It is pretty much the dead of winter here. It is snowing, and will be snowing likely for the next two days. We are supposed to get 8 – 10 inches of snow. Lucky us. So, might as well make some cozy baked oatmeal with blueberry compote.

Baked oatmeal is the ultimate NON-EGG comfort food breakfast. It is healthy and easy to pull together with minimal ingredients. And it reheats like a dream, so you can have it all week. This is also a great dish for a brunch or a crowd (when we can finally get back to having crowds)…is there any casserole tho that isn’t?

What is baked oatmeal?

Basically baked oatmeal is a casserole made with oats, milk and a few other ingredients you can easily pull together. Unlike traditional oatmeal made on the stove, baked oatmeal has a firmer texture (think french toast casserole or bread pudding).

Baked oatmeal is super adaptable too. You can totally play with textures in a dish like this. You can add nuts (walnuts are great in this), or chocolate chips would be def a kid pleaser.

I always add fruit, because oatmeal and fruit just go together to me.

What else do you need for this baked oatmeal?

Like I said, minimal ingredients and many you are likely to already have on hand.

Rolled or steel cut oats

Milk
Maple syrup
eggs
Banana
blueberries
sugar
tiny squeeze of lemon (if you have one)

Now a lot of recipes you will find for baked oatmeal invoice adding berries and fruits to the oatmeal before you bake, baking the fruit into the oatmeal. I see a lot of recipes with sliced bananas or berries at the bottom and then adding the oatmeal and the milk base. I do always smash a ripe banana and spread across the bottom of the baking dish, mashing it allows it to kind of melt right into the oatmeal as it is baking.

And instead of tossing some berries on top to bake up with the oatmeal, I like to make a quick and simple blueberry compote to to spoon on top when serving. It just makes it kind of special and different. Nothing too sweet, just a little sugar, squeeze of lemon and a ton of blueberries all cooked down. This really gives you a punch in the face of warm blueberry – a punch in the face you’ll be happy you got.

Baked oatmeal with blueberry compote

Ingredients

For the oatmeal

2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ripe banana mashed

For the blueberry compote

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries I use either all fresh or 1/2 fresh, 1/2 frozen
3 tablespoons of sugar
quick squeeze of lemon if you have one, if not leave it out
1/4 cup water

Instructions

For the oatmeal
Heat the oven to 350. Grease or butter a baking dish - can be 8 or 9 inch square or round, (or use a cast iron). In a bowl, combine the oats, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.
Spread the mashed banana over the bottom of the pan. Cover the mashed banana with the oat mixture and then drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, until the top is a little bit golden and the oats are set up.
For the blueberry compote
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries have burst and the mixture has reduced and thickened to be thick and syrupy - this should take about 10 - 12 minutes.