I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first heard about Baked Oatmeal. I mean, how different can it be to regular oatmeal? WELL, let me tell you it’s all in the texture, and I promise it’s worth turning on the oven for. Imagine oats baked with milk, yogurt, brown sugar, and egg until they set into a tender, custard-like breakfast you can scoop out by the spoonful. Add fruit on the bottom and you’ve got built-in sweetness and juiciness in every serving. This peach and blueberry combo is my OG version that I created back in 2011. But once you’ve tried the base recipe, I know you’ll want to experiment with all kinds of fruit!
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“I have made this recipe several times now with whatever fruit I have on hand, delicious everytime. Such an awesome quick breakfast or snack to have on hand! Also I have accidently left the brown sugar out of this and it’s still yummy.”
Kacy
Homemade Baked Oatmeal
If you’re new to baked oats, don’t expect a crunchy or gloopy oatmeal texture here. It’s soft, scoopable, rich, and reminds me of bread pudding, only it’s made with budget-friendly oats. This recipe makes multiple servings for less than a dollar each, reheats great for quick breakfasts through the week, AND freezes well! You can enjoy it cold, warmed up, or with a splash of milk, and I like to switch up the fruit depending on what’s in season (or what’s been sitting in my fruit bowl a bit too long).
These baked oats are THE epitome of a cheap meal-prep breakfast that actually uses pantry staples and keeps you full for hours!
Recipe Success Tips
- Use old-fashioned rolled oats for the best texture. Quick oats can get mushy, and steel-cut oats need way more liquid and a totally different method.
- Plan on about 2 cups of chopped fruit. It doesn’t matter what type of fruit you use (fresh, canned, or frozen), just dice them into evenly-sized pieces and layer them on the bottom of your 8×8 baking dish before adding the oatmeal.
- Want to skip the fruit? I almost always add some sort of fruit, but you can totally leave it out! You don’t need to adjust the bake time. Just bake the oatmeal until golden brown on top.
Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 fresh peaches (medium-sized, $1.94*)
- ½ cup blueberries ($0.45*)
- 1½ cups milk ($0.44)
- 1 cup plain yogurt ($0.69**)
- 1 large egg ($0.23)
- ¼ cup brown sugar ($0.12***)
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.56)
- ½ tsp baking powder ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp baking soda ($0.01)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 tsp ground ginger ($0.11)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ($0.02)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Clean the peaches and cut them into chunks. Place the peaches and blueberries in the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish coated with non-stick spray.
- In one bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (milk, yogurt, egg, sugar). In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon). Combine the two bowls and stir until evenly mixed. Pour the mixture over the fruit in the baking dish.
- Cover the dish with foil (to keep the moisture in and steam the oats) and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove the foil at 20 minutes and continue to bake until the top is golden brown (about 25 minutes more).
- Serve warm with cold milk, whipped cream, vanilla yogurt, or just plain!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Medium Bowl
- 8×8” Baking Dish
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!how to make Baked Oatmeal step-by-step photos
Gather all of your ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350°F and coat a baking dish with non-stick spray. Use an 8×8-inch dish or something close in size. A 9×13 dish will be too big and will make a very thin, flat baked oatmeal.
Add the fruit: Clean 2 medium-sized peaches and cut them into chunks. Add the diced peaches and ½ cup blueberries into the prepared baking dish in an even layer. Set aside for now.
Combine the wet ingredients: Whisk together 1½ cups milk, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 large egg, and ¼ cup brown sugar in a mixing bowl.
Combine the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, and 1 tsp ground ginger until evenly combined.
Make the oatmeal mixture: Now, pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl. Stir until evenly combined.
Assemble the dish: Pour the oatmeal mixture over the chopped fruit.
Spread the oatmeal evenly over the fruit so everything bakes up golden on top, with the fruit bubbling underneath.
Bake: Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes in your preheated oven. Then remove the foil and bake for about 25 minutes more or until the top is golden brown.
Serve: Now your homemade baked oatmeal with peaches and blueberries is ready to serve. Enjoy it hot or let it cool…your call!
Serving Suggestions
I love the hot-and-cold contrast, so my favorite way to enjoy baked oatmeal is warm with a splash of cold milk on top. You can also serve it with a dollop of whipped cream, a spoonful of vanilla yogurt, or eat it plain straight from the dish. If you skipped the fruit layer, try topping your slice with strawberry freezer jam, peach jam, blueberry sauce, or whatever spread or conserve you love!
Storage & Reheating
Homemade baked oatmeal is one of the BEST meal prep breakfasts I’ve ever made. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days, or freeze individual portions for up to 3 months. Enjoy it cold or reheated in the microwave until warmed through. I usually store mine in individual containers once it has cooled after baking.
