Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cake is a moist and fluffy warmly-spiced adventure that’s healthy enough to eat for breakfast! Made with whole grain oats instead of flour, dairy-free and refined sugar-free, this apple baked goodie is fun for the whole family.
Featuring whole rolled oats and studded with fresh apples, this easy apple cake recipe requires no fancy equipment and virtually no baking experience.
Made without flour, butter, or sugar, this wholesome cake recipe is the ideal healthier treat to enjoy for breakfast or snack.
While I personally find this cake to be delicious enough to serve for dessert, I get that most people would probably prefer a sweeter cake. For this reason, I call it a breakfast cake because it’s wholesome enough to enjoy with breakfast.
If you’re looking for a traditional apple cake recipe, make my Gluten-Free Apple Bundt Cake.
Nevertheless, I’m happy to enjoy this apple oatmeal cake no matter the time of year or the time of day. I find it to be a particularly joyful addition to a post-workout meal.
If you follow a grain-free diet or a paleo diet, make my Healthy Paleo Apple Cake recipe.
This delicious cake is a great way to enjoy apple season.
Let’s go over the basic ingredients, because they all serve an important purpose.
Ingredients For Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cake:
Rolled Oats: Taking the place of all-purpose flour, we blend whole rolled oats into a flour to make a whole grain cake. You can use old-fashioned oats, quick oats, or instant oats.
I use gluten-free sprouted oats in all of my oatmeal recipes. If you already have oat flour on hand, feel free to replace the oats with 2 cups of oat flour.
Eggs: A couple eggs make the cake nice and fluffy to give it that airy texture.
I haven’t tested the recipe with an egg replacer, but in my experience egg replacers cause oatmeal recipes like this to be fairly dense and have and undercooked or raw texture. For this reason, I don’t recommend turning this into a vegan apple cake recipe.
Avocado Oil: Used to add fat and moisture to the cake for richness and a tender crumb, we use avocado oil. Melted butter or coconut oil will work too.
Pure Maple Syrup: Used to sweeten the cake while keeping it refined sugar-free, pure maple syrup is the sweetener of choice here.
If you want a sweeter cake, add 1 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar or coconut sugar.
Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce adds moisture and more apple flavor. The reason I use applesauce is to avoid using more oil to keep the fat content and calorie content under control.
You can replace it with your favorite non-dairy milk if you’d like.
Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla brings warm flavor to the cake.
Baking Powder: Used as the leavening agent, baking powder helps the cake rise during the baking process
Ground Cinnamon (or Pumpkin Spice): Pumpkin pie spice brings a variety of warm flavors to this oatmeal apple cake recipe.
You can also use ground cinnamon if you don’t have pumpkin spice on hand.
Sea Salt: Salt is a big flavor enhancer! To ensure the cake comes out with plenty of sweet apple flavor, be sure to include the salt.
Apple: Pick your favorite type of apple to peel and chop for this healthier apple cake recipe. Granny Smith apples will bring tart flavor whereas sweeter apples like Fuji apples or gala apples will bring more sweetness. Pink lady apples are also a great option.
Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients list, let’s bake this apple breakfast cake recipe!
How to Make Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 8-inch square pan or round cake pan with parchment paper. I strongly recommend using parchment paper as opposed to cooking spray for this recipe to make it easier to get the cake out of the pan.
Transfer the oats to a high-speed blender and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until a flour forms. Add the rest of the dry ingredients (baking powder sea salt, and pumpkin pie spice) to the blender and blend for a few seconds to combine.
Combine the unsweetened applesauce, eggs, avocado oil, pure maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix well until everything is combined.
Transfer the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well.
Stir the chopped apples (or shredded apples) into the cake batter. Note: if you’d like to toss the apples in 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan, you can!
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer using a rubber spatula. If you’d like, you can add more apple pieces to the top of the batter.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top of the cake is golden brown.
Cakes are fully baked when they reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. You can insert an instant read thermometer into the center of the cake to verify it is done.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely to room temperature.
