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This single serving baked oatmeal bakes up golden on top with soft fruit underneath. Perfect for one, these baked oats are lightly sweetened with honey and easy to change up with any fruit you like.
Featured Comment
I have made this many times! Delicious! I also added peaches with the blueberries.
– Cathie
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Cool Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Equipment: 5×5-inch baking dish
- Cook Method: Oven
- Servings: 1
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: Lightly sweet from honey and cinnamon, with tender oats and soft fruit.
The key to making baked oats for one is a simple formula: ¼ cup of oats, ¼ cup of liquid, one egg, and about a tablespoon of honey. Stir it together, pour it over fruit in a small dish, and bake until the top is set and golden.
Why You’ll Love This Single Serve Baked Oatmeal
If you’re cooking for one, this baked oatmeal gives you a warm, fresh breakfast without a full pan to work through for the next four days. You make it in one small dish, and it’s ready to eat warm from the oven.
What sets this apart from stovetop oats is the texture. The egg binds everything as it bakes, so it bakes into a tender oatmeal you can cut into, soft in the middle with a set top. Layer the fruit in first and it softens into the oats while it bakes.
The fruit is where you make it yours. I use blueberries, but this recipe takes just about anything, sliced strawberries, chopped apple, sliced bananas, peaches, whatever you love or need to use up. I keep it lightly sweetened so it works as an everyday breakfast, and if you want it sweeter, drizzle on honey or maple syrup once it’s out of the oven.
For more single serving oatmeal recipes to start the day, try my peanut butter oatmeal or apple pie oatmeal. And if you’d rather skip the oven, my overnight oats for one comes together in a jar the night before.
Ingredients
Here’s what goes into this individual baked oatmeal and what each ingredient does. If you have anything left over, our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder will point you to other single serving recipes that use it.
Oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats. They hold their shape in the oven and bake up tender, and a single serving needs just ¼ cup. Save any extra for small batch oatmeal raisin cookies, blackberry crisp for one, or small batch gingerbread granola.
Cinnamon and salt: Cinnamon adds warmth, and a pinch of salt brings out the flavor of the oats and fruit. Swap in nutmeg or allspice if you want a different spice.
Milk: Any milk works, dairy or plant-based. I use whole milk for a richer bake, but almond, soy, oat, or coconut milk all do the job.
Butter: Salted butter adds flavor and a little richness to the oats. Unsalted works too, with a small pinch more salt.
Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds a soft sweetness and warmth to the oatmeal.
Honey: Honey lightly sweetens the oatmeal. Maple syrup works just as well if that’s what you keep on hand.
Egg: One egg binds the oats and sets the bake. It also adds protein, which makes this a more filling breakfast.
Fruit: Blueberries are my go-to and bake down soft and sweet, but most fruit works here. Try it with apples, peaches, another stone fruit, or a banana. Fresh fruit goes in as is; thaw and drain frozen fruit first so it doesn’t water down the oats. See Recipe Variations for fruit combinations that work well.
Recipe Variations
These swaps change the flavor of your small batch baked oatmeal, and one scales it up to serve two.
Banana Baked Oatmeal
Layer in half a sliced banana along with or in place of the blueberries. It bakes soft and adds natural sweetness. For a banana nut version, scatter a tablespoon of chopped pecans or walnuts over the top.
Apple Cinnamon
Line the dish with a small diced apple in place of the blueberries. Stir a tablespoon of raisins and an extra pinch of cinnamon into the oats.
Pumpkin Spice
Replace the fruit with about ¼ cup of canned pumpkin and reduce the milk to 3 tablespoons. Add ¼ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, or a pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Savory Baked Oatmeal
Leave out the honey and fruit. Wilt a handful of spinach, squeeze it dry, and stir it in with 2 tablespoons of crumbled feta, then finish with black pepper.
Make Baked Oatmeal For Two
Double all the ingredients and bake in a 6×8-inch dish. The bake time stays about the same, so start checking it at 40 minutes.
How To Make Baked Oatmeal For One
Here’s how to make baked oats, step by step. See the recipe card below for exact amounts and full instructions.
- Stir the oats, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl.
- In a second bowl, whisk the milk, egg, melted butter, honey, and vanilla until smooth.
- Spread the fruit in an even layer across the bottom of a buttered 5×5-inch baking dish.
- Spoon the dry oat mixture evenly over the fruit.
- Level the oats so they bake evenly.
- Pour the wet mixture evenly over the oats and fruit.
- Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and set. Let it cool for about 5 minutes, then serve.
