All this week, L has been up and ready for the day at just about 5 am on the dot. Other than needing to use the potty, we can’t figure out why (or how) she’s able to be so consistent with her wake up times. I’m convinced that it’s just genetic and she takes after her early-rising daddy…either that or she just loves playing tea party so much that she can’t stand to stay asleep any longer. This Overnight Baked Oatmeal with Coconut has saved us!
Breakfast usually happens by 6 on those mornings—I’ve already had a cup of strong tea by that point, lest you are worrying about me bleary eyed and stumbling around the kitchen—and we often rely on make-ahead options. I have my favorite muffin recipes, but I’m always looking for new ways to serve oatmeal, so when I saw the recipe for Coconut Cream Baked Oatmeal in the new cookbook, Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites by Aimée Wimbush-Bourque, I knew I had to try it.
I’ve been following Aimée’s blog, Simple Bites, for years and I love her approach to cooking, feeding her family, and preserving food from her garden. I made one of her recipes for L’s first birthday cake and I often head to her site for general cooking inspiration. All of which is to say that I totally trust her recipes and I can’t wait to make more of the ones in this book.
The book, which is organized by seasons and also includes topics such as picnics, backyard grilling, Sunday dinners, and batch cooking, is both sophisticated and family friendly. L and I have looked through it together, going page by page trying to spot Aimée’s daughter Clara and pointing out some of our favorite foods. Since she immediately become somewhat preoccupied with Clara because of how much she loves the Clara in the Nutcracker, I figured I could use that to my advantage as I served up this new version of baked oatmeal: I totally called it “Clara’s oatmeal”.
And the dish was just the thing to help us all get ready to face the day on a cold winter morning—comforting, creamy, and easy for my little one to eat. This would be a perfect recipe for a weekend family breakfast or even breakfast for dinner, especially if you love coconut as much as we do.
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You can use either fresh or frozen berries in this.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 small (5 ounce) can coconut milk
- 1/3 cup honey, warmed
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup steel-cut oats
- 1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
1. MAKE AHEAD: Generously grease a 3-quart casserole or 9-inch square baking dish with coconut oil. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, coconut milk, honey, and vanilla until smooth. Add 2 cups water, oats, coconut, and salt. Mix well.
2. Pour mixture into the prepared casserole, press in berries, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 F .
4. Remove plastic wrap and bake oatmeal for 35 to 40 minutes or until set in the middle.
5. Drizzle oatmeal with a little extra honey and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Serve hot.
From Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites by Aimée Wimbush-Bourque. Copyright Aimée Wimbush-Bourque, 2015. Reprinted with permission from Peguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.
Thanks for sharing your twist on one of your favorite recipes! It took closer to an hour to come together for me this morning, but everyone loved it. Will be making again.
I just made this! Delicious! I substituted maple syrup for honey and skipped the vanilla (I was out). I also added a dash of cinnamon to the mix. Turned out really good. I’ll make it again! One note – the shredded coconut toasted very quickly and I burned the first batch. Maybe because I used my toaster oven. It only took about 20 seconds to burn!
Thanks for letting me know that Stephanie—I bet it was the toaster oven since they can get really hot really fast (and the heating mechanisms are usually closer to the food), but I’m glad that you otherwise enjoyed it!
I’ve made this twice, but I’m having trouble with the thickness. The ONLY thing I’m doing differently is using rolled oats in place of steel cut. (I have celiac disease, and I can’t easily find gluten-free steel cut in stores.) Is it really 2 cups of water? It is VERY liquid at first. I have to refrigerate overnight, then bake, then refrigerate again to get it to firm up. I’ve even cut the water in half, and I still have to cool it down to get it to thicken. My whole family LOVES this recipe, so I want to find out how to make it right! 🙂
Hi Jenn! Rolled oats don’t need nearly as much water as steel cut, as you’ve learned, so you you might need just two cups total liquid. So maybe try one cup water and one cup coconut milk, rather than using the full can? Or, if you really love the coconut flavor, use the full can and about 1/4 cup water. I am happy to try this for you if you can give me a few days since this is my best guess but I can’t say for sure until I try it out!