Pull on the edges of the parchment paper to release the cake from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Slice the cake into individual slices and enjoy!
If you’re eating this cake for breakfast, I recommend pairing it with a quality protein source like Greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, leftover animal protein, etc.
Store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the cake in a large zip lock bag for up to 3 months. You can store the cake on the counter covered in plastic wrap for up to 2 days if you don’t live in a very humid area.
The next time you’re craving an apple dessert, bake up this oatmeal apple cake for a guilt-free delight.
I love that this delicious breakfast is made with less sugar and all healthy ingredients but can still be served for special occasions.
If you’re looking for more healthy cake recipes, also check these out!
More Healthy Cake Recipes:
- Healthy Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake
- Almond Flour Zucchini Crumb Cake
- Kabocha Squash Cake with Chai Caramel
- Paleo Chocolate Cake
- Almond Flour Lemon Cake
- Almond Flour Carrot Cake
- Paleo Apple Coffee Cake
Cake for breakfast, let’s GO!
Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice*
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup avocado oil*
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract optional
- 1 large apple chopped or grated, about 2 cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 8-inch square pan or round cake pan with parchment paper. I strongly recommend using parchment paper as opposed to cooking spray for this recipe to make it easier to get the cake out of the pan.
- Transfer the oats to a high-speed blender and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until a flour forms. Add the rest of the dry ingredients (baking powder sea salt, and pumpkin pie spice) to the blender and blend for a few seconds to combine.
- Combine the eggs, avocado oil, applesauce, pure maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix well until everything is combined.
- Transfer the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Stir the chopped apples (or shredded apples) into the cake batter. Note: if you’d like to toss the apples in 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan, you can!
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer using a rubber spatula. If you’d like, you can add more apple pieces to the top of the batter.
- Bake for 23 to 28 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top of the cake is golden brown. Cakes are fully baked when they reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. You can insert an instant read thermometer into the center of the cake to verify it is done.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely to room temperature.
- Pull on the edges of the parchment paper to release the cake from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Slice the cake into individual slices and enjoy!
- If you’re eating this cake for breakfast, I recommend pairing it with a quality protein source like Greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, leftover animal protein, etc.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi Julia! LOVE THIS RECIPE! I have made it several times now and the flavor is fantastic! I do have a question about the texture. After the first day the texture is a bit gummy. Any thoughts? Many thanks! Andrea
Hi Andrea! I’m wondering if using more oats or if baking the cake for longer would do the trick? When the cake comes out of the oven, do you take the internal temperature? It should be somewhere between 190-205 for the best texture.
Can you use mashed bananas instead of applesauce? If so, how many?
Hi Maryam! I would stick with the same measurement as the applesauce, so 1/2 cup. That should be about 1 medium-sized ripe banana. Hope you enjoy! xo
Just saw what you posted about the oil. Sorry, will try with coconut oil:)
No problem, Christine! I hope you enjoy the cake! xo
Can coconut oil be used in place of avocado oil?
I didn’t have applesauce on hand, so I pureed a small apple instead. The recipe turned out delicious, not overly sweet, and reminds me of apple-and-cinnamon oatmeal in cake form. Ours needed a longer baking time, maybe because of the pureed apple, but otherwise, this was delightful.:)
I love that! I’m happy you were able to make it work with the pureed apple idea – this is genius! Thank you for sharing your experience, Susan! xo
Very nice recipe chef 👍👌👏.thank you for your effort 🌞😎.
My pleasure!
Why avocado oil? Can I use another kind? Thanks!
Hi Bonnie! I use avocado oil because it is high in omega-3 fats and has a neutral flavor (unlike olive oil). You can use melted butter or coconut oil if you’d prefer.
When do you add the applesauce? It’s in ingredients but not in the instructions. Thank you!
Thanks so much for catching that! You mix it in with the rest of the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract). I fixed the recipe 🙂 Hope you enjoy the cake!