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!
What is 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 end result is a 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.
Ingredients for Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal recipes are super simple by nature, and this apple cranberry version is no exception. Here’s all you’ll need to make this baked oatmeal recipe:
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce keeps the baked oatmeal soft and moist, adds a delicious apple flavor, and provides some natural sweetness to the baked oatmeal so you don’t have to add as much sugar.
- Eggs: Eggs combine with the milk to create the custard that helps the baked oatmeal bake firm up into a scoopable texture instead of the thick porridge-like texture that you get with stovetop cooked oats.
- Brown Sugar: A little extra sugar helps balance the tart flavor of the cranberries and makes the baked oats just sweet enough that you feel like you’re having a treat.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract helps the oats taste extra rich.
- Cinnamon: A touch of cinnamon gives the baked oatmeal a warm and cozy flavor.
- Salt: Salt helps all of the individual flavors of the oatmeal pop.
- Baking Powder: A small amount of baking powder gives the baked oatmeal loft so it’s not quite so dense.
- Milk: Milk softens the oats and combines with the egg to create a rich custard.
- Cranberries: Cranberries give the baked oatmeal a deliciously sweet-tart flavor and gorgeous pink color. We used cranberries that had been previously frozen, but you can use fresh as well.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Oats are the main ingredient, the star of the show. Make sure to get old-fashioned rolled oats instead of quick oats because they have a lot more texture and will keep your baked oatmeal from being too mushy.
Is It Breakfast or Dessert?
Baked oatmeal can be served as either breakfast or dessert! It’s 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. If you want to make it even more dessert-like, try topping it with a simple streusel before baking. Just combine ¼ cup flour, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp white sugar, and 3 Tbsp softened butter until it forms a crumbly mixture that resembles wet sand. Sprinkle that over the baked oatmeal before baking and it turns this baked oatmeal into a decadent dessert!
How to Serve Baked Oatmeal
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 and topped off with a splash of cold milk. But when I’m eating the leftovers for meal prep, sometimes I eat it cold and sometimes I warm it in the microwave. It’s totally up to you!
Whether you enjoy it hot or cold, I love to add a little milk or half and half to my bowl, or even a scoop of Greek yogurt for extra protein. If you have any walnuts on hand, they would also make a great topper for this Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal flavor. Or, if you want it a little sweeter, try topping it with some maple syrup!
How to Store The Leftovers
To store the leftovers of your baked oatmeal for meal prep, divide it into single portions and place them into air-tight food storage 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
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce ($0.95)
- 2 large eggs ($0.28)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.14)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder ($0.04)
- 1 cup milk* ($0.48)
- 1 cup cranberries (frozen or fresh) ($0.67)
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.58)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Add the apple sauce, 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 375ºF 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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Nutrition
How to Make Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together 1.5 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 evenly combined.
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 the cranberries and oats into the milk mixture.
Pour the oat mixture into a 9×9-inch (or 2-quart) casserole dish.
Bake the oatmeal for 45 minutes or until it’s golden brown on top and the center is no longer wet.
Serve the apple cranberry baked oatmeal warm or divide into single portions and refrigerate until ready to eat!
I like to enjoy my Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal with cold milk poured over top! 🤤
I made the recipe exactly as is, and I think the cranberry tartness is a little overwhelming. Next time I’ll drop to 4 oz instead of 6 and maybe add some chopped apple.
Just an FYI: I used quick cooking steel cut oats for this recipe and it came out just fine. (Kids were desperate for baked oatmeal and I was out of regular oats).
I also subbed dried cranberries and added a chopped apple as others suggested.
Hi Beth, Do you think it would work to add some apple chunks in the way it’s prepped in your apple pie baked oatmeal so this has a more pronounced apple cranberry flavor? Maybe half apple and half cranberry, or would you suggest a different ratio? I’m also wondering about pear cranberry. I know that is combo great for tarts, crisps, and other desserts but not sure how it will translate for baked oatmeal. (I would probably prep the pear the way you do the apples in the apple pie baked oatmeal too.)
I’ve been trying a new baked oatmeal of yours each week; it’s been so fun and they are amazing! I enjoy your site very much. Thanks for keeping me well-fed and for all you do!
Happy to hear you’re loving it Priya! Yes you could do half and half, just play with the ratios and have fun!
Update: I did the full cranberry amount and prepped 1 one apple like the apple pie baked oatmeal. The apple taste was a tiny bit more pronounced than the cranberry and it was really good! Have also made the recipe as is and it’s great! You don’t get the apple flavor as much since the applesauce is more for moisture than for flavor, BUT there are plenty of cranberries to make for a flavorful breakfast.
Question: I noticed this baked oatmeal recipe calls for just 2 cups oatmeal and 1 cup milk whereas the others call for more of each. The end product is a bit smaller and isn’t as filling as a result. (It is, though, more custardy than the others I have made, so I liked that.) Any suggestions on if I wanted to increase the oatmeal/milk for a fuller batch? Thanks!
I have a pear-cranberry baked oatmeal in the oven right now! My pears were really soft so they didn’t need much to become pear sauce. I ended up cutting the amount of milk way down because the pears were so wet. I have then baking in a mini muffin pan. It’s just the right amount of batter to fill all 24 mini muffin cups.
Thanks for sharing!
