This applesauce baked oatmeal is packed with fall flavors and tastes like apple pie! It is wholesome, filling, and naturally vegan and gluten-free. This simple, fuss-free recipe is easy to make and ready in an hour!
Oatmeal is a staple breakfast food in our household. Although I love pipping hot cooked oatmeal, this applesauce baked oatmeal is my go-to for feeding a crowd! Plus, I get to use up those not-great apples, preventing them from going to waste.
If you are looking for a single-served version, I highly recommend checking out my vegan baked oatmeal.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Delicious, perfectly spiced and tasted like apple pie
- Incredibly satisfying and filling to have - it will keep you full for a good few hours!
- A one-bowl quick and easy recipe that is ready for an hour
- Stores and freeze well - making it a great meal-prep recipe!
🍎What you will need
📃Ingredients notes/substitutions
- Oats - you can use rolled oats, quick oats, or a mixture of both. Rolled oats will yield a chewier texture, while baked oatmeal made with quick oats will be creamier.
- Apples - You can use any apples you have on hand! Go for gala, Honeycrisp for some extra sweetness, or granny smith if you want yours to be slightly tart.
- Milk - Plant-based milk like soy, almond, or oat milk can be used. Regular dairy milk will work too.
- Applesauce - Both homemade or store-bought applesauce will work. If using the latter, it is recommended that you go with the unsweetened version. If you are interested in making your own, I highly recommend checking out this post, ‘how to make applesauce’ by the stay-at-home chef.
- Maple syrup - Feel free to use other liquid sweeteners in place, like agave syrup or honey, if not vegan.
- Ground flax - Can be substituted with ground chia seeds.
🔪How to make
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Lightly grease a 10x7 baking dish (or other baking dishes of a similar size) with non-stick spray or line it with baking paper.
Add milk, applesauce, and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Add diced apples, rolled oats, ground flax, cinnamon powder, and baking powder. Combine to mix.
Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the edges. Top with chopped pecans if desired.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Your baked oatmeal with applesauce is ready to be enjoyed!
✔Helpful tips
- Dice up apples into relatively small chunks. This ensures that applesauce baked oatmeal holds its shape well and does not break apart upon slicing.
- Steel-cut oats WILL NOT work in this recipe! I recommend sticking with rolled oats, but quick oats can be used in a pinch.
- Lightly grease your baking dish with non-stick spray or oil. This prevents baked oatmeal from sticking to the pan and can be removed easily. You can also line them with baking paper.
- To make oatmeal cups, bake the mixture in a muffin tin instead. Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
🥜Optional add-ins
- Spices - nutmeg, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice.
- Chopped nuts - pecans, walnuts
- Other flavorings - squeeze of lemon juice for tartness, a pinch of salt to further enhance the flavor profile
- Dried fruits - dried cranberries, sultanas, raisins
- Protein powder - For additional protein, you could add up to ¼ cup of protein powder, but this will dry the mixture out. To counterbalance, add an additional ¼-½ cup of milk.
🍌How to serve
This applesauce baked oatmeal is incredibly versatile and can be eaten warm, at room temperature, or even cold!
To sweeten it up more - drizzle on some maple syrup, or top it with apple butter or pumpkin butter.
For some extra crunch and texture - top it with some roasted, chopped nuts like pecans and almonds. Or, you can serve it with some slices of fruit, berries, or fruit compote.
Nut and seed butter - Serve your applesauce baked oatmeal with a generous serving of peanut butter, tahini, or some homemade coconut almond butter.
More milk - You could also eat your baked oatmeal like how you would with cereal, especially if you prefer it to be super soft and moist!
Savory sides - If you love the sweet and savory combo, I highly recommend making this seitan bacon, silken tofu scramble, or vegan breakfast sausage patties to go with your oats!
❄How to store
Fridge - This vegan apple baked oatmeal can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Simply cover the baking dish containing leftover baked oatmeal in foil. Alternatively, you can slice and transfer slices of baked oats into an airtight container before storing them.
Freezer - Applesauce baked oatmeal can be frozen for three months. It is recommended that you portion it out using containers, so you will only be defrosting and heating up what you need.
Reheating - For frozen ones, thaw them in the fridge overnight or on the countertop for a couple of hours. You can then heat them in the microwave at 30 seconds intervals or in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for 8-10 minutes, or until they are thoroughly warmed.
❔Commonly asked questions
This applesauce baked oatmeal is moist, chewy, and soft and has a texture in-between that of cooked oatmeal and oatmeal bars. It is also cinnamon-y and lightly sweetened.
Your vegan apple baked oatmeal is done baking when the tops are golden brown and appear to be set. You can also insert a toothpick down the middle to check for doneness - the toothpick should come out fairly clean.
Baked oats should be soft and moist but not soggy. If it is soggy, you had added too much milk or too little oats. Hence, it is highly recommended to measure your ingredients precisely, ideally using a kitchen scale.
Or, you might have underbaked your oats. A toothpick should come out fairly clean when inserted down the middle. You can quickly fix that by baking it longer.
Applesauce is made by cooking apples in a small amount of water. It is then pureed until smooth.
🍽More vegan breakfast recipes
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📖 Recipe
Baked Oatmeal with Applesauce
Equipment
- 10x7 inch baking dish (or other kinds of baking dish with a similar capacity)
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 1 ½ cup plant based milk cashew, almond, oats, or even regular dairy milk
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats or quick oats (use gluten-free if needed)
- 2 cups diced apples about 2 small
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Toppings (optional)
- handful of chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Lightly grease a 10x7 baking dish (or other baking dishes of a similar size) with non-stick spray or line it with baking paper.
- Add milk, applesauce, and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Mix well.1 ½ cup plant based milk, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ⅓ cup maple syrup
- Add diced apples, rolled oats, ground flax, cinnamon powder, and baking powder. Combine to mix.3 cups rolled oats, 2 cups diced apples, 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds, 2 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the edges. Top with chopped pecans if desired.handful of chopped pecans
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Your baked oatmeal with applesauce is ready to be enjoyed!
Notes
- Dice up apples into relatively small chunks. This ensures that applesauce baked oatmeal holds its shape well and does not break apart upon slicing.
- Steel-cut oats WILL NOT work in this recipe! I recommend sticking with rolled oats, but quick oats can be used in a pinch.
- To make oatmeal cups, bake the mixture in a muffin tin instead. Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Angela
Delicious recipie, thank you.
Meesha
Glad to hear that! 😄
DAB
I made this recipe on January 12, 2022
If you eat oatmeal everyday in a smoothie then adding a portion this baked version is a good choice, if you eat a bowl of oatmeal with milk then this baked version is a good choice, as it will be ready when you are. The bake has good flavor provided by the syrup, apples and cinnamon.
This is just simple cooked oatmeal, apples & cinnamon. It is not a dessert type food and would be an embarrassment to serve as such!!!
After making this recipe I suggest using a small pan and make ½ recipe. It makes a lot of oatmeal so be advised.
Jane
Do you think Greek yogurt might work in place of the applesauce as I don't have any? Thanks!
Meesha
Sorry, I don't think this substitution will work here. You could try using 1/2 cup of mashed bananas in place if you do not mind the banana aftertaste. Alternatively, you could omit applesauce all together, and add more milk in place. Hopes this helps!
LouAnn
Can I use date paste in place of maple syrup?
Meesha
I have yet to try this, but I believe you can! You might have to add a bit more milk, as date paste is much thicker than maple syrup.😊