Expert Tips
Use a 5×5-inch baking dish. A dish this size lets the oatmeal bake up thick and set evenly. A 4×6-inch dish works too. Anything much larger spreads the oats thin and they can dry out.
Bake just until the center is set. The top should be golden and the middle set but still soft.
Whisk the egg in fully. Beat the wet ingredients until the egg is completely blended with no streaks. That’s what lets the oatmeal set evenly instead of leaving pockets of cooked egg.
Adjust the flavor to your taste. This oatmeal is lightly sweetened on purpose. If you like it bolder, add a little more cinnamon, more honey, or a pinch more salt.
Troubleshooting
This recipe comes together reliably, and a few small adjustments give you exactly the baked oatmeal you want.
Why is my baked oatmeal dry?
Dry baked oatmeal is usually overbaked or made in too large a dish. Remove it from the oven as soon as the center is set, and use a 5×5-inch dish so the oats bake up thick. If it’s already dry, add a splash of milk when you serve it.
Why is my baked oatmeal soggy in the center?
A soggy center usually means it came out of the oven too soon. Bake it a few minutes longer, until the top is golden and the middle is set. Frozen fruit is the other common cause, since it releases water as it bakes, so next time thaw and drain the frozen fruit first.
Why does my baked oatmeal stick to the dish?
Baked oatmeal sticks when the dish isn’t greased well enough. Butter the bottom and sides before adding the fruit, and let the oatmeal cool for about 5 minutes before serving so it firms up and releases easily.
Frequently Asked Questions
A single serving of baked oatmeal uses ¼ cup of oats. Add ¼ cup of milk, one egg, and a tablespoon of honey, and it bakes into a filling breakfast for one. The egg adds protein, so it holds you longer than a plain bowl of oats.
Yes, double all the ingredients and bake in a 6×8-inch dish. The bake time stays about the same, so start checking it around 40 minutes.
Baked oatmeal is a wholesome breakfast of oats, milk, egg, and fruit. It provides fiber and protein, and because it’s lightly sweetened with honey, you control how much sugar goes in. For a lighter version, use low-fat milk and less honey.
No, use old-fashioned rolled oats for the best texture. Quick oats absorb more liquid and can turn soft and mushy in the oven. Old-fashioned oats hold their shape and bake up tender.
Yes, this baked oatmeal is made with blueberries and no banana to begin with. If you’d like banana, sliced banana bakes well layered in with or in place of the fruit.
Yes, prep the dry and wet ingredients separately the night before. Stir the oats, cinnamon, and salt in one container and the milk, egg, butter, honey, and vanilla in another, then combine and bake in the morning. Keeping them separate stops the oats from soaking up the liquid overnight.
Baked oatmeal is made for the oven, so I don’t recommend the microwave. The oven is what gives it a golden top and a set texture. For a quick stovetop breakfast, try my peanut butter oatmeal instead.
Baked oatmeal is a full breakfast on its own. If you want to add to it, top it with a spoon of yogurt, fresh fruit, or a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
Cover and refrigerate leftover baked oatmeal for up to 2 days. Reheat it in the microwave or a warm oven, and add a splash of milk if it seems dry.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this Baked Oatmeal For One or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
RELATED: 20 Breakfast Recipes “For One” That Are Worth Waking Up For
Baked Oatmeal For One
Watch How To Make This
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup old fashioned oats
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon salted butter – divided
- ¼ cup blueberries (Line the bottom of your baking dish with fruit. Use up to ½ cup if needed to cover the bottom evenly.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Butter the inside of a 5×5-inch baking dish with ½ tablespoon of the butter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the oats, cinnamon, and salt.
- In another small bowl, whisk the milk, egg, honey, vanilla, and the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter, melted, until smooth.
- Spread the blueberries evenly over the bottom of the buttered dish.
- Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over the blueberries.
- Pour the wet mixture evenly over the oats and fruit.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and set. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Can this recipe be assembled the night before? Or do you have a make ahead one recipe? I would like to have a baked oatmeal that can be put into oven in am right away.
Hi Connie, you can prep the dry ingredients and separately mix together the egg, milk, and vanilla. In the morning combine the ingredients and bake.
Please note that the way you write your receipe, many pages with pictures, does not make it possible to print just a one page receipe. If you could separate the receipe out so it is printable would be nice. Many of us don’t need step by step instructions nor pictures.
Hi Dianne, you can simply jump down to the recipe using the “Jump To Recipe” button on the top of every recipe page. From there, you can print the recipe without photos, notes, etc. by clicking on the “Print” button. I would certainly hope you would NOT print the entire recipe page. The information provided in the recipe POST is for folks who DO want step-by-step instructions and photos. Again, to print any of our recipes, simply scroll or tap the Jump To Recipe button to go straight to the recipe box at the bottom of every post and print from there.
