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This Baked Carrot Cake Oatmeal bakes oats, carrots, cinnamon, nuts, and milk together to give you a wholesome, well-spiced breakfast or snack that tastes like dessert. Vegan; Gluten-Free and Nut-Free Options.
This Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal captures the warm, spiced embrace of a classic carrot cake, but in a wholesome breakfast. By baking oats, shredded carrots, nuts, warm spices, and milk together in one dish, you get all those beloved dessert flavors without having to bake an entire cake. It’s essentially a warm morning hug of a meal that leaves you feeling cozy, nourished, and perfectly satisfied.
Table of Contents
All About This “Set It And Forget It” Breakfast
It happens every year… Each spring, right around Easter, I start daydreaming about the warm cinnamon spices, sweet shredded carrots, and crunchy nuts baked inside my Healthy Carrot Cake. Sometimes, I want those same heavenly flavors without actually baking a full-on cake. This Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal is the best solution—a hearty, wholesome breakfast with the cake-like taste I crave!
I make this oatmeal on cozy spring mornings when I want to start my day with something nutritious and dessert-inspired. It’s a simple “set it and forget it” breakfast that bakes rolled oats, chopped nuts, milk, warm spices, and maple syrup together in a baking dish.
The best part? This lightly sweetened Carrot cake oatmeal fills your kitchen with the same comforting aromas of carrot cake without leaving you with a sink full of dishes to clean – it’s made entirely in one baking dish!
What You Need for Carrot Cake Oatmeal
This baked oatmeal recipe calls for a lot of the same ingredients you’ll find in these Carrot Cake Overnight Oats to bring those heavenly dessert-like flavors to every scoop:
- Rolled Oats: old-fashioned rolled oats have the best chewy texture. Quick oats tend to make the baked oats mushy.
- Grated Carrots: the real star of this recipe. They give the oatmeal some natural sweetness and a beloved carrot-y flavor. You can save time here by using store-bought shredded carrots if you want.
- Maple Syrup: opt for real, grade A maple syrup for just the right amount of sweetness and a deep, caramelized flavor.
- Warm Spices: a cozy blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg brings out all the delicious flavors of carrot cake that we know and love.
- Nuts: just like in my Carrot Cake Coffee Cake, chopped pecans or walnuts bring a nutty, crunchy surprise to every bite.
- Raisins: another fun mix-in for this baked oatmeal. You can swap these for another dried fruit you like, such as dried cherries, cranberries, chopped dates, or apricots.
How to Make Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
- Whisk the milk, yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, and spices together in a baking dish.
- Add the oats, ground flax, and baking powder to the dish and mix to combine. Fold in the carrots, nuts, and raisins, then spread the oatmeal mixture into an even layer. Top with the remaining nuts.
- Bake the carrot cake oatmeal until the top is set.
- Serve it right away for a “runnier” oatmeal or wait for it to cool before slicing it into bars. Enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Toast the nuts for a nuttier depth. Toasting the walnuts or pecans in a dry skillet until they’re golden and fragrant will take those wonderful nutty flavors in the oatmeal to a new level. It takes a few extra minutes, but I promise it’s worth it!
- Don’t overmix the oat mixture. Remember to gently fold the carrots, nuts, and raisins into the oatmeal just until everything is combined. This keeps the texture light, soft, and tender.
- Customize the texture of the oatmeal. You can serve it fresh out of the oven if you prefer a runny texture (great for serving in a bowl with a splash of milk), or wait for it to cool completely before slicing it into oatmeal bars you can eat on the go.
Serving Suggestions
Carrot cake oatmeal is perfect for breakfast meal prep or whipping up on a sunny spring morning. My favorite way to serve it is with toasted coconut flakes, a dollop of coconut yogurt, and a splash of non-dairy milk on top. The fiber and protein in each bowl satiate me for hours!
I’m even baking a batch for our family Easter brunch. The recipe makes enough oatmeal for the whole family, and it pairs really well with this Easy Vegan Quiche and these Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.
If you’re looking for more baked oatmeal recipes, you’ll also love this Apple Chai Baked Oatmeal, this Maple Pecan Baked Oatmeal, and this Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal!
How to Store Baked Oatmeal
Once the oatmeal bake is cool, cover the baking dish or transfer the oat bars to airtight containers. The oatmeal will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating.
You can serve the cold leftover oatmeal directly from the fridge or place it on the kitchen counter to bring it down to room temperature before serving.
To reheat, warm the batch of baked oatmeal or the individual slices in a 350ºF oven or toaster oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until warmed through.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-Free Option: Make sure you use certified gluten-free rolled oats to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- Nut-Free Option: Omit the chopped nuts from the recipe and use nut-free milk and yogurt, such as soy milk or coconut milk. If you still want some texture, swap the nuts for shredded coconut.
- Add Protein Powder: Give the oatmeal a protein boost by mixing 1 scoop of vanilla or plain protein powder with the dry ingredients in step 3. I recommend reducing the maple syrup to only 3 tablespoons if your protein powder is already sweetened.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can add up to 1 cup of chopped pineapple to the wet ingredients along with the carrots. I’d recommend increasing the bake time by 5-10 minutes to cook out the extra moisture.
You can, but the oats will absorb the liquid overnight. Just cut down the baking time to 15 to 20 minutes instead.
It’s done when the top is firm and no longer wet in the middle.
Ground chia seeds are a perfect substitute for ground flax seed.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups non-dairy milk of choice (homemade or store bought)
- 3/4 cup non dairy yogurt
- 1/3 cup grade A maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed or sub chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cup finely grated carrot (about 2 carrots)
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts, divided
- 1/4 cup raisins (optional; omit or sub other dried fruit)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Wet Ingredients: Add the non-dairy milk to the 9×13” baking dish along with the yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk well, until combined.
