This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Strawberries and cream is a classic combination and as it turns out makes an incredible baked oatmeal. This Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal bakes up warm, creamy, and golden, with sweet strawberries in every bite. It’s perfect for breakfast or weekend brunch, and it’s just as good the next day, reheated or eaten cold straight from the fridge. Make one dish and you’ve got easy breakfasts for days.
For this recipe, I decided to go with strawberries and cream, as they complement each other so well, and I have to say it might be my new favorite baked oatmeal recipe! The juicy, sweet strawberries contrast nicely with the creamy, rich oatmeal, and together they create a perfect balance of flavors.
If you love baking with strawberries as much as we do, you’ve gotta check out my 17 Fresh Strawberry Recipes the Whole Family Will Love!
Why I Love Baked Oatmeal
- It tastes like a treat but comes together in one bowl. Warm oats, sweet strawberries, and a drizzle of cream on top, it feels a little special, but it’s genuinely just whisk, stir, and bake. If you’ve made my Coconut Cream Baked Oatmeal, you already know how forgiving this style of breakfast is.
- It’s endlessly customizable. Make it dairy free with a few easy swaps: homemade almond milk works just as well as cow’s milk, and coconut oil stands in for butter. No strawberries? Blueberries or blackberries are great, and fresh or frozen both work!
- One dish feeds us for days. I make a pan on Sunday and we pull from it all week. The kids reheat a square for breakfast, but honestly they love it cold from the fridge just as much, which makes it one of my favorite make-ahead school morning breakfasts.
Which Oats to Use
I get a lot of questions about what type of oats you use in baked oatmeal. It can make a real difference in texture here.
- Quick cooking oats are what I use and give the best result, soft, creamy, and set.
- Five-minute oats work too, just pulse them a few times in a blender or food processor first so they’re a little more broken down.
- Old-fashioned (rolled) oats bake up a bit more toothsome. If you use them, add 1/3 cup more milk and about 5 extra minutes in the oven.
How to Make Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal
- Whisk the eggs. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until smooth before adding anything else. This helps them distribute evenly so the oatmeal sets with a nice, custardy texture instead of streaks of cooked egg.
- Add everything but half the strawberries. Stir in the milk, melted butter, maple syrup, vanilla, oats, salt, and baking powder, along with just one cup of the strawberries. Set the other cup aside in the fridge, you’ll use those fresh on top when you serve!
- Bake until golden and set. Pour the mixture into your greased dish and bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes. You’re looking for golden edges and a center that’s set, not jiggly, when you give the pan a gentle shake. This is the step where oat type matters most (see my note above on quick versus old-fashioned oats!).
- Top and serve. Scoop the warm baked oatmeal into bowls and finish each one with a drizzle of cream, a spoonful of the reserved fresh strawberries, and a little honey or maple syrup. That fresh fruit and cream on top is what makes it taste like strawberries and cream, so don’t skip it.
Storing, Freezing and Reheating Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal
To store: Place baked oatmeal in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. It’s great reheated, but we also love it cold, straight from the fridge cut into squares, which is how my kids ate it for breakfast the next morning.
To freeze: Allow the tray to cool completely and store in airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat from frozen, place in the oven at 350°F until warmed through.
Make ahead: This is a great recipe to make ahead of time! Place oatmeal mixture in the baking dish, cover and refrigerate. The next day, uncover and bake as directed.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
More Oatmeal Recipes
Whether you eat it warm with a drizzle of cream or cold straight from the fridge, this Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal is the kind of breakfast the whole family reaches for again and again. If you give it a try, leave a comment and rating below!
Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk (plant based works too)
- 1/3 cup butter, melted (coconut oil work too)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey, plus more for drizzling
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups chopped strawberries, divided
- cream, for drizzle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9 inch baking dish.
- Place the eggs in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the milk, melted butter, maple syrup, vanilla, oats, salt, and baking powder, along with one cup of the strawberries. Reserve the remaining cup for topping.
- Pour the oat mixture into the greased dish and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden and the center is set.
- Scoop into bowls and top with a drizzle of cream, the reserved fresh strawberries, and honey or maple syrup to taste.
This recipe was on repeat all summer when strawberries were in season and now that summer’s over we make it with frozen strawberries. My kids love it, and the leftovers heat up easily so breakfast is quick on school days.
My kids loved it, had seconds, and then ate all the leftovers for breakfast the next day.
Definitely recommend drizzling with cream/milk and maple syrup when serving.
So happy to hear your kids loved this one! A little extra cream and maple syrup on top is how we like to eat it too. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Love this, do you have the nutritional facts by any chance? Thanks!
Hi! Glad you love this. The estimated nutritional information has been added to the recipe card!
Hello! LOVE this recipe. I make it for my daughter, freeze it in smaller portions, and give it to her for dinner/lunch on busy days. I use the old fashioned oats and followed the advice of using 1/3 cup more milk and cooking an extra 5 minutes – comes out great. I’ve also used defrosted frozen berries (with the juice) and that’s good too.
I’m glad you love it!! Thanks for the kind comment 🙂
This was super easy & DELICIOUS!!! The house smelled amazing while it baked♥️
Good morning, I made this yesterday and I’m not sure why but it came out with a muffin texture it wasn’t crumbly like your photo shows. I used the recipe to the letter but I’m wondering if it was the 2% milk I used that would have changed the texture? Or did I make a mistake somewhere?
Hi Michelle! Did you use quick cook oats? Using whole milk will make it creamier. It can be puffy when you take it out of the oven, but when you say “muffin texture” did it seem blended? Did you combine the ingredients in a blender? I want to help as I love this recipe!
Can you use rolled oats instead of quick cooking oats? It looks delicious!
Yes! If you use rolled oats I would add 1/3 cup more of your milk of choice and add about 5 minutes to the cooking time. Let me know how it turns out 🙂