During the hot summer months all I ever want to eat is lemon raspberry slushies. There’s something about that sweet tart flavor that I find ultra refreshing.
Lemon raspberry muffins are also pretty tasty, so I thought, “why not put that flavor into oatmeal for summer?” It worked very well!
I increased the size of this recipe so that I could use a whole bag of raspberries and not have any left over (I hate having odds and ends of things in my cupboards and freezer). This recipe makes 8 sizable portions. Because I increased the volume and it contains some fairly tart ingredients (lemon, raspberry, yogurt), I also upped the sugar just a smidge. It’s still only about 1 tablespoon per serving, which is far less than most colas and breakfast cereals.
While mixing up the lemon raspberry “custard”, the scent was so intoxicating that it took everything in me to not eat it raw (there are eggs in there, so that’s a big no-no). The lemon zest, vanilla, and raspberries combined create this magical, cake-like smell that was absolutely heavenly. This is definitely one of my top 3 favorite baked oatmeals (#1 is the banana bread, #2 is the pumpkin pie flavored). You’ve gotta try this one!
Oh, and hey, it’s summer, so you might just be able to find fresh raspberries for a lower price than frozen!
Lemon Raspberry Baked Oatmeal
Lemon Raspberry Baked Oatmeal
Servings 8Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned oats ($0.51)
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt ($0.75)
- 1 1/2 cups milk ($0.56)
- 2 large eggs ($0.36)
- 1/2 cup sugar ($0.08)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.28)
- 1 tsp baking soda ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 large lemon ($0.69)
- 12 oz. frozen raspberries ($3.39)
Instructions
- Clean the lemon well, and then remove the zest using a fine cheese grater or zester. In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest, juice from half the lemon, eggs, milk, yogurt, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
- Stir in the raspberries (thawed), and then stir the oats. Coat a casserole dish with non-stick spray and pour in the oat mixture.
- Place the dish in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until the center is no longer liquid. Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
First clean the lemon well to remove any debris or waxes on the surface of the lemon. Zest the lemon, trying to get as much of the yellow and as little of the white pith as possible.
In a large bowl combine the lemon zest, juice from half of the lemon, milk, yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
Allow the raspberries to thaw before you use them so that they don’t clump up in the mixture. Also, if you add them frozen it will make the whole mixture very cold and then it will take much longer to bake.
Stir the raspberries into the milk mixture.
Lastly, stir the oats into the lemon raspberry mixture. Coat a casserole dish with non-stick spray and pour in the oat mixture. This dish was slightly too small for this recipe, but it still worked. If you choose a large dish, the oat mixture will be more shallow and will cook faster. If you use a smaller, deeper dish (like mine), it may take longer to bake.
Bake the oats in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the center is no longer liquid. The center might be slightly jiggly, but it should not be wet to the touch. As it bakes it will also rise up, so you can gauge the done-ness by whether the center has risen to the height of the outer edges.
I like to eat mine with a little bit of cold milk poured over top! You can either divide it into individual portions and refrigerate, or just refrigerate the whole dish and scoop some out each morning. I give it a quick reheat in the microwave and then I’m good to go!
Fantastic as is and works great as lemmon blueberry too!
This tastes like dessert! :) It makes a tasty start to the day. The second time I made it I used half raspberries and half blueberries. Yum!
I adjusted this recipe to what I had because that is what keeps it cheap. My oats, bananas, eggs, milk and raspberries were all organic and I halved this recipe and made it for approximately $3.
I halved the recipe and made these adjustments
2cups thick cut organic rolled oats
1.5 cups a mix of flax and organic cow
No yogurt- so two smashed bananas and a quarter cup sour cream
I omitted the sugar and vanilla and used 5 drops vanilla stevia drops
Also oops I used baking soda instead of powder
I used a medium lemon and not a large one with the whole juice
And I love it ! Glad I didn’t go and buy yogurt or more of milk just used up odds and ends
I used fresh raspberries, and recommend that if they’re in season. This was very delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and It had great lemon flavor that was not too weak or strong. I’m definitely going to make this again.