- Dry Ingredients: Add the oats, ground flax, and baking powder to the wet ingredients and mix well with a spatula. Add the carrot, 1/4 cup of the pecans or walnuts, and the raisins (if using) to the baking dish and fold them into the oatmeal until evenly combined. Use the spatula to spread the oatmeal mixture event across the baking dish, then top with the remaining nuts.
- Bake: Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top of the oatmeal is set around the edges of the baking dish.
- Serve & Store: For a “runnier” oatmeal, serve immediately after baking. Otherwise, let the oatmeal cool completely, then slice into bars. Serve as desired, warm or cold; leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or can be pre-sliced and frozen for up to two months.
Recipe Notes
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free oats to make this recipe gluten-free
- Nut-Free: Use nut-free milk and yogurt (such as soy milk and coconut milk) and omit the pecans or raisins to make the recipe nut-free. You can opt to swap the nuts for shredded coconut flakes if you want a little texture to the oatmeal!
- Protein Powder: Add 1 serving of vanilla or plain protein powder to the dry ingredients with the rolled oats in step 3 for a protein boost. If your protein powder is sweetened, reduce the maple syrup to only 3 tablespoons, then add more to taste.
What did you drizzle on top of the carrot cake baked oatmeal?
This oatmeal is so delicious! The walnuts add such a nice crunch and it is delicious topped with more milk and maple syrup.
Hi!
Can you assemble the oatmeal the night before and then bake it the next morning? I love the idea of meal prepping and having a big dish of baked oatmeal to enjoy during the week, but putting this together (even though I LOVE it’s a one-bowl mix) in the morning before work is a bit much. Being able to assemble it Sunday night and bake it Monday morning would be awesome. Will it hold, or will the oats absorb too much liquid if left overnight?
Thanks!
Hi Kaitlyn, you can definitely prep it in advance but the baking time would most likely reduce because the oats will be absorbing liquid overnight. I would start checking for doneness at around half of the recommended cooking time
This recipe is really great, thanks for sharing!
I had this lime 5 days in a row for breakfast, I just heated it up in the microwave and poured oatmilk over.
The only thing I recommend changing is soaking the raisins in hot water for a fee minutes before adding them – this makes them a bit softer and juicier, reminiscent of apple strudel.
Thank you so much for the 5-star review!
I love this oatmeal! It’s become a go to meal prep at my house!
That’s awesome!
this was the first recipe in YEARS that I’ve eaten without ‘tracking’. cannot thank you enough for this nourishing & incredible breakfast—it was enjoyed by our entire family!
So glad everyone was able to enjoy it with you!
I loved this before I even tasted it – My house smells AMAZING!!!! And you know it’s an easy recipe if even I can handle it. 🙂
I love when baked goods fill up the house! Glad you found it easy!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Do you have nutrition info, specifically calories/protein/carbs/fat for macro tracking?
Out of personal philosophy we don’t track calories/nutritional info for recipes but you can use Cronometer to plug in any recipe and get the information you’re looking for!
This was SO good. So much flavor with minimal and simple ingredients… it seriously tastes like dessert. It’s also really adaptable to adding additional flax and chia seeds to bulk up the nutrients even more. This is definitely going to be a breakfast staple in this house going forward!
Love hearing that! Also, glad that you were able to add in some extra stuff and make it more of your own!
Love this! I’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast, in one form or another, almost every day for years. When I saw this one, I couldn’t wait to try it. I realized that I had some extra vegan cream cheese so I made some “frosting” for it, too. Yum! My new favorite, thank you!
Love it! Glad you enjoyed it!
I am newly vegan and my husband has not enjoyed any of the vegan recipes that I have made so far. I halved this recipe because I didn’t want too much left overs in case I was the only one who ended up eating this. Boy was I wrong! My husband and I both loved it! It was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making it again. I baked it in an 8×8 pan at the same temp for 30 mins and served it with a little bit of coconut milk; it was absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!
Love to hear that – I’ll call that a success story when a non-vegan and vegan can enjoy a meal together! So happy!
This tastes absolutely amazing! I can not stop eating it! I did not have maple syrup, or any type, so I went for mixing in chopped dates to add some sweetness and it turned out wonderful!
Dates are just generally such a great thing – especially for sweetening!
Hi! This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it. Do you think it would freeze well if portions were individually wrapped and frozen?
You can freeze oatmeal! If you’re meal prepping it should work just fine.
Thank you! These turned out great 🙂 stored half in the fridge and half in the freezer for later!
Awesome!
This kind of kills me because this is the second recipe I’ve seen for a carrot cake oatmeal, the other one being from Rip Esselstyn. Both of these coming after I have been making something almost identical as both of your recipes come after I’ve been making one bowl at a time in my Breville oven in the morning. I’m going to have to try both recipes because I need to make it in a bigger batch then one bowl at a time.
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
As a big carrot cake fan, I look forward to trying this. I might even try preparing it the night before and baking it the next morning. Have you tried baking this in a muffin tin? I’m curious if it would hold together enough to make a breakfast-on-the-go option.
We didn’t try muffin tins, I’m not sure they would hold together so well as an on the go option (in the form of a muffin) without some modification to make it a little dryer.
This looks awesome! Do you think you could substitute steel cut oats?
The steel cut oats aren’t going to absorb as much of the liquid, so it will be a different approach. However if you personally enjoy steel cuts and the way they cook, then I’m sure it would be just fine!
What did you drizzle on top of the carrot cake baked oatmeal?
Almond butter 🙂