Oatmeal is anything but boring in this delicious, decadent make-ahead Baked Vanilla Oatmeal Custard breakfast your kids will never know is healthy and packed with protein and fiber!
Edited 1/24/2018: please see recipe notes for instructions to make dairy-free and egg-free.
You guys. I'm not sure anything I write can give justice in describing how awesome this Baked Vanilla Oatmeal Custard is! It is just soooo creamy, comforting, and delicious. Like - when I was developing the recipe I thought it would be good, but boy it was even better than I thought!
The best thing about it, though, aside from the taste? It's that it's actually a more balanced breakfast than regular ol' plain oatmeal. Gluten-free oats are blended with eggs, plain Greek yogurt, and fat free milk to amp up the protein and create the creamy, custard-like texture. Ground flax seed is included to up the natural nuttiness of the oats and add more fiber. Vanilla extract and maple syrup round out the ingredients to give a wholesome, comforting sweetness that brings the flavor to the next level. Everything is blended together, baked, and breakfast is born!
This is a great make-ahead breakfast for all my meal preppers out there, although the custard-like texture is best fresh. Since it's a cozy vanilla, it's great on its own, but also lends well to a variety of added flavors. Scoop out some Baked Vanilla Oatmeal Custard (warm or cold!) and top how you want. We love adding fruit, like fresh berries or banana slices, seeds (chia, pumpkin, sunflower, and hemp are awesome!), and a drizzle of milk - we used canned, light coconut milk to drizzle on top for even more creaminess. You can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, peanut butter, nuts - the options for toppings are only limited by your imagination!
I can't wait for you guys to try this recipe. It's totally a new favorite in my house, for breakfast, snacks, and dessert! Let me know what fun topping combinations you think would go well! If you try it, be sure to snap a pic and share what you think on the NTF Facebook Page or on Instagram (tag me @nutrition and the hashtag #nutritiontofit for everyone to see!)
Baked Vanilla Oatmeal Custard
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups skim milk
- 1 cup plain, fat free Greek yogurt
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup ground flax seed
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Blend all ingredients in a blender on medium speed until blended, about 30-60 seconds. (When you stop blending, the oats and the liquid may separate, and even be separated a bit in the baking dish - this is okay!)
- Pour blended oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until slightly golden brown and the center is firm and no longer jiggling.
- Can be served immediately, once cooled, or reheated. If there are leftovers, they can be saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Joyce says
Can I use steel cut oats?
Lindsey Janeiro says
I haven't tested this recipe using steel cut outs, so I'm not sure if it will affect the cooking time or finished product in any way. If you try it, be sure to let me know how it goes!
Elizabeth says
How many servings does this make?
Lindsey Janeiro says
Hi Elizabeth! I intentionally don't list serving sizes because I work with my clients to honor their individual hunger and satiety cues, which means some days you may be hungrier than other days! Serving size should also depend on if you're eating just this for breakfast or if you're pairing it with something else, like fresh fruit and/ or a hard-boiled egg. It does make a 9x13-inch pan and my husband and I can usually each get several breakfasts from this pan throughout the week. Thank you!
Ginger says
Can you use almond milk or coconut milk?
Lindsey Janeiro says
yes, any milk or milk substitute will work!
Sharon says
Can the nutritional info on your recipes be found somewhere?
Lindsey Janeiro says
Hi Sharon! I intentionally don't list serving sizes because I work with my clients to honor their individual hunger and satiety cues, which means some days you may be hungrier than other days! Serving size should also depend on if you're eating just this for breakfast or if you're pairing it with something else, like fresh fruit and/ or a hard-boiled egg. It does make a 9x13-inch pan and my husband and I can usually each get several breakfasts from this pan throughout the week. I hope that helps. Thank you! Let me know if there are any specific kind of recipes you'd like to see in the future!
Leesha says
Hi Lindsey! I just wanted to say that this looks amazing and I found it so refreshing to see someone not put serving sizes for that reason. Thank you! (I saw this recipe on Aldi’s FB page and will definitely be looking at more of your recipes!!)
Lindsey Janeiro says
Thank you so much, Leesha, I really appreciate your comment, it means a lot!! Please let me know if there are any specific types of recipes you're looking for, I am always working on new ones!
Dana says
Lindsey, I hope that you reconsider your policy on portion size and nutrition info! I'm a T1 insulin dependant diabetic, and while satiety cues are all well and good, unless I know how much insulin I need, I can't really eat any of it. 😅 Normally I can guess, but you're using some ingredients that are known problem foods (maple syrup) and that I'm unfamiliar with (flax seeds.) I, and others with similar needs, would surely appreciate at least ballpark estimates!
Lindsey Janeiro says
Thank you so much for your feedback. I am constantly re-evaluating and this argument is definitely in my "pro" side for reconsidering listing nutrition info in the future. Thanks, Dana!
Carol says
Dana, You could add the recipe to a calorie calculator online and get the nutritional info if you need to track. It allows you to divide your portion sizes into what you want, ex: 1/8 of the recipe.
I used this one https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp. I love that it gives vitamin info too!
Lindsey, Can't wait to try this, I was looking for a way to add more protein to my oats for breakfast. Can I substitute the maple syrup for honey?
Lindsey Janeiro says
Fantastic suggestion, Carol! This is great, too, because you can customize it to the ingredients you're using (i.e. skim vs. lowfat milk). With the addition of the eggs, Greek yogurt, and milk this definitely has more protein than your average bowl of oats! And I haven't tested it, but I'm sure you could use honey instead of maple syrup (may just slightly alter the flavor - more honey flavor and less maple!). Thank you!