I liked the flavors of this although the lemon was a bit more subtle than I was expecting/hoping for. Next time I’ll try to get more zest off the lemon. I’ve been looking for recipes that help me use up plain yogurt… usually we can only find such large containers and I hate to have it go to waste. Thank you for your site!
Do you have the nutritional info for this oatmeal bake? It is delicious! We have enjoyed it this morning for breakfast.
We only recently brought on a Registered Dietician to our team. She’s working hard behind the scenes to update the entire recipe database, over 1500+ recipes, with nutritional information. She’s working her way from the newest recipes back and it takes some time to update them all. Stay tuned!
Oh man, I’ve used this recipe in and of itself, and as a base for other recipes dozens of times. The recipe as written is the best–but I don’t always have a full bag of frozen raspberries, plain yogurt, and a lemon on hand, so sometimes I’ll make it with whatever fruit/yogurt we have. It never comes out bad, but it is still not as good as the tart lemon/raspberry combo.
Right now there’s a version in the oven made with mixed berries and vanilla yogurt with no added sugar. Some day I’ll try your other baked oatmeal recipes, but first I have to quit making variations on this theme!
Made as directed. So so so so good, it like a fruity muffin-y oatmeal. Will definitely make this again.
Hello–this looks yummy ..I have a few questions –can Greek yogurt be used in this ( as well as in your other baked oatmeal ) recipe(s) ?? Also, regarding the frozen ( and thawed ) raspberries ..Should I drain off any liquid after they are drained and use it for something else ??/ thanks so much !!!
I wouldn’t sub Greek yogurt because it doesn’t have as much moisture as regular yogurt and the yogurt provides a lot of the moisture in this recipe. If the raspberries give off some liquid as they thaw you can just add that in. It probably isn’t enough to effect the texture and it might give more flavor. :)
I have a question. How do you know it’s cooked? I put mine in a 9x 13 pyrex dish making imn much more shallow than your bowl. When I pulled it out of the oven the top had darkened and was dry to the touch but was still a little jiggly. It was in the oven for about 35mins. How long would you suggest for this type of dish?
That type of dish will probably need a slightly lower cooking temperature and longer cooking time (so that it has more time to heat into the center without the outer edges over cooking). When it’s finished, it should have a moist, spongy texture, but not glossy or jiggly.
I made this for the first time last night and was blown away by how good it was! Almost like dessert. I halved the recipe and used almond milk, but otherwise didn’t change a thing. Thanks so much!
My friend introduced me to your blog via the greek marinated chicken and sesame chicken, and I can’t stop. The greek chicken was so good I made it twice within two weeks, I’ve done a variation on the egg and spinach breakfast bake twice, tomorrow’s dinner plan is the taco chicken bowls, and now this – this one was just so good I finally had to stop lurking and comment. I’ve never been overly fond of sweet breakfast foods, for the most part, but THIS is changing my mind. I could eat it as a snack. Or a dessert. And I’m not even a particularly healthy eater, it’s just THAT GOOD. And so easy! Definitely planning to try other varieties soon!
First of all, I was really glad I read the comments on this post because my oats turned green since I used a metal mixing bowl and that would have totally freaked me out if I hadn’t been prepared.
Second of all, this is pretty good. I’m not usually an oatmeal person, but I really wanted to try these baked ones, and this is my first go. I’ve tried a piece warmed up with some soy milk on it. I might try one cold tomorrow and see which I like better. I’m honestly not getting much lemon flavor out of this, although I can obviously taste the raspberry. Maybe I need more zest next time.
Also, I used soy milk and I replaced the yogurt with unsweetened applesauce. It worked quite nicely, although now I’m wondering if the applesauce is responsible for drowning some of that lemon flavor. Hm.
