Baked Chocolate Oatmeal

This baked chocolate oatmeal is a decadent breakfast idea. It’s chocolatey, rich, and easy to make for a crowd. Serve it for Sunday breakfast or for a special occasion like Mother’s Day or Valentines’ Day.

What is baked oatmeal?

Baked oatmeal, in comparison to stovetop oatmeal, contains eggs and baking powder, and as the name suggests, is baked in the oven. Stovetop oatmeal has a pourable consistency while baked oatmeal is rather creamy and chewy and can be cut into servings, it’s something between oatmeal and a cake. Baking it also makes it easier to reheat and freeze.

The oatmeal pictured above was rather soft because it was fresh from the oven but when it’s cooled down it can be easily cut into servings and it’s more firm.

Ingredients

• This baked oatmeal recipe is similar to my other oatmeal recipes like pumpkin baked oatmeal or banana blueberry baked oatmeal. I’ve made a couple of changes to the recipe to make it more rich like adding one more egg, a little bit of heavy cream, and a touch of peanut butter to the batter.
• I’ve also added a banana for sweetness and texture (it makes the oatmeal more moist). The oatmeal won’t taste like banana or peanut butter though, it tastes mostly of chocolate.
• Maple syrup is added for sweetness and cinnamon and vanilla for flavor.
• The chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder and chopped chocolate (you can also use chocolate chips). I used Dutch-processed cocoa powder – it tastes better and more chocolatey, but any kind will work.
• Instead of cow’s milk, you can use any plant-based milk.
• I love a bit of crunch in my oatmeal so I’ve added walnuts but you can omit them or add pecans instead.
• For the best texture, use rolled oats and not quick/instant oats.
• Coconut oil can be substituted for butter.
• Baking powder can be omitted but it makes the oatmeal more fluffy.

Recipe variations

• Chocolate peanut butter oatmeal – add more peanut butter to the batter then add chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups instead of chocolate. It’s so good!
• Raspberry / strawberry chocolate oatmeal – add a handful of raspberries or strawberries on top of the batter. You may need to bake the oatmeal for about 5 minutes longer as the fruit release some liquid.

See here our 50+ oatmeal topping ideas.

Step by step instructions

Before you start:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/Gas Mark 5, no fan (if you have a convection oven, reduce the temperature by about 20° or follow the manufacturer’s instructions).
• Prepare a 9-inch (23 cm) round baking dish (I used a pie dish) or a 8×8-inch square (20x20cm) baking dish (or similar) and grease it with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.

Add all the ingredients for the oatmeal except the oats, chocolate, and nuts into a medium bowl and whisk until very well combined.

Next, whisk in the oats.

Pour the oatmeal batter into the baking dish.

Top with walnuts and chopped chocolate.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the oatmeal is set but still creamy (not dry). The baking time may vary depending on the oven.

Leave to set and cool for about 5 minutes, then serve with milk/plain yogurt, more maple syrup, and fresh berries.

Enjoy!

Servings

This baked oatmeal recipe yields 5 servings, considering that you’ll serve it with additional yogurt, fruit, and maple syrup. It can be easily doubled – double the ingredients and bake it in a 9×13-inch (23x33cm) baking dish. The baking time stays the same (if the oatmeal is still runny in the center, bake it for 5-10 minutes longer).

Storing and freezing instructions

How to store the oatmeal: 

Store the oatmeal in the fridge covered with plastic foil. It needs to be stored in the fridge because it contains eggs and milk.

How long can you keep baked oatmeal? 

Keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

How to reheat: 

Splash some milk over the oatmeal and place the baking dish in a cold oven and set it to 375°F/190°C. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until warm (after this time the oven should come to this temperature – if your oven warms up quicker set it to 320°F/160°C). You can also reheat it in a microwave. Reheated oatmeal tastes almost as freshly made (it’s just a little bit drier, but if you serve it poured with maple syrup/milk you won’t notice the difference).

How to make it ahead: 

Preparation of this oatmeal really takes a moment (for me it’s the time while my oven is heating up), but if you’re really short on time in the morning, you can prepare this oatmeal the day before. Cover the baking dish with plastic foil and put it in the fridge. On the next day bake the oatmeal as described in the recipe. It tastes like freshly made.

How to freeze: 

You can freeze the oatmeal whole or divided into servings. I prefer to freeze separate servings as they’re quicker to defrost and warm up. You can thaw it in the fridge overnight and warm up as described above. You can also bake it straight from the freezer in a 320°F/160°C oven. Frozen oatmeal tastes almost as freshly baked but is more crumbly and a little bit dry (again, if you serve it with yogurt/milk and maple syrup, you won’t notice the difference).

SEE OUR ALL OATMEAL RECIPES

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!