Recipe: Baked Sweet Potato, Cranberry Apple Oatmeal Casserole

 

 

I don't know about you, but something about this cooler weather has been making me crave heartier warm dishes -- even for breakfast. I kept thinking about how good baked oatmeal with sweet potatoes, cranberries and apples would be and bam! I knew I had to make it that minute (on a Sunday afternoon). It reheats very well in the microwave with a little milk. It's even good cold eaten straight out of the dish in the fridge (no, not speaking from experience ...)

 

Baked Sweet Potato, Cranberry Apple Oatmeal Casserole

 

Oatmeal Filling Ingredients:

1 cup regular oats
2 1/4 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)
1 small sweet potato, peeled, chopped
1 large granny smith apple
1/4 cup fresh or dry cranberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp sea salt or to taste
 

Almond Topping Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped almonds (pecans or walnuts would work great too!)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour (I used coconut flour)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the chopped sweet potato and cook over medium heat, for about 5 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. In a medium pot add the oats, milk, and chia seeds. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Mash the cooked sweet potato into the pot (I left some chunks for texture). Add the apples and cranberries. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt. Cook on low for a few minutes.

4. Make the almond topping by mixing together the ingredients with a fork until clumpy.

5. Pour the oatmeal into a casserole dish and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the almond mixture on top.

6. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, at 350F. After 20 minutes, broil on low until browned (about two minutes). Remove from oven and serve. makes 3-4 servings.

You'll notice this recipe doesn't call for any added sugar. I omitted it based on my dietary needs but a little brown sugar or maple syrup would be good if you wanted it a little sweeter. Honestly though, I didn't miss it at all and thought the sweet potato, apple and cranberries made it perfect!

Let us know if you try this! Do you have any hearty winter recipes you want to share?