Baked oatmeal with pumpkin, the breakfast going quick and fruity ...


baked oatmeal with pumpkin

Baked oatmeal is a great way to make the oatmeal breakfast tastier and easier to assemble. Even if you bake it fresh. Yes, this recipe takes 25 minutes to bake and if you mix everything in the night you can plonk the pan into the hot oven in the morning first thing in the morning while you fix your morning cuppa.

Many fruits can be used for this baked oatmeal like grated apples or applesauce, bananas make great baking accompaniments anyways for such dry bakes and oranges which have been my favorite flavors whenever some aromatherapy is required. I use carrots and sweet potatoes a lot for such healthy bakes. With pumpkin I mostly work with fresh grated pumpkin but his time I wanted to see if pureed baked pumpkin gives an improved taste. It was definitely better than grated pumpkin when used in the same recipe, improving the texture of the finished bake as well. Baking the pumpkin slices may be an extra work, a potential deterrent  for many, so using grated pumpkin makes sense in case of time crunch.

Carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin suit such baked oatmeal best as one can have it with milk.

baked oatmeal with pumpkin

I always like to add some dried fruits to such bakes as it enriches the final product taste wise and texture wise too. This time I added some chopped dried apples I had bought from an organic foods store Leh.

Such flavorful snack they make on their own too. I love chewing a few pieces whenever I need something just to chew on...

dehydrated apples

The dried apples taste was quite good in this oatmeal bake too...a little chewy and full of apple flavor.

I had baked and pureed about a kilo of pumpkin one day and kept it ready for some pumpkin soup and a quick cake if I plan something on the last moment.

Some 1.5 inch thick wedges of a rich yellow orange pumpkin with ripe brownish skin was brushed lightly with oil and baked for about 50 minutes or till the flesh becomes soft.

baked pumpkin slices

Scoop out the flesh and puree to store in refrigerator or to use immediately if required.

ingredients for the oatmeal pumpkin bake...

oatmeal 1 cup/100gm
pumpkin puree 1/2 cup/120 gm
chopped dry apples 1/2 cup/100 gm
fresh cream 1/2 cup (I used fresh malai)
whole milk 2 tbsp or more to adjust consistency
brown sugar lightly packed 1/2 cup (I used a natural unrefined sugar called shakkar or boora in this part of the world)
chopped golden raisins 3 tbsp
one large egg
a generous pinch of soda bi carb
a pinch of salt

About half a cup of chopped nuts can be added for convenience and to make them protein dense, but we like our nuts sprinkled over the oatmeal along with fruits, so I skipped adding nuts this time.

procedure...

Mix everything together in a mixing bowl, it makes a loose consistency mixture somewhere between a dough and a batter.


baked oatmeal with pumpkin recipe

The mixture can be kept in the fridge overnight and can be baked in the morning, even in individual serving bowls if using ceramic bowls.

baked oatmeal with pumpkin recipe

Pre heat the oven, pour the mixture into a conveniently sized baking pan or a casserole dish, keeping the thickness of the batter about 1 inch. If the batter is spread thicker than this, it would take longer time to bake.

Bake for 25 minutes at 180 C. Do the skewer test before taking the pan out. it makes a rich brown bake and can be cut into pieces while still warm.

baked oatmeal with pumpkin recipe

It tastes the best when it is warm. Although you can always keep the leftovers in the fridge or bake a larger amount for a week, It would be great to reheat in microwave before serving. The cake like pieces make a nice evening snack when you come home feeling ravenous.

If you make it for dry snacking, keep in mind to add the suggested amount of nuts too.

We love it warm in a hot cup of milk. With any fruit, we usually include bananas for breakfast so it's mostly these for us. With a generous sprinkling of almonds.

With just a bit of sweetening using the brown sugar, this baked oatmeal is a nice flavorful breakfast. I just love the way these ingredients lend a natural sweetness.

I sometimes bake it without any sugar, with some more raisins or some chopped sticky dates added to it. If we enjoy the natural sweetness of the food, there will be no need to add any more sugar to it. Fortunately we both like everything just lightly sweetened and add more sugar only when some guests are visiting.


baked oatmeal with pumpkin

Apart from bananas, I would like mangoes in this bowl of baked oatmeal with milk.

I would like to remind you all that even pumpkin is like any other fruit when the nutrition value is compared, minus the fructose which can be a concern for many. Many of my friends are pumpkin haters and I would like them to include this fruity vegetable as it packed with nutrients (quite a good amount of Vitamin A and zinc and many more, zinc is more in seeds though), is low on calories and high on soluble fibers.

What fruit you would like in this bowl?

Comments

  1. Won't that make a delicious healthy breakfast! Perfect timing for the post.

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    1. That's really a delicious breakfast. Has been repeated many times at our breakfast table :-)

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  2. great healthy recipe! I'm going to try this one in this week. Need to just put all the ingredients together. You are really innovative! I never thought of oats and pumpkin in the same sentence.

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    1. Thank you Gangubai, Do let me know hoe you liked it :-)

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  3. Hi Sangeeta,

    I've fallen in love with baked oatmeal this winter, but have yet to make it with pumpkin, another personal favorite.
    Your photos are just the inspiration I needed. It's National Oatmeal Month here, so I'm adding this to my list of
    oatmeal recipes to make before the end of the month:-)

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    1. Thank you Martha,
      I am yet to try some of the baked oatmeal recipes from the extensive list you have featured on your blog.
      The concept of National Oatmeal month must be a nice way to make people aware of healthy eating.

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  4. Hi Sangeeta, That's a super yummy and healthy one !! I love oatmeal but it becomes a problem feeding my children this, your recipe is perfect to be fed to them .. will try soon. By the way I was planning to buy a good OTG, I have only a microvwave oven now which does not bake as nice as the OTG's , do you have any suggestion, which one should i buy, because I love baking and my elder daughter loves cakes ??

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Soul speaks,
      this baked oatmeal is a great way to make people interested in healthier breakfast. dding lots of nuts would make it protein dense if you are not adding nuts on top of it.

      OTGs are simple heating machines as much I know, so one should decide keeping in mind the size which is convenient for the family. Take care of the height of the heating filament from the racks, like if you are using a deeper baking pan and the cake or bread is expected to rise , it should still stay a couple inches away from the filament if placed on the middle rack.....nothing much technical but the size does matter, bigger is better. Too big would mean wastage of electricity so keep in mind your families' needs.

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  5. What a fabulous idea making this dish with Pumpkin...I love pumpkin, cooked and raw... it's delicious in salads. Just had my Sunday chat with my mother when I read this... told her about and now she can't wait for pumpkin season;)

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    1. Thanks Fida and welcome to my blog. Glad you liked this oats bake.

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  6. What a simple delicious recipe... I am definitely going to make these.. :)

    Came here through Suranga Date's update on fb..

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    1. Welcome to the blog Arti. Would like to know whether you liked it.

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  7. I was wondering whether the cream is a good idea or whether you could do without it

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  8. I tried making this dish it came out absolutely delicious. Whenever I open your blog I get hooked, it is so inovative.

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  9. can i pressure cook pumpkin and puree it. or will this change the taste

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  10. Yes you can but the roasted pumpkin imparts a richer flavour.

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