- Your leftover cranberry sauce can be a culinary star this holiday season.
- Incorporating cranberry sauce into dishes like baked oats ensures your favorite side dish gets a second life.
- Pairing antioxidant-rich cranberry sauce with fiber-dense oats and chia seeds creates a delightful and wholesome breakfast.
I delight in holiday flavors, and many taste even better the next day. Outside the holiday season, I love to experiment with leftovers as a way to control costs and minimize waste. Naturally, I look for creative ways to include holiday dishes in every meal. One of my top choices for using leftover cranberry sauce is in baked oats. Explore my method below to see why it’s a favorite of mine.
Baked oats are fantastic for numerous reasons. They are versatile, packed with nutrients, and a great method to use up various fruits, including fruit spreads like cranberry sauce. They are also straightforward to prepare. Typically, you mix about 1½ cups of your preferred milk with 2 large eggs and around ½ cup of a sweetener, such as brown sugar or maple syrup. This mixture combines with a dry blend of about 2½ cups of oats, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and any spices you enjoy. (I often follow my Blueberry Baked Oats recipe and adjust with different fruits or spices.)
Additional ingredients could include a few tablespoons of melted butter, citrus zest, vanilla extract, and nuts. I pour the oats into a baking dish and top with the fruit of my choice. In this case, I added orange zest, chia seeds, and walnuts to the mixture, then swirled my leftover cranberry sauce on top. Bake at 375℉ for about 40 minutes, and you’ll have a heart-healthy breakfast ready to enjoy all week.
This breakfast option not only helps reduce food waste but also offers great nourishment. Oats are rich in fiber, specifically beta-glucan, which supports cholesterol reduction and promotes heart health. Paired with the protein from milk, they keep you satiated and energized throughout the morning. The addition of chia seeds boosts fiber and protein levels and provides brain-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, cranberries are loaded with antioxidants that support immune health, heart health, and urinary tract health, among other benefits. Lastly, these cranberry baked oats deliver a delicious and seasonal flavor that is hard to resist.
Getting inventive with leftovers aids in saving money and reducing waste. You might even discover your new favorite dish, just as I did with this cranberry-inspired twist on my classic baked oats breakfast. It’s easy to prepare, offers numerous health benefits, and serves as a delightful way to kickstart the day. Enjoying a nourishing, prepped breakfast certainly helps in feeling revitalized after the holiday season.
