Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal

A short and (literally) sweet post for you all today: I’m sharing my latest strategy to make weekday mornings less awful.

Just a little Sunday afternoon effort, and you’ll end up with a week’s worth of hearty breakfasts, waiting to be zapped in the microwave — perfect for all of us who love breakfast but hate mornings.

(There must be plenty of us, too, or we wouldn’t have two of the greatest inventions ever: all-day breakfast menus and breakfast for dinner.)

As much as I feel the need to eat a filling breakfast every day of the week, I would hate to actually get up early enough to make meals from scratch every weekday before work. My last seven years of gradstudenthood and sleeping in have left me hopelessly slow in the mornings, and it’s not just a matter of caffeine intake, but of time.

That’s where make-ahead breakfasts come to the rescue.

For months, Paula and I made a giant 12-egg frittata every Sunday, and sliced it up for weekday breakfasts, but (believe it or not) you can only eat so many frittata slices before you start craving some variety.

Our basic baked oatmeal recipe allows for just that: you can make it with countless variations. (Although I think it’s going to take a lot of convincing to ever bring Paula over to the dark side of savory (vs. sweet) oatmeal…)

We started out making it with diced apple and blackberries, often adding raspberries and/or blueberries, too. So this strawberry rhubarb version is just one variation, but I am such a sucker for rhubarb, it’s probably my favorite one yet.

We also usually mix in a good amount of almond butter, which I’d like to say is optional, but it definitely helps take this meal from satisfying to hearty. Where peanut butter might be too overwhelmingly peanutty, the subtle almond flavor has gone well with every type of fruit we’ve tried. (Although peanut butter could be good, if you also mix in some cocoa powder, and maybe leave out the fruit altogether…)

The re-heated squares of baked oatmeal, adorned with a drizzle of maple syrup or a dollop of yogurt, are not just time-savers on weekday mornings; they might almost make you forget that it isn’t a weekend.

Print this recipe. (PDF)

RECIPE:

Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal
(Roughly adapted from “Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal” in OATrageous Oatmeals by Kathy Hester.)

(Serves 9)

Active time: 20 min.; Total time: 1 hour 15 min.

Note:
~ You can substitute 3-3½ cups of any fresh fruit instead of rhubarb and strawberries,
e.g., try 1 finely diced apple + about 2 cups blackberries or raspberries.

Ingredients:
~ 2 cups chopped rhubarb (about ½ lb. or 4 stalks rhubarb)
____~ 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (optional, if using rhubarb)
____~ 1½ Tbsp. sugar (optional, if using rhubarb)
~ 2 cups rolled oats
~ ½ tsp. baking powder
~ ¼ tsp. baking soda
~ ¼ tsp. salt
~ ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
~ 2 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds (to make 2 flaxseed “eggs”)
~ 5 Tbsp. warm water (to make flaxseed “eggs”)
~ ½ – ⅔ cup almond butter
~ ¼ cup honey or agave/maple syrup (or brown sugar)
~ 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
~ 1 cup milk (or a non-dairy milk, like almond milk)
~ 1½ cup fresh strawberries, roughly diced

How to make it:

1. If using rhubarb, briefly pre-cook the rhubarb (can be done 1-2 days in advance): In a medium saucepan, combine chopped rhubarb, lemon juice, and sugar, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside (or refrigerate for up to 2 days).

2. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Position a rack in the top third of the oven and pre-heat to 350 degrees.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

4. In a small mixing bowl, make two flaxseed “eggs” (which will help bind the ingredients together) by combining the ground flaxseed and warm water; stir and let sit for at least 3 minutes. Then mix in the almond butter, until smooth and clump-free. Then, one at a time, mix in the honey or agave/maple syrup, then the Greek yogurt, then the milk.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the large bowl, mix well, and gently stir in the strawberries and the pre-cooked rhubarb (or whatever fruit you’re using, like 1 diced apple + 2 cups berries).

6. Pour the mixture into the parchment-lined baking dish, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for about 50 minutes until lightly browned on top. Let cool at room temperature before covering and refrigerating. It will last one week in the fridge; re-heat squares of oatmeal in a microwave, and optionally top with a drizzle of maple syrup or a dollop of yogurt.

Print this recipe! (PDF)