Heavenly! Just made a few tweaks for my dietary and taste needs. Used sugar free maple syrup instead of honey and did add a little more sugar substitute for sweetness. Definitely a keeper♡
I have made this many times! Delicious! I also added peaches with the blueberries.
Have you tried this with egg replacer instead of the egg and did it work?
No, this recipe has not been tested with an egg replacer.
Can you use steel cut oats? Would it alter the cooking time? Thanks
No, Steel cut oats are the texture of a grain like rice or barley, so they require much more cooking than rolled oats.
Can egg whites be used instead of the whole egg?
Yes. Use 2 egg whites in place of 1 whole egg.
Delicious! I also added sliced bananas. I would make this again!
do you think it would be okay to omit the egg? or will it drastically change the consistency?
I don’t recommend leaving out the egg. The egg makes the oatmeal more like a custard and the texture would be very off if left out.
So easy and delicious. Used mixed berries and pure maple syrup instead of honey.
This recipe popped up in my mail today and I had to make it right away. This will now be a go-to breakfast for me. So delicious! I added some chopped pecans to the dry ingredients and used a tablespoon of real maple syrup for the perfect amount of sweetness. Thank you for sharing!
Love this recipe! I actually doubled it so I would have more than one serving. Love the fact that there is no flour in the receipt. It is delicious!
This was so GOOD ! Will be making this again for sure…
Cathie
I made this for breakfast today! Apples and cinnamon with maple syrup. Was really wonderful and easy. Love the fact that I can rest between prep and eating, gives me time to recover!
So easy to make! I prep everything the night before (as I am preparing my lunch) and the next morning, I add the egg, milk, and vanilla and bake. Once it is finished, I have showered and gotten ready for a day in the office, time to sit down and enjoy a piping hot breakfast. Thanks!
If using frozen blueberries do they need to be thawed? Also if using different fruit is it still 1/4 cup?
Yes, the fruit should be thawed. You really want to have enough fruit to loosely line the bottom of the baking dish. Somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of fruit works well.
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled to have leftovers? Does this recipe reheat well for breakfast for a couple days?
Hi Dina, This recipe can be doubled and tripled successfully. Although it’s best enjoyed the day you bake it, baked oatmeal can be reheated in the microwave. I like to add a little bit of butter to the top of mine when reheating. The butter melts into the oatmeal and moistens it nicely.
I put this together the night before then baked it in the morning added a spoonful of yogurt and yumm!!! I did add more than 1/4 cup of berries and used blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. So good! Will definitely make this again and again! I still baked it for 40 minutes and it was perfectly cooked and golden brown.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your feedback.
Making it again this morning! Delish.
Can I substitute a flax egg in this to keep it vegan? It sounds delicious!
Hi Susan, I haven’t tested this recipe using a flax egg so I’m not sure how it will work. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out for you.
Used thawed rhubarb added a little brown sugar and followed recipe it was excellent
If using frozen fruit, should you thaw it first?
Yes.
Can this recipe be made the night before to pop it in the oven in the morning? What would be the baking time?
No, I don’t recommend it. The oats will absorb the liquid making it the consistency of “overnight oats”. You could mix together the liquid ingredients a day ahead, refrigerate it and pour it over the oats in the morning before baking.
Does this reheat well? I’d love to be able to make it ahead of time for my husband…
It’s best eaten shortly after it’s come out of the oven but it does reheat well in the microwave.
Could you cook this in an Instapot?
This recipe has not been tested in an Instant Pot.
I’ve made this blueberry baked oatmeal several times, and it is so yummy. It’s nice to have a warm and comforting breakfast for cold fall/winter mornings. I’ve also developed some variations of the recipe. My best so far is pumpkins-chocolate chip!
I make my own oatmeal packets. With your ratio plus egg I could use those as my dry ingredients. Love the idea of multitasking oatmeal. Thanks so much for all your recipes and tips.
Can this be cooked in an Air Fryer?
I haven’t tested this recipe in an air fryer.
This is now officially my favorite way to have oatmeal in the morning! I have experimented with different fruits – peach is really good, but blueberries have to be my favorite way to enjoy this. I also like to add a handful of chopped pecans for a little extra crunch. Thanks for another great recipe!
