Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
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Published Apr 05, 2022, Updated Sep 20, 2023
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This carrot cake baked oatmeal is studded with carrots, pineapple and walnuts and topped with a maple cream cheese frosting. Fancy enough to serve for Easter brunch, but healthy enough to make for weekly meal prep!
Are there certain desserts that you just have to order if you see them on the menu? That’s how I feel about carrot cake. Granted, I don’t always indulge, but let’s just say I really enjoy a good carrot cake. I get my love for carrot cake from my dad because it’s his favorite cake ever.
While dreaming up carrot cake ideas, I decided to try a carrot cake baked oatmeal recipe, kind of similar to my carrot cake overnight oats. It is a little more indulgent than your typical bowl of morning oatmeal so it’s perfect for Easter or Mother’s Day brunch… or just any ol’ Wednesday. 🙂
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fancy enough for brunch, but simple enough for weekly meal prep.
- You can make this in advance for a stress free holiday breakfast.
- The carrot cake flavor is… chef’s kiss!
- It can easily be made vegan! Just skip the frosting or use vegan cream cheese.
Here’s What You Need:
- old fashioned rolled oats – my fave brand is Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats.
- grated carrots – the star of the show here! You can use store-bought grated carrots to save time or just grate 1-2 large carrots to equal 1/2 cup.
- canned crushed pineapple – a common ingredient in carrot cake. It adds moisture and a nice sweet flavor to this baked oatmeal. If you’re looking for a substitute, applesauce or mashed bananas will work.
- chopped raw walnuts – for some crunch! Feel free to sub in a different nut like pecans or almonds or skip the nuts all together.
- raisins – I love the hint of sweetness that raisins add to this oatmeal. If you’re not a raisin fan you can sub in dates, figs or skip them all together.
- cinnamon – for a little spice.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- ground flaxseed – instead of an egg, we’re using flaxseed to help bind the dish together. You can swap the flaxseed for 1 large egg if you prefer.
- unsweetened vanilla almond milk – any non-dairy milk works but I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. You can make your own following my homemade almond milk recipe.
- maple syrup – pure maple syrup is the perfect natural sweetener to use for baked oatmeal in my opinion!
- sea salt – to bring all of the flavors together.
- maple cream cheese glaze – this is optional, but highly recommended! The glaze is what takes this baked oatmeal to the next level. It’s a delicious combination of cream cheese, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla. To make the glaze vegan, just use vegan cream cheese!
How to Make Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ready to make this delicious dish? It really doesn’t get much easier… simply add all ingredients for the carrot cake baked oatmeal into a large bowl, mix and pour into a baking dish. Another option is to mix everything together right in your baking dish! Pop it in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes.
The other part of this recipe is making the maple cream cheese glaze. And let me tell you, even though it is an extra step and totally optional, it is #worthit.
All you have to do is whisk the glaze ingredients together! After the oatmeal is done baking, let it cool for a few minutes and then drizzle the glaze on top. Make sure every serving gets a little of the glaze!
There you have it! A super simple baked oatmeal recipe that is fancy enough for a special occasion like Easter or Mother’s Day, but also perfect for breakfast any day of the week.
FAQs
If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan, you can use 1 large egg instead of the flaxseed. You could also use chia seeds or skip the binder altogether. I’ve found that the baked oatmeal still turns just fine without using the egg or flaxseed.
You can swap for a different nut or seed of choice or omit if you’d like.
Yes, you can totally make baked oatmeal ahead of time. See below for my suggestions on how to prep this recipe in advance.
You can use steel cut or quick/instant oats for baked oatmeal, but you need to follow a recipe that calls for those oats because the liquid ratio is different. I do have a baked steel cut oatmeal recipe I would suggest if you’re looking for a recipe that calls for steel cut oats.
I’ve added a scoop of protein powder without adding in more liquid and it turned out just fine! If you’re adding more than one scoop of protein powder you might want to add more liquid.
This recipe is a bit soft, but shouldn’t be too soggy. If yours turns out super gooey or soggy, you might need to cook it longer.
