Carrot Cake Overnight Oats

Loaded with grated carrots, raisins and cinnamon flavor these carrot cake overnight oats taste like cake for breakfast! Vegan and gluten-free.

I’m so excited for spring produce, visits to the farmers market and moving towards light and fresh foods (yeah, salads) instead of the heavy comfort foods we crave throughout the winter.

I hope you’re ready for the transition because today I have a new overnight oats recipe for you! The recipe is very similar to some of my other overnight oats recipes, but with a carrot cake spin. It’s springy, healthy and super simple to whip up.

Healthy dessert-inspired breakfast recipes like this are my favorite because they feel so decadent. I have a ton of dessert-inspired breakfast recipes like these banana bread overnight oats, this carrot cake smoothie, birthday cake baked oatmeal and one of my faves: chocolate baked oatmeal.

Ingredients Needed for Carrot Cake Overnight Oats

• old fashioned rolled oats – rolled oats are the best for overnight oats. Instant/quick oats and steel cut oats don’t work well because they don’t absorb liquid the same way rolled oats do.
• almond or cashew milk – I like using unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but any type of milk will work.
• grated carrots – I love the health benefits of carrots. Besides being delicious, they’re high in antioxidants, fiber, vitamin K and potassium.
• raisins – for a little sweetness.
• maple syrup – pure maple syrup is the perfect natural sweetener to use because it’s liquid so it blends in nicely with the oat mixture and I personally love the flavor. Honey or another natural liquid sweetener will work here. If you want to reduce the sugar in this recipe, feel free to use a sugar alternative like stevia or monk fruit.
• cinnamon – for a little spice.
• vanilla extract  and almond extract – these are optional, but they add such a nice flavor! 
• unsweetened flaked coconut
• chopped walnuts or pecans (for topping) – I love the added crunch the walnuts & pecans add to the oats.
• protein powder or yogurt – I love adding a little yogurt or protein powder for an extra boost of protein. Feel free to do the same if you like a bit more protein with your breakfast too, but this optional! 

Overnight Oats Ratio

The base “recipe” for overnight oats is so simple! The hardest part is getting the right ratio of oats to liquid, but if you follow my recipes you’ll be set!

I aim for a 1:1 ratio of rolled oats to milk, plus half as much yogurt. So for 1 cup of oats, I use 1 cup of milk + 1/2 cup of yogurt (or an additional 1/2 cup of milk).  This seems to give the oats the perfect consistency, not too thick, but not soupy. For the liquid, I usually go for non-dairy milk like almond milk, but you can use whatever milk you have on hand and if you really want to experiment you can try using different liquids like fruit juice.

How Long Do Overnight Oats Need to Soak?

Given the name, you’d assume overnight oats need to soak overnight, but you can actually make them in 2-4 hours if you’re in a rush. While it does take some time for the oats to absorb the liquid, they don’t necessarily have to be soaked overnight. I recommend at least 8 hours for true overnight oats, but there have been mornings where I decide I want overnight oats for breakfast even though I didn’t prep them the night before. When this happens I’ll make them the morning of and let the oats soak for just 2-4 hours. With this quick soak, they’re not as soft as overnight oats that have soaked longer and they’re a bit more liquidy, but they’re still delicious.

How Long Do Overnight Oats Last?

When stored in an airtight container in the fridge overnight oats should last for up to 5 days. They will soften more the longer they sit so I find they’re best on days 1-3, but they’re still safe to eat on days 4 and 5. With this said, overnight oats are great for meal prep. Feel free to make a whole batch for the week on Sunday. I like prepping them in wide mouth 16 oz mason jars.

Short answer, yes! You can definitely warm up overnight oats, but the whole point of overnight oats is to eat them cold like muesli. Even if you think cold oats sound strange, I recommend giving it shot before you write them off. Of course, if you simply can’t do the cold oats you can always heat them up. Just pop the overnights oats in your microwave, cooking in 30 second increments until the oats are warm throughout and enjoy.

More Carrot Cake Inspired Recipes:

• Carrot Cake Smoothie
• Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
• Healthy Carrot Cake Bars
• Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
• Healthy Carrot Muffins

More Overnight Oats Recipes:

• How to Make Overnight Oats (start here!)
• Peach Overnight Oats
• Chocolate Banana Overnight Oats
• Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
• Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats
• Blueberry Crumble Overnight Oats
• Cherry Cheesecake Overnight Oats

If you try these carrot cake overnight oats be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers. 

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats

4 from 19 votes

Loaded with grated carrots, raisins and cinnamon flavor these carrot cake overnight oats taste like cake for breakfast! Vegan and gluten-free.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 1

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup oats
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk
• 3 Tablespoons grated carrots
• 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 Tablespoon raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
• 1 Tablespoon unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 Tablespoon chopped walnuts or pecans for topping
• optional add ins for more protein: protein powder or yogurt

Instructions

 

• Combine: Place all ingredients except the nuts in a container and stir until well combined. Seal with a lid and place in the fridge overnight (or at least a couple hours).
• Serve: Bring out of the fridge in the morning and stir. You'll notice that the oats soak up a lot of the liquid so you may want to add a little more almond milk before serving. Top oats with chopped nuts and serve.

Notes

almond or cashew milk – I like using unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but any type of milk will work.

protein powder or yogurt – I love adding a little yogurt or protein powder for an extra boost of protein. Feel free to do the same if you like a bit more protein with your breakfast too, but this optional! 

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl Calories: 315kcal Carbohydrates: 47g Protein: 7g Fat: 11g Fiber: 7g Sugar: 14g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: carrot cake overnight oats

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