Yeah, I think apple sauce would definitely mask the lemon flavor whereas the tart plain yogurt would probably emphasize it. And you’re also right about the zest. Most of the lemon flavor in this dish actually comes from the zest rather than the juice :) So, next time try adding a little more.
This was FABULOUS! It makes me want to put lemons and raspberries in everything. So so good. Another winner from Budget Bytes :) Thanks for the awesome recipe!! I blogged about it over here: http://thefoodcharlatan.com/2013/08/19/lemon-raspberry-baked-oatmeal/
Beth – have you ever done any of the baked oatmeals in a crockpot? I’m hosting a brunch on Sunday and I’d like to make a bigger batch and let it cook while we are at church. Just curious if you have tried it or heard from others who have. BTW – love the new site!
I haven’t tried that yet, but I bet it would work! Maybe 4 hours on low? Great idea!
I believe I did use a metal bowl when I mixed the ingredients, although the pan I used to bake it in is ceramic–not sure if that would be the problem or not. I’ll be sure to avoid the metal mixing pan next time and hopefully that’ll solve the issue. Thanks!
Kylie – Hmm, there are two things that I can think of that turn green sometimes… If you are using a metal pan (aluminum), it could be reacting with the acidic lemon juice and turning a greenish color. Second, when you over cook hard boiled eggs the yolk will sometimes turn bright green, but it’s hard to imagine that happening once they’re mixed into the batter… This is quite a mystery!
So I adore this recipe and have made it several times now, but the last 2 times I made it, my oats turned green! Like, dark, obvious green. It tastes just the same and I’m using the same oats that I used before, and also made sure that nothing was expired. Any thoughts?
For the poster that asked about doing it with Steel Cut oats… I just did it, and it turned out great! I doubled the milk, and doubled the yogurt (I used greek as that’s what I had in the house) and baked it in a 9 x 11 glass casserole dish for and hour and 15 minutes. Perfect! Has that chewy steel cut texture, and the lemon raspberry flavor is UH-MAY-ZING! I like my oatmeal the next day, when it’s cold and chewy ;)
Mama May – Fresh raspberries should work exactly the same as frozen :) Use the same quantity and everything! You’re lucky!
How would fresh raspberries be you think? Here in the Willamette Valley in Oregon raspberry picking is plentiful this time of year!
Duffey – Oooh, lemon cherry sounds amazing! The baking soda just helps it fluff up a touch while it bakes. Since there’s already a bunch of acid from the lemon juice, you can use baking soda instead of baking powder. I didn’t measure the lemon zest and juice, I just used what I got from one lemon. Those two ingredients are pretty flexible so even if you had a slightly larger or smaller lemon it would still be fine :)
We made this today for Father’s Day. I didn’t have any raspberries and I had already gotten cherries at the store earlier so I used cherries instead. It turned out wonderful! I doubled the recipe since we are a family of 7. No leftoevers! I was wondering, what purpose does the baking soda serve? How much lemon zest and juice to you need? I wasn’t sure with doubling it. Great idea using cupcake tins. I am going to try that next time.
this looks fabulous! I cannot wait to try it this weekend. The only substitution I will make is to use Stevia instead of sugar.
I love baked oatmeal and have been looking for a new recipe…most of the ones I find have a lot of fall flavors. This one is perfect for summer! It’s soooo good. Thanks!!
Oh wow, thanks for the quick reply! I just pulled it out of the oven. I eyeballed the milk and added coconut and almonds to beef it up a bit more. Its really yummy and seems to be basically the same consistency as normal porridge/oatmeal, maybe a bit drier. I definitely like it though!
When I saw someone say about apple pie baked oatmeal, you could probably do it in a similar way to an apple crumble. I know we have had it for breakfast before and you could make it more of a breakfast with more oats maybe
Anna – You could replace the yogurt with milk, if you’d like. But, maybe reduce the volume to about 1 cup to keep it from being too watery.
could this be done without the yoghurt?
