This Easy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake is healthy enough for breakfast and tasty enough for dessert! Packed with protein and fiber to leave you feeling full and satisfied, you will find yourself coming back to this recipe time and time again!!
Anyone else LOVE carrot cake? I’m obsessed with all forms of it and Easy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake is no exception! You can have it for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack. It literally tastes just like fresh carrot cake—sweet, cozy, and perfectly spiced—and it’s packed with nutrients to help fuel your body for whatever kind of day lies ahead!
Somehow, I always find myself craving this carrot cake oatmeal bake as an afternoon snack. And don’t get me wrong, it’s DELICIOUS on its own. But I love to really take it to the next level by adding some frosting—just like a carrot cake!
Even better is that it’s so quick and simple to make. You can mix everything in just one bowl. Then, you just bake it for 30 minutes in the oven. It also makes multiple servings so you can have some more for later! YUM!
PRO TIP: I highly recommend you make these and keep them stored in the refrigerator overnight before eating. They are yummy regardless, but the flavors come together so well after sitting in the fridge for a while!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS CARROT CAKE BAKE
- Enjoy it for breakfast, snack, or dessert!
- Super voluminous and a great source of fuel for those busy days.
- It literally tastes like fresh carrot cake! What a cozy treat.
- Low calorie, low carb, and low fat. So macro-friendly!
- Very easy to make.
- Great for meal prep!
INGREDIENTS
- Freshly grated carrots – Adds so much moisture for a wonderful texture! I do NOT recommending subbing for matchstick carrots. The recipe will work but it will not be nearly as moist.
- Quick oats – To keep things easy.
- Oat flour
- Coconut flour – You can substitute more oat flour here if needed.
- Baking essentials – Grab some salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.
- Protein powder – I used PEScience Vanilla protein powder (code Laurenfitfoodie saves you 10%)
- Sweetener – I used Swerve granular sweetener. Use your favorite sweetener here.
- Canned pumpkin – Don’t worry. You won’t get an overwhelming pumpkin taste. The carrots are still the star of the show!
- Unsweetened applesauce – Great flavor and texture.
- Egg
- Pancake syrup – I used sugar-free pancake syrup. You can use pure maple syrup if you wish.
- Milk – I used unsweetened almond milk. Use whatever milk you like here.
HOW TO MAKE CARROT CAKE BAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 8 x 8-inch dish with parchment and/or spray with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients: protein powder, oats, oat flour, coconut flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg. Add the applesauce, pumpkin, vanilla, syrup, and milk and whisk until combined. Then, stir in the grated carrots.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
- Pour batter into your prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 32-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
WHAT TO TOP CARROT CARROT CAKE BAKE WITH
- Vanilla Maple Cream Cheese Frosting – For a true carrot cake vibe!
- Whipped cream cheese – Also for carrot cake vibes, but a little more convenient. 😂
- Nut butter – A creamy drippy nut butter on this bake is soooo good!
- Pancake syrup – This might sound weird, but it works! I love topping my carrot cake oatmeal with Walden Farms zero calorie pancake syrup.
- Skinny Dunkaroo Dip – Turns this into the ultimate dessert!
- Healthy Brownie Batter – For my chocolate lovers out there. SO YUMMY!
HOW TO STORE
Once the oatmeal bake has cooled to room temperature, store covered in the fridge for up to 7 days.
To freeze, cut oatmeal bake into bars and wrap each one in parchment paper or aluminum foil. Store in a Ziploc bag with all the air removed. The bars will stay fresh in freezer for up to 4 months.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS CARROT CAKE BAKE
Yup! This recipe is super forgiving if you need to switch up the flours. I’ve tried with all-purpose flour and Bob Red Mill’s 1:1 Gluten Free flour and both turned out great!
Sure! If you wish to leave out, I would just replace with 30g (1/4 cup) of flour to maintain the wet/dry ingredient ratio.
It does. Just cut the oatmeal bake into bars and wrap individually. Then, store tightly in a Ziploc bag with all the air removed. The bars will stay fresh for up to 4 months.
MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES TO TRY
- CRANBERRY BLISS BARS (LIGHTENED UP)
- BLUEBERRY OATMEAL COOKIES (PROTEIN PACKED AND HEALTHY)
- PUMPKIN OATMEAL BAKE WITH MAPLE CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE GLAZE
- SKINNY CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD
WANT TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you try this carrot cake oatmeal bake and love it, please rate this recipe!
You can also tag me on Instagram, @LaurenFitFoodie. It makes my day seeing your yummy recreations!
Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake
This Easy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake is healthy enough for breakfast and tasty enough for dessert! Packed with protein and fiber to leave you feeling full and satisfied, you will find yourself coming back to this recipe time and time again!!
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake:
- 1 scoop vanilla or snickerdoodle protein powder (31g) - I used PEScience
- 1 cup quick oats (80g)
- 2 Tbsp oat flour (15g)
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour (14g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup Swerve granular sweetener (48g) – or other sweetener of choice
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (120g)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (122g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sugar-free pancake syrup (60g) – or real maple syrup if you prefer
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (120g)
- 2 cups loosely packed carrots, finely grated* (175g)
Vanilla Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 (8-oz.) block 1/3 less fat cream cheese (226g)
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup (30g)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Swerve confectioner’s sugar (72g) – or other confectioner sugar of choice
Instructions
Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8 x 8-inch dish with parchment and/or spray with cooking spray,
- In a small bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (protein powder through sweetener).
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg. Add the applesauce, pumpkin, vanilla, syrup, and milk and whisk until combined. Stir in the grated carrots.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 32-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Vanilla Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- While the oatmeal bake is in the oven, prepare the frosting.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese, maple syrup and vanilla together on high speed until smooth.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar. Beat on low speed for 1 minute or until thoroughly mixed.
- Once carrot cake oatmeal bake has cooled to room temperature, you can frost.
This oatmeal bake is recommended to eat chilled. Let sit in the fridge overnight for best results.
Notes
*The finer you can grate the carrots, the better and the more moist this bake will be! I would NOT recommend replacing with matchstick carrots for convenience because they do not add nearly as much moisture the freshly grated carrots do.
* To make this oatmeal bake dairy free, omit the frosting or use dairy-free cream cheese.
MFP entry: LFF Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake
Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake without Frosting:
- Total Makes: 800g
- Nutrition for 1/9 of recipe (89g): 91 calories 12.9C | 2F | 5.3P
- MFP entry: LFF Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake No Frosting
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1/9 of bake w/ frosting (126g)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 166Total Fat: 7.4gSaturated Fat: 3.6gCarbohydrates: 17.8gFiber: 2.7gSugar: 7.5gProtein: 7.1g
I have already made these a few times, they are SO good!! My husband loves them too. Great cold or warmed up.
I love carrot cake and have been looking for a lightened up version for forever! I knew Lauren would pull through for me!
Carrot cake has always been one of my favorites, but I think my new favorite are these BARS! Oh my gosh I’ve made them a few times now and they are just too good. Highly recommend trying with brown sugar flavored cream cheese on top!
Ok haven’t made these but I’m about to travel and need a macro friendly snack/meal on plane think I found it!
Oatmeal bakes are my favorite. I’ve never tried a carrot cake one, this looks great!
Great blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely confused .. Any suggestions? Thanks!
These are my FAVORITE! I double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13. My husband and I are obsessed. I’ve made them once a week for over a month now!
Can i use old fashioned oat?
I haven’t tried personally but I think that would work just fine! May just need to bake a tad longer 🙂 keep us updated if you try!!