This Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal tastes like dessert for breakfast, bringing together all the delicious flavors of an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie in a nutritious meal!
Preheat oven to 350°F (176°F). Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper or grease with nonstick spray.
Add the milk, egg, egg yolk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and coconut oil or melted butter to a large bowl. Use a whisk to mix until smooth. Add in the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and mini chocolate chips (see note 4). Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
Use a spatula to scrape every bit of batter from the bowl into the prepared pan. Using the back of the spatula, smooth in an even layer. If desired, sprinkle coarse sugar, turbinado sugar, or brown sugar on top. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until lightly golden on top and the middle is set. The longer it bakes, the firmer the oatmeal is. Remove sooner for softer baked oatmeal.
Remove and allow to cool slightly. Cut and serve in bowls. If desired, pour a drizzle of milk and maple syrup over the bars.
Notes
Note 1: Discard or save extra egg whites to use in a different recipe.Note 2: Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup contains just 1 ingredient and is a great natural sweetener! These bars are sweet, so feel free to reduce the maple syrup if you'd like less-sweet bars. You can always drizzle more maple syrup over baked bars if you want them sweeter.Note 3: Use old-fashioned oats. Quick oats and steel-cut oats won't work properly in this recipe.Note 4: Again, these bars are sweet with lots of chocolate. If you'd like your oatmeal less sweet, reduce it to 1/2 cup. You can replace mini chocolate chips with 1/2 cup of regular-sized chocolate chips.Nutrition Note: The nutrition information does not include the optional sugar topping.Storage: Don't make the batter ahead of time—as soon as it's made up, it needs to bake. Leftover baked bars store nicely though! Let cool completely and transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy leftovers for up to 4 days after being made. Cut out individual portions, add to a bowl, and microwave. Add some creaminess back in with a drizzle of milk, coffee creamer, or extra maple syrup.