Brownie Batter Chocolate Baked Oatmeal (Vegan)

Recipe from Conscientious Eater

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes 6 servings

I proudly admit that I will accept any excuse to eat chocolate, especially for breakfast, my favorite meal of the day.  I thought this baked oatmeal was exceptionally good and satisfied my “need” for chocolate.  After reading the reviews, I decided to follow their advice and make this the night before.  Apparently, allowing it to sit awhile before eating, makes it even tastier.  It’s also more convenient.  All I had to do while the coffee percolated was to cut up some seasonal fruit.  I did make a drizzle of PB2 (powdered peanut butter) using just water to guild the lily.  Aaaah! Perfect breakfast in my book.

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed

3 Tablespoons water

3 cups old-fashioned oats (I used gluten-free oats.)

1/3 cup cacao powder or cocoa powder (I used special dark chocolate powder.)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt 

1 cup mashed banana, from 2-3 bananas (The spottier, the better for sweetness.)

1/4 cup nut butter (I used almond butter, but peanut butter would be good.  You could most likely substitute a seed butter.)

1/4 cup real maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups non-dairy milk

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.  (You could grease the pan instead if you don’t have parchment paper.)

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tablespoon flax meal and 3 Tablespoons water.  Allow it to sit on the counter for about 15 minutes while the oven preheats and while you prepare the rest of the batter.  The flax meal and water combo will thicken a bit and become the “egg.” 

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oats, the cocoa powder, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.  In another bowl, mix together the nut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, mashed banana, milk and the flax “egg.”  Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry mixture and blend well.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.  Cool on a baking rack.

Optional: If you want a little drizzle on top, mix together 1 Tablespoon PB2 powdered peanut butter and a bit of water until you have a pouring consistency.  Drizzle over the top of the baked oatmeal.  You can also drizzle other nut or seed butters or even maple syrup instead.  

Notes: Store the baked oatmeal in the fridge.  I’ve had success freezing other baked oatmeal recipes, so I’m sure this can be frozen as well.  I’ve found that mashing bananas on a plate with a fork is a lot easier than doing so in a bowl.  It’s about leverage :-)

Nutritional Information: (1 of 6 servings) 358 calories; 11 grams fat; 0 g trans fat; 6 g unsaturated fat; 42 mg cholesterol; 338 mg sodium; 54 g carbohydrates; 7 g fiber; 17 g sugars; 12 g protein