Ingredients
Units
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 large (or 2 small) granny smith apple, peeled, cored, cut into a medium dice
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 3 cups vanilla almond milk (see note below)
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled (see note below)
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided (see note below)
- 1/4 cup organic grade-A maple syrup
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
- 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/4 tsp vanilla beans
- 1 tsp cinnamon (the Vietnamese/Saigon variety is great here)
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp maple extract (see note below)
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9×9 broiler-safe baking dish with butter (see note below) or non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the almond milk, egg, vanilla beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, sea salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar (see note below), maple syrup, melted butter (see note below), vanilla and maple extracts. Whisk to combine, making sure the egg is fully incorporated. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, add the oats, baking powder, dried cranberries, and apple pieces. Mix together thoroughly to combine. Pour oat/apple mixture into your prepared baking dish in an even layer. Pour the almond milk mixture over the oats, making sure it’s evenly covered. Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top and bake on the lower-middle rack for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven after 30 minutes, and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the top of the oatmeal. Bake an additional 15 minutes, then turn on the broiler to your oven. Allow the brown sugar layer to caramelize slightly for about 2-3 minutes. Please keep an eye on this to make sure the sugar doesn’t brown too much or burn.
- Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving. See note below for suggestions on how to serve this. Enjoy!
Notes
You can use regular milk instead of almond milk. I used sweetened vanilla almond milk, but you can use unsweetened. Depending on how sweet you like your oatmeal, you can totally adjust the amount of brown sugar and maple syrup used for this recipe. Either reduce it by half, or omit it. If you don’t have maple extract, use just 1 more teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can use coconut oil instead of butter for the entire dish. Serve with a light splash (1 tablespoon) of almond milk and/or a very light drizzle (1/2 teaspoon) maple syrup at the very end. If you’re feeling naughty, it would be awesome with a small scoop of gelato. This reheats well in the microwave, but do not overcook it because the texture will become gummy.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
