I have admittedly never been a breakfast person. But I am trying to do better and that means not only starting my day off right by eating breakfast, but a healthy one at that. Oatmeal contains insoluble fiber which stays in the stomach longer and helps you feel fuller, longer. The soluble fiber in oatmeal helps control blood sugar by slowing down digestion time. It’s that slow & steady release of energy I am looking to achieve.

I don’t love the texture of traditional oatmeal and when I stumbled across a recipe for Amish Baked Oatmeal, I gave it my own little twist. That’s how this Easy Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal was born!

Pumpkin is by far my favorite flavor on this planet and offers even more fiber to this recipe.

It’s so easy and takes literally almost the same amount of time as preparing traditional old-fashioned oats. (You could use old-fashioned oats here, but it may take additional baking time).

Everything gets mixed together and baked for about 20 minutes or so. It has the most amazing soft-baked-cakey-muffiny texture and tastes like the pumpkin version of an oatmeal cookie. I consider this a complete success, as I devoured the entire thing this morning! I do have to say that you can alter the ingredients to your personal taste. For instance, I might have added more spice, less sugar as I am personally trying to cut down on sugar. You could also substitute brown sugar for a deeper, richer flavor. Alternately, agave, pure maple syrup or Stevia could also be used. Want a little crunch? Try adding chopped walnuts to the mix.

Did I mention that this recipe comes in at only 179 calories per serving. Add a banana (about 100 calories) and 4 oz. of freshly squeezed orange juice (about 55 calories). Healthy breakfast … check!

I plan of giving you guys several more variations on this recipe concept as I try them. I can already tell you that Apple & Cinnamon is next. Any other requests? Let me know in the comments section below.

Oh, and by the way, if you are interested in these little fluted porcelain baking dishes, they are just mini quiche/creme brulee dishes found most anywhere baking dishes are sold. I think these are from Pier 1, but can be readily found on Amazon.com. I use mine all of the time for everything from breakfast to dessert.