I’ve been making this recipe for fruity baked steel cut oatmeal for several years now…and it’s become one of my go-to breakfasts. For us, it ranks right up there with Baked Oatmeal and Sweet Potato Oatmeal. We all LOVE it! It’s so easy to customize to your desire and it works with whatever is in season. I found the general idea online and made my own version. 😉
Steel cut oats can be a little tricky…if you don’t cook them just right, they’re crunchy. I’m not sure about you, but crunchy oatmeal is just not cool – not cool at all. If you expect them to taste like regular oatmeal, you’re going to be sadly disappointed. They do have a bit of a bite to them, but they should not be crunchy when cooked. For us, we had to learn to like them – and buddy, do we like them!
Pick a Fruit!
First, you need to decide on a fruit…it really doesn’t matter what you choose. Okay, so it does matter. Be smart. This recipe would not work well with watermelon. Think to yourself, “self, do I like this fruit hot?” If not, then you shouldn’t use it here. Hot watermelon sorta makes me want to yak.
I’ve used peaches, apples, blueberries, cherries, and pears. They’re all delicious! However, I am partial to the peaches. You can even use frozen fruit – don’t thaw before you use it. Just sock that puppy in there frozen. Booya.
How-to
In the bottom of a 6 ounce ramekin, put a layer of chopped fruit. As a rule of thumb, you’ll use half an apple, pear, or peach. For berries, just eyeball it. You might want to grease the ramekin too. For some reason, I always forget that step and end up singing “scrubby dubby!!” while washing dishes. And no, that’s not a song…that’s just something I say. Yeah – I know.
Pour ¼ cup steel cut oats over the fruit. Did I mention this only makes one serving? So, you can make as many of these little steel cut oatmeal “cups” as you need for your family…or as many ramekins you have…and everyone can customize their own!
Over the oats, pour ½ cup milk. That’s it. Stick them into a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
So, here’s the tricky part. Notice I said ABOUT. For some reason, out of the blue, sometimes it takes mine 40 minutes. I have no idea why. It’s usually on days that I’m in a hurry. So, note to self and readers – don’t make this on days when you’re in a hurry…it’ll take 40 minutes.
I do know that if using frozen fruit, it can take longer to bake…that’s because of the water content in the fruit. I did figure that out. The other thing? Still not sure about it – Murphy’s Law of Stacy Doesn’t Want to be Late.
Note: I like to put my ramekins down into another dish before baking…because sometimes it bakes over and causes a mess. This also only happens on days when I’m running late.
Make it Your Own
Now, here’s the fun part. I like to serve steel cut oatmeal with peanut butter and maple syrup…the breakfast of champions. Forget Wheaties, just give me the peanut butter and syrup. Put a blob of peanut butter down in those hot oats and magic will happen. Pour some maple syrup over it and rainbows will appear at your kitchen table. It’s beautiful, man…just beautiful. But make sure it’s REAL syrup. You don’t want any of that fake stuff messing up your breakfast.
Breakfast is served. Booya.
Fruity Baked Steel Cut Oats (single serve)
Ingredients
- 1 misc. Fruit of choice, chopped (apples, pears, peaches) berries don’t need to be chopped unless they’re big
- 1/4 cup steel cut oats
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- peanut butter optional, as mix-in or topping
- maple syrup optional, as mix-in or topping
Instructions
- In a 6 ounce greased ramekin, layer the bottom with your fruit of choice.
- Pour oats over top and add milk. No need to stir.
- Place ramekin down into a larger baking dish.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
- Serve with peanut butter and/or maple syrup if desired.
Is this an E meal because of the amount of fruit, along with oats? Could it be FP if I had only 1/2 cup blackberries with the 1/4 cup oats?
No, it can’t be FP. If you’ll look at the nutrition information, you will notice that 1/4 cup steel cut oats are the same amount of carbs as 1/2 cup rolled oats. Also, Pearl says the only reason Cookie Bowl Oatmeal with 1/4 cup oat is FP because the entire recipe is so low in calories.
