Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
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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.
“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!!!!”
Why I Love This Baked Oatmeal
- 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!
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 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!
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
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 to Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
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
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.2 cups rolled old fashioned oats, 1 ¾ cups unsweetened almond milk, ½ cup grated carrots, ½ cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, ⅓ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup chopped walnuts, ¼ cup raisins, 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 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.¼ cup whipped cream cheese, 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, 1 Tablespoon almond milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 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.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
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!