Equally flavorful and comforting, this cozy chai baked oatmeal is the perfect way to warm up on a cool morning. Vegan + gluten-free.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of chai is “cozy”. Why are these flavors so comforting?! If you’re not a coffee drinker, there’s a good chance you love chai. I remember the first time I had a chai latte. I was in college at an on-campus coffee shop. Pretty sure Isaac ordered it and I tried his… either way, I loved the blend of spices and how creamy it was! It’s not my go-to order at a coffee shop but I love the flavor and often times end my night with the chai latte from Four Sigmatic.
What is Chai?
Chai is a type of tea typically made with black tea, ginger and a mixture of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves and coriander. A spicy tea! I took all of my favorite flavors in a traditional chai and made a delicious baked oatmeal paired with pecans and shredded coconut. I love so many of my baked oatmeal recipes but this one is especially exciting in the flavor department!
Here’s What You Need:
rolled oats, baking powder, sea salt and ground flaxseed
coconut milk – I prefer using “light” coconut milk for this so it doesn’t get super thick!
maple syrup, applesauce and coconut oil
spices and seasonings– cinnamon, cardamom, ground ginger, allspice, cloves and vanilla extract
shredded coconut
pecans
Serving Suggestions
I love eating this fresh out of the oven with a drizzle of almond milk and maple syrup. You can absolutely prep this ahead of time and eat it throughout the week. Refrigerate in an airtight container and heat up your individual portion throughout the week. I prefer to reheat in my toaster over but a conventional oven or microwave works just as well!
Can You Make Baked Oatmeal Ahead of Time?
Yes, I love making baked oatmeal ahead of time. There are a couple options that work really well. Here’s what I recommend:
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 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.
Option 2: Prep Ingredients 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.
If you try this chai baked oatmeal, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how it turned out! Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers.
Equally flavorful and comforting, this cozy chai baked oatmeal is the perfect way to warm up on a cool morning.
Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
1 can coconut milk (light) (about 1 and ¾ cups)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
½ cup applesauce
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
⅛ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons shredded coconut
2 Tablespoons pecans
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Spray an 8×8 square baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut milk, maple syrup, baking powder, sea salt, flaxseed, applesauce, coconut oil, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, cloves and vanilla.
Carefully pour oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Scatter pecans and coconut on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the oatmeal bake has set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Portion and serve with a drizzle of almond milk or maple syrup.
For storage: store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
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.
Category:Breakfast
Method:Bake
Cuisine:Americna
Nutrition
Serving Size:1/6 of recipe
Calories:273
Sugar:11g
Sodium:310mg
Fat:13g
Carbohydrates:34g
Fiber:5g
Protein:5g
Keywords: chai baked oatmeal
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Hi, all of your baked oatmeal recipes look simply divine and I cannot wait to try them! For the chai baked oatmeal specifically, I already have chai tea bags, so instead of using the kitchen spices, I’d like to incorporate this instead. Thoughts on how to do so(I.e. seeping the tea bag in the coconut milk)? Thanks!
Hey Sydney – I’m sure it would work to steep the tea bags in the milk and use that milk as your liquid. I haven’t tried it before, so not 100% sure how the flavor will be, so you’ll definitely have to let me know how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
Wow! This was so tasty! I baked it last night and reheated it today. I tasted it cold and was stunned how delicious and flavorful it was. I warmed it a bit, poured some homemade cashew milk over the top of it and added some shredded apple, hemp seeds and some peanut butter. I enjoyed that so much. I will be making this often and playing the the add ins.
LOVE this oatmeal! I’m adding it to my baked oatmeal ‘rotation’. Looking forward to having it for breakfast all week, and it has an amazing aroma, too!
I love the flavors of this! You have renewed my faith in baked oatmeal. I like that the oatmeal is not overly sweet, but sweet enough that it still makes the tastebuds feel satisfied while keeping healthy!
I can’t yet rate the recipe since I haven’t made it, but I tend to love your recipes! I actually have a question: do you think we could make this with steel-cut oatmeal?
I think you could, I’d just base the oat / liquid ratio off this steel cut baked oatmeal recipe. So use 1 cup steel cut oats with 2 cups liquid. Let me know if you try it!
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Delicious! Replaced the coconut milk with almond milk and it turned out great. Will be making this often.
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this baked oatmeal. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Hi, all of your baked oatmeal recipes look simply divine and I cannot wait to try them! For the chai baked oatmeal specifically, I already have chai tea bags, so instead of using the kitchen spices, I’d like to incorporate this instead. Thoughts on how to do so(I.e. seeping the tea bag in the coconut milk)? Thanks!
Hey Sydney – I’m sure it would work to steep the tea bags in the milk and use that milk as your liquid. I haven’t tried it before, so not 100% sure how the flavor will be, so you’ll definitely have to let me know how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
Wow! This was so tasty! I baked it last night and reheated it today. I tasted it cold and was stunned how delicious and flavorful it was. I warmed it a bit, poured some homemade cashew milk over the top of it and added some shredded apple, hemp seeds and some peanut butter. I enjoyed that so much. I will be making this often and playing the the add ins.
Easy to make! Tasty. Will make again and again. Definitely going in my morning rotation.
LOVE this oatmeal! I’m adding it to my baked oatmeal ‘rotation’. Looking forward to having it for breakfast all week, and it has an amazing aroma, too!
★★★★★
I love the flavors of this! You have renewed my faith in baked oatmeal. I like that the oatmeal is not overly sweet, but sweet enough that it still makes the tastebuds feel satisfied while keeping healthy!
★★★★★
Ahh yay!! I’m so glad you love this oatmeal recipe, Brenda. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it!
Be careful if you are gluten sensitive or have Celiac disease- oats pose a possibility of cross-contamination!
Source: https://www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/living-gluten-free/the-gluten-free-diet/about-gluten/oats/
★★★★
In India this called “Lamsa Chai”
Good to know that works too! I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
★★★★★
Hi Brittany,
Can you use almond milk instead of coconut milk? And can you omit flaxseed?
Hey Paige – Yes, you can swap the coconut milk for almond milk. The flaxseed is an egg substitute, but you can sub in a regular egg for the flaxseed.
It smelled delicious before I even baked it! I added blueberries and used pumpkin instead of applesauce😋
★★★★★
Ahh yay!! Can’t wait to hear what you think once it’s done. 🙂
There is no mention of chia seeds in the ingredients or the instructions.
??
Hey Dana – This is a chai baked oatmeal, not chia. 🙂
I can’t yet rate the recipe since I haven’t made it, but I tend to love your recipes! I actually have a question: do you think we could make this with steel-cut oatmeal?
I think you could, I’d just base the oat / liquid ratio off this steel cut baked oatmeal recipe. So use 1 cup steel cut oats with 2 cups liquid. Let me know if you try it!