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“Carrot Cake” Baked Oatmeal

carrot cake baked oatmeal

The meal with which I undoubtedly struggle the most is breakfast. I am often groggy in the mornings, and there are several common breakfast ingredients that our family cannot have due to allergies.

Personally, I am a bit of a breakfast rebel and would rather eat leftover spaghetti or meatloaf than granola most mornings. But my family (mostly my husband) doesn’t always see eye to eye with me on that. So, especially on Saturdays and Sundays when my husband has breakfast with us, leftover pasta will not fly.

For a while there, I was making pancakes every Saturday, but it cut into the day too much, so I decided to go for simple while still being special. That leads me to recipes like this carrot cake baked oatmeal or pumpkin pie quinoa which are special, yet still easy.

Baked oatmeal is one of my favorite oatmeal dishes. Unlike most oatmeal dishes, you can make it ahead of time, so sometimes I will make a double batch on Saturday for Sunday morning as well. I’m not a big fan of lots of refined sugar, so I decided to add in some natural sweetness – as well as nutrition – with carrots, spices, and coconut oil as well as pineapple and vanilla for flavor. These ingredients not only allow me to reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup of the natural stuff for a full 9 x 13 pan, but they also make the oatmeal taste like a carrot cake… which is my husband’s – and my – favorite cake!

So… this recipe is easy! It can be made ahead of time, and it’s healthy-n-tasty to boot. That’s enough to make this breakfast rebel serve a “normal” breakfast.

“Carrot Cake” Baked Oatmeal

  • 5 cups oats (can use gluten-free for a gluten-free breakfast)
  • 2 cups packed grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup sucanat
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder, or 3 if using eggs
  • 4 flax “eggs”*, or regular eggs
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
  • Maple syrup or coconut whipped cream for topping (optional, it is moist and sweet enough on it’s own)

* To make the four flax “eggs” mix 1/4 cup ground flax (I use golden) with 12 tablespoons of water and let sit at least 15 minutes to gel.

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan, oiling if it is glass.
  3. Mix everything together in a large bowl.
  4. Pour into prepared pan.
  5. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Three cheers for simple, healthy mornings!

Blessings, Debra at Worth Cooking

P.S. If you enjoy oatmeal bakes, don’t miss trying this delicious Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bake featured here at For the Family as well. 

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28 Comments

  1. I don’t see actual carrots in the recipe. But shows carrots in the picture. How much do you use?

  2. I wondered about the carrot usage as well. Plus, do you drain the pineapple or leave some/all the juice for a liquid? Thanks! This looks yummy!

  3. Looks yummy! I love make ahead breakfasts, can’t wait to try. A couple of questions, though. Does 1/4 c flax with the 12 tbsp make 4 flax eggs or is that for one egg? Also, I think you are missing the carrots. 😉

    1. Added the carrots, because I did indeed miss them.

      That flax mix is for all four eggs.

    2. I did indeed forget the carrots, but added it. Sorry about that.

      That flax mixture is for all four eggs.

  4. Looks delicious! We enjoy oatmeal bakes for breakfast (and snacks) and are always looking for recipes we can use with our food allergies. This one works! Thanks!

  5. Just made it and ate it! It was so good!! Definitely keeping this recipe. Freezing the other half, so I I have another breakfast already made for next week!

  6. I made this last night and am eating it for breakfast this morning. Very good! I’m amazed how much lighter mine looks than the picture just from leaving out the ginger (didn’t have any). Thanks for a good recipe, Debra.

    1. Sorry I missed your comment Amanda. I am glad you liked it! I think for this photo I used brown flax meal and that would make it very dark. I also might have photographed a version of it before the pineapple.

  7. Quick question. Do you mean 5 cups of uncooked oats or 5 cups of already cooked oats. I would normally think you mean just 5 cups of rolled oats uncooked but there doesn’t appear to be enough liquid in this recipe for 5 cups of oats. This looks so good and I am looking forward to making it. Thanks so much!

  8. Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe – will report back! Quick question before I bake though — how do I substitute coconut sugar or honey in place of the sucanat? Can I replace with coconut sugar 1:1? What is the better substitute, coconut sugar or honey? Thanks!

    1. I would suggest subbing in honey as I have found coconut sugar needs to be used in recipes designed for it due to the super strong flavor (tasty, but strong). Since I haven’t tried honey I can not tell you with 100% certainty how to do it, but if I were to do it I would use 1/3 cup honey, If doing it with flax eggs (since they add more moisture then eggs) subtract 1 Tablespoon of the water.

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