I have known and loved many baked oatmeals over the years. There’s one in The Food in Jars Kitchen (featuring lots of applesauce) and a jam-studded one in the archives. I appreciate them for their ease. A single batch means breakfast is made for the week (something I particularly value these days).
All my previous baked oatmeal experiences have called for rolled oats, which are a staple in most kitchens (including mine). But when I found myself with a large jar of steel cut oats that needed to be used, I started to wonder whether they could sub in for their rolled brethern.
I did a little searching and discovered a recipe on Alexandra’s Kitchen that I used as my guide. I used more liquid (for a softer, more custardy consistency), opted for raisins rather than fresh fruit (for speed and sweetness), and omitted the additional sugar (opting instead to sweeten with a dollop of jam upon serving).
The finished baked oatmeal has a pleasingly nubbly texture from the steel cut oats and the plump, tender raisins are welcome counterpoints. If you hate dried fruit (particularly the rehydrated variety), feel free to use fresh fruit like Ali does. I like what the raisins do, and love the fact that all I have to do is tip the jar (rather than wash, peel, or chop).
I’ve been using my Breville CombiWave (see here for my partnership with Breville) to bake this oatmeal because it offers something my traditional oven doesn’t. Automatic shut-off. You choose the convection oven setting, select the temperature (I lower the temperature by 25 degrees when using convection), set the time and it cooks precisely and perfectly.
This means that no matter how distracted I get by the babies, I never lose track of the baking oatmeal and burn the batch. I realize that people have had ovens with automatic shut-offs for years, but with my 55 year old oven, I’ve never had that option. It’s glorious!
Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal with Dried Fruit and Nuts
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup steel cut oatmeal
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds walnuts, or pecans
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup raisins chopped dried apricots, or other dried fruit
- 2 cups milk
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons butter melted and cooled slightly
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (if you're using convection, reduce heat by 25°).
- Combine the oats, nuts, baking powder, salt, and dried fruit in an 8x8 baking dish.
- In a four cup measuring cup, whisk together the milk, water, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the liquid over the ingredients in the baking dish. Place in the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
- Eat hot, chilled or at room temperature.
I too have a canister of steel cut oats in the back of my cabinet that I keep trying to decide what to do with – been thinking of perhaps experimenting with overnight steel cut oats. And I probably will still do that, but I’ll definitely be trying this recipe – I have all the ingredients on hand. Thanks!
I think I may want a Breville thingy….
looks delish, I’m going to substitute the egg with something else and no butter ? Always love your post
is there a way to print the recipes without the big blanks space where the ad is? it often requires another sheet of paper and I’d prefer a more compact presentation. I’ve tried to delete that area but can’t see a way to do so.
I would love your baked steel cut oatmeal recipe
The recipe is at the end of this post.
This sounds delicious and I’m going to make this recipe soon as I have all the ingredients. Would cutting and freezing in individual servings work? Thank you!
Absolutely!
I made this yesterday and it is delicious, I highly recommend it. I did have to bake it for an extra 20 minutes to set. I’ll try it again, but with less butter, maybe only a tablesppon as other receipes use less and I don’t think the extra adds to the textuyre or flavour.
I’m really glad you liked it. I wonder if your oven temperature is calibrated properly, given how much longer you needed to cook it.