Name: Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups rolled oats; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon nutmeg; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 2 eggs; ¼ cup coconut palm sugar (can substitute dark brown sugar); 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (can substitute almond milk); 1/4 cup melted coconut oil; 1 ½ cups finely grated carrots; 1 cup raisins; ½ cup chopped pecans; pure maple syrup for serving

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This Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal is a healthy breakfast recipe made with whole grains and no refined sugar – you’ll feel like you’re eating dessert but without the guilt. Each bite has sweet shredded carrots, raisins, and pecans. You can prepare this baked oatmeal recipe on Sunday for the week or make it for a brunch crowd.

two carrot cake baked oatmeal cups on a plate with a muffin pan of oatmeal cups next to it.

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If you haven’t noticed, we are big carrot cake fans in our house – there are nights I dream about my healthy carrot cake recipe!

Since eating carrot cake for breakfast and snacks isn’t appropriate, I’ve put together healthy carrot cake muffins, carrot cake overnight oats, carrot cake breakfast cookies, and now this healthy carrot cake baked oatmeal.

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

Healthy breakfast recipe – this recipe uses whole grain oats, no refined sugar, and is gluten-free.
Simple pantry ingredients – I bet all of the ingredients are in your kitchen right now.
Easy to make – Grating the carrots is the hardest part of this recipe – but once that step is complete, this baked oatmeal comes together quickly.
Portable – I like to make all baked oatmeal recipes using a muffin pan. This way, I can have a healthy breakfast to take on the go.
Make-ahead – When it comes to meal prep breakfast recipes, these carrot cake baked oatmeal cups are superstars. You can keep them in the refrigerator or freezer. I’ll give more meal prep tips below.

The Ingredients

Rolled oats – These oats are also called old-fashioned oats. You don’t want to use instant oats or steel cut oats in this recipe. Instant oats will produce a mushy texture, and steel-cut oats won’t cook thoroughly.

Cinnamon and nutmeg – Is it even carrot cake without these two spices?

Baking powder – this ingredient helps the baked oatmeal rise and puff up.

Eggs – this gives the oatmeal cups structure and binds the other ingredients together.

Coconut palm sugar – My new favorite sweetener! Coconut sugar is an unrefined sugar that I often substitute for brown sugar in baking recipes. It gives the recipe a delicious sweet caramel-like flavor.

Pure vanilla extract – for more flavor.

Unsweetened coconut milk – Coconut milk adds a rich, creamy flavor without whole milk fat. It also keeps the recipe dairy-free. You can substitute almond milk.

Coconut oil – I love using coconut oil in baked good recipes. It gives the carrot oatmeal cups a moist and tender texture.

Finely grated carrots – It’s worth the extra effort to grate the carrots instead of shredding them. Using grated carrots provides more moisture to the oatmeal cup and distributes better with the other ingredients.

Raisins – I love getting plump juicy raisins in each bite!

Chopped pecans – Pecans give crunch, a nutty richness, and pairs perfectly with the cinnamon and other carrot cake flavors.

Thrive Market is my favorite online marketplace for organic baking ingredients. Thrive Market prices on gluten-free, keto, paleo, and other baking products are either comparable or cheaper than prices in grocery stores. If you want to learn more, then read my Thrive Market Review.

Cooking Tips

Ensure the liquid is covering the oats – You don’t want the rolled oats to be swimming in the milk, but they should be completely submerged. If you don’t use enough liquid, then you’ll end up with crispy dry oatmeal that’s falling apart.

If the oats seem too dry after I mix all of the ingredients I’ll add a little more milk to the bowl. After I add the batter to the muffin cups I’ll use the back of a spoon to push the oats into the liquid.

On the flip side if the batter looks too “soupy” then add in extra rolled oats. Don’t worry, baked oatmeal is forgiving so you don’t need to worry if the measurements aren’t exact.

Use a cookie scoop – When I make single-serving carrot cake baked oatmeal I’ll use a medium-sized cookie scoop to divide the batter between the cups. If there’s any liquid left in the bowl then I’ll add to the cups that can use a little more liquid.

Make in an 8 or 9-inch baking pan – You can prepare this recipe in a muffin pan or in an 8-inch or 9-inch baking pan. The cooking time and oven temperature are the same.

Use a butter knife to get the baked oatmeal cups out – If you make these without liners and are struggling to get the oatmeal cups out of the pan, then slowly glide a butter knife around the edges and carefully lift it out of the pan.

