Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal

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This gingerbread baked oatmeal makes for a cozy breakfast with warm spices and molasses. It’s super easy to whip up, gluten-free and vegan.

I love the holiday season – even though it can feel chaotic at times, it’s cool to see how intentional people are about getting together and celebrating. I personally love spending as much time as possible with our friends and family throughout the holidays.

I’m sure I’ve shared this before, but growing up I remember being so excited about the holidays and looking forward to our Christmas morning tradition. Each year my mom would make a festive holiday breakfast for us to enjoy as a family.

Now that Isaac and I have started our own holiday traditions, I’m the one whipping up the festive breakfast and I love making healthier options for us to enjoy.

Gingerbread baked oatmeal drizzled with frosting. Baking dish is surrounded but a bowl of icing, mini Christmas trees, and a whisk.

I’ve been sharing a new baked oatmeal recipe every month since April, so I knew I needed a holiday themed baked oatmeal for December. This festive gingerbread oatmeal is soooo delicious! It’s loaded with bold flavors and topped with coconut butter icing that is to die for. I can’t wait to hear what you think about this tasty, healthy breakfast.

Baking dish with gingerbread baked oatmeal drizzled with frosting.

Ingredients in Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal

  • rolled oats –  I recommend using rolled oats for this baked oatmeal, not quick oats or steel cut oats. Make sure your oats are certified gluten free if necessary! I usually purchase Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats. 
  • almond milk – I like to use vanilla unsweetened almond milk, but you can use whatever milk you have on hand. You can also make homemade almond milk!
  • bananas – the banana flavor is barely detectable in this recipe, but if you despise bananas you can use 1/2 cup of applesauce instead.
  • maple syrup and molasses â€“ natural sweeteners that pair beautifully with the ginger flavor!
  • coconut oil – use extra virgin coconut oil if you can. I’ve purchased several different brands of coconut oil before, but Nutiva organic extra virgin coconut oil is my favorite.
  • ground flaxseed – we’re using a flaxseed egg to bind these ingredients together.
  • vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
  • warm spices – ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground ginger come together to create a delicious gingerbread flavor profile.
  • baking powder – a leavening agent.
  • sea salt – to bring the flavors together.
  • walnuts – adds a bit of crunch and texture but they’re totally optional! You can also use a different nut if you prefer, I bet pecans would be delicious.

Coconut Butter Icing

  • coconut butter – I have an easy homemade coconut butter recipe! You’ll need 1/4 cup melted. Just put the jar into hot water to melt it, no need to microwave.
  • maple syrup – a liquid natural sweetener is best for this as it blends into the coconut butter and almond milk easily!
  • almond milk – to thin the coconut butter.
Mixing bowl with the ingredients for gingerbread baked oatmeal being mixed.

How to Make Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal

Mix dry ingredients: To make this baked oatmeal, you’ll start by mixing the dry ingredients together first. Add the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine.

Add wet ingredients: Next, add in the milk, bananas, maple syrup, molasses, coconut oil, flaxseed and vanilla. Stir well to combine and gently fold in 1/4 cup walnuts.

Bake: Pour the mixture into a prepared baking dish and top with additional walnuts. While your baked oatmeal is baking, make the coconut butter icing!

Slice of gingerbread baked oatmeal with frosting and a fork on a plate.

Coconut Butter Icing

In my opinion, this icing steals the show! Mix together melted coconut butter, maple syrup and almond milk. Drizzle on the warm, baked oatmeal and enjoy!

You can make this in advance, store it in the fridge in a sealed jar (I like using a small mason jar) and just warm it up right before serving. To warm, simply place the sealed jar in a bowl of hot water. The coconut butter will melt quickly. Once melted, stir the icing and serve.

Slice of gingerbread baked oatmeal with a bite taken out of it.

Prepping in Advance

One of my favorite things about baked oatmeal is that you can make it ahead of time. There are a couple of options that work really well. Here’s what I recommend:

Option 1: Bake and Then Reheat Before Serving

  1. 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 as Much as You Can Without Baking

  1. Mix together your dry ingredients in a bowl, cover and let sit out on the counter until morning.
  2. Mix together all the wet ingredients in another bowl, cover and store in the fridge until morning.
  3. In the morning, simply mix the wet and dry ingredients together, pour oatmeal mixture into your prepared baking dish and bake as recipe suggests.
Spatula lifting a slice of gingerbread baked oatmeal out of a baking dish.

