I eat oatmeal almost daily and I am always looking for different ways to flavor it or to prepare it. Examples of some of my favorite add-ins include chopped apples and cinnamon, cranberry sauce, blueberries and lemon zest, sliced grapes and peanut butter, and cocoa powder with cherries.
In the fall I like to mix pumpkin into my oatmeal for a seasonal treat. You can add canned pumpkin (or any of your favorite add-ins), to old-fashioned or steel-cut oats cooked in the traditional way, but I’ve been experimenting with baked oatmeal recipes and this pumpkin pie version turned out really well. It feels indulgent, but it is healthy enough to eat every day. Which I did. Last week.
Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal
- 2 Tablespoons ground flax seed (if you don’t want to use flax you can substitute two eggs for the flax seed and water)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cup milk (I use soy milk)
- ¼ cup maple syrup (optional but recommended)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
- 2 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 t. salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Prepare 8-by-8-inch baking dish or pan. (I lined my dish with parchment paper, but you can also butter or grease your pan.) In a medium bowl combine flax seed with water, milk, maple syrup and vanilla. Let sit 4-5 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and mix well. Add the oatmeal, spices and baking powder and stir to combine. Pour into baking dish and bake for 40-50 minutes until center is set and edges are golden brown.
This recipe makes four servings, and each serving is approximately 330 calories. Any leftovers should be refrigerated, and this is a great batch prep breakfast. You can serve out individual portions each morning and warm them in the microwave. It’s also good with a dollop of yogurt on top.
Pumpkin is an incredibly nutritious food. It’s nutrient dense, meaning it has lots of vitamins and minerals and relatively few calories. It’s an especially good source of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin K, copper and vitamin E.
It’s something we should eat a lot more of, but not in pie form.
- Sherry DeWalt is the healthy lifestyles coordinator for the CGH Health Foundation in Sterling.