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!
About the recipe
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
- 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 ½ cup fo sugar-free maple syrup
- Substitute apples for the pears if you like!
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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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shelie says
This was delicious!! My kids loved it too!
Whitney Reist says
Awesome, Shelie! Thanks for letting me know!