These Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cups are a delicious grab and go breakfast, idea low in refined sugars and high in fibre. Plus, they've got veggies hidden in them!
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Ingredients in oatmeal cups
Into Easter but not so into all the sweets? Then these Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cups are exactly what you need in your life!!!
Not only are they the perfect breakfast, but they are basically a healthy version of a muffin, without all the sugar and flour. Here's what you need below:
- almond milk – using nut milk keeps this recipe dairy-free.
- eggs
- maple syrup – I love the flavour of maple syrup on oatmeal, so I use it as a sweetener here.
- vanilla extract
- rolled oats
- unsweetened shredded coconut
- shredded carrot
- chopped walnuts
- spices – cinnamon and nutmeg pair perfectly with the carrots and coconut
How to make oatmeal cups
Making this healthy breakfast recipe is a breeze!
You’ll need two mixing bowls; one for the wet ingredients, plus a larger bowl for the dry ingredients.
- In the first bowl, combine almond milk, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- In the second bowl, mix together the rolled oats, coconut, carrot, walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then mix well to combine them. Avoid over mixing, though. It’s okay if you still have some small specks of flour.
- Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Divide the oatmeal mixture evenly into the liners.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or so. It’s okay if they are a little moist, but you don’t want them to be wet.
Ingredient substitutions and other add-ins
One of the best things about this recipe is that it’s so easy to swap out ingredients! Just make whatever changes you need to fit in with your diet or needs.
- Almond Milk — Switch it for regular milk, or coconut, soy, or even cashew milk.
- Eggs — If you need to avoid eggs, use 1/2 cup of applesauce instead.
- Oats — Feel free to use steel cut oats if you prefer them. Avoid instant and quick cooking oats though.
- Walnuts — Use any chopped nuts of your choice. If you can’t do nuts at all, pumpkin or sunflower seeds make a great replacement!
You can also add in plenty of other deliciousness to make them your own, too.
- Seeds — Flaxseed, chia, and hemp all provide additional fibre.
- Dried Fruit — Raisins, dried apricots or cranberries, or even chopped dates are great options.
- Chocolate — Believe it or not, dark chocolate pairs really well with carrot cake! Try adding a few chunks or chips to the batter. Plus, dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants!
Healthier sweeteners
If maple syrup is too sweet for you and you want a healthier option, give these a try:
Honey — Use the same measure of honey as you would maple syrup.
Coconut sugar — This is also measured exactly the same as the syrup, but has a lower glycemic index.
Monk Fruit — Monkfruit sugar is a no-carb sweetener that is natural and doesn’t have any weird after taste. Measure it according to the package instructions as a sugar replacement.
How to add more protein
You may want to bump up the protein a bit in these. There are a couple of ways you can do this deliciously.
- Add in an extra egg. This will give you an extra gram of protein per carrot cake oatmeal cup.
- Use soy or pea milk instead of the almond milk. They contain 8g of protein per 8oz instead of almond milk’s 1g. That’ll give you more than 2g extra protein per oatmeal cup.
- Top with nut or seed butter. Add a couple more grams of protein by using your favorite peanut, almond, or sunflower seed butter on top before serving.
How to make oatmeal cups vegan
If you want to avoid the eggs and make these cups vegan, you can swap them out for 1/2 cup of fruit or veggie puree.
The most common swap is applesauce, but pumpkin, sweet potato, or carrot puree would also work well!
You can make your own puree, or snag a few jars of baby food next time you’re at the store. You’ll be surprised at how great of a swap they are for eggs!
Storing & reheating
Something super exciting about these oatmeal cups is how easy they are to store!
Keep them on your counter (covered, of course) for up to five days. No need to take up any precious fridge space!
They can be eaten at room temp, but you might prefer something warm for breakfast. If so, pop them into the microwave for 30 seconds. They’ll come out perfectly toasty.
Can you freeze oatmeal cups?
Absolutely, you can!
Store them in a large zip top storage bag or airtight container for up to six months.
To thaw, take them out of the freezer and let them come to room temp on the counter overnight.
What to serve with oatmeal cups
While these little beauties are perfectly satisfying on their own, you can definitely serve them alongside some other healthy breakfast items.
- Fresh Fruit — Adding fresh fruit to the meal is a refreshing way to start the day.
- Yogurt — Bring extra protein and probiotics into the mix!
