Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal, Healthy Easy AND Delicious

This Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal tastes just like a blueberry muffin that's been Casino-packed with the biggest, sweetest blueberries. Made with wholesome oats and naturally sweet, antioxidant-rich blueberries, this recipe is a deliciously healthy must-make, perfect as a breakfast or snack to-go! Shall we?

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• What is Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal?
• Is Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal Healthy?
• What Ingredients You Need
• What Kind of Oats for Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal?
• Can You Make Oat Flour from Oats?
• Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources
• Instructions for How to Make Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal
• Can I Make Ingredient Substitutions?
• Tools and Equipment
• Can You Use Different Pans or Sizes to Make Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal?
• Advance Prep, Leftovers and Storage
• How to Eat More Oats for Health
• Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal Recipe

What is Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal?

Is it a muffin? Is it oatmeal? It's the perfect combination of both!

Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal is essentially your morning bowl of oats and fresh blueberries baked in a pan, casserole dish, or even in actual muffin cups, with a few minor tweaks to the ingredients so that you end up with something that tastes more like a blueberry muffin rather than the soft spoonable porridge you make on the stovetop.

As a breakfast option, Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal is great if you like biting into chewy, textured breakfast foods or if you want to be able to take a bar-like breakfast to go, perfect for busy back-to-school and back-to-work mornings!

But you don't have to restrict Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal to breakfast in the morning. Because it's truly sliceable into squares, treat it like a dessert bar that's subtly sweet, fiber-rich and all around healthier for you than say, a slice of cake.

And since it tastes like a blueberry muffin, why not go ahead and bake Blueberry Muffin Baked oatmeal into muffin cups? It works perfectly!

Is Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal Healthy?

This Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal includes health-supporting ingredients that we could all probably use a little more of like antioxidant-dense blueberries and wholesome, fiber-rich oats. Let's get into each one.

Blueberries: Most Antioxidants of all Berries

Of all the berries that are most commonly available to us at the grocery store and local farmers' markets—blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries—blueberries have the highest concentration of antioxidants, specifically anthocyanins. (source: NIH) These particular antioxidants are what give blueberries their dark blue color and have been shown to give blueberries these health benefits:

• promote gut health
• reduce overall inflammation
• cancer fighting properties
• protect against heart disease
• lower LDL cholesterol
• some research studies have also suggested improvement of memory and delay of age-related cognitive decline (source: Mayo Clinic)

At only 84 calories and virtually no fat per one-cup serving, blueberries are nutrient-dense, lowfat, low calories food. They are also have 4 grams of fiber per serving, which coupled with their antioxidant content, make them great for gut health.

Oats: One of the Highest Sources of Fiber

Oats are high in fiber, which we all know promotes good gut health. Fiber stimulates digestion, adds bulk to stool, and feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut, aka our "gut microbiome." But it's the type of fiber, a soluble fiber called beta glucan, that's also particularly beneficial to heart health. Beta glucan can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes by lowering blood glucose, LDL, and total cholesterol levels.

In this recipe, blended oats replace plain refined flour. Oat themselves are naturally gluten-free, but because they are often processed in facilities that also process wheat, make sure to look for an oat product explicitly labeled "gluten-free."

Maple Syrup: Natural Substitute for Refined Sugar

This recipe uses maple syrup, a vegan-suitable natural sweetener, that replaces refined white sugar. Though still "sugar," maple syrup has a lower glycemic index (GI) than white sugar, may provide antioxidant benefits from naturally occurring phenols, and because it tastes sweeter than refined white sugar, you can use a little less in certain recipes like this one. (source)

This recipe for Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal as published, is:

• vegetarian
• dairy-free
• gluten-free
• refined sugar-free

What Ingredients You Need

You only need a few ingredients for this recipe, and you probably already have most of them:

Refrigerator/fresh ingredients:

• Blueberries—fresh or frozen both work!
• Almond milk or other alt-milk
• Eggs

Pantry/dry ingredients:

• Rolled oats
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Sea salt
• Cinnamon
• Maple syrup
• Vanilla extract

These are optional ingredients for topping the Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal, and are not included in final nutrition calculations:

• Almonds or walnuts
• Dark chocolate chunks or chips
• Flaky sea salt for topping

What Kind of Oats for Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal?

Use organic rolled oats. Oats are available in a few different formats. Steel cut, rolled, quick-cooking, and instant oats are the most commonly available in grocery stores.

Rolled oats are whole oats that have been "rolled" over and flattened, making them even easier and faster to cook than steel-cut oats. Rolled oats are available as regular rolled oats or quick cooking rolled oats; you can use either for this recipe.

Steel-cut oats are whole oats that have been coarsely "cut" or chopped into smaller pieces for easier cooking. Steel-cut oats are not ideal for this recipe, as they are difficult to process into oat flour in your home blender.

Instant oats are highly processed so that they can be "cooked" by simply adding hot water. Do not use instant oats for this recipe.

Can You Make Oat Flour from Oats?

This Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal recipe uses rolled oats, some of which which you will process into a coarse "flour" in a high-powered blender or food processor. Oat flour provides a little bit of the "glue" that holds the oatmeal together, and the whole rolled oats give you the texture.

You can also buy pre-processed oat flour to save yourself the one step of blending the oats. This is a well-known, reliable brand for grains and grain flours. This is a newer brand to me and this particular oat flour product is organic and gluten-free.

Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources

• Almond Milk. Almond milk comes in a wide variety of formats. Use a plain, unsweetened almond milk or other alternative plant-based milk that fits into your health and dietary needs. The almond milk we used in this recipe is sold in shelf-stable 32-ounce boxes.
• Maple Syrup. Blueberries have some of the higher sugar content of all the berries and stand-in for much of the sweetness in this recipe. A little bit of maple syrup adds that extra boost of sweetness. I use this organic maple syrup that is amber in color and more robust in flavor than lighter colored maple syrups. You can substitute with honey, though the recipe will no longer be vegan.
• Vanilla Extract. For something like this Baked Oatmeal, I use whatever brand of pure organic vanilla extract is the most affordable, usually something like this. If I am feeling particularly luxurious or am making something fancy like a cake, I will spring for this vanilla. Do not use imitation vanilla flavoring.
• Cinnamon. Cinnamon is a common spice for baking, but is unfortunately overlooked as a superfood! Anything labeled "ground cinnamon" is fine for this recipe. But if you really want something fancy, look for "Ceylon" cinnamon, which has a more delicate, complex flavor, and is great for certain cinnamon-focused applications, but might get lost in a rustic Baked Oatmeal.
• Salt. Adding salt to something sweet isn't to make it taste salty. Salt not only brings out the natural sweetness of the blueberries, it balances the sweetness, too.

Instructions for How to Make Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal

Can I Make Ingredient Substitutions?

Baked Oatmeal in general is fairly forgiving, flexible and great for customization by making ingredient substitutions or additions. I have made this recipe many times as it's presented, as well as with the substitutions and variations as noted below:

1. Substitute Frozen Blueberries for Fresh Blueberries. You can substitute in the equivalent amount of frozen blueberries for the fresh blueberries, 2 cups in this recipe. Do not thaw the blueberries, just use the frozen berries as is. Frozen blueberries may "spread" into the batter a little more making it purple, but won't affect the final flavor too much!
2. Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries. You can and absolutely should substitute in whole blackberries, whole raspberries, or roughly chopped strawberries in place of the blueberries!
3. Substitute Other Plant-Based Milk for Almond Milk. Use any other plain, unsweetened plant-based milk—coconut milk, cashew milk, macadamia nut milk, soy milk, even oat milk!—for the almond milk. You can also use regular dairy milk of any fat percentage.
4. Substitute Sweetener for Maple Syrup. Substitute up to 50% of the maple syrup in this recipe with any other type of sweetener. However, you do need a slight bit of maple syrup to provide natural acidity to activate the baking soda for leavening!
5. Substitute or Omit Eggs. You can substitute in an appropriate plant-based egg substitute or a flax egg, which is made with ground flax seeds and water. I would not leave eggs/egg alternative out completely.

Modifications for Dietary Needs

• Gluten-free - As presented, this recipe is gluten-free if the oats are certified gluten-free. Read the packaging/label to make sure the oats are processed in a gluten-free facility.
• Dairy-free. As presented, this recipe is dairy-free (though not necessarily vegan because it has eggs).
• Vegan - To make this recipe vegan, use an appropriate plant-based egg substitute or a flax egg, which is made with ground flax seeds and water. I would not leave eggs/egg alternative out completely.
• Reduced Sugar—You can absolutely reduce the total amount of sugar in the recipe to ¼ cup! Any less than that, however, and you will compromise the structural integrity of the Baked Oatmeal, as sugar is not just for sweetness, but moisture as well as natural acid to help with the leavening.

Tools and Equipment

There isn't any special tool or piece of equipment required for Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal, and in fact, I highly encourage you to skip hauling out heavy stand mixers, or even a hand mixer for this. However, that doesn't mean there are a couple of things that might make this baked oatmeal easier than it already is to get from pantry to plate.

• High power blender to blend the oats into flour. The popular brand works great, but this is the brand I have and use.
• Parchment paper to help release the bottom of the Baked Oatmeal
• Glass mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Square baking pan
• Round baking pan
• Earthenware casserole dish
• 12-cup muffin tin
• Unbleached muffin liners
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

Can You Use Different Pans or Sizes to Make Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal?

Yes, you can bake this Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal in several different pan sizes and shapes! Part of what makes this recipe so easy and flexible is that baking in different pans doesn't require much, if any modification:

• Muffin Pan— This Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal is based on blueberry muffins so of course the recipe has to fit perfectly in a regular 12-count muffin tin and make perfect muffins! Grease and flour the muffin tin or line with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake the muffins for 18-22 minutes.
• 9x9-inch Square Pan—9x9-inch square pan is the recommended pan for the recipe and the one I use the most often. The batter will spread out more, making a slightly thinner/flatter final product. Bake a 9x9-inch square for a shorter period of time, i.e. start checking the Baked Oatmeal for done-ness at 20 minutes.
• 8x8-inch Square Pan— An 8x8-inch square pan will produce a deeper, i.e. taller Baked Oatmeal. Bake an 8x8-inch square for the recommended bake time, start checking for done-ness at 25 minutes.
• Can You Make the Baked Oatmeal in a Loaf Pan? Though you can make the Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal in a loaf pan, doesn't mean you should. I recommend you avoid this option because a loaf pan is too deep to properly bake the center. Baked Oatmeals in general do not have the structure to bake and rise the way breads and cakes made with regular wheat flour do.

Advance Prep, Leftovers and Storage

Refrigerator. Leftover Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for five days. Take individual servings out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature or heat gently in the microwave for 30 seconds or in a toaster oven on medium.

Freezer. Leftover Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal can be stored for the longer term in the freezer. Cut Baked Oatmeal into individual portions, wrap each portion in parchment paper to keep from sticking, and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Leftover Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, or pop into a toaster oven or air-fryer for a few minutes.

How to Eat More Oats for Health

• Brownie Baked Oatmeal
• Healthy Zucchini Bread made with oat flour and ground walnuts
• Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal
• Savory Oatmeal