Cottage Cheese and Cranberry Baked Oats

If you have written off cottage cheese, this is the recipe that changes your mind, because you will not know it is there. Blended and baked, it vanishes into something between an oat bar and a set custard.

One pan makes six portions and they keep all week, cold or warmed.

Why this one is iodine-rich

Three dairy elements — cottage cheese, milk and eggs — stacked in one pan. Cranberries are the other reason this combination is here; like prunes, they are one of the few fruits carrying a meaningful amount of iodine.

Ingredients

Makes 6 portions.

• 2 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Zest of 1 orange
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Heat the oven to 375°F and line an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Blend the cottage cheese, milk, eggs, syrup and vanilla until completely smooth. This step is not optional — the curds need to disappear.
3. Stir in the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, orange zest, salt and two-thirds of the cranberries.
4. Pour into the pan, scatter the remaining cranberries over the top so they sit proud, and bake for 32–38 minutes.
5. It is ready when the top is golden and the center has only the slightest wobble. Cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting, or it will fall apart.

Notes and swaps

• Keeping. Five days in the fridge in an airtight container. Freezes in portions for three months.
• Serving. Cold with a spoon of yogurt, or 30 seconds in the microwave with a splash of milk.
• Less sweet. Drop to 2 tbsp syrup — the cranberries carry more sweetness than you expect.
• Ricotta works in place of cottage cheese and needs no blending, though the result is richer.

Common questions

Can I use fresh cranberries?
Yes, and they are sharper. Use 1 cup and add an extra tablespoon of syrup.

Is this actually a decent amount of protein?
Yes — the cottage cheese and eggs make each portion substantially more filling than a standard oat bake, which is the main reason it holds until lunch.

The food-first habit

Batch cooking is how food habits survive contact with a real week. If you have been supplementing with Lugol's Iodine, a pan like this takes twenty minutes on a Sunday and removes five decisions from the following days.

Recipes are published for general interest and are not medical or dietary advice. Iodine requirements vary from person to person, and iodine has an upper limit as well as a recommended intake. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking thyroid medication or managing a thyroid condition, speak to your healthcare provider before making significant changes to your iodine intake. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.