Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal
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Published Nov 27, 2019, Updated Nov 24, 2021
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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.
- 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.
- 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 loved your maple banana pecan oatmeal and will definitely try this one. Do you think steel cut oats can be swapped for regular oats? Thanks!
Hey Diana – If you want to make a baked oatmeal with steel cut oats I would follow my recipe for apple cinnamon baked steel cut oats. The liquid to oats ratio and cook time is going to be different
Instead of pumpkin spice is there other spice option?
I have a homemade pumpkin pie spice you could make if you don’t have a blend on hand or you could just use a blend of those spices if you don’t have them all on hand.
Made it for a group of ladies this weekend. It was a hit. I will be making it for my husband soon.
Woo!! So glad this oatmeal was a hit, Cindy! Thanks for the review 🙂
Looks delicious!!! I’m not a fan of coconut oil. It’s too high in saturated fat fir my eating program. Can I swap with olive oil or omit altogether?
Yes you can use olive oil or skip it!
These are delicious. The perfect amount of sweetness. I’ll be making another batch today because I gobbled up the first batch in no time. They are the perfect grab and go breakfast.
Woo! Love to hear that, Jessica! So glad this recipe was a hit. Thank you for leaving a review, I really appreciate it.
Delicious 😀😀😀
Thanks, Darcie!
This is a great recipe, I make it almost weekly. I usually sub out canned pumpkin for the sweet potatoes but have also used apple butter and bananas. Also have added chopped nuts or chocolate chips.turns out great every time. Thanks
That’s great to hear, Virginia! Thanks for taking the time to leave me a review and comment.
My teenage boys and I tried this today and it was utterly fantastic! I never post comments but this was so easy to make and delicious I had to say thank you for such a great recipe that we will be making on a weekly basis now! I actually made it last night and reheated pieces in the microwave this morning for their breakfast which worked out great!
Oh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Leslie. I’m so glad this recipe was a hit. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it.
Excellent thank you! The only baked oatmeal recipe that I’ve tried and actually liked!
WOO! I am excited to hear that this recipe is a hit, Naomi. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, I so appreciate it.