Easy Apple Baked Oatmeal: Vegan and Glutenfree

Happy New Year! Although I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions, I do think it's a great time for small changes you can make to improve your (and your family's) life. One resolution this year is to pay special attention to SUGAR in our family's diet. It's amazing how easily it is to eat sugar, even if you avoid dessert and treats. Sugar can be found in baked goods, yogurt and even milk! And I know my kids get enough sugar in their diets even if we try to avoid all extra sweet treats and desserts. 

So, to stay on the lower sugar trend, I can't wait to share this easy Apple Baked Oatmeal recipe with you that's vegan and gluten-free. I adapted it from this recipe, and cut the sugar in half (actually, even more than that!).

This apple baked oatmeal is a time-tested recipe that I've made about every month for the past 3 years. WOW. I'd say it's about time to post it! Of course it's dairy free, egg free and allergy-friendly. It's also gluten free as long as you use gluten free oats.


My Little Guy with food allergies just LOVES this baked oatmeal. I usually just cut it into squares, leave a few pieces in the refrigerator to eat for the next few days, and then freeze the rest of the squares for future breakfasts, snacks or to pop in lunchboxes. It's just as moist and delicious after it's been frozen. 

Simple, homemade, real food in an instant!

This isn't the prettiest photo of my baked oatmeal from the freezer, but real life isn't always pretty. Ha!

Like me and the hubs, Little Guy LOVES the apples and always asks me to put more in the baked oatmeal. 5 year old Little Gal doesn't like the pieces of apples as much. So, I usually cut the apples in big enough pieces for her to easily pick them out (or in reality, for me to take them out for her). That method seems to work for all of us!

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Easy Apple Baked Oatmeal: Vegan and Gluten-free

Makes 12 large servings. Makes 24 servings for smaller (kid-sized) squares.

WET INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 3 cups milk* 
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup oil (I've used coconut or canola oil in the past)
• 6 tsp vanilla extract

*Any kind of milk work. I've personally used coconut milk and soymilk in the past. If your milk has no sugar in it, you could slightly increase the sugar in this recipe.

DRY INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups rolled oats (use gluten-free if needed)
• 2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 Tbsp flax meal
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 diced apples (Put in as many or as little as you want. I usually add in about 1 - 2 cups of diced apples).

DIRECTIONS:

• Mix together wet ingredients in large bowl (no mixer needed, just use a spoon!)
• Mix together dry ingredients in separate bowl with whisk or fork
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix with spoon or spatula
• Pour mixture into 9 x 13 greased pan
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until slightly golden brown around edges, and slightly firm in the middle
• Let cool before serving to make sure it doesn't fall apart when cutting it

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Are you on Pinterest?  Don't forget to pin this recipe! You might also like some of the other vegan baked goods pins on my Pinterest board. Check them out and let me know if you have any other favorite vegan baked good recipes that can feed a crowd!