How to Store Leftovers

If you have leftovers, you can store this gingerbread baked oatmeal in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. I love taking a slice out, heating it up in my toaster oven (or microwave) and drizzling fresh coconut butter icing on top in the morning!

More Holiday Recipes to Try

Be sure to check out all of my oatmeal recipes and holiday recipes here on EBF!

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4.31 from 63 votes

Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal

This gingerbread baked oatmeal makes for a cozy breakfast with warm spices and molasses. It’s super easy to whip up, gluten-free and vegan.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients  

  • 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 2 ripe bananas, sliced*
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons molasses
  • 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed*
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ cup walnuts + more for topping

Coconut Butter Icing

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Stir to combine.
  • Add in the milk, bananas, maple syrup, molasses, coconut oil, flaxseed and vanilla. Stir well to combine and gently add in 1/4 cup walnuts. 
  • Carefully pour oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  • Scatter walnuts across the top.
  • Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
  • While oatmeal is baking, add coconut butter, almond milk and maple syrup in a small sauce pan over low heat and whisk until it’s warm and starts to become thin enough to drizzle. 
  • Drizzle icing over the gingerbread baked oatmeal and serve. 

Video

Notes

  • You can sub ½ cup applesauce for the bananas if needed.
  • You can sub an egg for the flaxseed if needed.
  • To reheat the whole baked oatmeal, 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of recipe | Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Sodium: 349mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 19g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: gingerbread baked oatmeal
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

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Recipe Rating




74 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My daughter is on a major gingerbread kick and we love all EBF baked oatmeals so we gave this a try and it didn’t disappoint! It was a bit spontaneous and I didn’t have coconut on hand so I adlibbed the frosting with 1/4c cream cheese, 2tbl Greek yogurt and the milk and maple as written. It turned out great! Thanks for a festive and tasty breakfast 🙂

    1. WOO! I am so glad that you are all loving this recipe, Sara. It is such a delicious holiday breakfast for sure. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!

    1. Yay! I am pumped to hear that you are loving this quick, easy and delicious recipe, Haley. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, I truly appreciate it.

  2. This sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it! Can any of these baked oatmeal recipes be made as muffins? I’ve made several of your recipes and they are so delicious!

    1. Hi Ronnie – I am excited to hear that you are enjoying my recipes and I hope you enjoy this one too. You can make them into muffins, you will want to adjust the baking time though. I also have a baked oatmeal cup recipe that I think you will enjoy!

  3. 5 stars
    Made this today for day after Christmas ! Hit with the kids ! Should have doubled it .! Didn’t have the coconut butter so did the drizzle mentioned in comments with cream cheese and Greek yougurt!!! Sooo delicious!!!😋
    Love the gingerbread flavours !!!

    1. YUM! I am so glad you and the family loved this one and it turned out great for you, Anokhi. Thank you for your review + star rating, it means so much to me!

  4. 1 star
    This came out terrible. I literally did everything in the recipe. Last time I try a random recipe on the internet. The texture is wet and the top burned and the spices weren’t enough to hide the terrible taste.

    1. Hi Mel – I am sorry to hear you did not enjoy this recipe, I am not sure what might have happened. I have never had this happed to this recipe. It sounds like you might have baked it on to high a rack in your oven causing the top to burn and the oatmeal not to bake through correctly.

  5. 3 stars
    Came out okay. I followed the recipe exactly as written but mine came out super wet still after cooking for the listed time and I had to bake it an additional 30 minutes. It was on the middle rack and then I lowered to the bottom rack. I thought it had a slightly weird taste. Thanks for the recipe but this one’s not for me.

  6. 5 stars
    I am obsessed with your baked oatmeals. This Gingerbread oatmeal is my fave winter one. I only had one banana to I added 1/4 cup of homemade apple sauce. I also added a chopped ripe pear. It was delish. I use this as my breakfast prep for the week and cut it into 6 servings.

    1. WOO! This makes me so happy to hear, Jodie. I am so glad you gave this one a try and it turned out amazing for you. Thanks for sharing your review & star rating, it means so much to me.

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