This vegan baked oatmeal is a delicious breakfast or snack that my kids think is a dessert. This easy recipe is sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sugar. It's perfect to make any time of year since frozen cherries work very well in this recipe.
Mornings are super busy trying to get everyone ready and out of the house on time. It can be hard to fit in a hearty breakfast.
Enter baked oatmeal to save the morning! It can be quickly put together and then bakes while everyone is getting up and ready.
This is also a great way to get your kids to eat their fiber. We like to eat this vegan baked oatmeal by itself but it's also delicious with a little peanut butter or almond butter on top.
If you love baking with oats, try out my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe. But if you want recipes with berries, my coffee cake with berries is the perfect one!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Versatile: We love it for breakfast, as an afternoon snack or even a dessert with an extra drizzle of maple syrup.
- Kid friendly: While they aren't always in the mood for regular oatmeal or overnight oats, they are always excited for this baked oatmeal.
- Only minutes of hands on time: This baked oatmeal takes about 10 minutes to put together. It can be baking while everyone is getting ready in the morning.
For more recipes that can be made with frozen fruit, try my mango cobbler and vegan mixed berry rhubarb crisp.
Ingredients Notes
This baked oatmeal is made with wholesome ingredients.
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk - I use soy milk but almond milk or oat milk would be delicious.
- Oats - Old fashioned oats give the best texture.
- Oil - I use vegetable oil but melted coconut oil would be great in this as well for some added flavor.
- Chia seeds - You can also substitute with ground flaxseed.
- Cherries - While I usually prefer baking with fresh fruit, it's easier to use frozen cherries instead of fresh cherries as the pits are already removed. I chop each cherry in half or in fourths if it's large.
Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and amounts needed.
Variations
This recipe if very versatile and can be made many different ways.
- Nuts - For some added nutrition and crunch, add some nuts. Slivered almonds would be the perfect nut to use in this baked oatmeal. But chopped pecans or walnuts would work well too.
- Chocolate - Cherries and chocolate are perfect together! So go ahead and add some vegan chocolate chips. You probably don't need more than ½ a cup.
- Dessert - Make this into more of a dessert by topping with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or some vegan whipped cream.
- Fruit - You can substitute your favorite fruit or berry for the cherries. I love fresh blueberries in this. If you change the fruit, you might also want to substitute vanilla extract for the almond extract depending on the flavor you're looking for.
We love the flavor of almond extract. Try my cranberry cookies if you're looking for more recipes with that great flavor.
How To Make Vegan Baked Oatmeal
Step 1: To start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray your 9"x9" baking dish with nonstick oil spray.
Step 2: Next, prepare your fruit. Mash up your very ripe bananas until there aren't any big pieces and chop your cherries.
Step 3: Next, in a large mixing bowl, combine the unsweetened dairy-free milk, oil, maple syrup, almond extract and mashed bananas and mix very well.
Step 4: Next, add all the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix in the oats, chia seeds, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix well.
Step 5: Stir in the chopped cherries into the oat mixture and pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes.
Step 6: Take the baked oatmeal out of the oven and let it rest for about 10-20 minutes. If it doesn't get to rest, it won't be as solid as you're cutting it. (We don't mind if it's piping hot but falling apart a little.) Serve and enjoy!
Storage Tips
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend reheating in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. You can just leave out the oil if you prefer to make this oil-free.
Yes, but it will give the baked oatmeal a coconut flavor.
Yes! Just check the packaging on your oats to ensure they are gluten-free.
For best texture, use old fashioned oats. Steel cut oats make this very chewy and quick oats don't give enough texture.
Not usually. Traditional baked oatmeal often contains eggs and regular milk. But it's very easy to make baked oatmeal vegan with a few substitutions.
More Vegan Breakfast Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Baked Oatmeal Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Vegan Baked Oatmeal with Cherries
Equipment
- 9" x 9" baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon oil (vegetable or canola)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (or ground flaxseed)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped cherries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Prepare a 9"x9" baking dish by lightly spraying with a nonstick oil spray.
- Prepare the fruit. Mash the very ripe bananas in a small bowl and set aside. Chop the cherries and set aside. I often use frozen cherries which are even easier to slice while frozen and already have the pits removed.
- In a large bowl, combine the unsweetened non-dairy milk, oil, maple syrup, almond extract and mashed bananas. Mix very well.
- Add the oats, chia seeds (or ground flaxseed), baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix well.
- Stir in the chopped cherries and pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Take the baked oatmeal out of the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Notes
- I use unsweetened soy milk for all my baking and cooking.
- You can use any kind of neutral oil like vegetable or canola. I don't recommend using coconut oil unless you want to add in the coconut flavor.
- You can customize this recipe by changing up the type of fruit! Blueberries are delicious in this.
Jen says
My whole family loves this recipe. I often make this when I have frozen cherries and not sure what else to make with them.
Kate says
In both set of directions the recipe calls for adding maple syrup but it is not listed with the ingredients. Could you please add the amount to the ingredients list? Much thanks for sharing this, am so looking forward to making it!
jencardenas says
Hi Kate. Thanks so much for catching this. It's 1/4 cup of maple syrup. I'm adding it to the recipe card now. Thanks again!