If you’re looking for a tasty make ahead breakfast, you’re going to love these healthy carrot cake bars! These healthy bars taste like traditional carrot cake, but are made with wholesome ingredients like oatmeal, pineapple, coconut and walnuts for a satisfying and sweet breakfast or dessert that’s perfect for a crowd. Simple to make, they’re light, moist, and always a winner! {Gluten-free, dairy-free-friendly & vegetarian}
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Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bars
If your mornings are anything like mine (i.e. total chaos), then you’ll definitely want to add these healthy carrot cake bars to your list of must-try recipes. They’re 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 has that classic carrot cake flavor and is the perfect fuss free, mess-free and healthy breakfast for the whole family!
Carrot cake lovers no longer need to wait for Easter to enjoy their favorite dessert; you can make it any time of year!
Featured Comment
“This is a great breakfast, snack or dessert! My whole family loved it!” – Jo
For more healthy carrot cake recipes, be sure to try out this Low Sugar Carrot Cake Recipe and these Healthy Carrot Pineapple Muffins, and Carrot Cake Energy Balls!
Why You’ll Love This Carrot Cake Bars Recipe
- Nutritious enough to serve for breakfast yet delicious enough to serve for dessert!
- Uses natural sweeteners like pineapple and maple syrup
- Packed with fiber-rich whole grains, healthy fats, and plenty of vitamins and minerals
- Uses simple, everyday ingredients
- Tastes like one of your favorite desserts!
- Great brunch option for Easter or special occasions
- Can be served as-is or with a homemade tangy cream cheese frosting
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: Warm spices like cinnamon and allspice add a nice cozy flavor. You’ll also need a little salt and vanilla extract. Feel free to increase the amount of spices or add in some dried ginger as well.
- Coconut flakes: Add a great flavor and texture. Use unsweetened desiccated coconut flakes to minimize added sugar.
- Milk: Helps add moisture to the carrot oat bars. Dairy or plant-based milk such as almond milk can be used in this recipe.
- Eggs: To bind the oats together.
- Pure maple syrup: To sweeten the oatmeal bake. Honey or date puree can also be used.
- Pineapple: Provides some moisture and natural sweetness to the baked oats. 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: Shred carrots using a box grater or food processor with a grater attachment. For convenience, you can buy pre-grated carrots from the grocery 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 pan or dish or a small rectangular dish with a little oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the oats, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, coconut, and salt and mix until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients including the milk, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and crushed pineapple to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Fold in the walnuts, pre-shredded carrots and raisins or dates (if using).
- Spread the carrot cake batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. The edges should be golden with a slightly springy center. Allow to cool in the baking dish before cutting into pieces.
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!
Expert Tips
- 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, for best results, 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 these carrot cake oat squares to babies or toddlers, leave out the nuts to prevent choking.
How to Store
Refrigeration: You can store the carrot cake baked oats in the fridge covered in the baking dish with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freezing: Allow baked oatmeal to fully cool and cut into squares. Freeze in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. If stacking the pieces, separate the layers with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Place in the fridge overnight to thaw or pop the bars into the microwave to warm them up.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! In fact, it typically tastes better the next day. Once made, these oatmeal bars have a great shelf life and can be enjoyed cold, at room temperature 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.
Either! 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. This recipe is a great option to serve for breakfast with some yogurt and fresh fruit, but it can also be served as a healthy snack. For dessert bars, you can add my healthy cream cheese frosting.
Serving Suggestions
Grab one of these carrot cake oatmeal bars as you run out of the door for a quick grab and go breakfast or serve them topped with any of the following for a delicious treat:
- Greek yogurt
- Whipped cream
- Chopped walnuts
- Pumpkin seeds
- Raisins
- Sprinkle of coconut flakes
- Drizzle of maple syrup
- Cream cheese frosting
Recipe 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!
- For extra protein: Try adding in some vanilla protein powder to the oatmeal batter. You may to add a bit more liquid if the batter seems too thick.
More Baked Oatmeal Recipes
- Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Chocolate Banana Baked Oats
- Banana Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
- Raspberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bars
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 large mixing 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, leave out the nuts to prevent choking.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in March 2022 and was updated in March 2024 to include more helpful tips. It was updated again in March 2025 to include revised photos, text and formatting.
Hi, is there any substitute to the crushed pineapple?
You could try subbing in unsweetened applesauce for the crushed pineapple. Keep me posted on how it goes if you try it out!
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 :)