Cinnamon Baked Apple Everything-Free Oatmeal (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Vegan!)

I love having guests visit our home. It’s always a treat to spend time with people we care about — and it’s a chance to try new recipes, too! This past weekend, our dear friends Dan and Kathryn Lovatt came into town for quite the celebratory occasion. Kathryn is a wonderful short story writer, and Press 53, a publishing house based here in Winston-Salem, presented Kathryn with an award for one of her stories at their annual awards event last night. (We’re so proud of her!)

Though their visit was a short one, Kevin and I loved our time with the Lovatts (we always do), and enjoyed a dinner together at Jeffrey Adams following the awards ceremony last night. For breakfast this morning, I made a baked oatmeal dish (one I’d never tried before, but it was a variation of a recipe from my friend Teri’s blog so I knew it had to be good). And it was delicious! I modified the recipe slightly to take it from gluten-free to, well, everything free (except taste-free, that is). It’s devoid of gluten, dairy, and eggs, and is completely vegan, so anyone can enjoy this perfect-for-fall breakfast.

Another bonus: The only sweetener used in this recipe is pure maple syrup, so you can feel extra great about serving this to friends and family.

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten-free old fashioned oatmeal (I used Bob’s Red Mill oats)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 small apples, chopped
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 2/3 cup almond milk
• 1/2 ripe banana, mashed
• 3 Tablespoons Earth Balance, melted
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9-inch by 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
• Combine the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, 1/2 cup of the walnuts and half of the diced apple. Stir to combine and spread into the greased pan.
• Sprinkle the remaining apple and walnuts on top.
• Whisk the maple syrup, milk, mashed banana, Earth Balance, and vanilla extract. Pour over the oatmeal mixture.

• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the dish turns golden brown and the liquid has set.
• Let cool for a few minutes, then serve! (Sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top for serving, if desired.)

Oh, I also whipped up another new recipe — these super easy pumpkin chocolate chunk muffins that I got from my friend Emily’s blog. Three ingredients — that’s it!

As for leftovers for this delectable oatmeal? I feel like it could be excellent whipped up with some yogurt, 1/2 a frozen banana, and turned into a smoothie. Who’s with me?