Blackberry Smoothie Oatmeal Bake

This baked oatmeal dish was inspired by a blackberry overnight oats recipe gone awry. I had blended blackberries, yogurt and almond milk together in a large smoothie blender intending to pour the mixture over oats (overnight, obviously).

Well I did this one night and was not thrilled with the results the next morning. The mixture was too thick and didn’t really sink into the oats well. Plus it tasted like it needed something. Like flavor.

I had no intention of making the recipe again but had this huge smoothie container in the fridge and no idea what to do with it so my friend suggested turning it into an oatmeal bake, something I hadn’t made in a long time. The suggestion seemed pretty good. I have turned food failures around in the past, and when I perused back through some old baked oatmeal recipes and did a bit of measuring of my liquid smoothie I realized I had the exact amount of liquid I would need to replicate a blackberry version of the oatmeal recipe I was viewing. All stars were aligning.

This recipe is made without added sugar. I would, however, recommend topping it with some form of sugar at the end. I used honey but you could also use agave syrup, yacon syrup or even some nice rich dark brown sugar.

ingredients.

3 c. old fashioned oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 T. ground flaxseed
1 c. blackberries (fresh or frozen)
3 eggs, beaten
vanilla soy or almond milk
7 oz whole milk Greek yogurt
12 oz blackberries (fresh)
6 T. almond butter
Honey, agave syrup or other sweetener

directions.

To make the smoothie: blend together 12 oz fresh blackberries, yogurt and enough almond or soy milk to make 3 1/2 cups of smoothie mixture. Mix in almond butter and eggs. Set aside.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir. Add smoothie mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until completely incorporated. Pour into a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Drizzle with honey or agave syrup, if desired.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve with honey or agave syrup drizzled on top, and, if desired some sort of milk, cream or milk alternative. Serves 6 to 8.f