Brownie Baked Oatmeal – Big Batch!

The benefit of an entire 8×8 pan of Brownie Baked Oatmeal is that it is a definite crowd-pleaser. Who wouldn’t want to eat oatmeal if it tasted like a brownie? If you find yourself needing to make breakfast for a group of friends or your family, this one is a safe bet.

What you’ll need:

• 1 prepared Ener-G or flax egg
• 2 cups regular rolled OR quick oats
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened soy milk)
• 1/3 cup grated or pureed zucchini or yellow squash* (peeling optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

How to make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8×8 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Prepare your vegan egg replacer first and allow to rest for about ten minutes while preparing the rest of your ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, mix oats, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar, and salt until combined.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together milk, vanilla extract, squash puree, and maple syrup. When the egg replacer is ready, whisk that in as well.
5. Add dry ingredients to mix ingredients and stir until combined. If desired, fold in additional mix-ins now (e.g. chocolate chips, swirls of peanut butter or Tofutti, walnuts, fresh berries…I added fresh minced rosemary!).
6. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes.

Just an FYI:

*Zucchini can be replaced by mashed avocado or 2 mashed bananas. You can also omit it and double the amount of egg replacer (and you will also likely need to add a little extra water or milk to achieve the correct consistency).

Alternatively, you can puree all ingredients together in a food processor to achieve a texture that is less “oatmealy” and more like a traditional brownie. Add the baking powder last.

You probably noticed I tried something new for this recipe. I used Ener-G egg replacer. I have always wanted to use this in a baked oatmeal recipe but did not want to inconvenience my readers with an elusive and tricky ingredient. However, it really does make the final product less dense, as oats are apt to be, and you can easily use something like a flax egg instead. I still used zucchini (even though I typically use it as the egg replacer itself) to bulk up the recipe and get those nutrients!

A simple chocolate baked oatmeal can be topped in a variety of ways, so each person can top their breakfast as they please: fresh fruit, yogurt, whipped cream, a fun compote or relish, caramel sauce, maple syrup, granola, nuts, or (as pictured) nut butter. In retrospect, I wish I had topped mine with PB2 Yogurt Frosting!