These hot cross bun baked oats combine two amazing breakfasts for one delicious treat! Perfectly spiced, studded with raisins, and with a signature cross on top, these festive baked oats are the perfect healthy take on the traditional Easter bread.
What's not to love about hot cross buns? They're sweet, cinnamon-y, studded with juicy raisins and taste SO GOOD toasted with a pat of butter.
But though they're festive, hot cross buns aren't necessarily the healthiest brekkie option. Do I still eat them? Of course - just not every day. In all honesty, while I love a hot cross bun, I don't feel like they're enough to fill me up. Being all bread and nothing else, I find that they spike my energy without providing any lasting fullness.
My solution: Hot cross bun baked oats.
All the fun of the Easter treat, but healthier and way more filling. I even added a little cross for the aesthetic, and while it's completely optional, I do think it's a cute touch.
How to Achieve The Hot Cross Bun Taste, Sans Bun
Now I know it might sound absurd to try and replicate the flavour of hot cross buns in something so un-bun like as oatmeal. However, when blended, baked oats produce a fluffy, cakey texture that's the perfect canvas for experimental variations like this.
To make these baked oats taste like hot cross buns, I added a few key ingredients to duplicate the feeling of eating a warm bun. And I've got to say, it worked pretty well!
The two main ingredients that helped match the flavour profile of these oats to a hot cross bun were cinnamon and raisins. With a generous dose of each, these oats not only tasted like hot cross buns but left my entire kitchen smelling like home-baked goodness.
Of course, I also sweetened these oats generously with maple syrup to make them nice and sweet!
FAQ and Troubleshooting
If your baked oats didn't turn out nice and fluffy, your baking powder has likely gone off. Make sure to check the expiration date because this rising agent does indeed need to be replaced after a while.
Yep, you sure can! I've tested this recipe using a regular egg and can confirm it works just as well.
I explain this in the recipe, but I added the hot cross bun cross by mixing flour and water into a thick (but spreadable) paste. Then, I spooned the mixture into a ziplock bag and cut the tip off to make a piping bag. All I needed to do after that was create a cross on top of the oats and bake!
More Baked Oats Recipes
- Chocolate Baked Oats
- Jelly Donut Baked Oats
- Strawberry Chocolate Chip Baked Oats
- Reese's Baked Oats
- Birthday Cake Baked Oats
📖 Recipe
Hot Cross Bun Baked Oats
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Description
These hot cross bun baked oats combine two amazing breakfasts for one delicious treat! Perfectly spiced, studded with raisins, and with a signature cross on top, these festive baked oats are the perfect healthy take on the traditional Easter bread.
Ingredients
For the Baked Oats
- 1 egg replacer or flax egg (see notes)
- ½ medium banana (ripe)
- ½ cup oats (rolled)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 tablespoon raisins (or currants)
For the Cross
- 2 tablespoons flour (all purpose)
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
The Baked Oats
- Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a small, oven-proof ramekin.
- In a blender, mix egg replacer/ flax egg, banana, oats, syrup, cinnamon and sea salt. Blend until incorporated.
- Stir the raisins into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the greased ramekin. Set aside, if making the cross.
The Cross
- To make the cross, mix 2 tablespoons of flour and one tablespoon of water in a tiny bowl or espresso cup. The mixture should be thick, but spreadable. If the mixture is too watery, it will spread. If it is too thick, it will be hard to pipe onto the oats.
- Add more flour or water as needed until you reach the right consistency.
- Once you've achieve the right texture, snip a tiny corner off of a sandwich bag. Using a spoon, transfer the mixture into the corner of the bag.
- Squeeze the mixture out of the bag (like a piping bag) and on top of the oats in the shape of a cross.
Baking the Oats
- Once the oats are ready to bake, place the ramekin in the preheated oven. Bake the oats until cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- The ramekin will be hot, so use an oven mitt to take your baked oats out of the oven. Let them cool slightly, then eat and enjoy!
Notes
*Notes: I use McKenzie's Vegan Egg Replacer in all of my baked oats and it never fails! You can also use a flax egg or chia egg. (Normal eggs work too, if you're not vegan.)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Australian
Nutrition
- Calories: 363
- Fat: 3.7
- Carbohydrates: 77.3
- Protein: 8.2
If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating! Also be sure to follow @simplyfreshfoodie on Instagram for more easy, healthy recipes.
Kellie says
love this idea - they turn out very cute and it's so easy to make 🙂
Simply Fresh Foodie says
So cute right?! Love an easy brekkie 😉