Easy Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal with 9 basic ingredients! Gluten-free, refined sugar-free, delicious and healthy make-ahead breakfast recipe.
If you’ve never baked your oatmeal, I 12 out of 10 recommend it!
Baked oatmeal is one of those feel-good meals that keeps you feeling full and satisfied.
Plus, it’s easy to make ahead of time so it’s perfect for folks who like to meal prep and are into grab-and-go foods.
The top three reasons I love oats are 1.) the tasty texture and flavor, 2.) the fact that they are so satiating, and 3.) they are a great source of both complex carbs and fiber.
If you’re a fellow health geek, you know that when you’re trying to keep your calories at a reasonable level but you also love the feeling of being full, adding lots of protein and vegetables to your meals and keeping your carb sources complex (not quick burning) are keys to nailing that goal.
For me, oats and sweet potatoes are remarkably filling, so I’ve been utilizing them as the majority of my carbs.
WELL!
Egg-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal, here we GO!
Here we are with a healthy baked oatmeal recipe and we’re infusing it with carrot cake goodies to make it even more appealing.
The Inspiration For This Recipe:
Back when I had IBS, I didn’t eat oats for years.
Now that I’m completely healed (read my story here) and I can eat pretty much anything without having a reaction to it, I’ve brought oats back into my life full force.
The fact that I’ve been so glued to my Sweet Potato Rolled Oat Protein Pancakes is the actual reason I made this very recipe.
I wanted to fulfill my love for oats but in such a way that I don’t get sick of the pancakes.
Mix it up a bit, you know?
If you’ve tried and loved my Carrot Cake Overnight Oatmeal or my Easy Baked Oatmeal, we’re combining the two concepts here.
Let’s chat about the ingredients!
Ingredients for Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal:
Rolled Oats: The star of the show! Rolled oats are a great source of complex carbohydrate and fiber, ideal for those of us who are looking for health benefits to go alongside our carb source. I buy Sprouted Gluten-Free Oats (I don’t stick to one brand, just what is available), but you can go with any brand you love.
Oats are also remarkably satiating (similar to potatoes), making them a great low-calorie choice for those who want to feel full and satisfied but aren’t looking to consume a great deal of calories.
Be sure to use old fashioned or rolled oats instead of quick cooking oats for the best consistency.
Grated Carrot, Pecans, Raisins, Shredded Coconut: Those iconic carrot cake ingredients that makes carrot cake what it is! Fresh grated carrot, nuts, raisins and shredded coconut bring the texture and flavor of the iconic classic cake to this baked oatmeal recipe.
Replace the pecans with walnuts or the raisins with dried cranberries if you’d like.
Flaxseed: In order to make this baked oatmeal egg-free and vegan, we use two “flax eggs.” If you aren’t familiar with flax eggs, the concept is simple: we mix ground flaxseed with water and allow it to sit.
This generates a thick substance with a similar consistency as beaten eggs, and helps keep the oatmeal held together cohesively. If you bake with regular eggs, replace this process with two chicken eggs.
Non-Dairy Milk: Pick your favorite non-dairy milk, such as oat milk, almond milk, cashew milk, etc. The oats absorb the milk and become moist and thick, just like regular oatmeal.
Ground Cinnamon: Bringing that warm flavor to the mix, ground cinnamon goes a long way in producing an inviting, intoxicating flavor.
If you have them on hand, you can also add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon of ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg. These three ingredients will boost the flavor even further but they aren’t mandatory.
Pure Maple Syrup: Used to sweeten the baked oatmeal. If you prefer keeping your food free of sweeteners, you can replace the pure maple syrup with one very ripe mashed banana. Just note that this will yield banana flavor.
Let’s bake it!
How to Make Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 8” x 8” square baking pan with parchment paper (you can also use a 9” x 9”).
Begin by making the flax “eggs.” To do so, stir together 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl or ramekin. Allow this mixture to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring it occasionally, until it resembles the consistency of beaten eggs. Note: If you aren’t egg-free or vegan, you can use two regular chicken eggs.
In a mixing bowl, stir together to oats, grated carrot, shredded coconut, raisins (or dried cranberries), pecans, cinnamon, and sea salt until well-combined.
Pour the almond milk, pure maple syrup, and flax “eggs” into the mixing bowl and stir until well-combined.
Transfer the oatmeal mixture to the prepared baking pan and smooth it into an even layer.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the oatmeal is golden-brown around the edges and has set up.
Allow the oatmeal to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Check out my Carrot Cake recipes for more ways of infusing your life with the root cake goodness.
If you love baked oatmeal, also check out my Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, Blueberry Baked Oatmeal and my 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies.
Enjoy!
Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed*
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 cup grated carrot
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup pecans chopped**
- ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon**
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk****
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8" x 8" square baking pan with parchment paper (a 9-inch pan will work too).
- Begin by making the flax “eggs.” To do so, stir together 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl or ramekin. Allow this mixture to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring it occasionally, until it resembles the consistency of beaten eggs. Note: If you aren’t egg-free or vegan, you can use two regular chicken eggs.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together to oats, grated carrot, shredded coconut, raisins (or dried cranberries), pecans, ground cinnamon, and sea salt until well-combined.
- Pour the almond milk, pure maple syrup, and flax “eggs” into the mixing bowl and stir until well-combined.
- Transfer the oatmeal mixture to the prepared baking pan and smooth it into an even layer.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the oatmeal is golden-brown around the edges and has set up.
- Allow the oatmeal to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Do you eat this cold or warm? What about leftovers? Do you think I could substitute water for the milk?
Hi JoAn!
I eat it both hot and cold, but I prefer it hot.
I would think water would work as a substitute for the non-dairy milk, but I do believe there will be some loss of flavor as the non-dairy milk adds some creaminess. It should still work as long as you’re okay with a little less flavor.
I store the leftovers in a sealed container (tupperware) in the refrigerator.
Thank you. Looks looked a yummy recipe.
Hi there, I don’t see pumpkin pie spice in list of ingredients, but listed in step 2. How much of this to add? Thank you!
Hi Theresa! My mistake – I made the baked oatmeal using pumpkin pie spice and then with cinnamon on a separate occasion. I prefer the cinnamon version, but didn’t reflect the change in the recipe. I went ahead and fixed it, so it should all make sense now 🙂
NO, OATS ARE NOT GLUTEN FREE – HERE’S WHY:
https://ceres.co.nz/blog/no-oats-are-not-gluten-free-heres-why/
Gluten is used to describe a prolamin protein fraction that affects those with Coeliac disease. This gluten fraction is called gliadin in wheat, hordein in barley and secalin in rye. And this is where there tends to be confusion with oats, which contain a protein strain similar to these called avenin.
This is perfect – I have some steel cut oats I need to use and a ton of carrots. I might try soaking them and using in place of rolled oats?
Hi Ariel,
I’ve never tried using steel cut oats in baked oatmeal, but it’s worth the shot. I would think because steel cut oats take more time to cook that you may want to increase the amount of non-dairy milk and also increase the bake time, but I’m not sure. Let me know how it turns out!