Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal is the perfect easy breakfast or dessert. Make it in cups or cut in bars for a healthy, gluten free, delicious meal. This post is sponsored by my friends at Bob’s Red Mill.
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If you love carrot cake and are looking for an excuse to eat it in breakfast form- look no further. This Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal tastes JUST like carrot cake..it’s just in a lighter, breakfast friendly form!
We’re no strangers to baked oatmeal here and have shared recipes like this Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal, and even Mango Pineapple Oatmeal.
If you want a healthier carrot cake, try our Healthy Carrot Cake Recipe!
This baked oatmeal is super easy to make and perfect for meal prepping. Here are some of the reasons why we love it.
Why we love baked oatmeal:
- Meal prep friendly – Bake once, eat all week for breakfast. Rather than cleaning a sticky pan every morning, you’ll have 2 dishes to wash!
- Portable – Can be eaten on the go or on a dish!
- Tastes great cold or warm – I prefer it warm but it’s totally yummy right out of the fridge.
- Has only 11 ingredients – nothin’ fancy – all pantry staples you probably already have!
- Takes under an hour to make!
Let me show you just how easy it is to make!
Ingredients for Carrot Cake Oatmeal
To make carrot baked oatmeal you’ll need:
- almond milk (or any milk, dairy or nondairy will both work)
- cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
- old fashioned oats (gluten free if necessary)
- carrots
- raisins
- olive oil
- honey
- an egg
There are many substitutions listed below in the shaded green box.
We used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats but any of their old fashioned rolled oats will work (gluten free, extra thick, non organic).
These organic oats are a staple in our house for breakfast! We use them in Overnight Oats, baked oatmeal, and even as oat flour in muffins!
How to Make Carrot Cake Oats
Making this baked oatmeal couldn’t be easier.
- Take all your ingredients
- Mix them together
- Pour them into a greased 8×8 baking dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until solidified. Cool + slice!
So delicious and easy! Here’s a closeup:
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR CARROT CAKE OATMEAL
This carrot baked oatmeal can be changed for whatever diet/ingredients you have on hand! Here are some substitutions we recommend:
Fruit substitutions: Baked oatmeal is pretty flexible and you can make a lot of substitutions for it. You can sub in any type of fruit or berry in this recipe for the carrots. I’d check out this Chocolate Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal or Healthy Blueberry Baked Oatmeal if you’re looking for something a little more decadent!
Honey: You can sub honey for maple syrup or agave. I have not tried this with stevia so I’m not sure how that would work. I tested this recipe with 2 tablespoons and 3 tablespoons of honey – both were delicious!
Vegan Baked Oatmeal: Sub egg for one flax egg, sub honey for maple syrup, make sure to use a dairy free chocolate chip
Gluten Free: make sure you’re using gluten free certified rolled oats.
Milk: You can use any type of milk in this recipe. Regular dairy/non dairy will work!
Optional add ins: chopped nuts, more chocolate, shredded coconut, fresh fruit
Steel Cut Oats: You can use steel cut oatmeal in this recipe. Use 1 cup of steel cut oats and 2 cups of liquid/milk. We have a Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal recipe that you can also follow!
Quick Cook Oats: I have not tried this with quick cook oats and wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t think it will hold up/cook correctly with the smaller oats.
Baked Oatmeal Cups: I haven’t tried baking these in muffin cups but I think it would work! I would only say it will be harder to clean up and it might stick to a muffin tin. I would grease the muffin tins or use silicone baking liners. You can bake for a little less time.
Blended Oats: We love this Blended Baked Oats Recipe!
Nuts: A 1/2 cup of chopped pecans or chopped walnuts would be a great addition to this recipe.
Can you prep this ahead of time?
Yes! Absolutely! Mix together all ingredients and store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before you’re ready to bake.
This oatmeal bake also reheats really well so feel free to bake it and then just pop it in the microwave or oven when ready to eat.
Serving Baked Oatmeal
Serving: This baked oatmeal is great to eat on its own, but you could also serve it with maple syrup/greek yogurt or healthy cream cheese frosting on top! I mixed greek yogurt and honey for an ‘icing’.
I like to pair it with a slice of Potato Crust Quiche for a balanced breakfast or protein, carbs and fat.
Reheating baked oatmeal: This oatmeal is great when microwaved or warmed in a toaster oven.
Storing: Do not store this baked oatmeal at room temp. It likely will get moldy or stale if you don’t refrigerate it. This baked oatmeal will last in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Freezing: Bake, slice and freeze your oatmeal. You can individually wrap it to make it easier, or allow slices to freeze and then put them in a ziploc bag or container so they don’t stick together. Baked oatmeal will last about 3 months in the freezer.
Other healthy oatmeal recipes:
If you love oatmeal check out these other Healthy Oatmeal Recipes. Here are some of our other favorite oatmeal recipes:
Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons honey use 3 tbsp for sweeter oatmeal
- 1 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1/3 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, egg, honey + milk.
- Stir in oatmeal, spices, carrots and raisins.
- Pour batter in a greased 8×8 pan – it will look like there is too much liquid, but it will absorb.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the milk is completely absorbed. Enjoy warm or cold!
- Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Julie says
Literally amazing!!!!! My first baked oats, and wow, I added a little cream cheese/maple syrup/almond milk ripple on the top. I even used mostly quick cooking oats and it still worked great. I also added in vanilla protein and collagen, and an extra egg white, still came out amazing. This was an ingenious recipe idea Liz!!!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Julie! Thank you so much!! Love the addition of protein – totally trying that!
Katie says
This was so delish!!! The spices were a perfect combo!! Next time I’ll add nuts to the recipe, but it is also so so good as is! Perfect change up to my daily baked oatmeal!!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Katie! Thank you!
ElizabethTaylor says
SO so good! I added some shredded coconut and pecans and it tastes so delicious! I definitely will be making again.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked it, Elizabeth!
Gina says
The smell of this is amazing while it’s baking! Rather than grate my carrots by hand I pulsed them in the ninja chopper a few times. I’ll make this again & play around with different toppings, without some type of topping I didn’t love the taste but, my husband was a big fan of eating it plain while it was cold.
Donna Menkel says
I have a mess. It fid not firm up Help!!?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’m going to need a little more information to help you. Did you substitute an ingredient? Did you bake it for less time?
Tabitha says
Have you tried freezing this? I am wondering if it would be something I could make and freeze in individual portions for easy to grab breakfasts?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yes, all of our blog posts have notes on how to store them. Here’s what it says: Freezing: Bake, slice and freeze your oatmeal. You can individually wrap it to make it easier, or allow slices to freeze and then put them in a ziploc bag or container so they don’t stick together. Baked oatmeal will last about 3 months in the freezer.
Victoria Figueroa says
I am interested in your career oatmeal aquares.Yummy!