Vegan Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal:

Boy, I am 3 days behind! Busy weekends leave little time for cooking/baking and blogging. I am starting to get an even bigger appreciation for daily bloggers everywhere.

I still had some pumpkin puree left over from my last snack, so I searched for a recipe with that in mind. It is crazy how many things you can put pumpkin into. Just plug it into Pinterest and be prepared to get lost in pumpkin recipe land!

I found today's low sugar treat on Chocolate Covered Katie- The Healthy Dessert Blog. 

(Stalk her blog if you have time, there are a ton of goodies in it! She is a total healthy-dessert genius.)

Vegan Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

-1/2 cup rolled oats (50g)

-1/4 tsp vanilla extract

-1/2 tsp cinnamon (and 1/8 tsp nutmeg, if making pumpkin version. Or just use pumpkin pie spice.)

sweetener, such as 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp maple syrup or 1 to 1 1/2 packs stevia

-1/4 cup canned pumpkin (or applesauce or banana)

-1/4 cup milk of choice, or nondairy creamer, or water (scale back by a tbsp if using liquid sweetener)

-1/8 tsp salt

-Optional: 1 to 2 tbsp oil or favorite nut butter (if oil, scale the milk back by a tbsp)

-Optional: raisins, walnuts, brown sugar to sprinkle on top, etc.

It's so easy! Pre-heat the oven to 350/380 degrees (I used 350 even though she suggests 380) Then mix all the ingredients together and spoon into a greased ramekin or mini loaf pan, then bake for about 20 minutes. Once it is done, Katie suggests setting the oven on high broil to get a crispy top- I kept mine in for an extra 5 minutes.

I followed the recipe exactly (I used soy milk instead of regular/ no brown sugar at the end) and am extremely impressed with the results. The consistency is perfect, the pumpkin flavor is light and not overwhelming, and most importantly it is sweet and surprisingly filling!

I will definitely make this again SOON.

Oh, and special thanks to my friend Heather who got me the heart ramekin for Christmas this year! Eating a single serving never tasted so adorable.

<3's,

-k