Garden Berry Baked Oatmeal

Gord and I got back from New Orleans, where we attended and Annual Business meeting, late Monday night. Any time I return from a trip without the boys it's always family time the next day or night where we do whatever the kids want to do (within reason). Fraser woke up on Tuesday morning and informed me right away that we needed to go pick the berries right away! He was right! The berry patch in the back garden was full of golden raspberries and sweet blueberries. While we would likely have eaten many of them fresh, some little 4 year old decided that it would be fun to stir the bowl full of berries soaking in water with a stick while I watered the garden!!

While he had fun making berry soup, some of the delicate golden raspberries were squished. I fished several out while washing them again but seeing all these berries in the bowl, I decided to just make something with them rather than keep them in the fridge to eat fresh.

Obviously I love Baked Oatmeal and since I'm starting a new meal plan next week that doesn't allow for any grains (yikes) I figured I would make a batch of baked oatmeal with all of these beautiful garden berries!

I have posted several baked oatmeal recipes here on the blog including Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal, Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal, Blueberry Almond Baked Oatmeal, Raspberry Almond Baked Oatmeal because I love to play with different flavours and I find that baked oatmeal is an excellent breakfast on the go!

This one is extra special because in has the sweetest golden raspberries grown fresh from my garden, but if you want to replicate it and aren't sure where to get golden raspberries, I have seen them at costco but you could also check the local farm market for them or swap them for any other berry! This recipe is versatile so use what you have on hand or growing in your own garden!

Garden Berry Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

2 cups whole or almond milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil

1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4- cup honey
4 to 6 cups mixed berries , divided in half

2 cups rolled oats

⅛ cup chia seeds

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4- cup slivered almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish with olive oil or coconut oil. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, oil, vanilla and honey; set aside.
Arrange half of the berries on the bottom of the dish and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine oats, chia seeds, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt; mix well.

Add milk mixture into the oat mixture and stir until thoroughly incorporated.

Top berries with the prepared oat mixture, then arrange remaining berries on top.
Add slivered almonds over the entire mixture.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the oats have absorbed all the liquid and the top has browned slightly.
Remove from oven and let stand several minutes.
Serve immediately OR cool it completely, transfer to a plastic covered containers and keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.

Recipe Notes

Top oats with plain greek yogurt for added protein.

You can also prep the baked oatmeal the night before and pop it in the oven the next day.