This gingerbread baked oatmeal with pears and cranberries makes the perfect breakfast to fuel you up for all of your holiday activities. You'll get the flavor of the season in a healthy, satisfying breakfast that will nourish your body and your taste buds!
With everything that goes on during the busy (but fun!) month of December, I needed a quick breakfast recipe that I could make in under 15 minutes with enough portions to last me through the week. Because who has time to make a comforting, nourishing, delicious breakfast every day??? Not me! Enter this Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal with Pears and Cranberries. It's a festive twist on my original baked oatmeal recipe with cherries and almond butter. I've got a banana blueberry version that I love to make in the summertime, but during the month of December, I want to eat festive things...especially all the things that taste like dessert!
Baked Oatmeal: A Satisfying Meal Prep Breakfast
This baked oatmeal is lightly sweetened with fresh pears and cranberries, a dusting of brown sugar, and a drizzle of molasses for an authentic gingerbread flavor. It's heavily spiced with ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It tastes just like a gingerbread cookie! I love to serve mine with extra pears on top, pomegranate arils, and maybe some chia or hemp seeds for added crunch. It's easy for Ryan to pack a meal prep container with the oatmeal and toppings that he can reheat at work. And because of the egg, milk, and mix-ins, this type of oatmeal is much more satisfying/keeps us fuller longer than a bowl of instant or stovetop oatmeal would. Everyone needs a little extra fuel during the holidays!
Tips for Modifying This Recipe
- Make it gluten-free by using certified gluten-free oats
- Make it dairy free: this recipe also works well with soy, almond, coconut, and rice milk. Although, the texture may not be as rich.
- Make it diabetic-friendly: substitute the molasses and brown sugar for 1/2 cup fo sugar-free maple syrup
- Substitute apples for the pears if you like!
Are you ready to get make this Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal? I’m so excited for you to try this recipe. Once you get the chance to make it, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment and rate the recipe below. This will help me with the creation of future recipes! I’d also love to feature your creation in my monthly newsletter, so you can upload a photo to Instagram or Twitter with the tag @sweetcayenne5 to be featured!
Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal with Cranberries and Pears
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 whole ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears, thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick-cooking; certified gluten-free as needed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups milk (I use 1%)
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional for toppings: almond butter, cookie butter, chia seeds, hemp seeds, toasted flax seed or chopped nuts, pomegranate arils, cranberry sauce, apple butter, maple syrup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Lightly grease a deep dish pie pan or 9x9 square casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the pears and cranberries, and saute until the pears are just tender and some of the cranberries have burst; about 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine until it coats the fruit. Transfer the mixture to the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, salt, and baking powder by stirring with a whisk. Sprinkle it evenly over the fruit in the baking dish.
- In the same bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, molasses, and spices until combined. Pour this mixture evenly over the oats and fruit.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until just set and the mixture no longer jiggles in the center. Serve hot with desired toppings.
- Oatmeal will keep in the fridge up to 5 days and is delicious reheated in the microwave!
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