I’m atoning for my sins of last week: fattening, nitrate-filled chili-cheese dog casserole, decadent red velvet cake with a pound of butter and over a pound of cream cheese in it, and beef roast slathered with high-sodium cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix. I felt I owed myself, and you, a healthy reprieve.
I usually don’t like labeling my recipes “healthy” or unhealthy” in the title (although I have been known to do so) because that’s not how I want you to think of them. If something is healthy, I want you to think about how delicious it is, not how healthy it is. And if something is unhealthy, I don’t want you to focus on that either, I just want you do enjoy your splurge. So, I’m not labeling this as “healthy” in the title, but I am telling you right now it’s pretty darn healthy.
First of all, it’s naturally sweetened from three sources: apple cider, maple syrup, and honey (because it’s sweeter and because I was running low on maple syrup). Second, it’s packed with fiber from the pumpkin and the oats. It’s even got a little protein from the eggs (and the oats)! I did use a smidgen of butter, but I’m not one who thinks of butter as unhealthy, especially in meager amounts. It could easily be left out if you want to reduce the fat.
Now let’s talk about the important stuff: the taste. It’s all well and good to eat healthy foods, but who wants to eat them if they taste terrible? Not me, and there’s no reason to when healthy food can (and should) be just as delicious as unhealthy food. These baked oats are perfectly sweet, with a great spiced pumpkin taste, very soft and creamy, with a nice nutty crunch from the pecans. Served with a drizzle of maple syrup over the top, it is a breakfast treat that is good enough to make your mouth so happy that you forget that you’re doing your body good as well.
Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup apple cider
2 eggs
½ cup milk (any kind)
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¾ cups rolled oats
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a deep-dish pie plate or a casserole dish with oil; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, apple cider, eggs, milk, honey, maple syrup, butter, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the oats, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Pour into prepared dish and sprinkle with pecans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until set. Serve hot with maple syrup or honey.
Recipe source: adapted from The Other Side of Fifty, as seen on Betcha Can’t Eat Just One and Little Bit of Everything (this one’s really making the rounds!)
If you have leftovers, they will slice a lot nicer and will resemble a piece of pie more when served. You can even serve this cold, though I do like it better hot! If you want the oatmeal to be more firm so that you can slice it like pie after removing it from the oven, you’ll have to do some tweaking to reduce the amount of liquid and maybe add another egg.
Veronica's Cornucopia 
I’m craving this now for breakfast but I went to sleep with a messy kitchen last night…uggghh no pumpkin oatmeal for me this morning :(
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This sounds very “fallish” to me :) What a yummy treat!
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I like your philosophy of not adding ‘healthy’ to titles. And yes, healthy foods should be just as delicious as less healthy ones–I totally agree. =)
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I am making a similar dish tonight – cannot wait! Looks wonderful – Happy Monday!
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do you think this would work in a non-deep dish pie plate or should I reduce something?
thanks!
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I made it in a regular pie dish and had about 1/2-2/3 cup extra “batter” that I cooked in the microwave. If you want to use a regular dish, you could do similar or try reducing.
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OMG…this sounds AMAZING! I wonder if I could make individual portions in individual pie pans – sadly, I am the only one in my household who would actually eat this but I feel compelled to make it!
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You totally could, just reduce the baking time. You might even be able to freeze the extra ones so you could enjoy them over time.
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Awesome! I just added this to the menu, it’s perfect!!
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I made this last night, and we warmed up pieces of it at breakfast today. It was amazing! My daughter liked it so much, she is taking a piece of it to school with her lunch to have as dessert! I am sure she’ll pick the nuts off the top when I’m not there to watch, and urge her to eat them, but it’s still a great dessert! Next time I may leave them off to please her, and also add a few raisins as well. Maybe a smidge more oatmeal, too.
Thanks fo the great recipe. This was delicious!
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I finally made this and it was awesome! Thanks!
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Yay! :)
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I will be making breakfast for 9 on Saturday, how many does this serve? I suppose if I double it and I have leftovers I can freeze them or take them with us (we are all leaving for road trips early so am thinking I can do it ahead for fast healthy breakfast). Any thoughts or ideas on this I would appreciate :)
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I would say it serves 4-6. A quarter of the pie is a good serving size and smaller might not work for adult stomachs, so I would double it for sure. You could probably put it in a 9×13 pan and bake it longer. Since it makes a softer oatmeal, you couldn’t really cut it into squares/wedges and wrap them until they’d been stored in the fridge a day, but you could put the extra in bowls with lids. Have fun on your road trip!
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This sounds great since I love pumpkin and I’m one of those people who eat it year round. I think I might have to whip this up for breakfast this weekend.
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