Pear Baked Oatmeal

Wonderfully tasty pear baked oatmeal with hints of cinnamon, vanilla and sweet pears in every bite. This easy pear oatmeal bake is filled with warming flavors and makes a perfect winter breakfast or brunch, using up some ripe pears which may otherwise get thrown away.

It can be difficult to tell when a pear is perfectly ripe, but here are our best tips: apply a slight pressure to the fruit, near the stem. If it is slightly soft, then it’s perfect for eating or using in a recipe. We do not recommend eating or using in recipes if the pear is still hard. Always store your pears on the counter (or at room temperature).

Optional ingredient swaps:

1. To keep this baked oatmeal dairy free: you can use vegan butter or melted coconut oil instead of real butter. However, do not try browning either of those options, as it will not work.

2. To make gluten free: be sure to use gluten free rolled oats if you’d like to make this recipe gluten free.

3. Don’t have pears on hand? Instead of pears, apples would also be delicious option. We’d go for honeycrisp or Granny Smith’s as they are also sweet and juicy!

SERVES 6 | PREP TIME – 25 mins | COOK TIME – 35 mins | TOTAL COOK TIME – 1 hour

Per Serving – 401 Cals | Fat 15g | Carbs 54g | Protein 9g

INGREDIENTS

Wet ingredients:

1. ¼ cup butter

2. 2 eggs

3. ¼ cup pure maple syrup

4. 1 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk (or any milk of choice)

5. 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

6. Dry ingredients:

7. 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

8. 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

9. 1 teaspoon baking powder

10. ¼ teaspoon salt

11. Mix-ins:

12. 2 small to medium ripe bartlett pears, diced (about 1 ½ cups diced pears)

13. Optional:

14. ¼ cup finely diced walnuts (or sub pecans)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×9 inch pan with oil or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. First, brown your butter: add butter to a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Once melted, the butter will begin to crackle, and then eventually foam. This will take a few minutes. Make sure you whisk constantly during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown and turn a nice golden amber color on the bottom of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pure maple syrup, almond milk and vanilla extract.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients: oats, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined, then stir in diced pears and finally, the browned butter.

5. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts, if using. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown and center is set.

6. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, then cut into 6 slices and serve.