Robin Birk says
Has anyone added brewers yeast to this to make it a lactation boosting recipe?? I may try it 🙂
Lindsey Janeiro says
Hi Robin! I don't know of anyone who has added brewers yeast (yet!), but let me know how it goes if you try it! While there isn't a ton of evidence, many women also swear by flax and oats for helping lactation, so it may even help as is, too! (I'm also a Certified Lactation Counselor in addition to Registered Dietitian!)
Kristine says
Mine turned out like baked eggs... Not what I thought it would be at all. I wonder if my blender is too powerful and just pulverized the oats? Anyone else have this problem?
Lindsey Janeiro says
Hi Kristine! I have a pretty powerful blender (a Vitamix) that always pulverizes the oats pretty well. Custards are an egg-based dish, though, and this channels that/ isn't going to be like a regular baked oatmeal. Let me know what specific ingredients you used/ if you made any substitutions and I'll try to see if I can troubleshoot for you. 🙂
Bethany says
I know I can substitute almond milk for the milk in this recipe, but any dairy-free suggestions for the yogurt? Plain DF yogurt is not available where I live.
Lindsey Janeiro says
Hi Bethany! I haven't tested this recipe to be dairy-free yet (it's on my list, though!). So far off the top of my head the only things I can think to try would be a dairy-free yogurt alternative or perhaps even a soft, silken tofu would work, too. It may be a little while, but I'll be sure to update the recipe if and when I find a comparable dairy-free alternative! Let me know if you try anything that works, too! Thank you!
Lisa says
What kind of oats - quick or regular?
Lindsey Janeiro says
I used regular old-fashioned oats, but if all you have is quick oats, the result should be really similar (if not the same!)
Madison says
This looks so yummy! Have you ever substituted anything else for the maple syrup?
Lindsey Janeiro says
Thank you Madison! I have not, but I believe a couple folks have made it with honey and had success! I would imagine most liquid sweeteners (maple syrup, honey, agave) would yield pretty similar results. Thanks!
Carol says
Hi Lindsey
I love this recipe. I am very fond of egg custard. The thin layer of custard on top is my favorite. Any suggestions on how to have even more custard?
Carol
Lindsey Janeiro says
Hi Carol! Thank you so much! I'm not sure off the top of my head. You could certainly try to increase the amount of wet ingredients (i.e. egg, milk, maybe a little yogurt), and may need to increase the cooking time, but I haven't tested it, so I have no idea if it will work! If you play around with it, please let me know what you come up with!
melody says
would really appreciate a nutritional breakdown and serving sizes
Lindsey Janeiro, RDN, CLT says
Hi Melody - I recently changed recipe software systems and have been going back and manually updating nutrition information for each recipe in all my archives. As a one woman show with years of recipes, you can imagine this takes some time! As an apology for your inconvenience, I just updated the information for this recipe just as I saw your comment, so you can see the nutritional breakdown for each of the 10 servings in this recipe. Hope it helps, and hope you enjoy the recipe, it's one of our favorites!
Tanya Muralles says
Hi Lindsey!
Would I be able to make this without blending the oats?
Thank you:)
Lindsey Janeiro, RDN, LDN says
Hi Tanya! While I haven't tried it, I don't think this would work as well without blending. Blending everything together is what helps create a smoother, custard-like texture after baking. Hope that helps!
Michelle says
Excited to try this - I found your recipe while searching for something I’m not sure exists: Pumpkin Oatmeal Custard. Going to add some canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and see how it goes!
Lindsey Janeiro, RDN, LDN says
Too funny, Michelle, I was just thinking of trying to make a pumpkin version this weekend when I do some meal prep for next week! Let me know how it turns out! My guess is you may need a little less other wet ingredients since pumpkin is pretty wet, too? Maybe a little less milk or yogurt? Would love to hear how it turns out!
Michelle says
It was GREAT! I omitted one egg and one cup of milk, and added a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, and half of a large can of pumpkin (so about 14/15 oz.) Bake time was the same, and it’s DELICIOUS. Looking forward to trying the original vanilla version too - I love custardy things, and this came together so quickly in the Vitamix!
Lindsey Janeiro, RDN, LDN says
I'm so glad it turned out well for you, it sounds delicious! Thank you for the update!
Ally says
Hi - can you leave out the maple syrup in this? 🙂 Thank you!
Lindsey Janeiro, RDN, LDN says
Hi Ally, I haven't tested this without maple syrup so I'm not 100% sure how it would turn out. You may need to add a little additional liquid to the recipe if opting out completely, or you could equivalently swap another liquid sweetener like honey. Let me know how it goes if you try it without!
Amy E. Botticello says
This was just what I was looking for. Thank you! I admit that I made some changes do to availability & my carelessness (omitted flax seeds, sugar & yogurt in baking, but added vanilla). I topped the baked oatmeal with yogurt, too. This was so creamy & delicious! With the oats being pureed, I believe this will be an easier way for me to digest oats and get more calcium in my diet.
Lindsey Janeiro, RDN, LDN says
Just seeing this comment (so glad you reached out via email, too!) but I'm glad you enjoyed it! This is one of our favorite recipes!
chinachef says
Instead of skim milk and yogurt, I just did 4 cups of almond milk and soaked the oatmeal (I used TrJoe's GF oats) in it overnight. This softened the oatmeal so I did not use my blender at all. I then added the remaining ingredients and baked it. it was delicious! Will definitely make it again. Thank you!
Lindsey says
Thank you! Love hearing what worked for you!