Cherry almond baked protein oatmeal – talk about a match made in heaven!
I feel like I say that a lot but truly, cherry almond is so. darn. good!
As you’ve probably been able to tell if you’ve been around here before, I like to spike my breakfast with protein one way or another. I find that carby breakfasts are quite common and at my house, we love oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, and french toast!
- Almond Joy Baked Oatmeal
- Caramelized Banana Protein French Toast
- Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Waffles (5 ingredients!)
- How to make High Protein Oatmeal
- Protein Pancake Mix Recipe
- Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins
- Cinnamon Apple Chai Spice Muffins
- For a more savory breakfast try this Healthy Veggie Egg Bake
However, these meals are not very well balanced in terms of macronutrients (or often times, micronutrients either). So, since I’m all about #balancednotclean, I try to round out breakfast with some protein infusion.
I like to do this at breakfast time with egg whites and protein powder mainly. This is because a) it requires me to only have to stock and think about having those two items on hand along with other regular breakfast ingredients like oats, and b) both provide a lot of healthy, complete proteins.
It does matter where your protein powder is sourced. I like to choose a New Zealand whey protein isolate. New Zealand, like Canada, doesn’t add hormones or antibiotics to their milk products but they also graze their cows on grass.
This creates a more nutrient rich milk and if you are going to be consuming a concentrated product, it’s probably best not to have the less desirables concentrated into your food.
See my Vegan Overnight Oats Roundup for more yummy oatmeal in your life.
Check out more high protein breakfasts in this Breakfast Meal Prep round up!
(Read more: The Ultimate Guide to Protein)
Cherries Are Nutritious and Delicious
I have a huge love of cherries lately. Buying them frozen at peak ripeness and nutrition is how I have them on hand all the time. My kids love them in their oatmeal or even out of hand like frozen candy!
Cherries are high in potassium, vitamin C, and fiber. Some studies have shown they help with inflammation and exercise recovery as well. Regardless, if they grow in nature and are deeply coloured, chances are they are packed with phytonutrients!
Want to add more nutrients to your diet? Check out this post on How to Spring Clean Your Diet Today!
How to Make Cherry Almond Protein Baked Oatmeal
This recipe is very simple to make. You could even get the kids involved! This makes a 9×13″ sized bake but you can halve it to make a smaller one if you are only prepping breakfast for one or two people.
Simply mix 2 cups of rolled oats, 1 cup of vanilla whey protein powder (or use vegan if necessary), 1 tbsp cinnamon, 2 tsp baking powder, in a large bowl. Add 2 cups of almond milk and 2 tbsp of vanilla extract. I used unsweetened plain but you could use vanilla as well!
At this point I blended a microwaved banana (a trick you can use if yours aren’t super ripe!) with 1 cup of egg whites using an immersion blender.
Add this to the bowl and mix to combine. Pour into a greased 9×13″ baking dish and top with cherries and almonds as desired.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. After baking, I recommend making a quick protein drizzle using vanilla whey, some greek yogurt (plain or vanilla or even cherry!), and almond milk to thin. Add additional sweetener like honey or maple syrup if desired.
Cut in to slices after cooled a bit and store or serve warm!
Try pairing with a Vietnamese Egg Coffee for a delicious breakfast.
For a Fit Food Grocery List, see my Free Resource Library
Cherry Almond Baked Protein Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup vanilla protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 large bananas mashed
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup egg whites
- 2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 cups pitted cherries
- 1 cup almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish set aside
- Mash bananas in a mixing bowl and add in all of your other ingredients, stir until combined
- Pour your oatmeal mix into your baking dish and top with cherries and almonds, spacing them out as desired
- Bake for 20-35 minutes, or until cooked through
- Cool before cutting and storing in the fridge
Notes
Nutrition
Certified delicious! Tastes so good warmed up in a bowl with a little milk 😋
Heating it up and adding milk is a fantastic way to serve it! Thanks 🙂
This looks amazing. I always think about blueberries or bananas when making an oatmeal dish, but cherries sound delicious!
It is really a nice change to the usual fruits, I agree! Thank you for your kind words 🙂
This dish looks delicious! Cherry is one of my favorite flavors, so I know I’d love it in oatmeal.
It was a natural choice for me too since I LOVE cherries! Thank you!
This looks AMAZING! I’m going to try it tomorrow! 🙂
Yay!! Thank you! I hope you enjoy 🙂
Other than the cherries I have everything already on hand to make!
Perfect! I think other fruit would work too.
Ermagerd! These oatmeal cherry bars look delicious! I love cherries and the fact that this is a healthy snack makes me love it even more! Can’t wait to make these!
Thank you!! I hope you enjoy 🙂
I’m supposed to up my protein for medical reasons, but I’m so tired of protein powder shakes. Thanks for a new idea on how to to use the powder. I can’t wait to try this recipe out.
I hear you. I used to always drink shakes, but now I use it in a lot of recipes! Enjoy!!
great recipe