Sunday, June 14, 2015

Baked Raspberry Almond Oatmeal

A friend sold me on baked oatmeal- an inexpensive, hearty breakfast that can feed a crowd (or yourself for several days!)
I have been trying to find a recipe that would also win over my family- who needed a little convincing. 
Raspberries are a favourite in our family and this is one of our favourite times of year- when homegrown berries are in season. So filling oatmeal with raspberries tends to bring everyone to the table.
After searching and trialing many, I decided to highlight the 'nuttiness' of almond, which goes so well with raspberries.
I recommend the dairy-free version with almond milk, almond extract and coconut oil for maximum nuttiness if you have them. If you don't, go ahead and make it anyways with whatever you have. The almond extract brings a lot to the party. 
This is a little like cake for breakfast, which no one can refuse.

Baked Raspberry Almond Oatmeal
You can halve this recipe and bake in an 8" X 8" pan for about 25 minutes, but I prefer having leftovers, so I make a full recipe. 

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup light brown sugar or cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup almond milk (or dairy or coconut milk)
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp melted coconut oil (or butter)
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

OR Make it vegan
Remove:
Eggs and butter
Add:
1 tsp baking powder (for total of 1 tbsp for recipe) 
2 tbsp flax meal stirred into 1/3 cup hot water, let stand for a minute or two
use coconut oil instead of butter
use almond milk or oat milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9"X 13" glass or ceramic baking dish with butter or oil of choice.
2. Combine first four dry ingredients in a large bowl, stir with a fork and make a well in the centre.
3. Pour all remaining ingredients, except for raspberries, into well. Whisk up with fork to break up eggs very well, then stir into oatmeal mixture. Add raspberries.


4. Pour mixture into baking dish and bake for 35- 40 minutes, when golden on edges and fairly firm on top.
5. Serve scoops of baked oatmeal with milk of choice. Store remaining cooled baked oatmeal in fridge, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.