Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

School is right around the corner, in fact just one week away for us!  We are on A Track this year, meaning I need to get my kids up, ready and fed before 8am!!  Wow, considering they've been staying up until 10pm, waking up at 9am and not eating breakfast until 10am sometimes, this is going to be quite an undertaking.  I don't do cold cereal, mostly hot breakfasts and sometimes they take longer than 5 minutes. I'm going to have to make sure I plan ahead, which is why I LOVE baked oatmeal.

My girls and I enjoy oatmeal in it's many forms, but baked is our favorite.  It's so versatile too.  Sometimes I like to add berries or mashed bananas to change up the flavor, or even throw some chocolate chips on top while it's warm.  Adding peanut butter this time was genius though!!  To say we loved it is an understatement.  I baked this ahead in a big pan (doubling works wonders and keeps well too) and we ate it two days in a row.  Talk about a time saver!  This will definitely be a keeper  and something I can make ahead and pull out quickly on those early school mornings.


Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8 or 9 inch baking pan.

In a mixing bowl combine egg, brown sugar, applesauce and peanut butter and whisk until peanut butter is well incorporated and there are not lumps.  Add in vanilla, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and milk and whisk to combine.  Stir in the oats then pour into prepared baking pan.  Bake in preheated oven 35 minutes or until lightly golden on top.  Serve warm with a splash of milk, fresh fruit, nuts or even a few chocolate chips.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.