This carrot cake oatmeal is one of my favorite flavors of baked oatmeal I’ve made! It’s honestly rivaling the previous top contender, which was this apple cinnamon streusel baked oatmeal . But we also can’t forget these chocolate raspberry baked oatmeal cups, considering how much I love chocolate. This carrot cake baked oatmeal seriously is bursting with so many different flavors and textures; we have oats, shredded carrots, raisins…so yummy! This carrot cake baked oatmeal reminds of eating carrot cake for breakfast. I adore baked oatmeal…it’s hands-down my favorite way to eat oatmeal. Hope you give this recipe a try!

I feel it wouldn’t be spring without sharing some sort of carrot cake baked good! I honestly cannot believe that it’s already been TWO YEARS since sharing these carrot cake breakfast cookies, and a year since sharing these carrot cake muffins. Every time I make/eat something carrot cake flavored, I’m reminded how much I enjoy this flavor! It’s probably not surprising, considering carrots are probably my favorite vegetable. Side note: in elementary school, I had peers at lunch tell me that my hair was red because I ate too many baby carrots. LOL. ?

But seriously, have you tried the carrot cake breakfast cookies or carrot cake muffins yet?! If not, you seriously definitely should ASAP. I took many of the exact same ingredients to make this carrot cake baked oatmeal! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

Ingredients and Substitution Ideas

Oats

I always use rolled/old-fashioned whole oats. However, you might be able to try using quick oats instead. The baked oatmeal might not stick together quite as well though. And I definitely don’t recommend substituting steel-cut oats, as these have a very different texture and cooking process.

Spices and baking staples

Salt to bring out the sweetness and bring all the flavors together, baking powder for a bit of lift, and cinnamon and nutmeg for classic carrot cake flavors!

Egg

I used one regular chicken egg, but I’ve also had success using a flax egg (simply mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 2.5 tablespoons water and let “gel” for a few minutes before adding to recipe) in baked oatmeal before! (link to strawberry chocolate chip baked oatmeal?).

Vanilla or maple extract

I actually happened to have some maple extract on hand, so I used that for a stronger maple flavor to go along with the pure maple syrup in this recipe. However, vanilla extract works perfectly fine too ?

Coconut oil

Personally, I always dislike the texture of baked goods if they have no fat in them. I used two tablespoons of melted coconut oil, but you can also use melted butter instead!

Milk

Just like with all my baked oatmeal recipes, any type of milk will work here! I have used dairy and non-dairy with success.

Maple syrup

You will just need ¼ cup pure maple syrup to sweeten the entire batch! The maple flavor also pairs so well with the carrot cake flavor. You could probably substitute honey, although I haven’t tried this.

Shredded carrots

Just like in my carrot cake muffins, you will need two full cups of shredded carrots for this carrot cake baked oatmeal! I recommend shredded the carrots yourself using a hand grater or food processor shredder attachment (what I used) versus buying store-bought pre-shredded carrots, which are often very large/course. You will want a more fine or medium texture.

Carrot Cake Add-ins

Just like with my muffins, I used raisins and nuts (I used walnuts, but pecans would also be yummy!) in this carrot cake baked oatmeal. You can feel free to omit if you wish, but I definitely love the added texture and sweetness the raisins provide, as well as the flavor and crunch from the nuts!

Serving Suggestions

I typically eat this baked oatmeal for breakfast. It’s the perfect recipe to meal-prep on the weekend for the weekday mornings, as it reheats beautifully in the oven. I almost always top this carrot cake baked oatmeal with some nut butter; I love homemade pecan butter or vanilla almond butter on top of this. Other ideas are serving it with a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt for breakfast, or even a scoop of ice cream if you want something a bit more decadent. Paired with either coffee or a glass of milk, this carrot cake baked oatmeal is an absolutely delicious breakfast or snack! ?

Tell me: what flavor of baked oatmeal should I try next?! I’m open to suggestions! 🙂