Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

Cozy up with a big chunky sweater, a pair of fuzzy slippers, a steaming hot cup of coffee, and this baked oatmeal for breakfast. Warm flavors of pumpkin pie spice and hearty pumpkin puree make this breakfast pumpkin pie feel like an indulgence; you won’t even realize you’re eating vegetables for breakfast! It’s full of fiber, protein, and healthy fats to give you the energy for all the fun fall activities.

This post is part of the October Recipe Redux, a recipe challenge aimed to inspire the food lover in every healthy eater and the healthy eater in every food lover. This month’s theme: fresh from the pumpkin patch!

I have a confession. Pumpkin pie is actually probably my least favorite pie. Ok maybe it’s higher on the list than something like lemon merengue or key lime, but as far as Thanksgiving pies go, I’d pass it up any day for an apple or some kind of berry pie. I think it’s more of a texture or crust thing than the actual flavors, because I do love the rich fall flavors of pumpkin pie spice!

I am, however, a big fan of baked oatmeal. Ever since I made the baked oatmeal from Heidi Swansons Super Natural Every Day cookbook (here’s a similar version), it’s become my go-to brunch dish or weekend breakfast. Of course, when I make it, I cut the butter completely and nearly halve the sugar because I just don’t find them necessary in this dish. The best part is that it makes great leftovers and a ready-to-go breakfast for busy weekday mornings.

Baked oatmeal is so versatile. You can add any of your favorite flavors to it — any type of fruit or sweeter vegetable like pumpkin or butternut squash, nuts, seeds, and different spices and herbs. There are probably delicious savory versions out there too, if that’s more your preference.

This is fall’s version with an ode to all things pumpkin. While pumpkin flavored things — pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin beer, pumpkin pie, pumpkin breads/muffins, pumpkin cake, etc. — are often a total indulgence, pumpkin itself is actually very nutritious. It’s full of fiber and vitamin A (mostly in the form of beta-carotene), and provides some vitamin C, E, and potassium as well as antioxidants.

I bought a jar of pumpkin pie spice on a whim one day in Trader Joe’s and it works perfectly here. But if you don’t have the spice mix, you can just add a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. If you really love the flavor of pumpkin spice, you can add more than I call for here. It’s pretty flexible.

This oatmeal is gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free oats and can be made vegan by replacing the egg with a flax egg.

I topped mine with a big dollop of plain whole-milk Greek yogurt for some extra protein and fat, and then drizzled just a tiny bit of maple syrup when serving.