This Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal is an easy one-pan oatmeal to serve a delicious carrot-cake-flavored oatmeal to the whole family. It’s the easiest healthy breakfast this Easter for carrot cake lovers.
If you love baked oatmeal recipes, you might have tried my Brownie Baked Oatmeal, Vegan Baked Oatmeal, or my Peach Baked Oatmeal.
They are healthy breakfast options and save so much time in the morning when you can meal prep a whole week of breakfast. Carrot cake flavors add the best Easter taste to any recipe.
A carrot cake baked oatmeal is a one-pan baked oatmeal that serves six people at once. It contains all the healthy ingredients you expect in an oatmeal recipe, plus all the flavors of carrot cake from cinnamon, grated carrots, and nuts.
It’s an easy, healthy breakfast to feed a crowd on Easter or to meal prep many healthy breakfasts for carrot cake lovers.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This easy creamy carrot cake oatmeal bake is absolutely amazing. It’s natural:
- High in protein to fill you up for longer.
- Oil-Free
- Plant-based
- Egg-free
- High in fiber for healthy guts and digestion.
Ingredients and Substitutions
There are a few ingredients needed for this recipe, but nothing complicated at all. Let me explain.
All you need to make this delicious carrot cake oatmeal bake are:
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats or quick oats. If needed, use a certified gluten-free version.
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Roasted Pecans – Finely chopped pecans or any nuts you love in carrot cake, like walnuts or almonds.
- Dried Raisins – This is optional, and if you don’t enjoy raisins in carrot cake recipes, just add more chopped nuts.
- Maple Syrup or brown sugar or any sweetener you love like coconut nectar, coconut sugar, or sugar-free sweeteners.
- Almond Milk or any non-dairy milk you love. I enjoy the creaminess added by coconut milk in baked oatmeal.
- Plant-Based Greek Yogurt – like soy or oat yogurt.
- Flax Egg
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Vanilla Extract
- Grated Carrots – Because there’s no carrot cake without the carrot.
How To Make Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
- First, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare an 8-inch x 8-inch square baking pan and lightly spray it with coconut oil. Set it aside.
- Next, trim and peel the carrots. Then, use a hand grater box or the fine grating attachment of a food processor to grate the carrots. Set aside in a bowl.
- In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: old-fashioned rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, roasted pecans, and dried raisins if used.
- Then, pour the flax egg, unsweetened apple sauce, almond milk, plant-based Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract.
- Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir and bring all the ingredients together. In the end, fold in the grated carrots and stir to incorporate.
- Pour the carrot cake oat mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
- Bake the oats in the center of the oven at 350°F (180°C) for about 35 to 45 minutes, until the center is set and golden brown on top. The longer you bake the oatmeal, the less creamy it will be. Adjust the baking time based on your favorite oatmeal texture.
- Let the baked oatmeal cool down on the baking dish for 10 minutes before serving, and avoid burning yourself.
Serving
Serve warm in a shallow bowl with some extra toppings. Some of the best toppings to add on top of this carrot cake breakfast are:
- A dollop of plant-based Greek yogurt – plain or vanilla flavor
- A dollop of whipped cream
- Cream cheese
- Shredded coconut
- Drizzle of peanut butter or almond butter
- A drizzle of maple syrup or any refined sugar-free syrup you love, like coconut nectar or agave syrup.
Storage Instructions
The great thing about this recipe is that you can store it in its own baking dish. Simply foil the dish with a large piece of foil and place it in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. The next day, serve one portion and rewarm in a microwave-safe bowl or non-stick saucepan with a splash of milk. This prevents the oatmeal from sticking to the pan.
You can also eat baked oatmeal cold, it tastes even more like a carrot cake. You can also freeze the whole recipe or portions for later in an airtight container. Keep them in the freezer for up to one month and thaw them in the fridge the day before serving.
Allergy Swaps
If you have food allergies, try some of the options below to adapt the recipe to your requirements.
- Refined Sugar-Free – Use any liquid sugar-free syrup you love, from sugar-free pancake syrup to Monk fruit syrup.
- Gluten-Free – Pick a gluten-free oat brand. Some are certified gluten-free.
- Nut-Free – Use coconut milk, soy milk, or rice milk. Swap the pecans for unsweetened shredded coconut, sunflower seeds, or simply more oats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are my answers to your most common questions about this carrot cake baked oatmeal recipe.
For a high-protein breakfast, use milk with a high-protein content, like soy milk, and swap the nuts for high-protein seeds, like hemp hearts.
You can also stir in 2 or 3 tablespoons of your favorite vanilla protein powder and the dry ingredients.
This option thickens up the batter. You may want to add three tablespoons of milk to keep the recipe creamy and smooth.
You can swap the grated carrots for grated zucchini or use a combination of both to sneak extra veggies in your mornings.
More Baked Oatmeal Recipes
I have so many more baked oatmeal recipes for you to try next. Here are my favorite flavors:
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Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Pecans - Roasted and chopped
- ½ cup Dried Raisins
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
- 1 ½ cup Almond Milk
- ⅓ cup Dairy-Free Yogurt - soy, oat or almond
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1 Flaxseed Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Grated Carrots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray oil in a square 8-inch x 8-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- Prepare the flax egg – stir one tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of lukewarm water. Set aside 10 minutes until thick.
- Peel the carrots and finely grate them with a hand grater or the grater attachment of a food processor. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir all the dry ingredients: rolled oats, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, salt, chopped pecans, and dried raisins.
- In another large bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients: flax egg, unsweetened apple sauce, almond milk, non-dairy yogurt, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
- Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry and stir to combine.
- Fold in the grated carrots and stir to incorporate.
- Pour the carrot cake oats mixture into the prepared dish.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven until the baked oatmeal is not jiggly in the center and golden brown on top – between 35 and 45 minutes.
Storage
- Cool down for 10 minutes before serving.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. Cover the baking dish with a piece of foil and store it for up to 4 days.
Serving
- Serve cold or lukewarm with a dollop of Greek yogurt, a pinch of cinnamon, and extra maple syrup for sweetness.
This is amazing! So healthy and delicious, my kids all love it for pudding and ask for more. I use erythritol instead of maple syrup and drizzle it with a mixture of plain yogurt, cinnamon, erythritol, milk, and a little peanut butter.