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Baked Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Baked Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Baked oatmeal, for a crowd or for a week, with all the flavors of your favorite carrot cake and a lightly sweetened crunchy nut topping. This is one of those rare dishes that qualifies as both comfort food and health food.

Adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

Course Breakfast, brunch
Keyword gluten free, potluck, vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Shannon Zerzan

Ingredients

  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (certified gluten free if desired)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (use a little more if not adding the other spices)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 1 1/3 cups grated carrots
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 2 1/4 cups almond milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts or pecans (I use 1/2 cup each)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature, plus more for greasing
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375º and grease a 2-quart baking dish with coconut oil. In a large bowl, combine oats, baking powder, spices, salt, carrots and raisins and mix well. Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking dish.

  2. Using the same bowl you used for the oats, beat the eggs, then add the almond milk and vanilla and whisk thoroughly. Pour egg mixture over the oats making sure everything is evenly soaked. Place the baking dish in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes.

  3. While the oatmeal is baking, assemble the crunchy top layer. Combine nuts, seeds, 2 tablespoons coconut oil and maple syrup in a bowl. Mix with your fingers until everything is well coated. When the oatmeal has baked for 10 minutes, remove it from the oven and sprinkle the nut mixture evenly over the top. Return to oven and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. It is done when the oatmeal is just set and the nuts are nicely toasted. Let cool slightly before serving.

Recipe Notes

When grating (or purchasing pre-grated/shredded) carrots, you're looking for thin flat ribbons as opposed to little matchsticks. The matchsticks may not cook enough to get tender all the way through leaving you with an unpleasant crunch. The large holes on a box grater produce ideal shreds. 

A 2-quart baking dish is 8" x 8" or similar (the one I  typically use is 8" x 9" and 2.25" deep). I made the mistake of using a 9" x 13" the first time I made this and the oatmeal mixture dried out before the carrots cooked through; however, 9" x 13" is perfect if you want to double the recipe.

***If you have a severe gluten allergy or sensitivity or otherwise are serious about eliminating gluten from your diet, always check your labels carefully and buy certified gluten free products.