I have an intense love for cranberries, but you can usually only find them in the supermarket for a few months out of the year. So this year, I bought a couple extra bags and tossed them in the freezer so I could enjoy them for months after the season had ended. Well, that day is today and I used some of my cranberry stash to make this delicious Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal. And if you didn’t happen to stash any cranberries last fall, you can sometimes find them in the freezer section year-round. Baked oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfast meal preps because it’s SO easy to make and the leftovers are great. Plus, it’s freezer-friendly!
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“My entire family loves this! I have used many substitutions, and it is always great. Whole milk plain yogurt in place of milk, any frozen fruit, chopped nuts, and dried fruit, they all work well with this recipe! BB never disappoints!”
rose
easy apple cranberry baked oatmeal
Baked oatmeal is a lot like bread pudding, but instead of chunks of hearty bread baked into the custard, it’s rolled oats. The result is soft, moist, scoopable oatmeal that is not at all gloopy like those instant oatmeal packets. It’s filling, rich, slightly sweet, and one of my absolute favorite ways to enjoy oats.
In this recipe, I’ve used unsweetened applesauce to add a hint of apple flavor and natural sweetness, which helps offset some of the tartness from the cranberries.
Though I love baked oatmeal for breakfast, it can also be served for dessert. This version is only slightly sweet, so it’s still a balanced breakfast, but it’s delicious enough that I’d happily eat it as a dessert or sweet treat.
How to Store Leftovers
To store the leftovers of your baked oatmeal for meal prep, divide them into single portions and place them into airtight containers. They can be refrigerated for up to five days. Or, once cooled in the refrigerator, you can transfer them to the freezer for longer storage (about 3 months). To reheat frozen baked oatmeal, either let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then microwave until hot, or reheat straight from the freezer using the microwave’s defrost function.
Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
Cost $3.58 recipe / $0.60 serving
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unsweetened applesauce ($1.18)
- 2 large eggs ($0.36)
- ¼ cup brown sugar ($0.12)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract ($0.25)
- ½ tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- ¾ tsp baking powder ($0.04)
- 1 cup milk ($0.21)
- 1 cup cranberries (frozen or fresh, $0.67*)
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.68**)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Add the applesauce, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder to a large bowl and whisk together until smooth. Add the milk and whisk until smooth again.
- Slice the cranberries in half (no need to thaw if frozen) and add them to the bowl of wet ingredients along with the rolled oats. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Pour the oat mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake the oatmeal in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the surface is a light golden brown and it is no longer sticky in the center. Serve hot or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal Step-by-Step Photos
Make the custard: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, whisk 1½ cups of unsweetened applesauce, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¾ teaspoon baking powder.
Once the previous ingredients are evenly combined, add 1 cup of milk and whisk again until the ingredients are evenly combined.
Add the cranberries: Slice one cup of cranberries in half (if frozen, no need to thaw) and add them to the bowl along with 2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats. Stir into the liquid mixture.
Transfer to a baking dish: Pour the oat mixture into a 9×9-inch (or 2-quart) casserole dish.
Bake: Bake for 45 minutes or until the oatmeal turns golden brown on top and the center is no longer wet.
Serve: Serve the apple cranberry baked oatmeal warm or divide into single portions and refrigerate until ready to eat! I like to enjoy mine with cold milk poured over top! 🤤
Serving Suggestions
People always ask if baked oatmeal is supposed to be served hot or cold, and the answer is that it can be enjoyed either way! I love it when it’s still warm out of the oven, topped with a splash of cold milk or a scoop of Greek yogurt for added protein. But, when I’m eating the leftovers for meal prep, I’ll eat it cold or warm it in the microwave. It’s totally up to you!
For more texture, I like to sprinkle with a handful of walnuts, or if I am in the mood for some sweetness, I’ll drizzle with maple syrup. Sometimes, I’ll serve the oatmeal for dessert with a streusel topping made of ¼ cup flour, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp white sugar, and 3 Tbsp softened butter. I’ll sprinkle this streusel over the oatmeal before baking, and it turns it into a decadent dessert
If I’m taking the time for a leisurely breakfast, I love pairing this baked oatmeal with a steaming cup of soothing golden milk. When I want to get out the door and need some caffeine to get me going, this cold brewed coffee always does the trick. And, I love packing a banana muffin in my bag to enjoy later in the day.
So good! I made it as directed. My kids added some maple syrup for sweetness (the cranberries were a little too tart for them) but my husband and I thought it was perfect.
Can rolled oats be swapped out for steelcut oats?
It would likely need to be adapted some! We haven’t tested it out that way, but If you’re going to try it, I would decrease the amount of oats to 1 1/2 cups steel cut and maybe even increase the liquid some. You’ll also likely need to baked it for about an hour for the oats to get cooked through. But again, that’s just kind of a guess! We also have a slow cooker steel cut oats recipe you can try out and add the apple and cranberry. https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-steel-cut-oatmeal/
I have a bunch of home canned cranberry sauce that I need to use up. Could I substitute cranberry sauce for the fresh cranberries? If so, how much sauce should I use? Thanks in advance l!
I think that sounds great! I would start with 1/2 cup and just dollop it on top in teaspoons!
I love this recipe. It is very forgiving and adaptable! Swapped blueberries for cranberries when I ran out of cranberries.
This was the recipe that made me actually LIKE oatmeal. It’s flippin delicious, just make it!
Made this today with the following adaptions: chopped the cranberries instead of slicing in half, added fresh blueberries and chopped pecans. The cranberries are very tart, I will probably eat it with vanilla Greek yogurt to temper it a bit. The level of sweetness for the oatmeal is fine, could probably use 3 Tbsp. I suppose I could have boiled the cranberries instead some simple syrup first but I’m trying to use less sugar.
So delicious and easy for breakfast. I make on the weekend and then heat up a serving size each morning. I use less sugar than it falls for and oat milk. I often also had pecans.
Was too lazy to cut the cranberries, and I added more, so we’ll see how this turns out! Added walnuts for some crunch/protein. Excited for a way to use up some cranberries!
So easy to make and Absolutely Delicious! 😋 added extra half cup of cranberries and half a cup of chopped walnuts.
Whoa, these are so simple and incredible!!! I will be making these again and again! Great recipe 🤩
My entire family loves this! I have used many substitutions and it always is great. Whole milk plain yogurt in place of milk, any frozen fruit, chopped nuts and dried fruit-they all work well with this recipe! BB never disappoints!
I made this tonight and could not wait until breakfast to try a piece. It turned out perfectly. I added a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips to the top because why not. This was the perfect recipe to use up leftover cranberries from the holiday season and some applesauce cups taking up space in my cabinet.
Can I make flax eggs to make it vegan?
We only tested using eggs but I think that would work fine here.
Flax and chia “eggs” both work well in this recipe! I always use chia “eggs” when I make mine.
This looks amazing! I love cranberries, and I can’t wait to try this. I don’t usually have applesauce, but I do have a couple of apples. I thought I’d dice and sauté them, but I probably want to add a little bit more moisture too, right? Maybe another splash or two of milk?
This is one of my favorite baked oatmeals. I always add a diced apple as well.