We’re still playing around with January as National Oatmeal Month, and just discovered one of the tastiest dishes we’ve ever had for breakfast! It’s not a particularly attractive dish, but we just had to try this breakfast casserole after discovering this vegan recipe on OhSheGlows.com. It’s amazingly easy, too. Casseroles may only use one dish, but still usually involve a lot of preparation. Nothing’s cutting into your sleep time here! In our case, though, we usually have cooked sweet potatoes in the refrigerator. We’ve even used canned sweet potatoes when there’s been a craving! This is also one breakfast casserole that can also make frequent appearances at lunch, dinner, and a potluck or two. And, yes, it’s healthy–but your kids probably won’t notice that while they’re eating… [photo via farm4]
Oatmeal Ingredients
- ½ cup regular oats
- 2 cups soy milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled, chopped (2 cups raw or 1.5 cups cooked)
- 1 ripe large banana
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg + ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Crunchy Pecan Topping
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (or margarine)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in the peeled and chopped sweet potato and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Once fork tender, drain and set aside.
- Give the pot a quick rinse and then add in the oats, milk and chia seeds. Whisk well, and then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low-medium and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Mash the cooked sweet potato and the banana into the pot with a potato masher, leaving a few chunks for texture. Stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Cook this mixture on low for another few minutes while you make the topping.
- Make the crunchy pecan topping by mixing together the pecans, flour, Earth Balance, and brown sugar with a fork until very clumpy.
- Pour the oatmeal mixture into a lightly sprayed casserole dish and spread out evenly. Then sprinkle the pecan topping on top.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. After 20 minutes, set oven to broil on low for a few minutes. Watch very closely so the topping doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven and serve!
This recipe makes 3-4 servings.
