Does the cottage cheese make baked oatmeal taste tangy?

Not at all! Once blended and baked, the cottage cheese flavor completely disappears. All you taste is warm pumpkin. I tested this recipe with blended cottage cheese and with Greek yogurt, and Tjay and I agreed they both tasted great!

Can I prep the pumpkin baked oats the night before?

Yes! You can mix everything together and store it covered in the fridge overnight, then bake it in the morning. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time since you're starting from cold. Note that if you're using a glass pan to bake, let it come to room temperature before popping in the oven. Glass can shatter when going from the fridge to a hot oven.

Can I double this pumpkin baked oatmeal recipe?

Yes. Double all the ingredients and use a 9x13 baking dish. The baking time may increase; start checking at 45 minutes and add 10 minutes at a time until the center no longer jiggles when nudged.

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal with Cottage Cheese (High Protein!)

Description

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal delivers fall flavors in a protein- and fiber-rich base to keep you feeling full and cozy. Cottage cheese bumps up the protein and gives the oatmeal a custardy texture that's perfect for a healthy meal prep breakfast or serving for brunch on the weekends.

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (1 14.5 oz can)
6 eggs
6 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons chia seeds
2 cups gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup toasted pecans (optional)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

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Instructions

Prepare oven and equipment. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.
Blend wet ingredients. Add the cottage cheese, pumpkin, eggs, and maple syrup, to a blender and blend until smooth.
Mix dry ingredients and stir in pumpkin mixture. In a large mixing bowl, add the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, allspice, salt, chia seeds, and oats. Stir to combine. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the bowl and stir until no dry oats remain.
Pour into dish. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips on top if desired.
Bake and serve. Bake for 60 minutes, until the center no longer jiggles when nudged. If it seems like the top is browning too fast after 30 minutes, cover with aluminum foil. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into even squares. Serve warm, topped with fruit, toasted nuts, maple syrup, honey, Greek yogurt or cream if desired.

Notes

To toast the pecans: Scatter the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. You can do this while prepping the rest of the oatmeal. Easy! Toasting the nut before adding to baked goods brings out so much more nutty flavor!

Use Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese: I’ve tested this with Greek yogurt in place of cottage cheese and it does work well! You can still blend the mixture or skip the blender and whisk the wet ingredients with this method.

No chia seeds? If you don’t have chia seeds or would prefer not to use them, increase the oats to 3 cups to provide more structure for the baked oats.

Shortcut: Use Pumpkin Pie Spice. If you have a pre-blended pumpkin pie spice on hand, use up to 3 teaspoons of that in place of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and allspice blend.