Blueberry Baked Oatmeal with Cinnamon-Cardamom Cream

August 11, 2022

Baked oatmeal is the perfect breakfast. It feels like eating a giant oatmeal cookie, but smothered in cream. In this version, it’s a cinnamon-cardamom cream, covering slices of seasonal and packed-full blueberry baked oatmeal.

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Nothing gets me more excited for breakfast than thinking of those juicy, bursting pockets of cooked blueberries. Pancakes, muffins, french toast, all of the above, thank you. But this baked oatmeal with its cinnamon and cardamom cream topping is just a little something extra.

Which is why I was disappointed that my chihuahua made it up onto the table to steal some. Luckily, we had enjoyed a good portion first, but any leftovers were simply out of the question after his smorgasbord of breakfast. On the bright side, I can say this blueberry baked oatmeal is fully chihuahua approved!

What You Need to Get Started

You can easily find all of the ingredients for this blueberry baked oatmeal at your grocery store:

Pantry: Oats, Baking soda, Vanilla extract, Maple syrup
Spice Rack: Salt, Sparkling sugar (optional), Cinnamon, Cardamom
Fridge: Milk, Egg, Heavy cream
Produce: Blueberries
Equipment: 8×8 Baking pan, Mixing bowls, Whisk, Hand mixer (optional)

Let’s Make Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

One of the reasons I love baked oatmeal is that it’s both super simple and fairly quick. But neither one of those takes away from its taste, those golden brown edges paired with the chewy granola bar-like middle. Plus, any excuse to top something with cream, sign me up.

Since it does come together fairly fast, it’s a good idea to preheat your oven before getting started. Double check that you have a rack in the center, and grease a baking pan to set aside. I like using an eight-inch square glass pan for this, but a different material or similarly sized round casserole will work as well.

Then it’s time to get started making your baked oatmeal! In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined. Oats and salt are pretty obvious choices here, with the salt helping to bring out all of the flavors.

When it comes to oats, I always like to use quick oats, and those are the ones I tend to have on hand. Old fashioned oats will also work here. I would stay away from instant, which can end up getting a little too mushy, and steel cut, which generally need more time to absorb liquid in order to soften.

The baking soda will help give your oatmeal a little extra fluff and airiness. It’s one of the differences that baking brings to the table over a simple bowl of regular oatmeal from a packet. (But those packets are delicious, especially on quick mornings!)

Next, use a small mixing bowl or measuring cup (I like to use one that has a pouring spout) to whisk together the milk, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Milk is the main liquid here, and you can use your favorite, whether that’s dairy or plant based. Even oat milk, which might be a bit of overload, will still work!

The egg, similar to the baking soda, helps with fluff, but it also acts as a binder. This is what helps your baked oatmeal stay together in perfectly cut squares or bars. Maple and vanilla both provide flavor, but the maple syrup is also a natural sweetener.

When mixing the liquids together, be sure to be thorough. You want to break up the egg yolk fully, and whisk until it’s fully beaten and the mixture is smooth.

Once completely mixed and smooth, pour the wet ingredients into the the mixing bowl with the oats. Stir everything together for a few minutes, allowing it to get fully combined. It may take some time for the oats to begin soaking up the liquid, but the goal is to have it not be super liquidy. Small pockets are fine.

I find it easiest to use a sturdy but flexible spatula during this step, which will allow you to scrape the edges and bottom of the bowl to get a better mix.

Now, it’s time to add in the blueberries! Fresh blueberries work wonderfully here, and will be the easiest to work with. If you are able to, go to a local farm and pick your own berries, which also makes for a fun activity for the whole family. Be sure to wash, dry, and de-stem any fresh berries.

You can also use thawed and dried frozen blueberries. Don’t microwave them to thaw; simply let them sit out at room temperature, spread on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. When blueberries are not in season, frozen ones can have a better flavor than fresh berries that had to travel a long way to get to you.

Add the blueberries – and there are plenty of them in this recipe – into the bowl with the oatmeal. Fold these in gently, as stirring too vigorously could cause some to get squished. Do your best to get them distributed throughout, but don’t worry if they all want to hang out together.

Transfer the blueberry-filled oatmeal to the prepared pan you had set aside earlier. You can use a flexible spatula to spread it into an even layer, making sure you get into the corners and edges of the pan.

Redistribute the blueberries as needed. Sometimes, they all want to be together in one corner, but you can simply pick them up and move them around, then fill in the gap with the oatmeal.

Just before baking, sprinkle the top of the blueberry oatmeal with some sparkling sugar. This is optional, but it does add both a little extra sweetness and a delightful crunch that is reminiscent of a blueberry muffin.

Finally, it’s time to bake! Place the pan in the oven and allow it to cook for about twenty-five minutes. When it’s ready, the oatmeal will appear drier and slightly golden on top. The edges will also just be starting to brown. If you press it gently, it should hold its shape, not ooze or fill in.

Place the entire pan on a trivet, and allow it to cool for a few minutes to permit the berries to stop bubbling and the whole thing to settle.

Meanwhile, use a whisk or hand mixer to fluff up the cream until it’s visibly increased in volume. Then add in the cinnamon and cardamom, and continue mixing until it’s slightly thickened further.

The cream does not need to be fully whipped until stiff peaks form, but it’s okay if you do over-whip it slightly. Once the cool whipped cream tops the hot oatmeal, it will begin to melt into it anyway, which is what we are going for.

Your finished spiced cream can be stored in a sealed container, like a mason jar or similar, in the fridge for up to a week. Just double check that you don’t keep it later than the original expiration date of the heavy cream.

Cut the blueberry baked oatmeal into squares or bars, and serve each topped with a generous dollop of the spiced cream. I do not recommend storing the oatmeal with the cream, so be sure to top only the portions that will be enjoyed immediately.

To keep the baked oatmeal without cream, you can cover it tightly with plastic wrap once it has cooled to room temperature. Store this in the fridge for a few days, and reheat individual portions in the microwave or toaster oven. Top the warm oatmeal with spiced cream.

Have you ever tried baking your oatmeal? It’s a total game changer, especially in this recipe with fresh blueberries and a cinnamon-cardamom spiced cream!

How to Serve Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

You probably already know that I’m going to tell you to serve this for brunch or a sit-down breakfast. You could make the whole thing blueberry themed, with brown butter ricotta blueberry muffins or blueberry lemon bars, and a round of blueberry moscow mules to drink.

Or you could make this in advance, and heat up individual portions for a quicker weekday breakfast. Have a square of blueberry baked oatmeal with a cozy mug filled with a honey chestnut café au lait or a refreshing cold brew coffee with vanilla spice cream.

You could also make this breakfast treat into a dessert (or even fancier breakfast) by topping each oatmeal serving with a scoop of blueberry goat cheese ice cream or coffee ice cream. Serve this alongside a chai white hot chocolate for a happy end to the day.

Use Up Leftover Ingredients

Fresh blueberries are so versatile, but if you want to stick with breakfast, try a blueberry french toast casserole or blueberry muffin pancakes with streusel.
Oats are a favorite ingredient of mine, especially in oatmeal cookies. Try these cream cheese cookie sandwiches or fig, pecan, and chocolate chip cookies.
I love having extra heavy cream around to make ice cream! Try something fruity, like strawberry sundaes or peach ice cream sandwiches with ginger-molasses cookies.
Cardamom lends its unique flavor to a super simplified apple strudel made with phyllo.

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