Chocolate Cherry Baked Oatmeal

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This Chocolate Cherry Baked Oatmeal is an easy make-ahead breakfast that tastes like a dessert! It's perfect for a large family or for meal prep. It's naturally gluten-free and made with chocolate chips and fresh or frozen cherries. Baked oats are very freezer-friendly and always delicious reheated!

Two slices of a chocolate cherry baked oatmeal on small wooden plates garnished with a fresh cherries.

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Why You'll Love This Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
Variations and Substitutions
Step-by-Step Instructions
Serving Suggestions
Storing and Reheating
FAQs
More baked Oats
📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Baked Oatmeal

One of the best flavor combos - Cherries and chocolate have always been my favorite combo for anything and everything! When I started making stovetop oatmeal every day, it was always with blueberries and/or cherries, and cacao (see my Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal), so I can't believe it took me this long to turn it into a baked oatmeal!

Easy and simple - Baked oats are one of the best breakfasts because they're so easy to make! You just mix everything in one bowl, pour the batter into a baking dish, and let the oven do the rest of the work!

Great for meal prep - If you're not making it for a big family (I just make baked oats for myself), they're perfect for meal prep because they store well and are very freezer-friendly! I actually always look forward to the (both refrigerated and frozen) leftovers because they're just as delicious as fresh! Or honestly even better because they get crispier after reheating.

Chocolate and cherry baked oatmeal sliced into 6 squares before being taken out of the baking pan.

Ingredients

Rolled oats - You'll need classic old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats can be used in a pitch but they'll make the oatmeal more dense.
Cherries - You can use both fresh or frozen pitted cherries. I like to chop them up into smaller pieces so they're more spread out
Chocolate chips - I like dark chocolate chips, 75% and up, or similar chopped chocolate. You can use any chocolate chips you like, including white chocolate chips!
Cacao powder - To double up on the chocolate flavor, I also added raw cacao powder. Dutch-processed cocoa powder works too; it just has a slightly different flavor.
Milk - You can use any milk you have except canned coconut milk because it's too thick. I usually always have either unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk, so that's what I use.
Butter - A little bit of melted unsalted butter prevents the oats from being too dry. I also use it to grease my baking dish before pouring the batter in.
Eggs - I find eggs make the oats more fluffy and cake-like, and they add protein. You could probably try a "flax egg" instead here, but I haven't tested it so I can't guarantee results.
Baking powder - It helps the oatmeal rise a little bit more so it's less dense.
Sweetener - Maple syrup works the best with the flavors here, but other options would be honey, agave, coconut sugar, or brown sugar. You can also add a little bit of stevia, but it will change the flavor.
Flavorings - A little bit of vanilla extract and ground cinnamon tie everything together and let the cherry flavor stand out. I also add a little bit of almond extract, which has a marzipan flavor and tastes amazing with cherries. I also used it in my Blueberry Cherry Smoothie. If marzipan isn't your thing, you can totally skip it!

Variations and Substitutions

Different berries - You can make the same thing with blueberries, raspberries, or chopped strawberries instead of cherries. They all also work with chocolate, so you can leave the rest as is. I would just skip the almond extract.
Turbinado sugar - This one is optional, but I've been sprinkling a little bit of coarse turbinado sugar on my baked oats, as I do with muffins, because it creates a crunchier, caramelized topping.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F and prepare a 12x8-inch baking dish.
In a medium bowl, stir together rolled oats, cacao powder, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, fine sea salt, and melted (and cooled) butter until well mixed.

Oats with cacao powder, cinnamon, and baking powder on the left and eggs with other wet ingredients on the right.

Pour in milk and whisk to combine.
Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon.

Whisked eggs with milk and other wet ingredients on the left and with added oats and dry ingredients on the right.

Add pitted chopped cherries and chocolate chips.
Stir again to incorporate.

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Baked oats batter in a white bowl with added chocolate chips and chopped fresh cherries.

Grease your baking dish with a knob of butter and pour the batter into it. Spread it out evenly so the cherries and chocolate aren't in one pile.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired.
Bake it in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before slicing. A thin metal spatula works best to remove the oatmeal from the pan.
Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Chocolate cherry baked oatmeal in a glass baking dish before and after baking.

Serving Suggestions

These oats are so good served even on their own, but if you want to make them extra special, or add some extra protein, below are a few delicious ideas for toppings!

Fresh or cooked fruit - My go-to is always berries, or in this case, you can do fresh cherries! You can also simmer frozen ones with a splash of maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon to make a hot compote to spoon on top.
Yogurt, kefir, whipped cream, ice cream - Full-fat Greek yogurt or a good thick vegan yogurt (like Yoggu, or a thick kefir) pairs really well with it and adds protein. If you wanted to turn the oats into a dessert, you can top it with a scoop of chocolate ice cream or some whipped cream!
Nut butter - Almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or even my Homemade Nutella will add healthy fats, protein and make it more filling.

A slice of a chocolate cherry baked oatmeal on a small wooden plate garnished with a fresh cherry.

Storing and Reheating

Fridge: Store the baked oats in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. If you're stacking the slices, place a small square of parchment paper between them so they don't stick together.

Freezer: You can also freeze the oats in a freezer-safe container or a freezer bag for 3-5 months. The lower and more stable the temperature of your freezer is, the longer you can store it, so adjust accordingly.

Reheating: Reheat the oats on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a preheated oven at 300F for about 10 minutes. If the oats are frozen, defrost them in the fridge overnight first, or use a defrost setting on your oven. You can also just reheat them straight from frozen, but only at 250-300F to avoid burning the top because it will take longer (about 20 minutes for 1 slice).

FAQs

Can I reheat the oats in the microwave?

Technically you could, but I always prefer the oven because it crisps p the top and sides instead of keeping it soggy from the fridge or freezer.

A slice of a chocolate cherry baked oatmeal on a small wooden plate garnished with a fresh cherry and with a fork scooping up a piece of one corner.

More baked Oats

Below are four of my favorite baked oats, perfect for any time of the year! To see all the latest ones and other stovetop or overnight oats, head over to Oatmeal Recipes!

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Have you tried this Chocolate Cherry Baked Oatmeal? Please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!

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