One of my go-to breakfast recipes is Heidi Swanson’s baked oatmeal (via Lottie & Doof). Extremely versatile, you can swap in any seasonal local fruit you like–in Japan, I often used persimmons, apples, or figs instead of bananas on the bottom; diced apples, raisins, or mikan mixed in when blueberries were out of season; and, best of all, it fit in a moven in a 20×20 cm (8×8 in) pan. The recipe will always remind me of my Kanazawa kitchen.

I wasn’t expecting to have to adapt this one in the US, but lacking access to my kitchen equipment– no brownie/cake pan– and wanting to make this recipe more portable for post-gym breakfasts enroute to/at work, I decided to revamp it as portable oatmeal by using the muffin tin, which actually turned out to be great for grabbing while dashing out the door on the way to the gym before work.

Variations/Japan notes: You could swap in strawberries or blueberries for the raspberries if you’re in Japan or other raspberry-less areas; if you don’t have or like vanilla soy milk, use the same amount of milk (gyûnyû, 牛乳) or soy milk (tônyû, 豆乳) with 2 teaspoons of vanilla (banira essensu, バニラエッセンス). Vegetarian; gluten-free if gluten-free oats are used.

Raspberry-Almond Mini Baked Oatmeals

Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Baked Oatmeal via Lottie & Doof.

Yields 12 mini oatmeals. Serving size: 2-3.

Total time: ~40 min.
Baking time: 20-25 min.

Ingredients
3 TBSP (45 g) unsalted butter, softened (muen battâ, 無塩バッター)
1/4 cup (1 2/3 oz / 50 g) brown sugar (sanontô, 三温糖), or brown beet sugar (tensaitô, てんさい糖, 甜菜糖)
1 large egg  (tamago, 卵)
1 large ripe banana, mashed (banana, バナナ)

2 cups (7 oz / 200 g) rolled oats (ôtomiru, オートミール)
1/2 cup (2 oz / 60 g) chopped almonds (âmondo, アーモンド)
1 teaspoon baking powder (bêkingu paudâ, ベーキングパウダー)
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon (shinamon, シナモン)
2 cups (475 mL) vanilla soy milk (or see variations)
6 oz (1 1/3 cup / 170 g) fresh raspberries (razuberî, ラズベリー)

Equipment
Silicon muffin cups (mafin kappu, マフィンカップ)
a muffin tin (mafin kata, マフィン型)

Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF / 190ºC. Grease a muffin tip or set out silicon muffin cups.

2. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Mix in the egg and mashed banana.

3. Add the oats, almonds, cinnamon, and baking powder.

4. Add the vanilla soy milk (or milk and vanilla extract). Mix to incorporate. Gently told in the raspberries.

5. Fill the muffin cups evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes: 20 minutes for a softer, more oatmeal-like consistency, especially if to be served immediately; or 25 minutes for a firmer, more portable oatmeal. Serve warm; store leftovers in refrigerator for 2-3 days (depending on the fruit).

Nutrition

Per 1 mini oatmeal. (Serving size 2-3)