Belly-warming Carrot Cake Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts and sweetened with just a drizzle of maple syrup. The most amazing fall and winter breakfast ever!
You know I love Overnight Oats more than life! When it gets colder though I often prefer a warm breakfast. Cooked oatmeal is often my first choice followed by a more hearty and nourishing quinoa breakfast bowl.
The ingredients
Oats – Make sure they are old-fashioned rolled oats. The quick-cooking will become complete mush after 10 minutes of simmering. You can also use the extra thick ones but you will have to cook those a little longer.
Carrots – Without carrots, it’s obviously not a carrot cake oatmeal but this recipe also works great with shredded zucchini. Use just zucchini or a mix of carrots and zucchini if you’re not a big carrot fan.
Spices – Cinnamon is a must! All-spice is a nice add on but can be omitted if you don’t have any.
Raisins – From what I understand there are only raisin lovers and raisin haters. There doesn’t seem to be an in-between, does there? I think raisins taste amazing in oatmeal but if you don’t simply leave them out. No need to replace them with anything. (Forgot to include in the ingredient photo, lol).
Milk – Any milk works. Dairy or any plant milk. My favorites for oatmeal are coconut milk and macadamia milk. You can also use water but then the oatmeal isn’t as creamy.
Toppings – My favorite toppings are chopped walnuts, chia seeds, and figs. The sky is the limit though. Add whatever other nuts and/or seeds you have on hand and top with whatever fruit you like.
Sweetener – I like to sweeten my carrot cake oatmeal with maple syrup. I find it rounds up the flavors of carrots and cinnamon so well. Honey or coconut sugar works really well, too though.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make Overnight Carrot Cake Oatmeal?
Yes!!! It’s delicious. Simply follow all the same instructions and reduce the milk by 1/2 cup (because we don’t have to account for evaporation). Also, instead of adding all ingredients to a saucepan, it’s obviously better to add to a jar or container and then place it in the fridge overnight. The next day, add the toppings like you would on your cooked oatmeal.
Now, that being said….. I prefer my carrot cake oatmeal warm. I feel like it has all the “cold weather” flavors in it and it just fits better hot than cold.
Is it ok to eat oatmeal every day?
Believe it or not, I get this question all the time. The answer unfortunately is: it depends. It depends on your overall diet. It is a perfectly healthy and nutrient-dense breakfast, however, it’s very high in carbohydrates so if you want to eat oatmeal every day, make sure your other meals in the day are high in protein and veggies :)
So yes, you “can” eat oatmeal every day if you adapt your other meals to cover your body’s daily nutritional needs. No, you can’t eat oatmeal every day if you have pasta for dinner every day for example.
What is the healthiest oatmeal?
The one you make at home from scratch where you can control all the ingredients. In this carrot cake oatmeal for example we only add a drizzle of maple syrup to keep the sugar-level low. All ingredients are clean and hardly processed (oats, milk) or completely unprocessed (carrots, figs, walnuts).
Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 2 carrots
- 1 tsp all-spice blend - (1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4tsp cloves, 1/4tsp nutmeg)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups milk of choice - macadamia milk is my favorite
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 Tbsp coconut cream
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 fig
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Peel and shred carrots.
- Add oatmeal, shredded carrots, spices, and milk to a small saucepan, bring to a boil and mix well, then reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until creamy.
- Serve in bowl and top with coconut cream, chopped walnuts, chia seeds, maple syrup, and half a fig.
Nutrition
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Lizzie says
LOVE this recipe! I used almond milk and cashews (had no walnuts). Quite tasty/hearty and great way to stay satiated through the morning. Thank you.
Xenia says
Did quite enjoy this breakfast! Especially the raisins fit well!
Brandi says
Question. ..
U have 1 lb carrot and then next line says 10 oz. Carrot… is it one amount or the other or is our 1 lb plus 10 oz?
Lorena says
Hi Brandi, sorry, I thought I had corrected that back when Rachel pointed out the mistake. It’s 1 lbs of carrots. I had chosen an amount and weighed it and it was 300g but while cooking it I added another carrot because it looked like it could handle another one so I ended up putting in 1 lbs. You will need a total of 1 lbs of carrots for the recipe. It tastes great with 450g carrots!
Rachel says
In your recipe you call for 1 lbs of carrots followed by 10 oz of carrots. I can’t imagine that there is literally that much carrot in the recipe. Can you please clarify. I love carrot cake, so I’m really curious to try your recipe. ?
Lorena says
Ohhh!! Thanks for pointing that out. I corrected it. I first put in 300 g of carrots and while cooking figured I could put in another carrot because when soft it becomes less, thus the 300-450 g depending on how much carrots you have to use up, haha. I’m sure you will love this recipe if you love carrot cake :)
Amy Basso | Amy's Apron says
I literally wanna grab that bowl out of the picture and gobble it up! YUM :)
Lorena says
Thank you! I often wish the same thing when browsing Pinterest. So many awesome-looking dishes. *sigh*
Kristina says
I love that you are coming up with great recipes with all those carrots! are you going to be taking a break from them for a bit, once they are gone? :)
the carrot cherry juice sounds good, and this looks perfect!
Lorena says
Thank you Kristina! Definitely going to take a carrot break for the next couple of weeks! Ha!
Coco says
Te quiero mucho!
Lorena says
Yo más! :)