Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
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Last updated on Apr 18, 2025
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This carrot cake baked oatmeal is studded with carrots, pineapple and walnuts and topped with a maple cream cheese glaze. Fancy enough to serve for Easter brunch, but healthy enough to make for weekly meal prep!
I love a good carrot cake, which I get from my dad because it’s his favorite cake ever. Given my obsession with baked oatmeal I just had to create a carrot cake baked oatmeal recipe for spring!
It’s similar to my carrot cake overnight oats, it’s just a little more indulgent, especially with the maple cream cheese glaze, so it’s perfect for Easter or Mother’s Day brunch.
If you’re looking for more carrot cake inspired recipes you’ll have to try my carrot cake smoothie, oatmeal carrot cake and healthy carrot cake bars.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make – You only need one bowl, one baking dish and about 10 minutes of prep to whip up this carrot cake baked oatmeal.
- Perfect for any occasion – This baked oatmeal is fancy enough for Easter or Mother’s Day brunch, but easy enough to whip up for meal prep.
- Make-ahead friendly – Prep it in advance for a stress-free holiday breakfast or busy weekday mornings.
- Tastes like dessert – This recipe has all the cozy flavors of carrot cake, just in baked oatmeal form. And the maple cream cheese glaze is really what makes it taste like dessert. It’s chef’s kiss!
// ★★★★★ Review //
“This baked oatmeal is 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!!!!” — Michele
Ingredients Needed
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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!
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
Recipe Substitutions
- Make it dairy-free: Use a dairy-free cream cheese for the glaze, like Kite Hill or Miyoko’s, or skip the glaze entirely and drizzle with a little extra maple syrup instead. A drizzle of this coconut butter would also make for a wonderful glaze.
- Go nut-free: Leave out the walnuts or swap them for pumpkin or sunflower seeds for a little crunch without the nuts.
- No pineapple? Applesauce works beautifully in place of the crushed pineapple and still adds a touch of natural sweetness.
- Not a raisin fan? No worries! Try chopped dates, dried cranberries, or just leave them out. This oatmeal will still be so good.
- Add coconut: Shredded coconut would be a lovely addition to this baked oatmeal. If you want, feel free to add 1/4 cup shredded coconut to the recipe.
How to Make Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ready to make this delicious dish? It really doesn’t get much easier… simply follow these steps for an easy baked oatmeal:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare a 8×8 baking dish. In a large bowl, combine all the baked oatmeal ingredients until well mixed.
Step 2: Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until set in the center.
Step 3: While the oatmeal bakes, whisk together the whipped cream cheese, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth.
Step 4: Let the oatmeal cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with the frosting and enjoy!
Brittany’s Recipe Tips!
- Check at 45 minutes: If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with foil for the remaining bake time to prevent over-browning.
- Shred those carrots finely: The smaller the shreds, the better they mix into the oatmeal for that classic carrot cake texture.
- Use room temp ingredients for the glaze: Cold cream cheese won’t mix as smoothly, so let it soften before whisking for the creamiest drizzle.
How to Serve
This baked oatmeal is the perfect centerpiece for a cozy breakfast or holiday brunch. If I’m making it for a gathering, I love topping it with the maple cream cheese glaze and pairing it with my dairy-free spinach quiche, turkey bacon, easy fruit salad and arugula salad for some greens. If you’re not into the glaze here are some other topping ideas:
- Maple syrup – You can’t go wrong with classic maple syrup as a topping!
- Nut butter – I love adding a drizzle of peanut butter or almond butter to my baked oatmeal. So good!
- Coconut butter – If you’re looking for a nut-free option this baked oatmeal would. be delicious topped with a drizzle of coconut butter. You can make your own following my homemade coconut butter recipe.
- With Greek yogurt – For some added protein add a scoop of Greek yogurt (or any yogurt) on top before serving.
How to Store and Reheat
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!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This baked oatmeal takes just over an hour, so feel free to prep ahead.
Option 1: Make the baked oatmeal and glaze as directed. Once baked, let it cool, cover, and refrigerate (along with the glaze) for up to 2 days. To serve, cover with foil and reheat at 350°F for 20 minutes. For individual portions, reheat in a toaster oven (350°F for 5–10 minutes) or microwave (about 1 minute).
Option 2: Prep the night before without baking. Mix dry ingredients and leave covered on the counter. Mix wet ingredients, cover, and refrigerate. In the morning, combine, pour into a baking dish, and bake as directed. Make the glaze while it bakes.
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.
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.
More Baked Oatmeal Recipes
- Chocolate Baked Oatmeal
- Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Peach Baked Oatmeal
- Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Coffee Cake Baked Oatmeal
Be sure to check out my full collection of oatmeal recipes here on EBF.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled old fashioned oats
- 1 ¾ cups unsweetened almond milk, or any milk of choice
- ½ cup grated carrots, (I usually use the pre-shredded bagged kind)
- ½ cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, strained
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts, plus more for topping
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup whipped cream cheese
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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.
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.
- How to store: Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- How to reheat: 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This rating goes with the “This was so yummy” comment. Sorry I submitted without the star rating.
This was so yummy!
Easy to make, no changes to the recipe.
Had to cook longer in my oven as the top was still wet. Couldn’t get the cream cheese to be smooth, it had very small chunks but still used and tasted yummy.
Overall this is a great recipe!
Thank you for trying the recipe, Amy! Every oven is a little different, so I’m glad the extra baking time did the trick. And I totally get the cream cheese struggle—it happens! Glad it still tasted great.
This carrot cake baked oatmeal is the perfect blend of healthy and delicious! Love the wholesome ingredients—can’t wait to make it for breakfast. Thanks for the yummy idea! preschool and daycare in gurgaon | best daycare centre in noida
I hope you enjoy this recipe if you end up making it! You’ll have to come back and let me know how it turns out. 🙂
I tried to make this recipe but I needed to add sweetener to make it edible and I had to put it in the microwave to cook properly!! It was all uncooked on the inside and cooked on the outside. Dont reccomend this recipe if you don’t want to waste food.
Sorry it didn’t turn out how you expected! If the middle was undercooked, it might have needed more baking time or a lower oven temp. Covering it with foil can help it bake more evenly.
I love this recipe and just popped another one in the oven for my weekly meal prep. It’s super simple and flavorful, and the texture is great, not super wet, so if you’re not a fan of traditional oatmeal, you’ll definitely like this one.
YAY! I am so glad you found this recipe and are loving it, Jo! Thanks for sharing your review + star rating, I 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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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 🙂
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.
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.
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. 🙂
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).
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!
Love this one!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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 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. 🙂
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!
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.
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!
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
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 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.
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
Can I use instant oats? If so how long would I bake it?
Yes, you can swap the rolled oats for instant oats!
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!
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!
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!
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 looks so good! What size square pan did you use, 8×8 or 9×9?
I used an 8×8 square baking dish.
This is wonderful and full of flavor! Warming and easy for bringing on the go. I sub canned pumpkin when crushed pineapple is asked!
How do you store it?
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!
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. 🙂