- Full English — Eat them instead of muffins or crumpets in your full English breakfast – with a cup of tea, of course.
More oatmeal recipes
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls for meal prepping this recipe
- Get some non-stick muffin tins here
- These silicone muffin tins also help avoid oatmeal from sticking
- These re-useable cupcake liners are also perfect for this recipe and totally non-stick
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Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffin Cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, mix together almond milk, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla. In another large bowl, mix together rolled oats, coconut, carrot, walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
- Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Divide oatmeal mixture among cups, making sure to balance the wet and dry ingredients evenly. Bake in oven for 30-32 minutes.
- Will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.
Video
Nutrition
Missy says
Your recipes look good, but it’s frustrating with the amount of pictures bloggers are putting up these days. It’s getting ridiculous. The more I stroll, the more that keep loading up. It gets harder and harder to get to the darn recipe.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Missy – thanks for your feedback. The reason I include so many photos and make each post so long is to account for time on page so I can make money from advertisers and support myself financially. In exchange for ads and very minor scrolling time, you are getting a free recipe. If you would like to avoid so many photos, you can purchase a magazine subscription or a cookbook. However, you should note that at that point you wouldn’t have the ability to search for recipes or interact with or make requests to the recipe creator, you would just get what you get. I can understand your frustration but at the same time there’s always gotta be a bit of give and take. In this case, I feel that a little bit of scrolling is worth it for a free recipe, and unfortunately I have bills to pay and can’t work for free.
Lidia says
Thanks for the explanation. I get frustrated sometimes but now that I understand why… I’ll be more patient and supportive. Thanks for what you do!
Albert Bevia says
These oatmeal muffin cups look so amazing, and I love all the pictures! great post and recipe 🙂
Jenn says
Hi Taylor,
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It looks delicious! I am about to try it. One question for you: The recipe says use “rolled oats.” However, in the nutrition section and one other place on this page, the recipe is called, “Carrot Cake Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats.” Will they work with quick cut steel cut oats, too? I have both on hand, but would like to use up my quick cook steel cut ones. Hopefully, it will turn out okay. 🙂
Jenn
Jenn says
Update: Ok, so I tried it with regular oats, not steel cut. I followed the recipe exactly. Only after I tasted the batter, I added 1.5 tbs of powered stevia and 1.5 tbs of granulated erithol. These tasted absolutely yummy and the walnuts gave it a nice texture.
However, they were billed as “basically a healthy version of a muffin without all the sugar and flour.” The texture on the outside was nice, but the insides tasted like baked oatmeal and nothing like a muffin. I was really looking for a muffin. So, I make tweak the recipe and use less liquid. I’m not sure. Maybe I used the wrong kind of oats. I would love to know what others used.
Erin says
I have these in the oven right now! I have to admit, I added some whole wheat flour and a little baking soda because I thought the mixture was quite runny. No idea if they will turn out but they smell great!
Erin says
Turned out great! Only additions I would make would be a pinch of salt and maybe some raisins. Will definitely make again!
Rachel says
I wonder if you can make these without coconut??
I have everything else. Maybe add cranberries?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Rachel! You can definitely make them without coconut – either just leave it out or add in another ingredient like the cranberries if you’d like 🙂
Lyn says
What brand of Monk fruit to buy ? You had mentioned it.
Monk Fruit — Monkfruit sugar is a no-carb sweetener that is natural and doesn’t have any weird after taste. Measure it according to the package instructions as a sugar replacement.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Lyn – I just made monk fruit as a suggestion for alternatives. I don’t have a specific brand to recommend.
Bonnie says
These are really great! I struggle with breakfast most of the time so anything make-ahead is a winner in my books! Thanks Taylor!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed!
Ryss says
Made these this morning, I was nervous because the batter was so runny, but the came out good. Needed more than 30 minutes though.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed, Ryss! Cooking times may vary slightly from oven to oven, hopefully you didn’t have to go too far over the 30 min mark!
Farah says
Hi, these look really good and delicious, could they be baked in a baking dish instead of muffin cups?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Farah! You could probably bake in a baking dish but I don’t know how that would impact the cooking time as it would become more of an oatmeal bake instead of oatmeal cups. This post may be helpful in terms of determining cooking times, though I haven’t changed this particular recipe this way yet myself: https://thegirlonbloor.com/baked-oatmeal-recipe/