This Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal is an easy sweet breakfast or brunch, perfect for the whole family! You can make it ahead when meal prepping and it's perfect for a crowd! The oatmeal is crispy and caramelized on top and soft and chewy on the inside with pockets of melted dark chocolate. It's simple, easy to make, and freezer-friendly!
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Why You'll Love These Chocolate Chip Baked Oats
Sweet and chocolatey - If you love chocolate chip cookies and banana bread, this baked oatmeal is for you! It's not overly sweet, mostly sweetened with ripe bananas, and so delicious! The oatmeal has an amazing caramelized crust on top while staying soft and chewy on the inside with pockets of melted chocolate.
Easy and simple - This oatmeal calls for a few simple ingredients and only needs about 10 minutes of hands-on time. It bakes for 50 minutes during which you can get the rest of your breakfast or meal prep done or get ready for the day!
Great for a crowd - You can easily double or triple this recipe and bake it in multiple baking dishes if the size of your oven allows. You only need two bowls and it's very easy to serve for a big family.
Great for meal prep - This oatmeal stores really well both in the fridge and in the freezer! You can keep it in the fridge for up to 6 days (if it lasts you that long!). It never lasts me more than 2 days though, it's so good! You can reheat it from frozen which makes this a super easy breakfast for busy weekday mornings!
Ingredients
- Rolled oats - Make sure to use rolled oats for this recipe. Steel-cut oats won't cook properly and quick-cooking oats will cook too much and would make the finished oatmeal too dense.
- Banana - Choose extra ripe bananas, ones you'd normally use for banana bread. Banana adds sweetness and moisture. Skipping them will result in a dry and dense baked oatmeal.
- Eggs - Eggs help bind everything together and make these baked oats taste almost like a cake. I haven't tried any vegan substitutes so I can't guarantee results.
- Milk - Use any milk you have. I like cashew milk or almond milk but whole milk, oat milk, rice milk, coconut milk from a box, or any other milk works great. I don't recommend canned coconut milk because it's too thick and heavy.
- Butter - Butter adds amazing flavor, prevents the baked oatmeal from being too dry, and helps it get nice and golden on top. Use dairy-free butter if needed. Alternatively, you can also use cooking oil like avocado oil.
- Sweetener - I opted for dark maple syrup because it goes really well with bananas and chocolate but honey is also a great option.
- Chocolate chips - You can use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate here. I'm a huge fan of dark chocolate so I like using any chocolate that's at least 75% fo cocoa mass because it doesn't make the oatmeal overly sweet.
- Cinnamon and vanilla - Ground cinnamon and vanilla extract add flavor and balance out the flavors. You can use vanilla paste, vanilla powder, or the scraped seeds of a vanilla bean as well. If you use a powder or a fresh bean, add much less because it's stronger than an extract.
- Sea salt and baking powder - Sea salt brings out the sweetness of the chocolate and bananas and can't be missing in any baked goods. Baking powder helps to raise the batter and make it more cake-like.
- Turbinado sugar - Coarse sugar is a great topping because it helps the batter caramelize and crisp up on top but it doesn't melt completely so it adds a little crunch as well.
Variations and Substitutions
- Apple sauce - If you don't like or don't have bananas, you can use apple sauce (also called apple puree). Make sure to use one that's made with just apples without any added sugar. I highly recommend not skipping the mashed bananas or apple sauce because the oatmeal would be too dry.
- Different chocolate - You can add white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, vegan chocolate, sugar-free chocolate, or anything in between!
- More spices - You can add more flavor by adding more spices than just cinnamon. Try it with Chai Spice Mix, Gingerbread Spice Mix, or my all-time favorite Christmas Spice Blend (gingerbread with more spices and no ginger)!
- Nut butter - Add some almond butter or roasted hazelnut butter for added healthy fats and protein! Try adding this Homemade Nutella!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F (190C). Prepare a 12x8-inch baking dish and grease it using a knob of butter. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix rolled oats, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- Into a large bowl, add eggs, mashed banana, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk until well mixed.
- Add milk to the whisked wet ingredients and briefly whisk again to mix.
- Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and stir using a spoon until well-mixed. I use a spoon here instead of the whisk because it's easier to mix that way.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if using.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
- Take the baked oatmeal out of the oven and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into 6 squares and serving.
- Enjoy with your favorite toppings!
Expert Tips
- Sugar topping: Since this baked oatmeal has chocolate chips which have more added sugar than fruit would, the turbinado sugar topping is optional but highly recommended! I like using dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate (at least 75%) which is more bitter and doesn't add as much sugar so the sugar topping is a great finishing touch. It doesn't melt fully and caramelizes the oats beautifully.
