Baked Blueberry Buttermilk Oatmeal

Baked Blueberry Buttermilk Oatmeal is the recipe you want to make when you are getting tired of your daily bowl of oats. Baking oatmeal does magical things and turns your normal oatmeal into the most delicious breakfast. Try this version or opt for Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal or Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal.

Baked oatmeal is one of my favorite weekend breakfast dishes.  Usually, I make it with whatever fruit I have in the house - chopped apples, bananas, peaches, strawberries - you name it.  Sometimes I throw in some nuts, seeds, chocolate chips (!), pumpkin puree, or applesauce.  It's one of those recipes you can mix up a million ways. 

However lately to really make it sing, I have been using buttermilk instead of just regular skim milk or almond milk and I am in love with the result.   It adds some extra creaminess and that delicious buttermilk tang that is so delicious in pancakes and biscuits. It is something you will want to try immediately.

This particular Blueberry Buttermilk Baked Oatmeal was actually inspired by a craving for my favorite buttermilk blueberry pancakes from a diner near our house. I woke up wanting nothing else but a huge stack of these famous pancakes but since I had already been planning on making some kind of baked oatmeal dish, I decided to take my inspiration from the pancakes instead of heading out for what would surely be a thousand calorie breakfast. And I am so glad I did.

These simple baked oats really do explode with flavor from the combination of rolled oats, brown sugar, buttermilk, cinnamon, and tons of blueberries. It's warm, comforting, and almost tastes like it could be dessert. If you topped it with some whipped cream or a dollop of vanilla frozen yogurt, it could definitely be a dessert. And we often enjoy it as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee to beat the afternoon slump. 

Can you bake oatmeal?

Oatmeal can absolutely be baked and it is honestly one of the best ways to enjoy oatmeal in my opinion. When oatmeal is baked, it becomes almost cake-like, while still maintaining the shape and texture of the oats. The reason this happens is that baked oatmeal recipes generally have eggs to bind the oatmeal together and give it a more bar or cake-like texture. This can vary from recipe to recipe depending on the exact combination of dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and eggs, but generally baked oatmeals are less liquidy than traditional stovetop or microwave oats.

Can you freeze baked oatmeal?

Believe it or not, it is actually really easy to freeze individual servings of baked oatmeal to pull out for quick breakfasts and snacks. Once you have cooked the oatmeal, let it cool completely and cut it into squares. Then place the squares on a baking sheet and let the bars freeze in the open air in the freezer for at least two hours. This process removes some of the moisture and allows the outer edges to freeze so the bars won't stick together. Then place the bars in a freezer-safe bag or container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

To reheat frozen baked oatmeal, pop the square in the microwave for 1-1.5 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave. You can also use the toaster oven.

If you are hoping to freeze an entire tray of baked oatmeal in advance, you can freeze the whole pan before cooking it. Then simply defrost it in the fridge the night before you want to cook it and then cook, adding about 10 minutes to the cooking time. If the oatmeal looks at all dry before baking, you can add some extra milk. This sometimes happens since the oatmeal had time to absorb more of the liquid.

Topping Ideas for Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

There are so many different fun ways to top this oatmeal. These are some of my favorites:

• Greek yogurt: To add some extra protein, I like serving this with Greek yogurt. Usually I reach for plain but it's also good with coconut, vanilla, lemon, and blueberry.
• Nut butter: Another way to add some protein and healthy fats is with nut butter. I like to pop mine in the microwave for a few seconds before hand and drizzle it over the top.
• Chopped nuts: For some crunch, you can either add nuts to the oatmeal before baking or just serve it with some nuts on top. Delish.