The Best Soaked and Baked Oatmeal, Gluten Free

When visiting friends several years ago, they served us baked oatmeal for brunch one Saturday morning. Everyone loved it and I knew I wanted to recreate and perfect my own soaked version.

The Importance of a Nutrient Dense Breakfast

For breakfast specifically, it is a priority for us to ensure that proteins and high-quality fats are included for satiety and avoiding the mid-morning blood sugar crash. No one likes hangry kids (or parents) before lunch and we have found that packing breakfast full of protein and fat prevents this. Furthermore, a hearty breakfast makes mid-morning snacking completely unnecessary.

For whatever reason, tasty, nutrient dense breakfasts that kids love seem hard to come by. This soaked baked oatmeal has been in our regular rotation for years. My strategy with breakfast is that I prepare a big batch of something at the beginning of the week that will last for at least a few days and alternate that with something basic like hard boiled or scrambled eggs. I have found that our kids appreciate switching things up and not having the same thing multiple days in a row for breakfast, and I appreciate that it makes breakfast go much more smoothly.

Why soaked?

Like other grains, oats are actually a seed and are not meant to be digested. They contain a compound called phytic acid as a defense mechanism to protect itself. In our bodies, the phytic acid blocks digestive enzymes and binds to minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium making them difficult for the body to absorb.  The process of soaking your oats helps to break down the phytic acid making them more digestible and nutrient rich.

How to soak oats?

Oats should soak in an acidic medium for at least eight hours, or overnight, and can be soaked for up to twenty-four hours. You can soak your oats in buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, whey, or if you avoid dairy then water with a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. The oats should be completely soaked but not drowning in liquid.

What about sourcing?

Sourcing is important when it comes to oats. Almost 100% of oats on the market have tested positive for glyphosate. Organic is definitely important when it comes to oats. If you cannot find a good source locally, we buy One Degree Organic Foods sprouted, organic, and gluten free oats from Costco.

Grains or No Grains?

This is a personal decision based on your own body, needs, and health status. When we were going through seasons of intense healing, I avoided grains all together. You can read about my story recovering from hypothalamic amenorrhea here. There is nothing nutritionally in grains (vitamins, minerals, fiber) that you cannot get more easily and in greater amounts from other sources like animal products, vegetables, and fruits. My take is, if your body is able to tolerate grains and they are sourced well and prepared properly, they are fine to eat in moderation alongside other nutrient dense foods.

What to Mix In to your Baked Oatmeal?

The options are endless here! We love picking all the fresh fruit we can (berries, cherries, rhubarb) from our garden or other local farms when they are in season and freezing them. This is a perfect use of those frozen berries. Some of our favorite combinations are:

• Berries and rhubarb
• Cinnamon, apples or pears, chopped nuts
• Bananas with unsweetened coconut flakes
• Cherries with dark chocolate

What kind of sweetener and how much?

We try to avoid adding too much extra sweeteners to our food so a little bit of sweetness goes a long way. That being said, we have found that ¼ cup of honey or maple syrup makes this baked oatmeal plenty sweet for our tastes. If you are used to things a bit sweeter, you may want to add a bit more. As an alternative, a little drizzle or maple syrup or honey on top can give this dish just the right amount of added sweetness to make it a special treat. 

We prefer to use honey or maple syrup as a sweetener in most of our cooking and baking and it works perfectly in this recipe. Honey or maple syrup are both products that we can source locally and have extra nutrients that are not found in cane sugar.

How to serve

This baked oatmeal is delicious plain. But most members of our family prefer it served with a splash of milk and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup on top, which can make it an extra special treat. Baked oatmeal also reheats very well and makes great leftovers. We love making a big batch at the beginning of the week and having it a few times.

Soaked and Baked Oatmeal Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2.5-3 cups oats
• 1.5 cups milk, yogurt, buttermilk, or kefir (for soaking).  Alternatively, you could use water plus 1-2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups mix in’s (berries, rhubarb, chopped nuts, bananas, apples, coconut flakes, etc)

Directions:

• 12-24 hours before making, place oats in a bowl on the counter and mix with either the milk or fermented dairy or water plus acid.  The oats should be fully soaked but not drowning in liquid. 
• After soaking, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until everything is incorporated.
• Pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
• Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Serve and enjoy! The baked oatmeal is delicious on its own but we think a splash of milk and a drizzle of honey or maple sugar makes it extra tasty!

The Best Soaked and Baked Gluten Free Oatmeal

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

There are cheers all around when this soaked and baked oatmeal makes an appearance on our breakfast table! It’s a sweet change of pace from our typical savory egg breakfast but it’s packed with protein rich eggs and healthy fats for a more nutrient dense breakfast than your standard oatmeal. I feel good about serving it to my family to start off their day.

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Ingredients

• 2.5-3 cups oats
• 1.5 cups milk, yogurt, buttermilk, or kefir (for soaking). Alternatively, you could use water plus 1-2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups mix in’s (berries, rhubarb, chopped nuts, bananas, apples, coconut flakes, etc)

Instructions

1. 12-24 hours before making, place oats in a bowl on the counter and mix with either the milk or fermented dairy or water plus acid. The oats should be fully soaked but not drowning in liquid.
   
2. After soaking, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until everything is incorporated.
   
3. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
   
4. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Notes

This baked oatmeal is delicious plain. But most members of our family prefer it served with a splash of milk and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup on top, which can make it an extra special treat. Baked oatmeal also reheats very well and makes great leftovers. We love making a big batch at the beginning of the week and having it a few times.