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About the Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats (don’t substitute steel cut or instant oats)
½ cup pecan pieces (or chopped pecans)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 ¾ cups milk of choice (dairy, almond or oat)
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temp
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
For serving: 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted with 1 tablespoon maple syrup or maple Greek yogurt*
Preparation
Oatmeal is our go-to for healthy, whole grain breakfasts. So why not dress it up in fall glory? This Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal is like a cinnamon and ginger-spiced hug. It’s full of autumnal flavor, yet at the same time a healthy way to start the day! Whole grain oats provide protein and fiber, the perfect backdrop for pumpkin puree and cozy spices. Make up a big pan and eat off of it all week, or make it for guests! Either way, it’s the ideal way to make fall mornings more delicious (we couldn’t stop eating it).
Ingredients for pumpkin baked oatmeal
This pumpkin baked oatmeal is pretty simple to whip up. It requires a pretty standard cast of characters when it comes to pumpkin recipes. Here are the main ingredients you’ll need:
Old Fashioned rolled oats: Do not substitute steel cut oats or instant oats! They cook much differently than Old Fashioned. For steel cut, go to Pumpkin Baked Steel Cut Oats: it tastes just like pumpkin pie!
Pecans: Optional, but they add great texture to this oatmeal
Spices: You can use either cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg: or pumpkin pie spice! Grab some at the store or make it at home.
Pumpkin puree: Make sure it’s pumpkin puree: not pie filling!
Milk of choice: Whatever you’d like! Non-dairy milk makes it a vegan pumpkin baked oatmeal recipe.
Maple syrup: Pure maple syrup adds just the right sweetness, and it’s a natural sweetener. You could use any other liquid sweetener of choice (honey or agave syrup).
Vanilla: Vanilla adds depth of flavor.
It takes 1 hour, but leftovers save well
This pumpkin baked oatmeal takes 1 hour from start to finish, but most of the time is hands off while the oatmeal bakes. Because it takes longer than the standard breakfast, we like to make a pan and eat off of it all week. It saves well in the refrigerator, and you can eat it cold or room temp: no reheating necessary! If you’d like, you can heat it in the oven or microwave.
Variations: steel cut & stovetop pumpkin oatmeal
Want to make pumpkin baked oatmeal with steel cut oats? Or want a really fast version of pumpkin oatmeal? Here are some variations:
Pumpkin baked steel cut oats: This Pumpkin Baked Steel Cut Oats really tastes like pumpkin pie, according to feedback we’ve been getting for years. Using Old Fashioned oats in this recipe makes it taste more like pumpkin bars, but the steel cut version is very moist and tastes like pie filling.
Pumpkin oatmeal (on the stove): Want to have the same flavors in just 10 minutes? Make Pumpkin Oatmeal on the stovetop. It’s got a similar vibe but is more like a creamy bowl of oatmeal.
Toppings for pumpkin baked oatmeal
Make up a batch of this pumpkin baked oatmeal and it’s a fantastic vegan and healthy breakfast. The toppings are where this recipe really shines! Here’s what to know about topping the oatmeal:
Maple syrup: A bit of maple syrup is all you need for a little sparkle. Or heat it with a little melted coconut oil for a dreamy drizzle.
Maple yogurt: It’s also tasty with maple yogurt. We mixed Greek yogurt, maple syrup and vanilla for a swirled topping (quantities are listed below). If you make this, still add a tiny drizzle of maple over the top: it adds the final flavoring.
Glazed pecans or walnuts. Get fancy and use maple glazed pecans or glazed walnuts.
Pepitas. Pumpkin seeds work too! Roasted and salted have the best flavor.
Nut butter. Almond butter, cashew butter, walnut butter or pecan butter are the best nut butters to go with pumpkin! Peanut butter can overwhelm the flavor.
Make ahead instructions!
Can you make this pumpkin baked oatmeal ahead? Kind of! Note that this is not overnight oats: you cannot mix it up the night before and place in the refrigerator! The oats would soak up all the liquid and come out much too dry. If you do want to prep in advance, here’s what to do:
Minimal prep: Mix up the wets and dries separately and store in separate containers (with the wets refrigerated). Pour them together in the morning and bake. OR:
Bake in advance: Make up a pan on a Sunday night, then refrigerate it for eating off throughout the week. You can refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week, and re-warm them in a 300 degree oven or the microwave.
This pumpkin baked oatmeal recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.