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Cinnamon Apple Baked Oatmeal (Healthy + 1 Bowl)

Healthy Apple Baked Oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts is full of flavor, texture and makes the best cozy breakfast the whole family will love! Gluten free and WFPB recipe.

top down down of healthy apple baked oatmeal in a bowl with spoon and items surrounding.

Apples and oatmeal are the best! Two of my favorite ingredients are baked together and served up warm topped off with a splash of almond milk and sliced fresh fruit for a healthy and hearty breakfast.

Apples are a daily occurrence in my home. I eat one almost every day sliced and topped on toast with almond butter, cinnamon, and vanilla bean powder.

I also have a thing for baked apples and love how they cook up soft and tender, adding texture and sweetness to the overall recipe. They are a perfect addition to baked oatmeal!

When you’re looking for a baked oatmeal with apple, this recipe is a sure thing and I know you’ll love it as much as we do!

If you love oatmeal, be sure to check out this Pumpkin Oatmeal, easy Overnight Steel-Cut Oatmeal, Healthy Cinnamon Oatmeal, favorite Everyday Oatmeal, or Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies. They are all delicious!

So without further ado, let’s get baking!

top down view of ingredients used to make the best healthy apple baked oatmeal.

Apple Baked Oatmeal Ingredients

I wanted to keep the recipe as simple as possible. Use your best judgement as to what to add or remove. Adding sweetener is optional. You may find you really don’t need it, especially because of the apple and optional banana. But if your favorite apple is a tart one you may consider adding the sweetener to balance the tartness.

Here is everything you will need:

  • Oats – Old-fashioned rolled oats are best, and I don’t recommend using quick oats with this recipe.
  • Apple – Use your favorite, red or green. I used Honey Crisp here, but have used Fuji and Granny Smith with great results.
  • Banana – This can be optional, but if you have one hand, mash it up and stir it in. Or substitute with unsweetened applesauce.
  • Unsweetened plant milk – I used oat milk, but almond, cashew, or soy are also good. Use your favorite.
  • Pure maple syrup – Can sub with coconut sugar, date sugar, pure cane sugar, or monk fruit sweetener.
  • Walnuts – Can sub with almond or pecans
  • Cinnamon + nutmeg
  • Vanilla
  • Baking powder – Can omit if needed
  • Salt – Just a pinch of mineral or sea salt will do
side by side photos of mixing dry ingredients for baked oatmeal.

How To Make Apple Baked Oatmeal

Here you will find a few of the steps with photos to reference while making your baked oatmeal. Note, the full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.

  • Mix dry ingredients. Start by adding the oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt to the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish and mix to combine.
side by side photos of mixing wet ingredients into dry oatmeal.
  • Whisk in wet ingredients. To the dry ingredients, add the milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and optional banana, mixing well.
side by side photos showing topping oatmeal with apples and walnuts.
  • Add apples + walnuts. Once dry and wet ingredients are combined, top with the apples and walnuts.
top down view of freshly made healthy apple baked oatmeal.
  • Bake. Place in preheated oven set to 350 degrees F. on the center rack, and bake for 30 minutes.
head on view of slice of apple baked oatmeal on wooden spatula.
  • Serve. Once slightly cooled, slice and serve with a splash of almond milk, apple slices and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. Cheers to a heart-healthy way to start your day!

Top Tips

  • Add mashed banana or applesauce for sweetness. Not only does adding banana or applesauce add extra nutrition, but it may add enough sweetness so you can omit the maple syrup. Test it, and if it’s not sweet enough, add a drizzle of syrup to your serving.
  • Grease the sides of the baking dish with oil. I don’t usually find the need to do this, but if you have trouble with the baked oatmeal sticking to the sides of the baking dish, lightly grease the sides with oil.

How To Store + Reheat

  • Refrigerator: Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 – 5 days.
  • Freezer: Apple-baked oatmeal will keep in the freezer for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely, cut into serving sizes, and place slices of baked oatmeal in freezer-safe containers or baggies, with a piece of parchment paper between the slices.
  • Reheat: To reheat, microwave single oatmeal slices for 30 – 45 seconds.

More Easy Breakfast Recipes

top down view of milked being poured over plated cinnamon apple baked oatmeal.

If you try this baked oatmeal recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

Print

HEALTHY BAKED APPLE OATMEAL

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

Baked oatmeal with tender apples, cinnamon, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup is full of fiber and deliciously healthy! It’s a great way to start your day!

