These carrot cake baked oats are a nourishing, make-ahead breakfast that tastes like dessert! Naturally sweetened and packed with warming spices, they're perfect for busy mornings, or even as a cozy Easter brunch dish with sneaky veggies.
Over the years, I've gotten pretty creative with ways to sneak more veggies into breakfast. Oftentimes I'll keep it savory with veggie-packed frittatas, but as far as sweeter breakfasts go, these carrot cake baked oats might be my favorite yet.
Inspired by classic carrot cake, this cozy carrot cake baked oatmeal is naturally sweetened, packed with nutrients, and tastes like dessert. It's made in one bowl, with minimal dishes and plenty of make-ahead potential for busy mornings. Just reheat before school or work!
If you're looking for a nourishing baked oatmeal recipe (no banana required), you're in for a treat! And P.S... I also made a simple whipped cinnamon vanilla Greek yogurt topping to dollop on top... because carrot cake.
Key Ingredients + Notes
The best kind of oats to use for this carrot cake baked oatmeal recipe is whole rolled oats, rather than quick oats or steel cut. (Side note, If you are looking for a steel cut oats recipe, try a thick bowl of stovetop steel cut oatmeal, or even make steel cut oats in your Instant Pot).
Quick Success Tip: Shredding Carrots
I highly recommend shredding the carrots using the smaller holes on your grater (if you have one with different sizes). The smaller carrot shreds blend more seamlessly into the baked oats, and no one is getting large chunks of carrot.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a square or 8-inch round baking dish. Combine oats, baking powder, and spices directly into the dish, and stir to combine.
- Step 2: Whisk together milk, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, carrots, and coconut oil (melted & cooled slightly).
- Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the oats in the baking dish.
- Step 4: Add walnuts and raisins, and stir to get everything evenly distributed and smooth across the surface.
- Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
- Step 6: Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving!
For the Whipped Greek Yogurt Topping
Easy and SO worth it! Combine ½ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt (or 2%) in a bowl with ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, dash of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.
Whip it together with a spoon or fork until smooth and combined. Dollop on top of the oats for a delicious, yet wholesome) carrot cake-like experience!
Come to think of it... this little batch of yogurt whipped topping would also be delicious on blackberry lemon baked oatmeal, or oven to jazz up some pumpkin pie overnight oats.
Sustainability Tips
- Carrots. Can you buy your carrots locally? Since they're a winter hardy crop, I can find local carrots year-round in Wisconsin (where I'm from!) at my local farmers market and co-ops. And they're super affordable and taste so fresh and delicious! In warmer weather, they're especially easy to find.
- Use that freezer! If you make a full batch of this carrot cake baked oatmeal for only one or two people, it can be a lot to finish. Cut the baked oats into squares and separate them with parchment paper, then freeze in an airtight container and remove one piece at a time when needed. Reheat and eat!
- Compost. If you can, compost any carrot peels or tops. I'm obsessed with our Lomi for making composting easy!
Carrot Cake Baked Oats FAQs
After the baked oatmeal has cooled, cut it into squares and transfer those to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to five days. Reheat or enjoy cold!
Yes! Once ingredients are combined, the oats need to be baked right away. I recommend making the entire recipe as instructed, cool, then cover and store in the fridge. Reheat the whole bake in the oven when ready to serve! This is especially useful for streamlining Easter breakfast or brunch.
Oats for Every Season
Oats can be used in so many ways (for breakfast, snacks, and dessert), and they make for great base recipes that can adapted with the seasons! Here are a few to try next:
📖 Recipe
Cozy Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal (Tastes Like Dessert!)
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
These carrot cake baked oats are a wholesome breakfast that tastes like dessert and can easily be prepped in advance! Naturally sweetened, easy to make, and perfect for Easter brunch.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups milk of choice
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated carrots
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ½ cup walnuts
- Greek yogurt for serving (see notes)
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat + add dry ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 square or 8-inch round baking dish with a bit of coconut oil or butter. Add oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg directly to the dish, and whisk together.
- Whisk wet ingredients and add. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, maple syrup, vanilla, and carrots. Pour into the oats in the baking dish. Add raisins and walnuts, then stir to evenly distribute the mixture. Smooth the surface with the bake of a spoon or spatula.
- Bake. Bake the oatmeal at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until the center is no longer liquidy.
- Cool & serve. Allow the baked oatmeal to cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving with a dollop of Greek yogurt (see notes for a yummy whipped Greek yogurt topping!).
Notes
- Whipped Greek yogurt topping. For a delicious whipped Greek yogurt topping, combine ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (whole milk or 2% is best), dash of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon maple syrup in a bowl. Whip together with a spoon or fork until smooth. Dollop or spread onto carrot cake baked oatmeal slices!
- Storage & freezing. Cut the cooled oatmeal bake into squares and transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, and reheat pieces as needed. To freeze, I recommend placing parchment paper squares between each slice to avoid sticking to the container. Freeze for up to three months, removing individual pieces as needed.
- Maple syrup. You could also swap in honey or agave in the same amounts. Any of these liquid sweeteners are great for making this a naturally sweetened breakfast!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 17.6 g
- Sodium: 251.5 mg
- Fat: 8.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.5 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 8.9 g
- Cholesterol: 35.9 mg
Miki says
This is superb!!!
There’s only 2 things that I did differently. First, is I put everything in a bowl, added a tbsp of flax seeds, incorporated everything together, then I put it in the 8x8 pan and baked
Tera Gigot says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this one Miki! Flax seeds are such a good addition 🙂