This one is for all of the carrot cake fans! Creamy, crunchy, chewy, and sweet, this Carrot Cake Oatmeal packs in a full cup of carrots and a handful of healthy ingredients.
As winter sets in and my desire for a hot breakfast grows, I find myself searching for the perfect bowl of hot oatmeal.
I’m pretty picky when it comes to hot oatmeal. If you have been reading the blog for a while now, you may remember that I used to dislike homemade hot oatmeal. There was just something about it that made my stomach feel off after eating.
But I don’t go down without a fight. I have been on a quest to make a hot oatmeal recipe that I would fall in love with and I think I have finally found my match. I attempted a couple carrot cake oatmeal recipes last winter, but they never turned out as good as I was hoping. This recipe finally got it right!
If you enjoy carrot cake, you will go absolutely crazy for this bowl of oatmeal. I could totally see this as a fun, quick, and easy holiday breakfast for families who are looking for something that tastes indulgent, but is packed with nutrients and a full cup of carrots per bowl.
I believe i t would turn any oatmeal hater into a fanatic with first bite.
Don’t forget to check out my other Carrot Cake Recipes:
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter! This one is for all of the carrot cake fans! Creamy, crunchy, chewy, and sweet, this recipe packs in a full cup of carrots and a handful of healthy ingredients. This oatmeal is also wonderful as part of a holiday breakfast with loved ones (the serving size can be scaled up). I love serving it with Coconut Whipped Cream to take it over the top! This recipe is an updated version from my 2010 version.
Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Yield
Serves 2Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
For the oatmeal:
Topping suggestions:
Directions
Tip:
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Carrot Cake Oatmeal (original recipe)
This one is for all of the carrot cake fans out there! Creamy, crunchy, chewy, and sweet, this recipe packs in a full cup of carrots and a handful of healthy ingredients that will keep you feeling full for hours and hours. This oatmeal is also wonderful as part of a holiday breakfast with loved ones. If you are adapting this recipe for several people, I suggest pouring the oats into a large casserole dish when they are ready, adding your toppings, and using a large spoon to scoop portions onto plates or bowls.
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 heaping cup finely grated carrot (about 1 large)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp full-fat coconut milk cream (or use more almond milk)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup regular oats
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
- 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, divided
- 2 tbsp raisins, divided
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp sweetened shredded coconut, for garnish
- 1 tbsp coconut milk cream + 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup, to garnish (optional)
Directions: Finely grate 1 heaping cup of grated carrots. You want to use the fine grate and not the large one so the carrot shreds are very small. This helps the carrot blend in more.
In a medium sized pot over medium heat, whisk together the almond milk, optional coconut milk cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of salt.
Stir in the grated carrots and oats. Adjust heat if necessary or bring heat to low if it starts to boil. Cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring frequently. When the mixture has thickened up, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp walnuts, 1 tbsp raisins, and 2 tbsp of maple syrup. Remove from heat and portion into bowls.
Top the oatmeal with the remaining walnuts, raisins, and shredded coconut. If you are using coconut cream, you can mix a bit of the cream with maple syrup and drizzle on top of the oatmeal, as shown in the photo. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish.
Gather up the troops.
I urge you to make this recipe exactly as I wrote it above…it was that good!!!
Finely grate your carrot.
Gnaw on stump.
Who knew you could eat a heaping cup’s worth of carrot in a bowl of oats and it would taste amazing?
Heat over low-medium.
After cooking for about 8 minutes it will be nice and thick:
Pour into a bowl.
I picked up this cute mini casserole from Benix the other day and it makes the perfect oatmeal vessel!
The best part about the mini casserole dish is that you can pop the lid on and refrigerate any leftovers that you have. I had some leftover and I just ate it as a snack later on in the day, straight from the fridge!
Garnish with 1 tbsp of crushed walnuts and 1 tsp of shredded coconut. Sweetened coconut, if you are feeling downright crazy.
Now pour on the 1 tbsp of coconut milk cream + maple syrup mixture and drizzle your heart out!
This mixture tastes incredible. Silky, creamy, and sweet. It is the perfect topping for the carrot cake oats!
Want a bite?
I also tried this recipe making vegan overnight oats and it wasn’t as good as the cooked version. I will have to do some tweaking of the recipe…
I was feeling crazy, so I ventured outdoors for some pictures!
The great thing about oatmeal is that you can take it outside in the cold for a photoshoot, come back indoors, and it is still hot! bahaha.
My mini casserole dish got me thinking how great this recipe would be adapted for several servings and poured into a large casserole dish.
You could easily double, triple, quadruple (etc) the recipe to serve the amount of people that you need to. Then simply, pour the cooked oats into a large casserole dish, add your toppings, and use a large spoon to serve so others can scoop out their desired portion onto their plate.
I think it would be a wonderful holiday breakfast!
If you are looking for a delicious, healthy, and super quick holiday breakfast, you should give this one a shot.
Just be warned….an obsession may set in…
BYE!
