Easy Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Baked oatmeal is the breakfast that solves weekday mornings in advance, and this pumpkin version is the one our kitchen makes all through fall. Rolled oats bake up in a warmly spiced pumpkin custard into something between a tender cake and a proper porridge — sliceable, lightly sweet, and deeply comforting with a pour of milk or a spoonful of yogurt.

It takes ten minutes to stir together in one bowl and one dish, using a can of pumpkin puree you probably already own. The spice balance borrows from our Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes — cinnamon forward, ginger and nutmeg behind it — but the format is pure meal prep, in the spirit of our Overnight Blueberry French Toast Bake.

Bake it on Sunday and breakfast is handled until Thursday: warm a square, add toppings, eat properly before the day starts. It travels well, packs into lunchboxes as a snack, and makes a house smell like October in the best possible way.

Puree, not pie filling

The can matters. Use plain pumpkin puree — the ingredient list should say only pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and pre-spiced, and it will throw off both the sugar and the spice balance of the whole dish. If you bake your own sugar pumpkins, drain the puree for an hour in a fine sieve first; homemade puree is wetter than canned, and wet puree makes a soggy bake.

The rest sets the slice

Baked oatmeal comes out of the oven soft and pudding-like at the center, and that is correct — it sets as it stands. Give the dish a full 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and the squares lift out cleanly with tender, custardy middles. Cut it hot and it slumps. Leftovers firm up further in the fridge, which is why a 30-second warm-through brings a weekday square back to just-baked texture.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (180 g)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (4 g)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (4 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (1 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (0.5 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (245 g)
• 1 1/4 cups milk (300 ml)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar (72 g)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil (28 g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (55 g), divided
• Greek yogurt or warm milk, to serve

Amounts are for the yield below. US customary measures first, grams in brackets for scale users.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Heat the oven and prep the dish. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease an 8x8-inch (20x20 cm) or 9x9-inch (23x23 cm) baking dish with butter or oil.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together the rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt until the spices coat the oats evenly — distributing them dry first prevents pockets of intense spice in the finished bake.
3. Whisk the wet ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla until completely smooth, with no streaks of egg white remaining.
4. Combine and fill. Pour the wet mixture into the oats and stir until every oat is moistened. Fold in half the chopped pecans. Tip the mixture into the prepared dish, spread it into an even layer, and scatter the remaining pecans over the top.
5. Bake until just set. Bake for 33 to 36 minutes, until the edges are set and pulling slightly from the dish and the center is just set with a gentle jiggle — a knife inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean. Do not bake until completely firm, or the squares will eat dry after reheating.
6. Rest and serve. Rest the dish for 10 to 15 minutes so the oatmeal sets into clean slices. Serve warm squares with Greek yogurt or a pour of warm milk, and an extra pinch of cinnamon if you like.

Nutrition estimate

Nutrition figures are estimates calculated from standard ingredient data for the yield stated. Your actual values will vary with brands, substitutions and portion sizes — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee.

Storage & reheating

Cool completely, cover the dish or transfer squares to an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat individual squares in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds with a splash of milk, or warm the whole dish, covered, in a 325°F (163°C) oven for 15 minutes. Squares freeze well for up to 3 months, wrapped individually; thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as above. Nutrition figures are estimates from standard ingredient data and vary with brands and substitutions.

Easy Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

★★★★★★★★★★ FryDaily kitchen score 4.8/5 — our own editorial rating from testing, not reader reviews.

Warm pumpkin spice, tender baked oats, one dish — a week of fall breakfasts, sorted.

Yield: 6 servings  ·  Scale: 1x2x3x

Prep10 minutes

Cook35 minutes

Total45 minutes

Servings6 servings

Calories290 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (180 g)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (4 g)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (4 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (1 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (0.5 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (245 g)
• 1 1/4 cups milk (300 ml)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar (72 g)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil (28 g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (55 g), divided
• Greek yogurt or warm milk, to serve

Tick ingredients off as you prep, and tap a step below to mark it done as you cook. Scaling adjusts the listed amounts - seasoning to taste stays your call.

Instructions

1. Heat the oven and prep the dish. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease an 8x8-inch (20x20 cm) or 9x9-inch (23x23 cm) baking dish with butter or oil.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together the rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt until the spices coat the oats evenly — distributing them dry first prevents pockets of intense spice in the finished bake.
3. Whisk the wet ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla until completely smooth, with no streaks of egg white remaining.
4. Combine and fill. Pour the wet mixture into the oats and stir until every oat is moistened. Fold in half the chopped pecans. Tip the mixture into the prepared dish, spread it into an even layer, and scatter the remaining pecans over the top.
5. Bake until just set. Bake for 33 to 36 minutes, until the edges are set and pulling slightly from the dish and the center is just set with a gentle jiggle — a knife inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean. Do not bake until completely firm, or the squares will eat dry after reheating.
6. Rest and serve. Rest the dish for 10 to 15 minutes so the oatmeal sets into clean slices. Serve warm squares with Greek yogurt or a pour of warm milk, and an extra pinch of cinnamon if you like.

Calories: 290 kcalProtein: 8 gCarbohydrates: 38 gFat: 12 gSaturated fat: 4 gSodium: 280 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 15 g

Tested in the FryDaily kitchen, October 2026. Printing? This card is designed to print cleanly on its own.

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