- Baking dish: Glass dishes take longer to heat up and cool down than ceramic dishes do. That being said, I make all my baked oatmeal in glass baking dishes with no issues. Use whatever you have. I recommend something as close to 12x8 inches in size as possible. If it's bigger, the oatmeal will be too thin and if it's smaller, it may need to cook longer and it will have less of the delicious crust.
Serving Suggestions
This oatmeal is delicious on its own but there are also so many toppings you can add to dress it up! Here are a few ideas:
- Yogurt - This is my favorite baked oatmeal topping! Greek yogurt or creamy vegan yogurt are great options. I like adding plain coconut milk yogurt.
- Nut butter or any seed butter for some healthy fats and extra protein
- Fresh fruit - Add berries, cherries, fresh peaches, apples, pears, or anything else that's in season!
- Cooked or baked fruit - You can add some Caramelized Apples or Caramelized Peaches or baked pears, apples, or stone fruit depending on the season. Homemade chia jam like this Strawberry Vanilla Chia Jam would also be delicious!
- Ice cream - serve this oatmeal in smaller portions with a scoop or two of ice cream and some Chocolate Syrup for dessert!
Storing and Reheating
This oatmeal is perfect for meal prep because it stores well in both the fridge and the freezer. I don't recommend prepping the batter ahead of time because the oats would soak up too much of the wet ingredients but I love making this on meal prep days ahead of a busy week.
Fridge - Store the baked oatmeal in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days. If you cut the oatmeal into squares and want to stack them, I recommend placing some parchment paper in between the slices to prevent them from sticking together.
Freezer - Freeze the oatmeal squares in a freezer bag or a freezer-safe container for 2-4 months. I recommend always cutting the oatmeal into single-serving squares before freezing for easier defrosting when you only need one or two servings.
Reheating - Reheat the oatmeal on a small baking sheet in a preheated oven at 300F (150C). If the oatmeal is from the fridge, it should take about 10-15 minutes to warm through. If you're heating it up from frozen, give it at least 20-30 minutes, depending on the size.
FAQs
I haven't tried any vegan substitutes for the eggs so I can't guarantee results but you could try flax egg or any other egg substitute you often use. Please let me know how it went if you do! You can use vegan butter, dairy-free milk, and vegan chocolate chips without affecting the outcome of the recipe.
Oats are a very good breakfast choice. They're high in fiber and protein, and they tend to keep you full for longer. You can even add some protein powder to this baked oatmeal to up the protein content. This recipe does have maple syrup and chocolate chips which add sugar but each serving has 18 grams of sugar which is still less than most store-bought muffins or loafs.
You let the batter sit for too long before baking. The oats will soak up a lot of the wet ingredients quickly so if you let it sit for a while (more than 15 minutes), the batter will be much thicker and won't have the desired texture once baked.
Similar Recipes
If you like this baked oatmeal and you're looking for other flavor ideas, give any of the four recipes below a try! The mixed berry one is my all-time favorite but they're all delicious! To see all the latest ones, head over to Oatmeal Recipes.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal is an easy sweet breakfast or brunch, perfect for the whole family! It's simple, great for meal prep, and freezer-friendly!
Ingredients
- A knob of butter
- 2 ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed banana (2-3 bananas)
- ¼ cup melted butter (make sure it’s not too hot so it doesn’t cook the eggs)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups milk (I use almond or cashew milk)
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 2 tbsp turbinado sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F (190C). Prepare a 12x8-inch baking dish and grease it using a knob of butter. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together rolled oats, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- Into a large bowl, add eggs, mashed banana, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well mixed.
- Add milk and whisk again.
- Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips and stir using a spoon until well-mixed.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
- Take the baked oatmeal out of the oven and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into 6 squares and serving.
- Enjoy with your favorite toppings!
Notes
Optional toppings: berries, nut butter, yogurt, banana, cherries, peaches
Fridge: Store any leftover oatmeal in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days. Add some parchment paper in between slices if you’re stacking them.
Freezer: Freeze the oatmeal in a freezer-safe container or a freezer-bag for 3-4 months. Freeze the baked oats in single serving sizes for easier defrosting.
Reheating: Reheat the oatmeal from the fridge on a small baking sheet in a preheated oven at 300F (150C) for 10-15 minutes. If frozen, cook it for 20-30 minutes or until warmed throughout. Alternatively, you can also defrost it in the fridge overnight.
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