If you’re looking for a tasty make ahead breakfast, you’re going to love this healthy carrot cake baked oatmeal! This breakfast carrot cake is made with pineapple, coconut and walnuts for a sweet and satisfying breakfast that’s perfect for a crowd. Simple to make, it’s light and moist, and always a winner! {Gluten-free, dairy-free-friendly & vegetarian}
If your mornings are anything like mine (i.e. total chaos), then you’ll definitely want to add this healthy carrot cake baked oatmeal to your list of must-try recipes. It’s a great option for breakfast meal prep and so convenient to grab as you run out the door!
Plus, who doesn’t want to eat carrot cake for breakfast? My little ones LOVE this recipe — it’s the perfect fuss free, mess-free and delicious breakfast for the whole family!
These baked oats are so easy to make and are packed full of fibre and healthy fats since each bite contains a dose of nutrient-rich carrots, pineapple, and walnuts. The ultimate breakfast to give you energy to face the day!
For more healthy carrot cake recipes, be sure to try out this Low Sugar Carrot Cake and these Healthy Carrot Pineapple Muffins, and Carrot Cake Bliss Balls!
Table of Contents
Why we love this oatmeal carrot cake recipe
- Make ahead: Make up a batch of this baked oatmeal on the weekend and enjoy it throughout the week. It’s freezer-friendly too!
- Healthy: This carrot cake oatmeal bake is a great nutritious breakfast option. Loaded with fibre, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, this is one breakfast you can feel great about eating!
- Easy: You only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe and everything gets mixed together in one bowl before it gets baked in the oven. The end result? Breakfast for days!
Ingredient notes
- Oats: Old fashioned or quick oats can be used in this recipe. Use old fashioned if you prefer a chewier texture or quick if you’re going for more of a cake-like texture.
- Baking Powder: This helps make the oatmeal more light and fluffy.
- Seasonings: Cinnamon, allspice, salt and vanilla extract flavour up the baked oatmeal. Feel free to increase the amount of spices or add in some dried ginger as well.
- Coconut flakes: Add a great flavour and texture. Use unsweetened desiccated coconut flakes to minimize added sugar.
- Milk: Helps add moisture to the baked oats. Dairy or plant-based milk can be used in this recipe.
- Eggs: To bind the oats together.
- Maple syrup: To sweeten the oatmeal bake. Honey can also be used.
- Pineapple: Use canned crushed pineapple packed in water or pineapple juice. Avoid the crushed pineapple packed in heavy syrup.
- Walnuts: These add a great crunchy texture. I love to include them, but you can leave them out if you prefer. You can also sub in chopped pecans.
- Carrots: The carrots should be grated before mixing with the other ingredients. For convenience, you can buy pre-grated carrots from the store if you’d like.
- Raisins: You can add raisins into the mix for added sweetness and more carrot cake vibes. Finely chopped dates are also delicious.
Step by step instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ degrees. Grease an 8×8 square baking dish or a small rectangular dish with a little oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- In a medium bowl, add the oats, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, coconut, and salt and mix until combined.
- Add the milk, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and crushed pineapple to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Fold in the walnuts, grated carrot and raisins or dates (if using).
- Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. The edges should be golden with a slightly springy centre. Allow to cool in the baking dish before cutting into pieces.
Recipe Notes for the best baked oatmeal:
- Use rolled oats if you prefer a more chewy texture and quick oats if you want a more cake-like texture.
- When adding the crushed pineapple, don’t drain the excess moisture since the extra juices add additional moisture to the baked oatmeal.
- Chop up the walnuts finely so that you get little bits of crunchy nuts in each bite rather than large chunks of nuts.
- If serving this carrot cake baked oatmeal to babies or toddlers, you may wish to leave out the nuts to prevent choking.
How to store baked oatmeal
Refrigeration: You can store the carrot cake baked oats in the fridge covered in the baking dish or in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Freezing: Allow baked oatmeal to fully cool and cut into squares. Freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. If stacking the pieces, separate the layers with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! In fact, it typically tastes better the next day. Once made, this baked oatmeal has a great shelf life and can be enjoyed cold or warmed up to serve.
Yes. You’ll need to let the oatmeal fully cool before storing it, so you can leave it on the counter overnight and then cut it into pieces and store in the fridge the next day.
Baked oatmeal is like eating dessert for breakfast. It’s more dense, moist and chewy than a piece of cake, with just the right amount of sweetness, texture and crunch from the nuts and coconut. I love to make it with old fashioned oats so it has a slightly chewy texture, but quick oats will make it more cake like.
The centre of the baked oatmeal should be slightly springy and the edges should be golden. There shouldn’t be any liquid left in the oats when they are baked. If it still feels quite mushy, put it back in the oven for another few minutes. Keep in mind that it will firm up more as it cools.
