Healthy Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal (Vegan)

This clever breakfast option is a cinch to make, keeps well in the fridge, and makes for an excellent start to the day.  It will save you time in the mornings, and give that little dash of Holiday cheer!

How does "one less thing to worry about this morning" sound? I thought so. I came up with this Healthy Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal recipe as a way to do just that, while still having that dash of holiday flavor to it. As the name suggests it is healthy, but it is also delicious and easy to carry around with you on those particularly busy mornings.

This recipe is vegan, but can easily be made vegetarian if you want to up the protein content a bit by swapping the ground flaxseed for an egg. The function of either ingredient is really just to work as a binding agent since we're doing this completely without flour - so yes, this is also gluten-free.

Can I use any type of oats?

Short answer? Yes. Long Answer? No, not as well as I'd like.

I strongly suggest using plain old rolled oats - not steel-cut oats; the ones that take too long to cook for them to be super convenient in the morning. This recipe calls for 30-35 minutes in the oven and the dough is quite wet when it goes in. That's just too long of a cook time for Quick-Oats, Instant-Oats, Minute-Oats or whatever your particular brand chooses to call them. This results in over-cooking, which leaves you with a bit of a claggy texture to the finished product.

Plain. Old. Oats... Just trust me on this one.

How to make Vegan Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal:

Prep: Preheat oven to 375°F/190C. Spray an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish with cooking spray.

Step 1 & 2 - In a food processor, mix all ingredients apart from oats and nuts until smooth. Remove the blades, and stir in the oats and half of the nuts (¼ cup) with a spoon or fork.

Step 3 & 4 - Carefully pour the oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish. Scatter leftover nuts (¼ cup) across the top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

While oatmeal cooks, combine powdered sugar and orange juice until a smooth icing develops, adjusting orange juice as needed to get the right consistency. Drizzle over the partially-cooled cake and allow it to continue to cool until icing hardens.

How long will these keep for?

These will easily last 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge; so make a batch on Sunday and you're covered for breakfast for the entire work-week with a few leftover for snacks.

Don't fret if you applied all of the drizzles when they came out of the oven. Having it soak in won't hurt these little babies at all.

Tips:

1. Don't forget that if you're using flaxseed in this recipe rather than an egg, it should be ground flaxseed. While flaxseed is an excellent source of nutrition, they're also acting as a binding agent in this recipe to help replace gluten. They do a much better job as a binding agent if they've been ground up. Even crushing them with the flat side of a chef's knife is better than nothing.
2. Remember: Just plain old rolled oats will do the trick.
3. Don't be afraid to go low and slow while making the drizzle if you're worried about getting the proper consistency. Start with a little liquid, adding more only if you really need it.

5 from 5 votes

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Vegan Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal

Healthy Vegan Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal This clever breakfast option is a cinch to make, keeps well in the fridge, and makes for an excellent start to the day.  It will save you time in the mornings, and give that little dash of Holiday cheer!

Course Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword baked oatmeal recipe, vegan baked oatmeal

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 9

Calories 184 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk
• 2 ripe bananas roughly chopped
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 ½ Tablespoons molasses
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil melted
• 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed or 1 egg
• ½ tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground allspice optional
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups rolled oats not the quick-cooking kind
• ½ cup chopped pecans or hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts + more for topping

Drizzle (optional)

• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tsp fresh orange juice or a bit more to get the right consistency

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F/190C.
2. Spray an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish with cooking spray.
3. In a food processor, mix all ingredients apart from oats and nuts until smooth. Remove the blades, and stir in the oats and half of the nuts (¼ cup) with a spoon or fork. Carefully pour oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish.
4. Scatter leftover nuts (¼ cup) across the top.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
6. While oatmeal cooks, combine powdered sugar and orange juice until a smooth icing develops, adjusting orange juice as needed to get the right consistency. Drizzle over the partially-cooled cake and allow it to continue to cool until icing hardens.
7. Store leftover oatmeal bake in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days

Recipe Notes

1. Don't forget that if you're using flaxseed in this recipe rather than an egg, it should be ground flaxseed. While flaxseed is an excellent source of nutrition, they're also acting as a binding agent in this recipe to help replace gluten. They do a much better job as a binding agent if they've been ground up. Even crushing them with the flat side of a chef's knife is better than nothing.
2. Use rolled oats, not the quick cooking kind (see blog posts for more details)
3. Don't be afraid to go low and slow while making the drizzle if you're worried about getting the proper consistency. Start with a little liquid, adding more only if you really need it. 

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal

Amount Per Serving (1 /9th)

Calories 184 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 169mg7%

Potassium 298mg9%

Carbohydrates 26g9%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 17IU0%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 56mg6%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you tried this Vegan Baked Oatmeal recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

MORE HEALTHY BREAKFAST OPTIONS:

• No Bake Breakfast Cookies
• Healthy Mug Cake
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Overnight Oats
• Cranberry Walnut Cookies