Baked Carrot Chocolate Oatmeal
Easy to make and almost like having dessert for breakfast, this chocolate baked oatmeal is loaded with carrots, peanut butter and all kinds of healthy ingredients. Easily gluten free and vegan.
Baked Oatmeal with Chocolate and Carrots
Chocolate AND veggies for breakfast? I know. It seems too good to be true, but here I am…bringing it to reality and your breakfast table.
This chocolate baked oatmeal is decadent without being loaded with sugar. It is filling without being heavy or rich. It is delicious without being complicated. So, yeah, I kinda feel like a kitchen magician right now. Go me!
Baked oatmeal has become one of my family’s favorite breakfast because it kinda almost feels like you are having oatmeal cake for breakfast. Perfect to make ahead and reheat in the oven or by the slice in the microwave, baked oatmeal is easy to make and is full of all kinds of good stuff to start the day out on a nutrient dense foot.
Why this healthy baked chocolate oatmeal is so awesome…
Easy to mix up in one bowl! Home cooking makes for enough dishes as it, so any recipe that makes minimal dishes and a delicious meal is a winner in my book.
Perfect for meal prep. I love to bake a tray of oatmeal on a Sunday and grab it to quickly reheat during the busy week. It helps me feel less stressed knowing we are all getting a solid breakfast full of all kinds of healthy ingredients.
Added veggies. The more veggies in our lives, bellies and bodies, the better in my book. Many people are not hitting their recommended daily vegetable intake (source), and so adding veggies here and there (like in chocolate baked oatmeal) can really help us all to get more veggies into our lives in a delicious easy way.
Kid friendly. Oh-so kid-approved! My 9-year-old daughter totally gobbled this up and asked for it for daaaaayyyyssss after we ate the last serving. Baked oatmeal is totally one of her favorites period, but the fact that this kinda felt like she was eating dessert for breakfast made this chocolate baked oatmeal extra fun for her!
Adaptable. This baked oatmeal is really delicious and also easy to fit your needs. Check the suggested adaptations sections below for ideas on how to make this recipe your own.
Classic blend of chocolate and peanut butter. I mean, do I need to say more? AND you get to eat it for BREAKFAST!
Suggested Adaptations
Make it vegan. Replace the eggs with “flax eggs” (2 tablespoons ground flax + 5 tablespoons water) and use your favorite plant based milk.
Sub zucchini for carrots. Both work beautifully in this dreamy baked oatmeal.
Make it gluten free by using certified gluten free oats.
Need nut free? Just swap out the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter in the recipe and you are good to go!
Skip the chocolate chips on top to make this healthy baked oatmeal even lower in sugar.
Wondering how to store your carrots so they stay fresh as long as possible? Check out my post on How to Keep Cut Carrots Fresh and get the most out of your produce buck!
Other awesome veggie-loaded oatmeal recipes
- Carrot Zucchini Instant Pot Oatmeal
- Zucchini Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Chocolate Zucchini Oatmeal
- Baked Apple Sweet Potato Oatmeal
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
Baked Carrot Chocolate Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- melted coconut oil or olive oil, for greasing
- 1/4 cup chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add eggs, milk, vanilla, peanut butter, carrots, and maple syrup/honey to bowl. Stir to combine.
- Spread into the prepared baking dish and top with chocolate chips if using. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Enjoy warm topped with yogurt, a splash of milk, sliced bananas, extra peanut butter, whipped cream or simply on its own. Let cool completely and store in fridge for up to 4 days.
Made this last night. It was a hit!. Yep, it was that good! Thank you so much for sharing.
I am so happy to hear that, Long!
I always LOVE your recipes! I have so many steel cut oats, can I just use them instead of rolled oats? Maybe just increase the milk and leave everything else the same?
I am so glad you enjoy my recipes! As for using steel cut oats in this recipe, I truthfully haven’t tried it. I think what I would do (and this is just an untested suggestion) is reduce the oats to 1 cup and up the milk to 2 cups. You would also have to bake longer since steel cut oats require more cooking time. Maybe 50-55 minutes.
If you try it, please let us know how it goes!
When substituting flax eggs, is it 2 TBSP flax and 5 TBSP water per egg needing to be replaced? Looking forward to tryng this!
No, that is the total for replacing both eggs in the recipe! My ratio for flax eggs is 1 tbsp flax + 2.5 tbsp water = 1 egg
We loved this one! Big hit with the three year old! We used flax eggs because we’re out of eggs. Worked great! Also topped with bananas when we served it. Yum!
Yay! I am so happy it was a success, Amanda!
Made it again and my 3.5 year old said it was his “favorite thing” 🙂
That makes my heart so so so happy!
Could you prepare this the night before, refrigerate (uncooked), then bake in the morning?
I haven’t tried it but I bet it would work out great!
I followed your recipe to the T and just didn’t add the chocolate chips on the top, and I found the end result bitter. I’ve never baked with cocoa powder before. Do you know if some cocoa powders are more bitter than others? I’m not sure where else I could have gone wrong.
Some can be, especially if old. I think it also depends on taste preferences. Perhaps up the sweetener a touch next time.
I made this to share at work. Everyone loved it! I just shared the recipe and your website with my co-workers. I can’t wait to try some of your other baked oatmeal recipes!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that, Kelly!
This was super tasty and a big hit with my husband! I did make 3 small changes that I don’t think strayed too far from the bones of the recipe. First one: using 2 cups of steel cut oats and putting in the appropriate amount of liquid for those (I used 5 cups of Califia unsweetened almond milk). Second change: I added 12 eggs for more protein. Third change: I put it in a much larger pan due to the increase in liquid volume.
I really appreciate that it uses the same amount of sweetener as my regular recipe AND that it makes my milk chocolatey when I eat it. 😉
I only have a 9×5 loaf pan and a 9×13 baking dish. Which would you recommend for best substitute?
I think the 9×13 would be your best bet!
So good!
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Andrea! We love this one too!
I liked this and so did my three year old!
Yay! I am so glad it was a hit all around!
Even better, in my opinion, with a little extra maple syrup on top for some added sweetness 🙂
Yum! Excellent addition
Could I use almond butter instead of peanut butter or would it not taste as good? My daughter is just off of peanuts right now
Absolutely! Both are delicious in this recipe.
We have been on a baked oatmeal kick for a whole week..cycling between all your great recipes! Today I pushed the boundary with swapping the carrots in this recipe with beets. I grated a raw beet and added it just like the carrots..I swapped the peanut butter for coconut butter as I didn’t think peanuts and beets would go well together. I also always swap cacao nibs for chocolate chips in all recipes to add crunch and less sugar. Otherwise I made this as written. It turned out great with the beets! You could only tell if you really tried. The beets melted into the oats and I am very stoked to now have a baked oatmeal that can use my beets I’m storing for the winter now that my zucchini are done.
Wow! Love the idea of adding beets to this! So glad you loved it!