  • Author: Julie | The Simple Veganista
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 30 min
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch of mineral salt
  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 cup mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce, optional
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, optional
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 medium apple, use your favorite (I used Fuji), cored and diced
  • 1/21 cup walnuts, chopped

To serve

  • sliced apple
  • pure maple syrup
  • unsweetened almond milk
  • unsweetened toasted coconut flakes (it’s delicious!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease your baking dish with coconut oil if you like (generally I skip this step).

Mix: In an 8 × 8 baking dish, add oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt, mix well. Add in the milk, banana, optional syrup and vanilla, gently whisk to combine. Top with chopped apples and walnuts, mix them in if you like.

Bake: Place in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes. Once done, let cool slightly.

Serve: Slice and serve warm in individual bowls with toppings of choice. Voila’….enjoy this most delicious and worth the wait oatmeal!

Serves 4 – 6

Notes

If you like, add the spices to the mashed banana, mixing well, to ensure even distribution of the spices. (see comments)

If using bananas that are not overly ripe or you’re using a tart apple, you may like to add 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup to the mixture when adding the milk and other wet ingredients. Or simply add extra maple syrup when serving.

If you don’t have an 8 × 8 baking dish, a 9 × 9 will work too. Dish can be round or square.

I don’t tend to grease my baking dish when making baked oatmeal. I’ve never had a problem with sticking, but feel free to lightly grease yours if you prefer.

Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Updated: Healthy Apple Baked Oatmeal was originally published in March 2016. It has been retested and updated with new photos and helpful tips in September 2020.

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14 Comments

  1. Hi, I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful site – so many delicious recipes with so much valuable info! I’ve been vegan for a few years and just realized that I’ve also been following the WFPB guidelines (not a fan of processed foods), and your site offers so much inspiration to try more and more new and different recipes. I’m nuts about oatmeal, and I’ll try your baked oatmeal recipe tonight. :) Best wishes to you!






  2. Can i use oatmilk instead?

    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      Yes, you can use your favorite plant-based milk. Enjoy!

  3. I love this breakfast dish! Perfect for cold winter morning meal.






  4. This is now my favorite baked oatmeal!!!
    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.






  5. I made this with just a few adjustments and it was terrific. I didn’t have walnuts so I substituted a mix of almonds and pecans. I also used Stevia to sweeten instead of maple syrup. I like the idea from another reviewer of mixing the spices with the wet ingredients. This would be great topped with fresh blueberries or other fresh fruit. Thanks!

  6. I made this tonight to enjoy for breakfast the next few mornings. So simple and tasty! Can’t wait to try different fruit and nut combos!

  7. I made this the other day and it was delicious!! I didn’t need to add any maple syrup because my bananas were plenty ripe. I had it for breakfast and dessert a couple of times.It tastes great right out of the fridge with almond milk and almond butter (everything’s better with almond butter!).

    Thanks for sharing!

  8. I made this. I’m not a fan of oatmeal but I had some Old Fashioned Oats and most of the ingredients and it read like it would be a good recipe. I mixed the spices with the oatmeal then poured in the almond milk banana mixture. Mixed it again and baked it up. I thought it was a little bland until I had it again and found a spice “hot spot”. I was like how did all the spice end up in one spot. Granted I’m not a huge baker or anything. I want to try this again. I like oatmeal cookies so this recipe should work for me.

    Here’s what I will do differently. Mix the spice with the banana and 1 cup of almond milk and pour the remaining almond milk over the mixture before baking. Cut the apples and the walnuts smaller. I think mixing the apples and walnuts in would have made it perfect for me. Instead of putting them on top. What do you think?

    It is really good when you get a bite of apple and walnut.

    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      I like your idea of mixing the spices with the banana, that will ensure the spiced to evenly distributed. Smaller apple pieces and mixing them is great too. I’ve added that in the recipe. Thank you so much for the feedback. I love your ideas! Cheers :)

  9. Amy | Lemon and Coconut says:

    OOOh it looks so gorgeous and warming. I love baked apples so much but have never tried baked banana, thanks for the inspiration! xx

  10. I’m loving your choice of fruit duo here! It seems like apples and nanas so rarely get paired but I think they play so well together! This is totally my kind of oatmeal!!!

    1. Is there a different fruit I can use instead of banana? I am allergic, thanks!

      1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

        Great question, Suzy! You can use unsweetened applesauce in place of mashed banana. Enjoy!

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