I gave up on this recipe ages ago. As I mentioned in my Berry Cream Cheese Baked Oatmeal, I have been trying to master a cheesecake oatmeal since 2013! Now that I like the taste of Tofutti, and I’ve discovered the trick of adding zucchini, I figured it was time to try it again.
I think one thing hindering my progress was that my mom makes amazing cheesecake. Even though I haven’t had it since my vegetarian days, I still recall the creamy, tangy, sweet, rich flavor of those perfect cakes. Mommy, I miss your cheesecake!!!
In a way, I had to settle. The thing about oatmeal is that it is so earthy and heavy that it just sucks up the flavor of some ingredients, and cream cheese (especially nondairy) is one of them. To actually make this oatmeal taste like my mom’s cheesecake (New York style), I would need sugar–lots of sugar–and I would probably need to leave out the oats altogether. ?
Therefore, I said to myself, “Lauren, you are not making cheesecake. You are making baked oatmeal that is reminiscent of cheesecake.” And I set off and made this beauty, which I topped with Cherry Chia Compote:
That’s not to say that it’s not good. It’s excellent. It’s creamy, has a subtle cheesecake flavor, and is a base for a million things. And yeah, I will be rolling out variations of this for the rest of my life. Chocolate chip cheesecake! Peanut butter swirl cheesecake! Caramel cheesecake! Strawberry cheesecake! Coming soon to theaters near you.
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What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup worth of diced yellow squash or (peeled) zucchini
- 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 tbsp cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
How to make it:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a single-serving ramekin with non-stick spray.
- Puree all ingredients together in a food processor until it forms a batter.
- If you desire, add in other optional ingredients at this time (fruit, chocolate, etc.).
- Transfer to a ramekin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is no longer doughy.
Just an FYI:
I topped mine with Cherry-Chia Compote!
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