I was low on applesauce so subbed 1/2 a cup with orange juice + zest. I also added some almonds and a bit of almond extract – delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
I only have frozen cranberries! Would those work?
Yes, that should work fine. :)
I added a large diced apple. This is a great recipe. I’ve tried several baked oatmeals, but the applesauce in this one is a game changer as it ensures nice moisture.
I’m a fan of your baked oatmeals in general, and this one and the pumpkin spice one are my favorites. I’ve made them both a few times now, and wanted to share some of the tweaks I’ve made over time.
I drop the brown sugar from 1/4 cup (equal to 4 Tbsp) down to 3 Tbsp. I mix 2 of the tablespoons in at the beginning, and the third tablespoon I put in the food processor with the cranberries, rather than chopping them by hand. It’s a lot faster to chop them this way (just don’t go overboard!), and pulsing them directly with the sugar sweetens the cranberries directly. It’s an America’s Test Kitchen trick, although they suggest pulsing the berries with a pinch of salt as well. I’ve also used frozen cranberries successfully instead of fresh.
I couldn’t get this to bake evenly (or in only 45 minutes) in an 8″ x 8″ pan. Since I don’t have a 9″ x 9″ pan, I’ve been using a 7″ x 11″ glass baking dish, and that’s been working great. Last night, I tried dropping the temperature to 350 and using convection, and I got a perfect bake in 45 minutes. I’ve also made these in jumbo muffin tins before when I wanted to store them in the freezer for later, and that worked well too.
Now, for the best part: eating it! I prefer to reheat a slice in the countertop oven these days rather than the microwave, for a better texture. Then, I put a dollop of plain, full fat Greek yogurt on top, followed by a drizzle of boiled apple cider (it lasts forever in the fridge, so I always keep some around). The boiled apple cider really brings out the apple flavor of the bake and more than makes up for the missing tablespoon of brown sugar. When you mix it with the tart yogurt, you end up with something that resembles a healthier, more breakfast-y version of cream cheese frosting. I love to spread it over the whole slice so that it’s like a little breakfast cake. When I make the pumpkin oatmeal bake, I do the same thing, except I use maple syrup instead of boiled apple cider. I’m sure that would work well for this too, although you wouldn’t get the hit of apple flavor.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you for all these tips! I will be using many of them when I make this dish today. I appreciate you taking the time to share them with the rest of us. Hope your autumn is going well and that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy.
Made this for Christmas breakfast and it was delicious! I had to bake mine for closer to an hour, perhaps because I used almond milk, or maybe it’s just my oven. I’m wondering what you think about adding another egg to this, or any of your other baked oatmeals. I had a couple sections that got a little more egg than others and had a sort of bread pudding-like taste to them, which I loved, so I’m wondering if making it more egg-y would affect any of the other ingredient ratios?
I think adding another egg would be great! I don’t think it would affect anything too much, just a more custard-like texture. If anything, you may need to bake slightly longer. :)
These were delicious! It was my first time baking with fresh cranberries and I think I am now going to look for some more recipes. I made the mixture up last night before bed and kept it in the fridge so all I had to do was put it in the oven this morning. My husband, toddler and I all enjoyed it!
Can you sub the cranberry’s for blackberries?
You sure could! :)
I love baked oatmeal! I have modified this one to suit what I had on hand..chop up one apple, and use dried cranberries instead of fresh…I always use extra cinnamon (2 tbsp) and have started adding about 1/4-1/3 cup of ground flax for extra nutrition..yum yum!
Another delicious baked oatmeal recipe. I added some chopped nuts and replaced the brown sugar with some honey. This one came out super moist, although the apple flavor didn’t quite come through as much as I would have hoped. Maybe next time I’ll add a diced apple to the mixture. Thank you for the recipe! I tried baked oatmeal years ago and thought I just didn’t like it, because it always came out hard and dry, but yours have definitely changed my mind.
Can I use fresh diced apples as a substitute for applesauce?
Unfortunately you really need the puréed, cooked texture of the sauce here because it provides moisture to the oats and helps them soften during baking.
Thanks for relying!
I went with the applesauce, and oh my, is this delicious.
And thanks for the recipe.
Not sure if you’re still reading comments on something this old, but I was wondering if I’d be able to use steel cut oats for this recipe instead of old-fashioned rolled oats? I have seen recipes for baked oatmeal using steel cut oats, but I’m not sure if I’d use the same two cups as listed in this recipe if I substituted old-fashioned for steel cut. Any idea?
You won’t be able to simply substitute in the steel cut oats because they take much more liquid and a much longer cooking time to soften. Unfortunately I haven’t tested it out with steel cut, so I can’t recommend alterations that would make it work. :(
This is obviously a super old comment, but I like to do part steel cut and part rolled oats for a bit of texture in the oatmeal. Usually I do about a third or a half steel cut (3/4c to 1c of the oatmeal).
I thought this was great! It was just what I was looking for. Unfortunately I didn’t have cranberries, but I used dried cranberries and raisins. I also threw in some sliced almonds because I had them. Great breakfast meal. It makes a nice big quantity so we’ll be eating it for a few days. I thought it was a little too sweet and not enough apple flavor came through (surprising based on the amount of apple sauce!). Next time I will chop up some fresh apple to add to it, and reduce the sweetener (I used honey). The texture was great and I ate it as pictured, heated up with milk over the top. Thanks!