Unlike regular oatmeal, baked oatmeal has more of a cake-like texture, especially if you use quick oats rather than rolled oats, which tend to provide a chewier texture. If you love carrot cake, you are going to adore this recipe! It’s like eating carrot cake for breakfast, but much better for you! It has such an amazing texture, you’ll feel like it’s a real treat!
Oats are a source of soluble fibre and are also a complex carbohydrate, meaning that they are absorbed more slowly which helps keep your blood sugar more stable throughout the day. Other baked oatmeal additions like shredded carrot, pineapple and walnuts add a dose of vitamin A, C and healthy fats, making it a great nutrient-dense option!
Serving suggestions
Grab a piece of this carrot cake baked oatmeal as you run out of the door for a quick grab and go breakfast or serve it topped with any of the following:
- Greek yogurt
- Whipped cream
- Chopped walnuts
- Raisins
- Sprinkle of coconut flakes
- Drizzle of maple syrup
- A cream cheese frosting
Recipe Tip: To make your own cream cheese frosting, try mixing 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup maple syrup and a splash of vanilla extract and spread over baked oatmeal for a yummy topping that tastes just like oatmeal carrot cake!
Carrot cake variations
- To make vegan: Use flax or chia eggs and a plant-based milk.
- To make nut-free: The walnuts can be omitted to make these nut-free. They can also be swapped for other nuts like pecans or almonds.
- Dried fruit: Instead of raisins, chopped dates work great, or try other dried fruits like cranberries to switch things up!
More baked oatmeal recipes
- Chocolate Baked Oats
- Banana Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
- Healthy Blueberry Baked Oats
- Raspberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
- Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Healthy Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups milk or milk alternative
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 cup crushed pineapple
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 1/2 cup raisins or finely chopped dates (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ degrees. Grease an 8×8 square baking dish or a small rectangular dish with a little oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- In a medium bowl, add the oats, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, coconut, and salt and mix until combined.
- Add the milk, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and crushed pineapple to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Fold in the walnuts, grated carrot and raisins or dates (if using). Spread into the prepared baking dish and top oatmeal with extra raisins, if desired.
- Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. The edges should be golden and the centre should be slightly springy. Allow to cool in the baking dish before cutting into pieces.
Notes
- Use rolled oats if you prefer a more chewy texture and quick oats if you want a more cake-like texture.
- When adding the crushed pineapple, don’t drain the excess moisture since the extra juices add additional moisture to the baked oatmeal.
- Chop up the walnuts pretty finely so you get little bits of crunchy nuts in each bite rather than large chunks of nuts.
- If serving this carrot cake baked oatmeal to babies or toddlers, you may wish to leave out the nuts to prevent choking.
Hi!
1st off now remember we are use to full sweet & fat cake….
So I am trying to eat healthier & all the ingredients sounded great & something my hubs & I would enjoy!
Well I make it this morning & followed the instructions & used old fashioned oats as we like texture or dense cakes & it looked great! I let it cool & we couldn’t wait to try to it. I also make the cream cheese topping.
It was just okay. It wasn’t sweet or salty & I thought with all the ingredients it would be tasty. Then we tasted it with the topping. It helped but I don’t know. I want to say bland. We are in our 60’s & try to eat somewhat healthy & when I eat oats I don’t add any sugar or butter. Just craisins & sliced almonds & a dash of salt & love it! Let me know your thoughts on what could help! Thank you for your time & recipes.
First of all, good for you for trying to make healthier changes! As for the recipe, it sounds to me like you were expecting it to taste just like traditional carrot cake. Keep in mind that this is not supposed to be carrot cake. It’s baked oatmeal with carrot cake flavours. If you want to pump up the sweetness and flavour, you can try adding more maple syrup, salt and spices. But keep in mind that those changes will also alter the nutritional values. Hope you find a way to modify the recipe to meet your taste preferences.
Great recipe! I’ve made it a handful of times and have tweeked it a bit. I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 so that I could use up my 14oz can (a little over 2 cups) of crushed pineapple without any leftovers and because I like bigger portions of this delicious oatmeal. I replaced the maple syrup with pineapple as well because it worked out and is much cheaper and made up the difference with more milk. I upped all the seasonings quite a bit and added clove because I like the punch. Topping with Greek yogurt and a little drizzle of honey really makes it special. I’d be more than happy to save everybody the math if you’d like me to post my revised recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing your modifications! So happy you’ve been enjoying the recipe and that you’ve found a way to make it work for you :)
This is a great breakfast, snack or dessert! My whole family loved it!
Glad it was a winner! Thanks so much for the feedback :)