Can You Make Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal Ahead of Time?
This baked oatmeal takes a little over an hour to make so if you want to get a jump start on the prep, you totally can. Either of these options will work great if you want to make the baked oatmeal ahead of time for brunch (or for your meal prep).
Option 1: Bake and Then Reheat Before Serving
- Prepare baked oatmeal as the recipe suggests. Once baked, let the oatmeal cool, cover the baking dish and place the oatmeal and the maple cream cheese glaze in the fridge. You can do this 1-2 days in advance.
- When ready to serve, take oatmeal dish from fridge, cover with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes. For individual portions, set toaster oven to 350°F and bake for 5-10 minutes or reheat in the microwave for 1 minute. If the oatmeal seems a little dry, add a splash of milk when serving.
Option 2: Prep as Much as You Can Without Baking
- Mix together your dry ingredients in a bowl, cover and let sit out on the counter until morning.
- Mix together all the wet ingredients in another bowl, cover and store in the fridge until morning.
- In the morning, simply mix the wet and dry ingredients together, pour oatmeal mixture into your prepared baking dish and bake as recipe suggests.
- Make maple cream cheese glaze while the oatmeal bakes.
What to Serve with Baked Oatmeal
This baked oatmeal is perfect for being the star of your holiday brunch! Here’s what else I would serve it with:
- Something eggy: Dairy-Free Spinach Quiche or Kale and Feta Crustless Quiche
- Fresh fruit: Easy Fruit Salad
- Drinks: Mimosas, this Easy Bellini, Cold Brew Coffee or an Iced Matcha Latte
- A nice salad: Strawberry Salad or Easy Spinach Salad
How to Store and Reheat
As I mentioned, this baked oatmeal is a great meal prep recipe. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. When freezing, I recommend cutting the oatmeal into portions, wrapping each in plastic wrap and placing the portions in a large freezer bag. The individual servings make it easier for reheating.
To reheat the entire pan of baked oatmeal: cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 350ºF for about 20 minutes or until warm.
To reheat individual portions: set oven or toaster oven to 350ºF and bake for 5-10 minutes. You can also reheat in the microwave for 1 minute. Once warm, add your toppings and enjoy!
More Carrot Recipes
- Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
- Carrot Cake Bars
- Almond Flour Carrot Raisin Muffins
- Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
- Carrot Cake Protein Smoothie
- Oatmeal Carrot Cake
More Baked Oatmeal Recipes
- Chocolate Baked Oatmeal
- Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
- S’mores Baked Oatmeal
- Tahini Baked Oatmeal
- Peach Baked Oatmeal
- Chocolate Peppermint Baked Oatmeal
- Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal
- Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Protein Baked Oatmeal
- Cauliflower Brownie Baked Oatmeal
- Coffee Cake Baked Oatmeal
- Coffee Baked Oatmeal
Be sure to check out all of my baked oatmeal recipes as well as all the popular oatmeal recipes here on EBF.
Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled old fashioned oats
- ½ cup grated carrots
- ½ cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, strained
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts, plus more for topping
- ¼ cup raisins
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk, or any milk of choice
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- pinch of sea salt
Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
- ¼ cup whipped cream cheese
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add all ingredients for the baked oatmeal in a large bowl and stir until combined.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 50-60 minutes. Check it around 45 minutes and if the top is getting too brown, cover with foil for the remaining time. The baked oatmeal will still be a little soft to the touch but should be cooked through and not jiggly in the middle.
- While the oatmeal is baking, prepare the glaze by whisking together the whipped cream cheese, maple syrup, almond milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
- Remove baked oatmeal from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes to cool before serving. Drizzle some of the glaze over each portion when serving.
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- To reheat the whole baked oatmeal, cover with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes. For individual portions, set oven (or toaster oven) to 350°F and bake for 5-10 minutes or reheat in the microwave for 1 minute.
