Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal with a cream cheese yogurt glaze is the perfect spring brunch recipe! It's easy to make, perfect for prepping ahead of time and packed with warming spices, nuts and golden raisins.

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Ingredients

• Oats: be sure to use old fashioned whole rolled oats in this baked oatmeal, not quick cooking or steel cut oats.
• Golden raisins: I personally prefer golden raisins over regular raisins. They tend to be a bit sweeter, softer and more flavorful. However, regular raisins (or even chopped dates) are perfectly fine in this recipe, as golden raisins can be tricky to find!
• Walnuts: feel free to sub with pecans. Or, to keep this nut free, try subbing with pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
• Banana: banana is the perfect sub for eggs in this recipe, acting as a binder to help this bake perfectly. If preferred, you can also sub with ¼ cup applesauce.
• Flax eggs: in addition to banana, we also use flax eggs as a binder. If you're not familiar, flax eggs are essentially ground flax meal and water, which form a gelatinous substance that works like egg. Read more about them here.
• Oat milk: we prefer oat milk in this carrot cake baked oatmeal but you can sub with any nondairy milk of choice. (Coconut would be great!)
• Sugar: we tried this recipe with both regular granulated sugar and coconut sugar. We preferred the overall texture and taste with granulated sugar, so we went with that, but coconut sugar is a fine substitute if preferred.

Equipment

We LOVE baking with this stunning ceramic gratin baking dish from Staub. It's the perfect size for this recipe and it comes in a set of 3 different sizes for convenient use in a wide range of recipes!

I absolutely love the color - Rustic Turquoise – which is somehow even more beautiful in person.

This 3-piece ovenware set would make a fantastic Mother's Day gift, especially if you follow it up by making mom homemade brunch in her new pans. (Head there now while the set is on sale for $99 - such a steal!) They're perfect for casserole-style dishes like Dauphinoise Potatoes, or cakes and bars like these Cranberry Bliss Bars.

Step-by-step instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease your baking pan. Make flax eggs by stirring together 2 tablespoon ground flax meal and 5 tablespoon water. Let sit for 15 minutes to thicken.

(1 & 2) In a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 cups oats, ½ cup walnuts, ¼ cup shredded coconut, ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon salt. 

(3) In a separate bowl, mash one large banana using a masher or the back of a fork. It should be pretty smooth – you don't want any large pieces. Whisk in 1 ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup melted butter, 2 flax eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

(4) Add wet mixture to dry and stir well to combine.

(5) Fold in shredded carrots and golden raisins. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

(6) Transfer to baking pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350˚F. 

(7 & 8) Meanwhile, to make the crumble topping, stir together the walnuts, golden raisins, coconut, melted butter and maple syrup until well coated.

(9) After 25 minutes of baking, remove the oatmeal bake from the oven and top with the crumble topping in an even layer.

(10) Return to oven for 15 minutes, or until the top is light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. 

(11 & 12) Whisk together all ingredients for glaze.

Wait until the baked oatmeal is cool, then drizzle the glaze over the top. Alternatively, you can slice and top each piece with glaze individually. 

Storage Tips

Cover leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer freezer storage, slice the baked oatmeal into squares, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag/container and store for up to 6 months.

Reheating: If you're just reheating an individual square, microwave for 45-60 seconds until warmed through. If you're reheating the entire pan, cover with aluminum foil and heat in a 350˚F oven for a 10-15 minutes until warmed through.

If you love carrot cake, try our Easy Carrot Cake Scones next!

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