Strawberry Oatmeal Bake

Ingredients

• 2 cups (180 grams) rolled or old fashioned oats , Use certified gluten-free if necessary

• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

• ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) sugar , any type

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (240 mls) non-dairy milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) nut or seed butter , of choice

• 1 very heaping cup (180 grams) chopped fresh strawberries

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375° F (190 °C) and have an oven-proof dish, skillet or pan ready. One about 7 or 8inches in diameter. Anything ovenproof will do, such as a ceramic dish, skillet, 7 or 8-inch cake pan or an 8 x 8 cake pan. (can also be made in a muffin pan - see recipe notes)

  If you want to be able to turn the baked oatmeal out like I did in the photos use a 7 or 8-inch loose bottom cake pan with a circle of parchment paper in the bottom.

• Put the oats, ground flax, sugar and salt in a large bowl and stir together.

• Blend the milk, vanilla and nut butter, or mix by hand if you don't have a blender. If doing this by hand add the nut/seed butter to a bowl then gradually add the milk to work out the big lumps until it's mostly combined. Some small lumps are fine. Mashing with a fork makes it easier. Then add the vanilla.

• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until you can't see any dry oats, then add the chopped strawberries and stir again to combine. 

• Spoon the mixture into your pan/dish and bake for around 35 to 40 minutes. Cooking times vary slightly depending on what type of dish you are using but when done it should be starting to turn golden around the edges and feel pretty firm to the touch.

• Remove from the oven and leave it to cool in the pan/dish.

NOTES

Storage and reheating - Once cool, cover and refrigerate the strawberry baked oatmeal for up to 7 days. It also freezes well for up to 3 months. I recommend freezing individual portions so that you can take out only what's needed. Let it defrost in the fridge overnight.

Enjoy cold or reheat. Simply pop an individual serving in a bowl in the microwave for a minute or two. Or you can put it on an oven-proof plate/dish and bake for about 10 minutes at 350°F (175°C). If using the microwave it will stay nice and moist, whereas the oven will dry it out a little so be sure to serve it with some vegan yogurt, maple syrup or a drop of plant milk if necessary to moisten it up.

Making Ahead - You can prep this baked oatmeal the day before you want to bake it. Follow the recipe, add the mixture to the dish then cover tightly and refrigerate. Bake when ready the next day but add on an extra 2 or 3 minutes to the cooking time.