I’ll admit — I’ve never been the biggest fan of baked oatmeal. I usually prefer the breakfast staple made the old-fashioned way. There’s nothing quite like cozying up with a warm bowl of oatmeal topped with a few of my favorite things.
But life has been particularly busy lately, and I realized a baked version would be a great way to meal prep breakfast for the week. I happened to have a bunch of carrots and some very ripe bananas on hand, and this carrot cake–inspired combination came together.
The result is a lightly spiced baked oatmeal that’s naturally sweetened with ripe bananas and has a subtle carrot cake flavor that’s hard not to love. (Speaking from experience — my 17-month-old loved it too.)
This recipe will definitely be on repeat in our house as an easy breakfast option for busy weeks. One morning, I simply had a square with greek yogurt; another morning, I paired a square with my favorite yogurt, some blueberries, pumpkin seed butter and Manuka honey and it was absolutely delicious!
Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake
Equipment
- 8×8 baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax + 6 tablespoons water)
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups oats
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder optional
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup shredded carrot from about 1 large carrot
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8×8 baking dish.
- In a large bowl, mix together mashed bananas, milk, vanilla extract, and flax eggs. You could also just mix everything together in the baking dish.
- Stir in oats, protein powder (if using), cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt. Fold in the shredded carrot.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the center is set.
- Let the baked oatmeal cool completely at room temperature (at least 1 hour) before slicing.