I made this today and it was amazing! I used about 5x the cinnamon that it called for and I left out the raisins and walnuts (I didn’t have walnuts and I hate raisins) and I LOVED IT! I will be making this again in the near future. Thank you for the recipe.
can i use regular milk instead of almond??
Yes, you can use any kind of milk you’d prefer.
I am eating this as I type as lunch. Because I discovered your recipe somewhere between breakfast (strawberries with oatmilk and musli) and a rumbling tummy asking for lunch. So i thought, heck why not? I’ve got carrots from a farmers market and yummy oat milk in the fridge, might as well give this a shot.
It’s amazing! I’ve always been a little scared of hot oatmeal, but this is great. I’m gonna try out all the others you’ve got posted here, so excited for oatmeal for dinner and lunch all over again :)
Interesting… I often throw some shredded carrot from the juicer into my children’s oatmeal along with a lot of the ingredients you listed. Good, healthy way to save the pulp! They love it!
I just finished my bowl after making this for the 1st time it was simply delicious! Hubby & I are on a 30 day vegan challenge this is day 6 but with recipes like this we can easily turn into lifetime vegans! Thanks for your creativity!
I’m so happy to hear that – congrats on your challenge! Let me know how it goes.
Just made this recipe this morning – fanastic!!!
Truly tasted like carrot cake.
I used soy milk and did decrease the maple syrup to 1TB – and still sweet enough for me.
Thank you for posting.
Just made this. What a great recipe! I didn’t have any almond milk so I used low-fat cow’s milk instead. Didn’t use coconut milk cream or coconut. Also, I only had about 1 T of raisins and 1 T walnuts left in my pantry, and used just 1 T of maple syrup to cut back on sugar. Will definitely add the full 2 T of walnuts next time. So delicious!
I just made this, it is so good! The taste is totally unexpected and delicious. I couldn’t shred my carrots as finely because I don’t have the tools, so I just gave them a chop after the shredder. Mine seems chunkier than yours, but so delicious. I took a pic if you want to see I’ll send it to you!
We’ll definitely be featuring more of your recipes on our site. I love what you’re doing here.
I love everything from your blog that I have tried and this was no exception. Who would have thought carrots for breakfast could be so right? Mine turned out exactly like the picture- even though I didn’t use coconut cream, I used coconut-almond milk, which is the nectar of the gods as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know why I haven’t ever thought about using maple syrup to sweeten my oatmeal instead of brown sugar like I normally use- maple syrup from now on! I’m not vegan, but I used to be and I still eat a lot of/love vegan food. Thanks for showing the world how delicious healthy food is.
*raises eyebrow* Hmmm. I am just about to make a pot of steel-cut oatmeal to have for breakfast throughout the upcoming week. I was looking for interesting flavor ideas for it, and now I am incredibly curious to see how this would work out with steel-cut oats that are re-heated in the morning. I shall try it. :)
OMG! I just made this! I finely grated the carrots to much so it got a bit watery, but it was amazing! Gosh I wish I made the hole recipe for two and not split it to only serve me! My new favorite breakfast! Thank you so much for the recipe! :)
Thanks// Linnea
Just found you recipe and it’s amazing. I’m not sure if anyone mentioned this, but a dollop of yogurt on top really adds a lot if you don’t have coconut milk.
Squealingly delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe…I’m featuring it today on my blog! Cheers!
Yum!! Made this for brunch on a chilly Sunday and it was just perfect! Thank you for the recipe: D
Hello Angela :)
Your recipe/s and pictures are so good that you’ve successfully turned the oatmeal lover in me into a fanatic, you’re so right!
I was inspired by you to start eating oatmeal and I created an oatmeal challenge for myself, which I’m glad is coming to an end quite successfully :) I’m writing about the challenge on my blog now and I’ve linked back to you as you were my inspiration to start this challenge. I hope you don’t mind :)
This is a genius recipe! I adapted this to what I had on hand and sort of layered it in the bowl I baked it in. I am not a vegan so, would have added butter, but I was out, so I drizzled tahini on the top. My husband and I both loved it! Thank you for new inspiration!
I also happened to see your post from way back on Eric’s birthday. Nice to see that sweet Canandian heart-centeredness. You are wonderful.
Blessings!
This was really great! I made some changes with what I had on-hand, but only changed the way I put the recipe together – the ingredients all stayed the same. The grated carrot just melts away into a beautiful bowl of bright orange delisciousness! Oh, and I put the raisins in while the oatmeal was cooking – I love the juicy fullness of a “re-hydrated” raisin.
this may be a silly question, but i saw that you wrote lemon juice in the ingredients, so i prepped it, but then when i was done cooking, i realized it was still just sitting on the counter. when should i add it in? thanks!
That looks like one comforting bowlful of hot hot oatmeal with all the ingredients of the fall season!!!! for me nutmeg and carrots are all about fall…dont knw why??/ Great pics as always Angela. Loved the one with the teal background!.
Shobha
Ah! Stop, you’re too cute! This is my next adventure of yours… I am dreaming now – and at work, so I had better go! Thanks for your life’s work!