Guest Post: Kalen's Baked Oatmeal

GUYS. Guys.  I have a guest post of epic proportions for you this week - my college roommate and baking goddess Kalen has been kind enough to share a ridiculously delicious recipe with us all. Kalen is actually a professional - she's the head baker at this lovely little place in LA - and I legitimately don't think I've ever eaten anything she made that wasn't phenomenal. She also sent me this incredible guest post as I was scarfing down a bowl of cereal for dinner and trying to survive my last round of grad school finals, so she gets extra brownie points on top of everything else. Mm brownies.

Maybe last week's coffee cake was a little too dessert-y for your breakfast needs. Maybe you've tried Kalen's baked goods before and know that she actually can do no wrong when given a mixing bowl and an oven. Maybe you just really like oatmeal - I do! Whatever your reasons, this delicious Baked Oatmeal is sure to please your taste buds and your tummy.

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Hey!  I'm Kalen.  I was Justyna's roommate in college.  I like butter.  Like for real.  I'm a baker, and I'm into butter.  Glad we got that out of the way.  When Justyna decided to be vegan, I had a lot of qualms.  You see, Justyna and I in college probably had a few too many excursions in pursuit of cupcakes, and/or pie, and/or ice cream.  We were partners in dessert crime.  I hope you are picturing us as hamburglars with cupcake accessories, because that's a dream come true!  Anyway, when Justyna decided to be vegan, I thought these excursions would be gone.  Goodbye to our cupcake destruction days.  Luckily, the girl still likes to eat delicious food.  And double luckily, being vegan has made her explore cooking and baking even more!  While I'm still going steady with butter, Justyna being vegan helps me to think about baking in a different light.  When preparing pastries at work, I like to play around with recipes I think might be easily adaptable to be vegan and still be awesome.  For me, vegan baking should be making something super delicious, that just so happens to be vegan. With this, I give you Vegan Baked Oatmeal.

This oatmeal is the perfect dish to share with your friends at a brunch, or perfect to have on hand throughout the week when you need a quick healthy breakfast on the go.  It is easily customizable too!   It's like those oatmeal swirlers from the 90s but grown up and way better. 

I've made it a few times, sometimes with berries and bananas, sometimes with apples and hazelnuts.  You can adjust your oatmeal to whatever produce is in season. Once you get the hang of it, you can go crazy with toppings and try different combinations to suit your tastes.  (You can also make this gluten free if you get your hands on Gluten Free Oats!)

Vegan Baked Oatmeal

Makes 9 squares 

2 cups Oats

½ cup Walnuts

⅓ cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1½ teaspoon Cinnamon

2 cups Almond Milk (Or milk of your choice)

1 tablespoon Flax Seed Meal (Or Chia Seed Meal)*

3 tablespoons Water

2 teaspoon Vanilla

1½ teaspoon Canola Oil

1½ cups Assorted Berries

2 Bananas

Preaheat your oven to 350 F.  Spray an 8X8 Pan.  First make a flax egg by combining the flax meal and the 3 tablespoons of water.  Stir to mix and let sit for 15 minutes.  In another bowl mix together the oats, 1/4 cup of walnuts, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  

I'm sticking my tongue out at you in this picture!

Grab your prepared 8x8 pan.  Slice your banana and arrange slices in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared dish.  Sprinkle 1 cup of the berries over the top of the bananas.  Pour oat mixture evenly on top of the fruit.  

In a separate bowl combine the almond milk, flax egg, canola oil, and vanilla.  Stir to combine.  Slowly pour milk mixture over oat and fruit mixture to coat.  Tap pan on counter to make sure the milk moves through the oats.  Sprinkle remaining nuts and berries over the top of oat and milk mixture.  

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. You should be able to jiggle the pan without any movement from the oats in the middle.  Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.  Cut oatmeal into 9 squares, serve warm.  Oatmeal will keep about 5 days, and can be heated for your breakfast throughout the week!

* Notes:  The Flax/ Chia Egg is used as an egg substitute, but I have a feeling that this recipe doesn't even need it.  I haven't tried it without it, but if you can't get your hands on flax or chia, try it!  If it doesn't hold together, you will still have delicious oatmeal.

**Next I want to try breakfast baked quinoa, or maybe a mixture of oats and quinoa!  Ooo fiber!