The BEST Blackberry Baked Oatmeal
Plump blackberries, tangy kefir, and spicy cinnamon all mix together into a deliciously hearty blackberry baked oatmeal. With other wholesome ingredients like oats, flax seeds, chia seeds, and chopped walnuts, this oatmeal bake is perfect for your weekly meal prep or for the next family breakfast!
If you are someone who wants to add consistent and nutritious breakfasts to your day but struggles to find the time, I have a few tips for you! To start, I ALWAYS recommend keeping a few frozen options on hand like frozen breakfast muffins, egg burritos, or oatmeal bars. Never forget your freezer!
For many years, one of my all time favorite recipes to meal prep and have in my freezer for a grab and go breakfast were buttermilk and blueberry muffins that were loaded with fiber rich ingredients like oats, flax seeds, and chia seeds and a delicious recipe to enjoy in the morning.
Those muffins inspired my current new favorite recipe to meal prep, and one that I think will be yours too, with this delicious and hearty blackberry baked oatmeal! Wholesome oats, whole wheat flour, walnuts, and juicy blackberries all held together with a surprisingly tangy secret ingredient… kefir!
This recipe is perfect to bake and serve immediately to your family and a crowd or you could slice this oatmeal bake into individual bars for yourself to enjoy throughout the week as a meal prepped breakfast. Trust me, you’re going to love starting your day with this blackberry baked oatmeal recipe.
Let’s get to the recipe:
Why you’ll love this blackberry baked oatmeal:
You’ll love these tasty blackberry baked oatmeal bars because they are:
Full of wholesome ingredients: This blackberry oatmeal bake is filled with old fashioned oats, whole wheat flour, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, and other nutritious ingredients.
Held together with tangy with kefir: While many muffins, bars, and bakes are made with buttermilk, I subbed the buttermilk for probiotic rich kefir which adds some protein and the tang of buttermilk!
Meal prep friendly: This oatmeal bake is the perfect breakfast to meal prep and eat throughout the week. Simply bake these blackberry oatmeal bars on a Sunday, allow them to cool, then store in the refrigerator and warm up when you are ready to enjoy!
Loaded with plump blackberries: You can use fresh or frozen blackberries in this recipe! I added 12 oz of fresh blackberries but you could certainly go all the way up to two full cups.
Perfect for a crowd: I love to bake this oatmeal when I have friends coming over and serving it as more of a crumble with peanut butter, greek yogurt, or honey and butter for topping.
Dense and filling: These oatmeal bars are VERY filling and hearty, especially when you top them with protein rich greek yogurt.
Whether you meal prep this baked blackberry oatmeal for yourself to enjoy throughout the week or bake and serve this recipe to a crowd, you're guaranteed to love it!
Ingredients you’ll need for baked oatmeal with blackberries:
This blackberry oatmeal is loaded with nutritious ingredients like:
Old fashioned oats: This add a nice hearty bite to this blackberry baked oatmeal. You could try making it with other oats but it will change the final texture!
Whole wheat flour: I also made this oatmeal bake with
Chia seeds: I love to add chia seeds to oatmeal bakes for some extra fiber, plant based protein, and healthy fats.
Ground flax seeds: Ground flax seeds are loaded with healthy fats and a great addition to most oatmeal bakes.
Vanilla extract: For some flavor depth.
Chopped walnuts: You could sub this for chopped pecans or omit all together if you wanted to keep it nut free.
Brown sugar: For a touch of sweetness
Eggs: This will bind all of your ingredients together!
Kefir: This adds the perfect level of tang to this blackberry oatmeal! If you didn't have kefir, you could also use buttermilk or even sub for regular milk.
Oil: Choose either vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil.
Maple syrup: You could sub for honey.
Baking soda: This will add some rise to your oatmeal bake.
Salt: To balance out the sweet.
Cinnamon: This recipe is loaded with cinnamon an it adds the perfect warmth!
Fresh blackberries: You could also use frozen if that’s what you had on hand!
Step by Step Instructions:
Now let’s walk through how to make this oatmeal bake:
1) In a medium mixing bowl whisk together your eggs, oil, kefir, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until combined.
2) In a large bowl, stir together all of your dry ingredients including your oats, flour, chia seeds, flax seeds, brown sugar, walnuts, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3) Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir until combined. Then, gently fold in your blackberries being careful not to smash them.
4) Line a 9x13 baking dish with tin foil or spray it with non-stick cooking spray and pour your blackberry oatmeal batter into the dish. Gently press the batter evenly into the dish, being sure to push it into the corners.
5) Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. You can serve it as an oatmeal crumble immediately or allow it to cool and then slice it into bars. These bars are best served warm and with toppings of your choice when you are ready to enjoy them!
Swaps, substitutions, and serving suggestions:
This blackberry baked oatmeal is one of my all time favorite meal prep breakfast recipes because you can change the recipe up a little bit each time and try:
Change your liquid: Trust me, the tang of the kefir in this recipe is really what makes it stand out but you could swap kefir for buttermilk or even swap it out for regular milk if you didn’t want any tang.
Swap your fruit: Fresh blackberries are key for this blackberry oatmeal bake but you could easily add in other fruit like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or a blend of each.
Try different nuts: I added chopped walnuts to this recipe because they pair nicely with the blackberries but you could also do chopped pecans, pistachios, or even slivered almonds. If you want to make this oatmeal bake nut free, simply omit the nuts and add a few more berries!
Top it with different flavors: I highly recommend topping this blackberry oatmeal bake with vanilla greek yogurt but it is also delicious with butter and honey or some creamy peanut butter.
Make this recipe your own and tag me on instagram with any fun ideas you come up with!
Recipe FAQ:
How can I make this oatmeal bake gluten free?
If you want a gluten free oatmeal bake, use gluten free oats (did you know that all oats are gluten free?) and swap the whole wheat flour for gluten free oat flour! I recommend adding 1 full cup of oat flour instead of the 3/4 cup whole wheat flour.
Can I use frozen blackberries?
Absolutely! This recipe can be made with either fresh or frozen blackberries, whatever you have on hand.
How should I store these oatmeal bars?
If you choose to turn this blackberry baked oatmeal into meal prepped oatmeal bars to enjoy throughout the week, I would allow the oatmeal bake to cool entirely, slice into bars, then store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
Then, warm them up in the microwave when you are ready to eat. I like to heat them up then top them with greek yogurt, peanut butter, or warmed butter and some honey.
Other baked oatmeal recipes you will love:
Looking for other ways to enjoy baked oatmeal? From single serve portions to blended cookie oatmeal bars, I have tons of recipes on the blog that I think you will love:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Oat Bars
Chocolate Brownie Baked Oatmeal
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars
Single serve chocolate chip baked oatmeal
Blackberry Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, stir together all of your dry ingredients.
- In another smaller bowl, whisk together all of your wet ingredients until combined. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and gently stir until well incorporated.
- Gently fold in your blackberries until they are evenly distributed throughout the oat mixture. Pour your oat mixture into a lined 9x13 baking dish and spread it evenly throughout the dish.
- Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. You can serve this immediately as a crumble OR allow it to cool and then cut it into individual squares which are best served warm.
- Top with vanilla greek yogurt, peanut butter, or butter and honey and enjoy!
*All nutrition information has been approximated. Results may vary depending on brands used and serving size.
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Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a Registered Dietitian and busy toddler mom committed to bringing you delicious, nutritious, and easy-to-make recipes!