Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not a morning person. At all. I cherish sleep so much that breakfast often gets put on the back burner, which isn’t ideal since a balanced breakfast is important for supporting stable energy levels throughout the day. Recently, one of my goals has been to prioritize eating a balanced breakfast, so I decided to look for make-ahead options that would help fuel my mornings and wouldn’t force me out of bed any earlier than necessary. Our recipe for Blueberry-Coconut-Walnut Baked Oatmeal seemed like it would be a great starting point.

The first thing that drew me to this recipe was the amount of fiber. Each serving is high in fiber, with 10 grams per square. If you didn’t know, consuming an adequate amount of fiber has a ton of health benefits, like lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Because my family has a history of both conditions, I figured this recipe would be a good chance to try something new and start paying attention to my fiber intake.   

Because these baked oats are a great meal prep option, I opted to make them on Sunday night. That way I’d have a tasty breakfast ready to go after I inevitably would hit snooze too many times the next morning. I also baked them in the oven section of my air-fryer, since my regular oven is sadly broken. Luckily, I had no issues using this method, so if you don’t want to power up the oven, give the air fryer a try!

After preheating my air fryer, I got to work prepping the dates. Although I’ve had dates before in the past, this was my first time using this method to prepare them and I was pleasantly surprised. The recipe required soaking them for about twenty minutes to soften them. While the dates soaked, I made the blueberry filling, by simmering frozen berries, water and vanilla in a saucepan until the sauce thickened. 

By this point, the dates were softened so I blended them in the food processor. They turned into a rich paste that added a subtle caramel-like flavor to the final dish. I set aside some of the date paste for the topping, then added coconut milk, banana, an egg, coconut extract and vanilla extract to the food processor with what remained. Next, I combined my oats, walnuts, coconut, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and stirred in the date-banana mixture. Finally, I folded in the last cup of blueberries, being careful not to crush them.

Assembling the dish was super simple. I just added half of the oat mixture to my baking dish, spooned a layer of the berry filling, and topped it off with the rest of the oats. I sprinkled the top with coconut and the remaining nuts and date paste and then I popped it in my air fryer. 

Thirty minutes later, my apartment smelled absolutely divine. I let the oats cool for about 10 minutes, and couldn’t resist testing a slice before bed. One thing that I loved about this recipe was the contrasting textures. After baking, the blueberry filling turned into a gooey jam that paired perfectly with the slightly crisped oatmeal layer on top. 

The dish also got better over time, as the flavors melded together overnight and were even more pronounced when I reheated it the next day. I loved starting my morning with a meal that was ready to eat in minutes and also gave me a boost of fiber. This dish was simply delicious, and I’ve added some of our other baked oat recipes to my menu to test out soon, like our High-Protein Peanut Butter Baked Oats.