Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal
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Published Nov 27, 2019, Updated Mar 05, 2024
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Inspired by my favorite fall casserole, this sweet potato baked oatmeal is loaded with sweet potato goodness and topped with a crispy pecan topping. It’s also vegan and gluten-free.
This month’s baked oatmeal flavor is inspired by my absolute favorite Thanksgiving dish – sweet potato casserole. When brainstorming baked oatmeal recipe ideas for November I thought, why not take the main flavors from my favorite dish and turn them into baked oatmeal?
Now I get to enjoy one of my holiday faves all year long… and for breakfast, nonetheless.
Baked Oatmeal FAQs
Before we dive into the recipe, I wanted to address some FAQs I’ve been getting about baked oatmeal!
I personally love the flavor and nutrition stats for almond milk. That said, you can absolutely swap in your preferred milk of choice. Cow’s milk, cashew milk, oat milk, rice milk, soy milk… really any type of milk will work for baked oatmeal.
Rolled oats absorb more liquid than other types of oats and hold up well during cooking. I would not recommend using different oats unless the recipe calls for a specific kind of oat. I do have a delicious baked steel cut oatmeal recipe!
Yes, you can totally do this to save on time, but I personally like to prep and bake it all at once because the oats do tend to soak up quite a bit of the milk overnight (kind of like overnight oats). If you don’t have a choice and need to prep the oatmeal bake ahead of time, that’s fine. It might just seem a little bit drier than normal after baking. If this happens, just serve with a splash of milk.
Another prep-ahead option is to combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl the night before. The morning of, simply mix the two together, pour into your baking dish and bake!
Here’s What You Need
- rolled oats – the base of this baked oatmeal, make sure you get rolled oats and not quick/instant or steel cut.
- Make sure you’re using certified gluten-free if necessary. I like to use Bob’s Red Mill old fashioned rolled oats.
- baking powder – a leavening agent, this will help the baked oatmeal rise.
- spices and seasonings – pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, cinnamon and sea salt. You can make your own pumpkin pie spice if you don’t have any on hand!
- almond milk – you can make your own using my almond milk recipe or use store bought. As mentioned above, I like to use almond milk but any milk will do!
- sweet potato – you’ll need 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes. Try my sweet potato puree recipe or use a leftover baked sweet potato if you have one!
- maple syrup – my favorite natural sweetener, it pairs beautifully with the sweet potato.
- ground flaxseed – you won’t actually make a flax egg, but you will add it to the mixture to help bind it together. You can omit entirely and just use 1 egg if you prefer or don’t need it to be vegan or egg-free.
- coconut oil – provides moisture.
Crispy Oatmeal Pecan Topping
In my opinion, the topping is what makes sweet potato casserole so yummy, so of course I had to include it in this baked oatmeal recipe. The end result is a crispy, crunchy topping that’s simply irresistible.
- coconut sugar – brown sugar works just as well but I prefer to use coconut sugar.
- pecans – provide a beautiful crunch to this topping. You can use walnuts if you prefer.
- rolled oats – as above, rolled oats are best in this application. Make sure you’re using certified gluten-free if necessary.
- coconut oil – helps bind the ingredients together.
How to Make Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal
Preheat Oven – Start by preheating your oven to 375ºF and spraying an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix Ingredients – Next, mix together your oats, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt. Once combined, add your milk, sweet potato, maple syrup, flaxseed (or egg), coconut oil and vanilla into the bowl. Stir well to combine.
Pour – Carefully pour the oatmeal mixture into the baking dish, set aside.
Prep topping – In a separate bowl mix together topping ingredients and then and sprinkle with the oatmeal mixture.
Bake – Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden and the center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.
Flavor Variation
Not a sweet potato fan? You can use pumpkin instead! Use 1 cup of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) in place of the mashed sweet potatoes. Mmm…
How to Store Baked Oatmeal
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat the whole baked oatmeal, cover with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes. For individual portions, set your toaster oven to 350°F and bake for 5-10 minutes or reheat in the microwave for 1 minute.
Love Baked Oatmeal? Try These Other Flavors
- Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
- Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
- Peach Baked Oatmeal
- Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Pear Baked Oatmeal
More Oatmeal Recipes
Be sure to check out all of my baked oatmeal recipes as well as all the popular oatmeal recipes here on EBF.
Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed*
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- ¼ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 2 Tablespoons old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add in the milk, sweet potato, maple syrup, flaxseed, coconut oil and vanilla to the bowl. Stir well to combine.
- Carefully pour oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Mix together topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over oatmeal mixture.Â
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Portion and serve.Â
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To reheat the whole baked oatmeal, cover with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes. For individual portions, set toaster oven to 350°F and bake for 5-10 minutes or reheat in the microwave for 1 minute.
Video
Notes
- You can use 1 large egg instead of the ground flaxseed if you’re not worried about the oatmeal being vegan or egg free.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I never comment on blogs or recipes, but this was so good!! I served it topped with sliced bananas and honey Greek yogurt. It tasted like bread pudding. Yumm! This will become a breakfast staple in my house!
WOO! This makes me SO happy, Lori. I am so glad you gave this a try and it was a hit. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
I can’t do oil. Can the 1tbsp be omitted in the batter? Could I sub 1tbsp date paste or applesauce to bind the toppings?
Hi LouAnn – You could possibly use melted butter in the batter and also the topping. I am afraid date paste might cause the topping to be too sweet.
I have made a lot of baked oatmeal, and this recipe is hands down my favorite! I would give it 10 stars if I could! It is absolutely delicious, and my husband (not a huge fan of baked oatmeal) absolutely loves it!
My only substitutions were an egg for the flaxseed and butter for the coconut oil, because I had these on hand. A truly perfect breakfast, thank you so much for sharing!!
Hi Susan! I am SO excited to hear you gave this recipe a try and are loving it. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me!
This is my favorite baked oatmeal recipe. I cook up a bunch of sweet potatoes in the instant pot and then freeze the puree and pull them out as needed when I make this. Your recipes are instrumental in me healing from an ED and learning how to eat nutritionally dense foods that satisfy me. Thank you so much for all of the work you’ve done developing these delicious recipes.
WOO! This is amazing, Morgan. I am so glad you are loving this recipe (and my other ones too)! It truly means so much to me and I appreciate you sharing your review + star rating!