This is simply amazing! I used slightly more than 1/4 cup blueberries, just filled the bottom of my 4 x 6 baking dish. I used almond milk (regular) for the milk so I cut the sweetener to 1/2 T. maple syrup (can’t digest honey). Served with Oui coconut yogurt alternative, vanilla flavor and I gobbled it up, would have licked the bowl if I could. Thanks for another outstanding breakfast recipe. I have made your pancakes and waffles for one and now this. Going to start branching out to other meals next. Thanks for all you do!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the oatmeal. Thank you so much for your feedback.
I just made this for breakfast…..I cant even convey how FREAKING GOOD this was! I substituted the honey for maple syrup (not a honey fan) and I added 1/8 tsp of Equal to the dry mix…(I love things a bit sweet). Used fresh blueberries, and few slices of Banana…..My heart is singing, my stomach is smiling, and I cant thank you enough! This is a keeper…
I’m so happy you enjoyed the oatmeal. Thank you so much for your feedback.
What size dish do you use
A 5×5 inch baking dish.
FYI for anyone panicking, I actually mixed it all together instead of layering because oops and it turned out great still.
Just put this in the oven. Really excited!
pretty good, used maple syrup instead of honey, would recommend adding more cinnamon.
Turns out great. I use the 1/3 cup measures instead of 1/4 cup to make enough for 2 servings.
I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipe. Thank you for your feedback.
Yummmmm! I made this for breakfast today. Does it work well if you prepare it the night before and just pop it in the oven in the morning? Thank you for a lovely breakfast!
I just made this. It’s delicious!
When do you put the honey in?
Add the honey in Step 3 of the recipe where you mix the milk, butter, vanilla, egg, and honey together.
Step 3: In another small bowl, whisk together the milk, ½ tablespoon melted butter, vanilla, and egg.
Believe this step should also include the honey?
Yes, add the honey in Step 3.
Joanie,
You are incredible and so is this breakfast! Thank you so much!
You are too kind, Sherrie. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Anther great recipe. I’m was wondering is the another similar pan you can use.
Thank you, Mary. You can use any oven-safe baking dish that will hold the ingredients and still leave a little room at the top.
Could you use steel cut oats?
Also how do you reheat in the oven?
Thanks
If you want to reheat the oatmeal in the oven, I would recommend covering the dish with a sheet of aluminum foil to keep the oatmeal from drying and heating it at 350 degrees. Since you just want to heat it, the oatmeal should not take very long, maybe 8-10 minutes. Or you could reheat it in the microwave.
I’m actually not sure. This recipe hasn’t been tested with steel cut oats.
If a toaster oven is used, would the baking instructions be the same?
Yes, it should stay the same.
Does the milk particularly need to be one percent? Just wondering. Looking forward to trying this recipe soon.
Hi Ben,
No, I listed 1% because that’s what I often use. Feel free to use whole milk, 2%, almond, soy, oat or coconut milk instead.
This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I’ve made it twice now and I love it. Didn’t have honey on hand so I used brown sugar. I do one thing differently, when I heading the oven, I put my buttered 5″ round pan in the oven with fruit covered with a bit of brown sugar and once everything else is prepared, I finish per instructions. I do have a question, do you have a baked oatmeal recipe without fruit?
Hi Andrea,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. You can leave the fruit out of this recipe if you’d like – it’ll still be delicious.
Joanie
Can this be prepared the night before and cooked in the morning?
Yes it can be prepared overnight and baked in the morning.
Enjoy!
This sounds wonderful! But I don’t have that much time in the mornings. Would it work okay to bake the night before and reheat in the morning? Or would that ruin the texture? Thank you!
Yes, you can bake the oatmeal the night before and reheat in the morning.
This is the perfect serving size for one person!! I really enjoyed this. The second time I made it I broiled it on low for a minute or two just to get the top extra brown and crispy, and it was even more delicious 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for your feedback.
Having a lot of fresh cranberries from the holidays I substituted them for the blueberries. It was fantastic and gave the dish a whole new tadte.
FOR JENNIFER: TO PRINT THE RECIPE(S) NEEDED, DO A ‘CUT AND PASTE’ OF THE PARTS WANTED ONTO A ‘NOTEPAD’ PAGE MAKING ANY CHANGES WANTED OR NEEDED — THEN DO A ‘PRINT’…SAVES PAPER AND ONLY TAKES A MINUTE OR TWO…
Hi, is there any way to print your recipe without the pictures? 7 pieces of paper instead of 1. Looks delish and hope to try it soon. thanks, Jen
Hi Jen,
I have the pictures in the recipe so the instructions are clear. I do not know of a way to print without the pictures.
Copy and paste each direction without the pic into a separate WORD/Notepad doc
ps….I meant 1 document with all directions copied and pasted into…Coffee hasn’t kicked in! OOPS!