Most of the time, I am cooking for two. Recipes like this small batch blueberry pecan baked oatmeal allow me to enjoy my favorite things, without dealing with more leftovers than I desire.
This recipe is written to make only 4 servings and be baked in a small 8×6 inch baking pan, or an 8 inch round cake pan. That being said, there are plenty of reasons to double the recipe!
Doubling the recipe
If you want to have enough to serve your small family, and have leftovers for later in the week (yay for meal prep!), then you should double the recipe.
If you want to serve this blueberry pecan baked oatmeal to all your friends and family, then you should double the recipe, or more if your family is very large. I would recommend baking it in two dishes instead of one if you go so far as tripling the recipe.
When you double the recipe, use a larger pan, such as a 10×10 inch or 9×13 inch baking pan. You will also need to increase the cooking time to 45-50 minutes.
How to reheat leftover baked oatmeal
This recipe reheats well in a microwave. Microwave individual servings for about 1 minute each before adding any toppings.
How to serve this blueberry pecan baked oatmeal
I love to serve this recipe with a large dollop of creamy whole milk greek yogurt. It adds satiating protein, a welcome little bit of tang, and a creamy soothing mouthfeel.
You could also choose to serve it with vanilla greek or regular yogurt, a drizzle of half and half, or whipped cream.
Variations to the small batch blueberry pecan baked oatmeal recipe:
- Fruit: Use any fruit you like cut up into small pieces. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, peaches, pears, apples or mangos.
- Nuts: Swap the pecans for another nut like walnuts, pistachios, or almonds. You can also make it nut free by using seeds like sunflower seeds or pepitas.
- Other mix ins: Try mixing in chocolate chips, shredded coconut, pumpkin pie or apple pie spice, or a dollop of peanut butter swirled into the top.
- Dried fruit: I would not recommend using dried fruit because it will soak up some liquid leaving the dish dry and will burn more readily on the edges of the dried fruit exposed on the top.
- Gluten free: This recipe is gluten free if you use gluten free certified oats.
- Vegan: Use the swaps mentioned in the recipe card below, including a chia egg, vegan butter, and non-dairy milk. Serve with non-dairy yogurt as well.
- ½ cup pecan pieces
- 1 ¼ cups old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp each: baking powder and kosher salt
- 1 cup milk of choice (I used soymilk)
- 3 TBS maple syrup
- 1 egg or chia egg
- 1 ½ TBS unsalted butter, melted (or use vegan butter)
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cups frozen blueberries (no need to thaw)
- Plain greek yogurt, for serving
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Toast the pecans in a skillet until fragrant and just starting to brown. Remove from heat.
- In a bowl, combine the pecans, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, stirring to combine.
- Place one cup of blueberries in the bottom of a 8x6 inch baking dish or an 8 inch round cake pan (no need to thaw). Cover the blueberries with the oat mixture, spreading it out evenly.
- In the bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir or whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle the milk mixture over top of the oats, then gently pat down any dry oats resting on top.
- Scatter remaining ½ cup berries on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden.
- Serve with yogurt.