I’m a sucker for raspberry/lemon flavor too, so this was an excellent recipe! By the way, they popped out of the muffin tin just fine! I’m excited for 10 more servings of this! I think they would freeze well too. Thanks for the recipe!!
carlygrey – Excellent ideas (especially the muffin tin)!! Thanks for sharing :D
I just made this with coconut nectar sugar and coconut milk instead of using the dairy products and refined sugar, mainly because I didn’t want to go to the grocery store (haha) but also because I try really hard to limit my dairy and sugar intake. The mix also fit perfectly in a dozen cupcake pan. Even though it’s 8 portions, this made it stretch a little bit more and had some eggs with one cupcake portion to up my protein intake. Delightful!! I’m curious to see if these will become dense enough once cooled to pop out of the cupcake pan for an on-the-go breakfast treat. They are still pretty hot from the oven.
Thanks for the fast reply! I love soy and almond milk, thanks for that suggestion. Maybe i will have to experiment with adapting this into bars and post my results!
Gina – Other readers have used soy and almond milk in the baked oatmeal recipes with good success, although you may want to reduce the sugar if you use a sweetened variety. To make these into bars you could probably just reduce the liquid a bit, although I’m not sure how much without experimenting with it. The baked oatmeal is already semi-solid (I had to break it up for the photos) but probably too soft for bars.
This sounds awesome! I have yet to try any baked oatmeal recipes, but i’m thinking i need to try this one. I just so happen to have meyer lemon zest in my freezer! How would you go about making this into bars rather than a loose cereal? I rarely have milk (lactose intolerant) and I like a grab-and-go breakfast.
this looks goooddd
Katie – I can’t wait to try apple pie, too! I tried carrot cake but it did NOT work out :P So many possibilities! :D
Pani – a good substitute for eggs in baking is 1 tbsp ground flaxseed plus 3 tbsp water, left to sit for a few minutes (it becomes sort of gelatinous). I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to try in this recipe, and would make it even more nutritious.
Beth, I have some banana bread baked oatmeal sitting in the fridge right now, but I think I’ll try this variation next! I’ve also been thinking that apple pie oatmeal would be divine, I plan to experiment with that soon (even though it’s nowhere near apple season…)
Pani – I wouldn’t replace the eggs with baking powder, that would make this bitter (it already has a lot of baking soda). The eggs in this dish act to solidify the mixture, which baking powder can’t do. If you make it without eggs, it will just have a more gooey texture, kind of like regular oatmeal, but it will still taste great!
Mmm what a fabulous breakfast!
Looks delicious! Do you think this would work without eggs, if they were replaced with baking powder?
Herblackwings29 – I’m sorry, I haven’t yet experimented with baking steel cut oats… I think they usually require double the water that rolled oats do. But being baked rather than boiled/simmered might change things completely.
I have steel cut oats at the moment. Do you have any idea how much extra liquid I could use to get similar results with a different oat?
Jennie – Eek, I’m really not sure if this would work with quinoa. I’ve only cooked quinoa a couple times myself. One majore difference, though, is that oats get quite gelatinous when cooked whereas quinoa does not. So, that might impact the texture a lot.
I know this would be quite different, but do you suppose you could adapt this to quinoa? I unfortunately have an oat intolerance and I miss hot cereals like this (cream of wheat does the trick normally).
If you have an oat intolerance, try baked polenta. It’s corn based and creamy, though the ratios of liquid would probably have to be a little different, and since it definitely tastes like corn, lemon and raspberry might not be the best flavor combination. But there are plenty of great savory recipes for it out there.
Heather – I think so. Commenters on other baked oatmeal posts have stated that they freeze theirs with good results (I always eat mine up too fast :P ) . Just be sure to cover it loosely while you microwave it to help hold the moisture in.
Do you think this would freeze well and then nuke it? It would just be me eating it and I am not sure I would be able to get through 8 servings…
Nope :P On the rare occasion that I give into that craving, I’ll go buy one somewhere!
Do you have a recipe for the lemon raspberry slushie? Do share :)