mhmmmm.

How to Bake Steel Cut Oats

Baking steel cut oats is very similar to baking rolled oats. The only difference is that they take a bit longer to cook. So if you'd like, you can use rolled oats, about 1 ½ cups (150-160 grams) and bake for about 40 minutes.

What makes this baked oatmeal a bit different is that the apples and nuts are first quickly cooked on the stovetop with a touch of maple syrup and coconut oil. This helps soften and caramelize the apples-- I promise it takes less than 5 minutes and it's totally worth it! If you are in a rush, you can just dump chopped apples with the rest of the ingredients, though.

Next, add the flax egg, almond butter, maple syrup, apple sauce, non dairy milk and vanilla extract to a 8x8 inch baking dish and stir with a whisk until combined. Then add in the steel cut oats, baking powder, apple pie spice, salt, cooked apples and nuts and stir it through. Bake at 375 F for 45-50 minutes and breakfast is served!

The apples, nuts and some of the oats float to the top creating this really satisfying caramelized crisp surface, which pairs incredibly with a generous drizzle of maple cashew cream or yogurt.

Tips for Perfect Baked Oatmeal

• Cover with foil: If you find your oven runs a lot hotter or is more prone to burning, cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue baking until cooked. This will prevent the surface from drying out or burning.
• Make it nut free: Substitute almond butter for sunflower seed butter or tahini and swap the walnuts for sunflower seeds!
• Customize it: Add in your favourite dried fruit (raisins recommended) or use pears instead of apples. You could also use mashed bananas or pumpkin puree instead of apple sauce!

How to Store Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal

Nothing beats baked oatmeal fresh out of the oven... but they totally can be meal prepped and made ahead of time for quick breakfasts throughout the week! Simply just store in an air tight container in the fridge once it fully cools for up to 4 days. If freezing, I do recommend portioning it out first so it's easy to take out and thaw.

How to Reheat Steel Cut Baked Oatmeal

Honestly, the oats are delicious chilled with a bit of non dairy milk but I totally get the feeling of wanting a warm breakfast so there are 3 ways to reheat baked oatmeal:

• Microwave: Place in a bowl with a touch of non dairy milk and microwave for 30 seconds or about 1 minute if frozen.
• Stove top: Add the oats to a small pan/pot over medium low heat along with some non dairy milk and stir until heated through.
• Oven or toaster oven: Place the oats into a oven safe bowl and bake for about 5 minutes at 350 F.

This warming apple baked steel cut oatmeal recipe is perfect for fall and chilly mornings! I hope you get a chance to try this recipe and love it as much as we do. ♡

More healthy baked oatmeals for cozy mornings:

• Triple berry baked oatmeal with maple almond crumble
• Healthy banana oatmeal bars
• Zucchini bread baked oatmeal

SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓

If you recreate this Warming Apple Spiced Steel Cut Baked Oatmeal recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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