Tahini Baked Oatmeal with Raspberries and White Chocolate

As far as my recipes go, here’s a relatively decadent baked oatmeal. I’m truly a major tahini fan now and love how the bitterness contrasts with sweet fruit. I can eat tahini straight, but for those of you who think it’s too bitter, incorporating it into a batter like this is a good way to appreciate its flavors in a more subdued way.

What you’ll need:

• 1/3 cup milk of choice
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp tahini (or 4 tsp)
• 2-3 tsp maple syrup* (I omitted)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup quick or rolled oats (I used quick)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tbsp vegan white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup fresh raspberries, halved if desired

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a single-serving ramekin with non-stick spray.
2. Combine milk, tahini, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and stir until mixed.
3. Stir in oats. (Alternatively, you can puree all ingredients together in a food processor.)
4. Add baking powder and salt, and stir.
5. Stir in white chocolate chips and then CAREFULLY fold in fresh raspberries.
6. Transfer to a ramekin. Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Enjoy!

Just an FYI:

* The sweetness of the chocolate chips and raspberries may be enough to sweeten the dish without adding additional maple syrup, depending on your taste preferences.

Vegan white chocolate can be notoriously difficult to find. I buy the King David brand from Amazon, which taste exactly like I remember white chocolate chips tasting like, with no “off” aftertaste. There are other “higher quality” brands of white chocolate out there, but most of them seem to focus on bars of white chocolate. You could simply chop those up for a similar experience. Here’s a roundup of vegan white chocolate brands on LiveKindly.

I have also seen many recipes online for how to make your own vegan white chocolate, if you’re feeling ambitious. It’s essentially a combination of pure cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and some type of fat, like coconut oil.

Also, I always thought you had to use rolled oats for baked oatmeal, but I did this with quick oats and they turned out great. My evolution of oat preferences could be made into a full documentary, methinks.