Substitutions

Make it 100% gluten-free – All of the ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten-free, but it’s essential to check the labels still. For example, rolled oats are naturally free from gluten but might be processed in a place where there is gluten. So, if you’re allergic to gluten, then purchase gluten-free rolled oats. Thrive Market has great prices on gluten-free oats. Bob’s Red Mill is another favorite brand.

Make it vegan – Substitute the eggs for flax eggs.

Use another sweetener – Coconut sugar is my sweetener of choice, but you can also use brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, or your favorite sweetener.

Add a cream cheese frosting – If you’re making this for brunch, and want to get fancy, then use the cream cheese frosting recipe I use on my carrot cake. I make these oatmeal cups most often for breakfast, so I like to keep the sugar to a minimum and don’t use frosting.

Leave out or substitute the raisins and nuts – If you’re not a fan of raisins or nuts, leave them out altogether. Or swap them out for your favorites. Yellow raisins and walnuts are a tasty option.

Get creative with add-ins – There are so many options for the ingredients you can stir into carrot-baked oatmeal cups. I love shredded coconut and even added chopped pineapple before.

Supplies

How to Make Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal (Step by Step)

step by step collage showing how to make carrot cake baked oatmeal cups.

Turn the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Then, get all of the ingredients together. I do recommend putting in the extra effort to grate the carrots for this recipe.
In a large mixing bowl, add the rolled oats, spices, salt, and baking powder. Mix all of the ingredients until the spices are evenly distributed. Set the dry ingredients aside.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and coconut sugar until smooth and creamy. Slowly whisk in the coconut milk and coconut oil until blended.
Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and, using a large mixing spoon, mix until all the dry ingredients are coated with the wet ingredients. *this step is not shown in the collage.
Slowly stir in the carrots, raisins, and chopped pecans. **If the mixture seems too dry, add in extra liquid; if too wet, add more oats.
Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or use cupcake liners. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Add any extra liquid to the muffin cups, and then, using the pack of a spoon, push down on each oatmeal cup until the oats are submerged in the liquid.
Bake for 27 – 30 minutes or until the top of the baked oatmeal cups are golden brown.
Remove the carrot oatmeal cups from the oven and let them sit in the pan to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the oatmeal cups from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to finish cooling. **If the muffins are challenging to remove from the pan, glide a butter knife around the edges and carefully remove the baked oatmeal from the pan.
Serve with a drizzle of pure maple syrup.
Turn the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Then, get all of the ingredients together. I do recommend putting in the extra effort to grate the carrots for this recipe.
In a large mixing bowl, add the rolled oats, spices, salt, and baking powder. Mix all of the ingredients until the spices are evenly distributed. Set the dry ingredients aside.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and coconut sugar until smooth and creamy. Slowly whisk in the coconut milk and coconut oil until blended.
Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and, using a large mixing spoon, mix until all the dry ingredients are coated with the wet ingredients. *this step is not shown in the collage.
Slowly stir in the carrots, raisins, and chopped pecans. **If the mixture seems too dry, add in extra liquid; if too wet, add more oats.
Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or use cupcake liners. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Add any extra liquid to the muffin cups, and then, using the pack of a spoon, push down on each oatmeal cup until the oats are submerged in the liquid.
Bake for 27 – 30 minutes or until the top of the baked oatmeal cups are golden brown.
Remove the carrot oatmeal cups from the oven and let them sit in the pan to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the oatmeal cups from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to finish cooling. **If the muffins are challenging to remove from the pan, glide a butter knife around the edges and carefully remove the baked oatmeal from the pan.
Serve with a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

three baked carrot cake baked oatmeal cups on a plate.

How to Store

These carrot cake baked oatmeal cups can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to a week. I don’t recommend keeping them at room temperature because they won’t stay as fresh.

To Freeze

My favorite way to store any baked oatmeal cup is in the freezer. After the oatmeal cups have cooled, place them into a labeled freezer bag and lay flat in the freezer. This helps keep the oatmeal from sticking together. Once the oatmeal cups are frozen, you can place the bag wherever you want in the freezer.

To Reheat

You can reheat the oatmeal cups in the microwave or toaster oven. I prefer the microwave because it only takes about 1 – 2 minutes depending on whether you’re reheating from frozen.

An expert tip for reheating baked oatmeal cups in the microwave is to place a coffee cup of hot water in the microwave while you warm up the oatmeal. The steam keeps the oatmeal from drying out.

Check out my tutorial on baked oatmeal cups for more meal prep and recipe tips.