Thank you! I was so exhausted from our soccer tournament that I did not even realize that it said STEEL cut oats, even though I read it three times. You know that feeling that you are missing something, but you just can’t put your finger on it…yeah, LOL! I made it with my normal old fashioned oats, and it was really good!! (I added a dash of lemon juice and let it sit in the fridge over night before I baked it this morning. I am trying to remember to soak my oats, but I usually forget.) Not sure if that change made it FP or not, but I sure enjoyed it! Thanks for so many great recipes!
This is wonderful!! I used an apple, cinnamon and a tsp of butter. It was so delicious, I didn’t even need any sweetener!
Awesome! It’s one of our family favorites too.
You know the light timers that turn your lights on and off at a preset time so people think you’re home in the evening when you’re not? I use one of those on a 1.5 quart slow cooker. Put in all your ingredients (water, oats, fruit – NOT maple syrup, the flavor dissipates if it’s in it all baking time, save this for right before eating). Set timer to start 7 hours before you want to eat. Then, when you’re ready to eat the next morning, dish it out. No morning prep required, except adding maple syrup and peanut butter.
Using a timer is so great! Angela posted about that for me in her Crock Pot Cinnamon Rolls post!
……..and now I have breakfast covered too……. 😉
I’m so glad you liked them!
I’ve made this a couple of times with frozen blueberries and I must say it is delish! Thanks for posting 🙂
Ooooh, that’s one of my favorites too! 🙂 Just wait till peach season. Yummy!
Love that this recipe is Gluten Free! Love your stories! Can’t wait to make this Tuesday or Thursday morning (the next 2 mornings that I won’t be in a hurry!) Hoping my children will humor me and try it! Thanks for all the nutritious and tasty ideas you give us on your website!
The nice thing is, most kids are cool with peanut butter…Annie loves this meal! 🙂 Keep me posted on your family’s reviews.
Headed to the kitchen to make some right now. Fighting a cold bug and could use a bit of soothing food in my belly. Will check back with you to confirm if it was 30 or 40 minutes – although I am (oddly) not in a hurry this morning. Oh, I just noticed that it’s after 12pm. I need to get better quick!
Well – bummer – it was Oat Groats I was thinking of. I don’t have any Steel Cut Oats, but I plan on ordering some in our next co-op!
You won’t be sorry! 🙂
If you’re not in a hurry, it will only take 30 minutes. 😉
ok in this were do you put the Peanut Butter?
🙂 In the post I said I liked to serve it with peanut butter and maple syrup, but I didn’t write that out in the recipe. I’ll fix it. I just mix it in at the end and let it melt.
This sounds great! But alas we own no ramekins. I do love steel cut oats though. The texture reminds me of brown rice.
You could use any smaller sized dish that was suitable for the oven – however, don’t try something if you’re not sure it’s safe because you might just end up ruining one of your very favorite dishes….not that I’VE ever done that or anything. *Cough*
Looks delicious! Question – have you ever tried to make a large quantity? I have company this week and was planning to make something like this…How do you think it’d work in a casserole dish??
No, I’ve never tried it in a big dish…I usually just make however many smaller ones that I need. I’m not sure how it would do…but you could try it! And if you do, holler back so I can add that to the recipe. 🙂
I’ll probably never try this recipe, but I’m glad I read it. You’re funny. 🙂
Aw come on…why not?
Cuz I never have steel cut oats around here. 😉
Well that’s just sad.
I’m going to try this in the microwave. Personally I think the microwave is a wonderful convenience. I realize the time will have to be adjusted.
I’ve never tried it that way. I hope it works great!
Hi Stacy! I know you have posted the info before, but could you tell me where you buy your oats?
I bought my last batch on Amazon. 🙂 But I have a local store (Wytheville, VA) that I usually buy from in bulk. King’s Country Produce.