There's nothing better than a breakfast that's good enough to eat for dessert, while still being wholesome and nourishing. Enter: Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal. Have a warm breakfast ready in 30 minutes (less if you prep the night before!)

Ever since I learned about how to curb glucose spikes from Jessie Inchauspé (@glucosegoddess on Instagram), I don’t normally go for sweet breakfasts, however, I do make exceptions for time to time and this is definitely one of them. It’s still relatively healthy and definitely not too sweet, plus the carrots and whole grain oats keep me so full the entire morning! To round this breakfast out, I usually have it with a few slices of turkey or a hard boiled egg on the side. But dang. This is goodness.

I love how easy this is to make. You could even mix everything and pour into ramekins the night before to enjoy a tasty, comforting breakfast the next morning with no prep. Or even double this recipe to have warm carrot cake for breakfast all week. 

Here’s what you need:

For the “carrot cake:”

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp shredded carrots
• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 tbsp hemp hearts (aka hemp seeds)
• 2 tbsp vanilla protein powder – I like this one because it’s organic, grass-fed, and tested for heavy metals. 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 tbsp raisins (optional)
• Cinnamon to taste
• Pinch of salt 

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tsp maple syrup

How to Make

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease two oven-safe ramekins and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine greek yogurt, water, vanilla extract, shredded carrots, oats, hemp hearts, protein powder, baking soda, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until everything is combined.
3. Pour mixture into ramekin and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown.

5. While oatmeal is baking, make the cream cheese frosting by melting the cream cheese and maple syrup until runny. I prefer to use a double boiler but you could also use a microwave.

6. When oatmeal is done, spread the cream cheese frosting on top, garnish with more cinnamon and/or shredded carrots and enjoy!

Options & Substitutions

Optional: You could leave out the protein powder, hemp hearts, nuts, and raisins, although I think they add depth to this dish as well as more nutrients (hemp and nuts are great fats!) 

Protein Powder: I like to add a clean protein powder to these kinds of breakfasts because I find it’s hard to get enough protein in throughout the day if I start with a low-protein breakfast. Plus it helps keep me fuller longer. 

I don't always add protein powder to meals because I'd rather get protein from whole-food sources, but when I do, I always use Kion. It's a bit pricier than a regular protein powder you'd get on Amazon or at the grocery store, but I did a lot of digging into protein powders and there are several reasons why I'm willing to pay a little more for Kion.

1. They test for heavy metals which are rampant across protein powders. Studies have found toxic levels of heavy metals in protein powders, with plant-based powders being the worst offenders — especially the organic ones. Sadly, very few companies actually test for this, so I love Kion's commitment to safety.
2. It's grass-fed whey protein so that's going to come with a premium (although I wish it wasn't so, that's the reality for now.)
3. This is one of the key differences: it's a whey protein isolate rather than a concentrate which means it's more easily digestible (a plus if you typically can't tolerate protein powders!) and it gives you more grams of protein for fewer calories.

I also am obsessed with Kion's coffee which is just as rigorously produced! I wrote a blog post about why clean coffee matters here.

If you liked this breakfast recipe, you'll also love these:

• Easy Stovetop Granola
• Sweet Potato Protein Waffles
• 3 Ingredient Breakfast Cookie