Video
Notes
- Glaze is optional! If you want to keep this recipe vegan or dairy-free simply omit the glaze or use vegan cream cheese to make the glaze.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do u use whole flax here or ground. I’m just figuring out the difference between whole, ground and even golden. So many choices! Ha ha ha. Thank you
Good question. I almost always use ground flax! I buy the Bob’s Red Mill brand and store it in the freezer so it lasts longer. 🙂
So easy and delicious. My partner is allergic to pineapple so I swapped with 1/4c applesauce and half a peeled apple finely chopped. Also left out the vanilla due to allergies. Amazing!! Made my morning. The house smelled like fall.
Thanks for sharing! I was just going to inquire if I could make this without the pineapple. Replacing it with applesauce and apple sounds perfect!
How do you store it?
This is wonderful and full of flavor! Warming and easy for bringing on the go. I sub canned pumpkin when crushed pineapple is asked!
This looks so good! What size square pan did you use, 8×8 or 9×9?
I used an 8×8 square baking dish.
Made this today for breakfast for myself for the week and it’s delicious! Easy to put together too!
Yay!! So glad you’re loving this baked oatmeal, Amalia. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and star rating!
This was delicious. Made it exactly as written. Loved the pineapple in it and the crunch of the walnuts. Thanks
So glad you enjoyed this baked oatmeal as well! 🙂 Thanks again for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It’s super helpful to other readers!
Have you made this with steel cut oats?
Hey Kristi – I have this baked oatmeal recipe with steel cut oats that you could adapt to make a carrot cake version if you prefer!
Can I leave out/substitute the ground flax if I don’t have that?
Hey Kayla, You can sub the flax egg for a regular egg!
Can I use instant oats? If so how long would I bake it?
Yes, you can swap the rolled oats for instant oats!
Smells like heaven! Instead of complete rolled oats, used 1/2 cup pumpkin-flax-sunflower seed mix. And brown sugar in place of maple syrup. Turned out great! Thanks!
Amazing, I’m so glad it turned out with the seed mixture!! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
I substituted apple sauce for the maple syrup, and it turned out great. In the frosting I substituted Greek yogurt for the cream cheese, and of course the consistency was different, but the taste was still great. Altogether, we LOVED this! My husband and my toddler and I gobbled up the whole thing for breakfast.
I am definitely trying this! That imaginary person at the beginning of your post? Totally me. I work four ten-hour days so I can have 3-day weekends to work on my blog, and by the time I walk in the door at the end of a work day I can hardly think straight, let alone make a time-consuming recipe. This kind of dinner is just what I need!
I loved this recipe but I added the topping of your sweet potato baked recipe and wow it was amazing.
Ohh love that idea! So glad you enjoyed this baked oatmeal recipe, Joanna. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
Hi loving this recipe – can I substitute the crushed canned pineapple with canned pear? Thanks!
Hey Darshani – I think that would work just fine. 🙂 Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!
Can I substitute the raisins for black walnuts? I am big fan of actual carrot cake … this would be a GREAT treat instead of feeling guilty of eating super rich cake.
Yes, you can totally use black walnuts instead of the raisins. Let me know how the baked oatmeal turns out for you.
An awesome dish! The walnuts, carrot, and raisin flavors mix beautifully, and the pineapple helps add a nice moist texture. Even my dad, who doesn’t really like carrot cake, enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for this recipe!
(I also added maple extract and used Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese for the frosting and it worked fabulously)
So glad this baked oatmeal recipe was a hit!! Thanks for making it and for leaving a review, Barbara. I so appreciate it!
I made thia yesterday because I have been craving for careot cake but I have no time to make it. This is sooooooo good! My husband had two slices!
Woo!! I’m so glad it was a hit!! Thanks for the review, Natasha. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Carrot cake baked oatmeal is an absolute favorite of the baked oatmeals…maybe due in part to my love of carrot cake and cream cheese icing. The fact that it is vegan is, er, icing on the cake. My daughters, 9 and 11, have been making these for the past year completely solo. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Woo!! So happy to hear that. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, Mandy. I really appreciate it!
