Packed with oats, flax, and pumpkin puree, this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal is a great healthy breakfast option that’s easy to make in advance. It’s an all-ages crowd-pleaser at any time of year!
Well, hi there friends. It’s been a while, huh? In fact, it’s been… almost 4 years. How is that possible!?
As it turns out, when you have picky kiddos, it’s not all that fun to plan, make, and clean up fun new recipes that no one will eat. So yes, it’s been radio silence over here because we’re on the same rotation of basic favorites. There might be light at the end of the tunnel though– slowly but surely we are starting to branch out a bit.
I am back today because I felt like this recipe needed to live somewhere. I make it all the time for us, other people, and events, and am constantly asked for the recipe, which, until now only lived in my brain. So now I will have a spot to send people!
This Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal is a huge favorite in our house. You might think that pumpkin is only for the fall time, but that’s false. You know what else pumpkin is good for? Getting veggies into picky eaters. Pumpkin is a vegetable and vegetables for breakfast are perfect any time of year!
I also love to make this oatmeal for a crowd. The recipe as written is about 4 servings, but it’s easy to double– just put it in a 9×13 casserole dish and bake about 10ish minutes longer. It’s always a crowd-pleaser.
The baked oatmeal is packed full of healthy stuff like pumpkin and flaxseed, but it’s enticing to kiddos and quite delicious thanks to a sprinkling of chocolate chips. If you’re not into chocolate for breakfast, we’ve also used the tiny frozen wild blueberries and they work well too.
This Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal is also a great dish to make ahead of time. I make a pan of it almost every weekend and store it in the fridge for easy weekday breakfasts. Just reheat a slice for 30 seconds in the microwave (or precisely 22 if you’re a picky 4 year old who has very specific temperature requirements).
A few recipe notes:
- You can use chia seeds or hemp seeds instead of the flaxseed, or leave it out all together.
- Mix up the spices– I like it with a bit of ground cloves and allspice, but my kiddos don’t prefer those.
- You can use any kind of milk– I’ve made this with coconut and almond milks as well as our usual whole milk.
- 1½ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray an 8-inch square baking dish or pie dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flaxseed, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Add the milk, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla extract and mix well to combine. Mix in half the chocolate chips.
- Pour the oat mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.
- Cover with foil and bake, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until the top no longer looks wet.
- Cool slightly and serve warm, or cool completely and store in the fridge for another day.
Enjoy!
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