Alternative Baked Oatmeal Recipes
You really can’t go wrong with this recipe for baked oatmeal. There are so many variations to try that I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of eating it for breakfast. Like ever. 😂 You can use just about any fruit you want, add in spices, or mix-ins like nuts or flaxseeds. Here are some other variations I’ve tried and loved:
- Mix some applesauce into the oatmeal layer and add cranberries for a cozy apple cranberry baked oatmeal (this one is perfect for fall and winter!!)
- Leave out the fruit, stir in a few raisins, and add nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract for the most unreal oatmeal cookie-flavored baked oatmeal.
- Got a few very ripe bananas on your countertop? Mash them up, mix them with the oatmeal layer, add warming spices and chopped walnuts, and make baked banana bread oatmeal! (One of my favorites.)
- Apples are one of the most economical fruits you can buy, and they’re pretty much available year-round. Chop them up and sprinkle cinnamon into the topping for an absolutely delicious baked apple cinnamon oatmeal.
- Make baked pumpkin pie oatmeal (aka the ultimate fall breakfast) by mixing pumpkin spice and a can of pumpkin puree with the oats!
More Easy Oat Breakfast Recipes
Our Baked Oatmeal recipe was originally published 7/30/11. We have updated it to be the best it can be and republished 9/15/25.
I used apricots instead of peaches, and I was out of ginger so I threw in some garam masala and vanilla extract. It tastes a like a chai latte and it’s amazing.
I have made this recipe several times now with whatever fruit I have on hand, delicious everytime. Such an awesome quick breakfast or snack to have on hand! Also I have accidently left the brown sugar out of this and still yummy.
This was awesome, very easy to throw together, and now I have an easy brunch for all week ^_^
I couldn’t find Peaches in store, so I bought some nectarines. Found a berry multipack, and just threw the entire cup of those in with a couple cut up nectarines. When I heat it up, I just cut a pie piece out of my pie pan, nuke for 90 seconds, and pour over some cold whole milk. It’s divine. Perfectly sweet, creamy, and decedent. Thank you for sharing your recipe! I’m very excited to try more fruit combos!
I loved this fleible recipe! I chose to use frozen cherries and almond & vanilla extract instead of the ginger and cinnamon. It was a wonderful, creamy mix and we will be doing it again, but doubled so it lasts longer than one day! :)
Can canned peaches be used? Should cook time be decreased?
Yes, you can use canned peaches. :) I suggest getting peaches canned in juice instead of syrup. You won’t need to decrease the cooking time, as the oats will still need that amount of time.
I made this following the recipe, but next time will try at 375 degrees with no foil, and more baking powder (following the comments you made in the apple pie baked oatmeal blog). I’ve tried almost every flavor and I agree that this one is more mushy (but still tasty!). Maybe you could do a recipe refresh for these older recipes? :)
Just wanted to comment that if you’re looking for a great meal to make for new parents or someone who is sick, this is one of my go-to choices!
This is a fantastic recipe! I was pleasantly surprised by how much my 16 month old loved it & it ended up being a amazing breakfast finger food.Â
Once schools and daycares open back up, this is going to be on heavy rotation.Â
This recipe made me fall in love with baked oatmeal. I am going to try something different this time and use grapefruit on top to try to get a creme brulee affect. What I’m not sure of is what fruit I want to mix into the oatmeal. Any suggestions for what pairs well with grapefruit?
Can you double this and use a 13×9 pan to bake it in?
Probably, although you may need to increase the baking time.
Just baked this recipe this morning, it was lovely!
I didn’t have any yogurt so added a little more milk and i’m Really pleased with the results. Just trying not to eat it all!!
Thanks for the recipe 😊
tried this recipe once before and loved it, I added more sugar because I have a bit of a sweet tooth, but all in all, great recipe! I wanted to try the recipe again and I was just wondering if it would this work with steel cut oats? I don’t have any rolled oats on hand and I want to use up the steel cut ones. Thanks!
Unfortunately steel cut oats require a lot more liquid and a much longer cooking time, so it wouldn’t work to swap that here.
So I attempted this with steel cut oats a few times, and the trick is to soak the oats overnight in the milk that was going to be used for the oats mixture (you can put a bit more milk than what is recommended, but not too much). Worked really well, though I prefer regular oats over steel cut ones! Put it in for the same amount of cooking time as well :)
The husband and I just downed this whole thing in one sitting. Needless to say, it was freaking delicious.
Do you think this would work without the fruit? My son does not care for fruit mixed into recipes. So I was thinking I could leave out the fruit and serve some on the side instead.
Yes, it should work fine. You should also check out my “Oatmeal Cookie” flavored baked oatmeal (it’s not too sugary) because it’s kind of a basic/generic flavored baked oatmeal. You can leave the raisins out of that one. :)
Thanks for another awesome, easy, and flexible recipe. Turned out delicious even with many substitutions. I used soy milk for the milk, applesauce for the yogurt and egg, and bananas and defrosted strawberries for the fruit. And cooked it in a toaster oven. So good. I am going to try the fruit on the bottom trick with your other baked oatmeals. Gingerbread is next, with apple and banana at the bottom. Mmm!