I made this without the glaze as I try to follow dairy free and didn’t want to spend the money on vegan cream cheese and it was AMAZING even without the glaze, I will for sure make it again for meal prep. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Made this without the cream cheese topping and it was still delicious! I try to be dairy free and didn’t want to splurge on vegan cream cheese…maybe one day there will be an affordable option there! Thank you for sharing this yummy meal prep friendly recipe.
So glad you loved this recipe, Vanessa. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
These baked oatmeal’s are so easy and delicious!! I almost went without making the glaze but boy am I glad I did…that really made it seem like a real piece of carrot cake! Delicious!!!!
So glad you loved this baked oatmeal, Michele!! Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
Am trying to catch up with the baked oatmeal spin. Made this one this morning. I skipped the pineapple but the carrots were enough to keep the oatmeal super moist and flavorful. Super easy to make. A perfect morning treat for a lazy morning. Thanks Brittany.
Love this one!
Super exited to make this for Easter morning. Do you have a single serving version of the recipe you could share? My husband isn’t a fan of carrot cake, so I’d like to reduce waste.
I don’t! But you could always 1/2 the recipe to make a smaller batch. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Loved this on Easter.
Have you done these in muffin tins?
So glad you loved this recipe, Theresa! You can totally make the carrot cake baked oatmeal in muffin tins. The cook time will likely just be less (probably around 25-35 minutes depending on your oven).
Like you, I LOVE CARROT CAKE!!! Have you tried making this with steel cut oats? I just love the nutty crunch of steel cut oats in my baked oatmeal.
I haven’t! You could definitely follow my recipe for apple steel cut baked oatmeal and swap out the apples with carrots. 🙂
Absolutely fantastic! I added a 1/4 cup of shredded coconut to the mix and added pecans (what I had in hand) on top before baking so the heathens in the house who “don’t like nuts in baked things” can scrape them off. Very forgiving recipe if precision measuring is not your thing and baking in a muffin pan is your thing (both apply to me 😁). They baked up perfectly in about 30 min. I skipped the frosting, they are absolutely delicious on their own. Will definitely be my go to breakfast and/or mid day snack moving forward.
Woo!! That makes me so happy to hear, Sarah. Thanks for the review and for letting me know what changes you made! It means the world to me.
Do you make a flaxseed egg replacement before mixing everything together or just add the flaxseed in without adding water first?
Hi, Karen. Mix the flaxseed egg replacement first and then add it to everything. This flaxseed egg post goes over it in a bit more detail.
Made for dessert after dinner, sooo easy and delicious! Can’t wait to have with some coffee in the morning as well. I am also planning on bringing some to my sister in law for hosting Easter. There will be plenty of dessert but her family can enjoy it the next morning for breakfast.
Yay! I’m so happy to hear this, Ashley. It’s perfect for meal prep 🙂
My children and me really enjoyed this recipe ! It tastes just like carrot cake and the texture was soft and chewy, a little bit like bread pudding. I didn’t know that it was possible to make baked oatmeal and It will not be the last time I try. I didn’t have crushed pinapples so I replaced them by unsweetened apple sauce and it worked very well 🙂 thank you for all your amazing recipes 🙂
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment + review, I appreciate it!
I found this to be a really light on flavour and even with cooking for an extra 15 mins it was still pretty soggy. I’m a big fan of oatmeal bakes but this one unfortunately didn’t work for me.
Hi Kristen, so sorry this one didn’t work out for you! This recipe is a bit soft, but shouldn’t be soggy. It might need a little more time in the oven.
Absolutely delicious! And easy peasy to make! What more could you want?
Aw yay! I am so glad you are loving this oatmeal. Thank you for your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
Made it exactly as the recipe stated, and it turned out just wonderfully! We love it, and will be adding it to our regular breakfast rotation. We loved the icing so much, we ate it all the first day, and then had to make another batch for the leftovers. Oh! And I was so glad to have reheating instructions! Again, worked perfectly. Thank you!
Ah this is the best, I am excited to hear that you are loving this recipe, Laura. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
cream cheese with bourbon maple syrup only is amazing if you have it on hand. We’ve lived this recipe for a long time.
AH yay! I am so glad you’re loving this recipe, Sarah. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it!