I have always been a breakfast fanatic. Even when I was in high school, my favorite meal of the day was always breakfast. I never skipped it, and I loved to eat one specific food — cereal.

As I learned more about health and nutrition I gradually gravitated towards more nutrient dense meals. My breakfast staple eventually became oatmeal and it has stayed that way for years since.

Now, I am not one to shy away from trying new, unique, and interesting recipes. I love to jazz up my oatmeal bowls with fun toppings like fresh fruit, chocolate chips, nut butter, chia and pumpkin seeds, etc.

I have tried microwave oats, stovetop oats, and even overnight oats. However, I was never into the baked oat trend…until recently.

Baked oats have become increasingly popular in recent months, and I never understood the hype. After all, who would want to wait 20–30 minutes for their oatmeal to cook when they could make it in 60 seconds in the microwave? Apparently I do, and after reading this article in its entirety, I think you will too. Here’s why baked oatmeal truly is the superior breakfast.

1. Baked oatmeal provides you with this ability.

Baked oatmeal opens up a whole window of opportunity for unique and flavorful healthy breakfast combinations.

In just a few short weeks, I have made recipes for vegan cinnamon roll, birthday cake, jelly donut, and even dark chocolate orange baked oat variations. Each one has been incredible, and these recipes have collectively changed my opinion towards baked oats.

Due to the baking process, the natural sweetness in the fruit becomes even more prominent. Plus, you can control the types of nutrients your baked oatmeal provides through the toppings you add.

Just to give a few examples:

For some incredibly delicious baked oatmeal breakfast recipes, watch the video I filmed for my YouTube channel below:

2. It can be made very inexpensively.

Depending on the ingredients you choose to use, your baked oatmeal breakfast can be extremely cost effective.

The base ingredients for any baked oatmeal recipe are pretty standard. I will use my vegan version as an example. I usually shop at Kroger and buy a lot of generic brand products.

Here is my list of base ingredients along with the price per serving right next to each ingredient:

• 1/3 Cup Rolled Oats — $0.06
• 1/4 Cup + 1–2 Tbsp Nut Milk — $0.11
• 1/4 Tsp Baking Powder — Free (most people have this in their pantry already)

Some of the common toppings for baked oats include:

• Creamy Peanut Butter (1 Tbsp) — $0.08
• Fresh Berries (1/4 Cup) — $0.50
• 1/2 Banana — $0.12
• Cinnamon — Free (most people have this in their pantry already)
• Pure Maple Syrup (1 Tsp) — $0.11
• Chocolate Chips (1 Tsp) — $0.08
• Chia Seeds (1 Tsp) — $0.07

Let’s say you make a blueberry baked oatmeal recipe with peanut butter on top. The total cost, including the base ingredients and the blueberries, comes out to about $0.75 per serving.

This just goes to show how budget friendly healthy breakfast recipes truly can be. It is just another wonderful perk of making baked oats for breakfast.

3. You get to eat dessert for breakfast.

While most baked oatmeal recipes are healthy (mine certainly are), you wouldn’t think so after tasting any of my variations. They are incredibly sweet, yet low in added sugar, packed with nutrients, and they contain a healthy balance of carbs, protein, and fat, which is exactly how I like to start each day.

Baked oatmeal keeps me satisfied for hours, and it powers me through my daily run. I feel strong and well-fueled, which is incredibly important to me as a vegan endurance athlete.

Since the oats get blended up and the batter gets baked, the texture is almost cake-like, which is not typical of traditional oatmeal. It truly tastes like you are eating a single-serve baked cake for breakfast, and if you love sweets (who doesn’t?), you will probably love baked oatmeal.

Final Thoughts

Even if you are trying to eat healthy on a budget, that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor or eat the same boring thing day after day.

Through years of cooking, baking, and recipe creating, I have learned that healthy food can be delicious, tasty, inexpensive, and exciting.

With a little bit of planning and creativity, you can create infinite baked oat flavor combinations. All that’s left is for you to head to your kitchen and get cooking!

Check out my blog, nomeatfastfeet.com, for more helpful content + healthy tips!