Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal
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Published Dec 16, 2019, Updated Dec 15, 2023
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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.
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.
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 – 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.
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!
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.
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
- 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
- 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.
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
- Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
- Gingersnap Cookies
- Cranberry Banana Bread
- Gingerbread Overnight Oats
- Gingerbread Loaf
Be sure to check out all of my oatmeal recipes and holiday recipes here on EBF!
Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal
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
- ¼ cup coconut butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons almond milk
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.Â
- 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.Â
- Drizzle icing over the gingerbread baked oatmeal and serve.Â
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Full disclosure…I made several changes to the recipe. First, I doubled it and made it in a 9×13 pan as I have four kiddos. Second, I was out of maple syrup, so I used honey. Third, I only had one banana so I used that plus 3/4 cup of applesauce. All in all, the recipe was pretty good. Even the pickiest of my kiddos ate it. HOWEVER, the amount of cloves made it almost inedible for me. When I read it I knew it would be an issue, but as I was doing the math and trying to work quickly I forgot and put in the full amount. Yuck. I would do 1/4 t probably. Also, it is a bit gooier/gluier than other baked oatmeals I’ve had. Maybe because of the lack of eggs?
I really appreciate your feedback, Jess! I am happy that you were able to adjust this recipe and that it was still enjoyed by you and your family. Thank you for coming back and leaving your review and star rating!
Love this recipe, it’s so addictive. I made it twice already, with applesauce instead of bananas, and I only used half a teaspoon of cloves the second time which works better for me.
Yay!! So thrilled to hear this, Liv. Thanks for the review!
What could I replace bananas with? My little one is allergic. Thanks!
You can do ½ cup applesauce in place of the bananas. If you make this swap you may want to add a little extra maple syrup because the bananas do sweeten the oatmeal more than applesauce is going to! Let me know if you try it!
Will almond butter work for the icing? I can’t find coconut butter at the store.
Hey Laura – You could, but using almond butter will definitely change the flavor of the icing. You can also make homemade coconut butter if you want. 🙂
Hi! The taste of this was super yummy. But mine seemed to be quite gooey even after 40 minutes in the oven and cooling for about 10. After being in the fridge, it set up nicely, but not so nice when we wanted to eat. I’m in the UK, so wonder if our porridge oats, might be different? Thanks!
It could be! Every oven is different so yours might needed to have cooked for a bit longer in the oven.
Made the Gingerbread naked oatmeal this morning for my 85 year old Mom and Son. Everyone loved it. Enjoyed the spices and the texture of the oatmeal and banana every now and then. Not too sweet either. Great way to start the day. Can’t wait to see what it tastes like later in the week.
Thank you for an easy, very tasty and satisfying breakfast.
Woo!! Happy to hear you enjoyed this baked oatmeal, Nancy! Thanks so much for the review and star rating. I really appreciate it!
Here I am making this in the middle of summer and still loving it :). I had to change it up a bit because I thought the cloves made it too spicy, so I added more banana and maple syrup. I also reccomend adding raisins to it as I added a few on top and wished I had used more! Instead of cashew butter, I used peanut butter for the ‘icing’ and the effect was everything I could ever ask for. Like all these baked oatmeal recipes, this one is super versitile and an amazing breakfast any time of year!
Woo!! So glad this baked oatmeal has been such a hit. Thanks so much for the review, Madeline! I really appreciate it 🙂
Your baked oatmeal recipes have become a weekly go-to for me and I was so excited to try this one because I am OBSESSED with all things gingerbread flavored. I didn’t love this recipe, though. The banana flavor came through a little too strong for my preference and didn’t mesh well with the spices. I will re-make this recipe in the future and try it with applesauce.
Tastes like gingerbread but without extra sugar! The bananas are nice for sweetness and consistency.
So glad you loved this recipe, Samantha. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
This might be my favourite baked oatmeal! The coconut butter is a must in my opinion.
Woo!! So glad you loved this recipe, Lindsey!! I agree on the coconut butter. 🙂 Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!