I was up in the Northeastern region of Thailand last week for work. It was a fantastic trip. As is true most everywhere, things are so very different when you leave a big city. In rural areas, people know one another and recognize a visitor. People take time just to sit and talk – they move more slowly and seem to enjoy simple things more deeply. While up North I had the chance to visit with local people and witness the amazing hand-made crafts that are often sold in pristine, fancy stores here in Bangkok.
As I love to do when visiting any new place, I woke up early one morning and went to see the outdoor market. I followed the monks carrying bowls in which they collect offerings of food. (I could spot their orange robes from the window of my room in the hotel.) This is a surefire way to find a market first thing in the morning in Thailand. Follow the monks.
The outdoor market in Khon Kaen was a long stretch of road and several bustling alleys that were full of people selling and buying bright, fragrant produce and meat.
I thought these carts, pulled by men on bikes, were far more charming than the noisy motor-propelled tuk-tuks of Bangkok.
The trip was short, and I was back to busy Bangkok in time for the weekend. Unfortunately, I picked up a bit of a bug on the trip, and I have been recovering these past few days. It has left me craving simple, comforting foods, and made me appreciate that we had a quiet weekend to relax, watch movies, and enjoy the aroma of cinnamon and honey-laced oatmeal baking away in the oven.
Baked oatmeal is a wonderful thing. The oatmeal cooks up light and fluffy. As it bakes it sends of the distinctive smell of blueberry cobbler and the flavor, slightly sweet and with the richness of pecans, is somehow more profound than in a regular old bowl of oatmeal.
In the past I have made this in an 8×8 pan but since seeing them baked in petite little jelly jars over at Sprouted Kitchen, this is my new favorite method.
I popped the tops on the jars and put them in the fridge for breakfast later this week.
Except for this one. This one was calling my name.
Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups Milk (see note)
- 2 Eggs
- 1/3 cup lightly packed Brown Sugar (substitute honey or maple syrup)
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats (sometimes labeled "Old-Fashioned Oats; do not use Instant or Quick-Cook Oats"
- 2 cups Blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup Pecans, roughly chopped (optional)
- Maple syrup or honey (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking dish (or similar-sized baking dish) with nonstick cooking spray or rub with some oil.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together milk, egg, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder.
- Stir in oats, blueberries, and pecans. (Reserve some of the blueberries and pecans if you'd like to sprinkle them on top.)
- Pour mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Bake oatmeal until firm in the middle, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Let oatmeal cool slightly before serving (it will continue to firm up as it rests). Serve with some maple syrup or honey drizzled over top.
Notes
ohh…just saved this recipe – looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it when I get home!
xoxo from Houston
Cooking them in little jars like that makes it even more exciting. I would love to wake up to one of these in the morning.
I love checking out the local farmers markets too. It’s a great way to get a feel for a place and immerse yourself in the local culture.
Love this! I have all the ingredients (including fresh apple juice) so I will be making this soon!
What about cooking this in muffin tins ?
That’s a fantastic idea! Muffin tins would work so well and would be adorable to boot!
Just to verify- is the 1 cup of apple juice the only liquid in this recipe? It sounds and looks wonderful, but didn’t seem like a high enough ratio with the 1.5 c. of oats. Thanks for sharing!
Candace – thank you so much for your comment, as the liquid amount needed to be updated! It should be equal parts oats and liquid (1.5 cups liquid). I tested at both higher and lower amounts and the 1:1 ratio of oats and liquid seemed to be spot on. Thank you!
Love your site! This recipe and your pizza recipes bought me over. I love how butter is not needed for either foods. Saved them on my laptop to try for the weekend! Thanks 😀
Esther – thank you for your kind words! So glad you found the pizza recipes – pizza is definitely one of my favorites!
Uh, very interesting. I shall try this but without the egg, since I am vegan and I will substitute the honey with something. 🙂 Still I cannot wait to try it.
Thanks for this! 😀
Sibel, the egg gives it a bit of texture, but I don’t think you’ll miss it. I haven’t done it myself, but you could always try substituting a bit of applesauce for the egg – it might be a good fill-in!
Great idea yes, yum yumm, can’t wait to try this one! 😀
A great recipe and wonderful travel photos to boot. I haven’t been to that part of the world so really enjoyed seeing those pictures.
You’ve just made my day! I love this idea. It’s so cute and practical at the same time (not to mention tasty I’m sure!).
Thanks!
Love how you put this baked oatmeal in the jars. Will be linking back to this recipe in my next post 🙂
Thanks Marla! I loved the look of it, and it was practical too! I’ve been making it like this every couple weeks since.
Carrie – you can absolutely use frozen fruit. In most cases, it shouldn’t make a difference in the finished dish. I would just recommend letting the fruit thaw to near room temperature before using it, or it may affect the cooking time.
Can you make any suggestions for a honey substitute?
Becky – although the honey adds a bit of sweetness, you can skip the honey altogether, but I would substitute a Tablespoon or two of water in its place. Alternatively, you could use jam or jelly – any flavor would be delicious and would be a great fill-in for the honey! Enjoy!
I will make this. I love the mason jar idea – I have been drawn to recipes with mason jars lately. Do you just zap it in the microwave to reheat?
Cyndi – I love the mason jar thing too lately – I’m always looking for ways to use them. I did just zap them in the microwave to reheat, but found they dried out a bit, so I always add a splash of liquid before zapping – milk, juice, or water work great!
Hey Jess,
How would this recipe change if I were to to use steel cut oats?
Thanks!
Hi Becky – I’ve never tried that swap in this particular recipe. Usually steel cut oats take a bit longer to cook, so I think it’s quite do-able, but you may need to increase the cooking time and probably increase the liquid by at least 1/2 cup. Let me know how it works!
What do you think about making it, putting it in the mason jars and cooking just before eating. Cook on a as need basis?
Lisa – you know what? I’ve done it! The only thing I would tell you is that it does much better if you pour the liquid into the jars just before cooking, so it would work best if you keep the dry ingredients and liquid apart until you’re ready. If you do want to add the liquid in advance so that you’re really ready to go when you want them, you’ll likely want to add a bit more water or milk to saturate the oats before baking. (They will absorb the initial liquid while they sit in the fridge, and will need more in order to remain moist while baking.)
Any thoughts on freezing these after they are baked? My daughter lives in a dorm and has no time to cook. Or, any info on how long these will last (after cooking) in the refrigerator? I think she will love these!
Tam – that’s so sweet of you to think of these for your daughter – I would have loved having them in the dorm! So, I’ve tried a few different variations on this for both freezing and storing in the refrigerator. I haven’t found the perfect solution yet, but they work well if you add some extra liquid (about 1/3 cup) to the recipe and only bake them for half the time. That way they can be frozen and cooked the rest of the way in the microwave (I don’t even defrost them first). Sometimes they really need an extra splash of milk or water after microwaving though – they dry out a bit in the second round of cooking. Hope that helps!