Vegan Baked Oats (6 Ways, Customizable Recipe For One)

These customizable single-serving vegan baked oats are SO amazing! They taste like cake, they are super quick and easy to make and also make for a nutrient-rich breakfast, snack or dessert. Flavor it the way you want or include one of my 6 favorite adds-on! 100% vegan, gluten-free, plant-based and dairy-free.

There was a viral TikTok recipe circulating a little while ago, a blended baked oats recipe, that became an instant huge success on the internet.

And no wonder, it tasted and looked like cake, but was served for breakfast. Who doesn’t want that?

But, I wanted to make my own version and most importantly make a vegan - but as delicious - tasty version without using eggs. 

Plus, I LOVE oats and actually enjoy their texture very much, so I skipped blending the mixture altogether. Which means fewer dishes to clean too ✌️. Simply combine the ingredients in an oven-safe small dish, bake and dig in!

So here it is: a healthy, ULTRA creamy (omg, wait to see how creamy this is), super easy + quick and customizable with the flavor of your choice.

I actually will share 6 different ways you can flavor these healthy baked oats for one, they are really not complicated at all. You can repeat the basic oat recipe many times during the same week, but switch up the add-on so it feels like a new yummy oat dish every time.

This recipe was designed to be a healthy vegan breakfast, giving the combination of bananas, oats, nut butter and plant milk. Still, it also qualifies for a dessert, especially the dark chocolate and raspberry version, yum!

Hope you give them a try! Please share your own personalized version with the add-on you included, we will want to try it too! ❤️

Why you will love this recipe

• Amazing for meal prep and reheat-able, perfect for busy mornings
• Uses only simple ingredients
• Quick and ultra-easy breakfast
• Perfect single-portion warm breakfast or healthy sweet treat
• Healthy, rich in fiber and made without refined sugars
• Oil-free
• Family friendly and kids love them!
• 100% vegan, dairy-free and made without eggs.

Ingredients 

• Rolled oats: try using thick rolled oats, also called old-fashioned oats, for the best texture. Quick oats will work too, but will give you a smoother result, which should be delicious too. DO NOT use steel-cut oats!
• Banana OR apple sauce: mashed ripe banana makes the texture SO ULTRA creamy, similar to cake. That's why my banana mug cake is such a hit and loved by so many: the banana mixed in with oats transforms the dish super creamy while baking. Use ripe and sweet bananas for the best result! If you don't like the flavor of bananas, then simply use apple sauce, it will work great too. 
• Almond butter OR peanut butter: both work well. I find peanut butter to be more prominent in flavor, so it works well if you are looking for baked oats with a more obvious peanut taste. I use almond butter more often for that reason. The nut butter brings some healthy fats to create a perfect texture and also more nutrition, such as extra plant-based protein.
• Sweetener (liquid): use maple syrup or agave nectar or brown rice syrup. 
• Non-dairy milk: any kind will work, choose your favorite! I used oat milk from Oatly.
• Vanilla extract: optional, omit if you don't have it. But I highly recommend using it, it gives the oats such an amazing flavor and boosts the natural sweetness.
• Baking powder: it helps "puff" the baked oats and make them feel lighter and "cakey".

Then, once you have combined those main ingredients, you can stir in a few adds-on to flavor it the way you want. I LOVE adding chocolate chips and chopped walnuts, which work well with the bananas, but keep scrolling to find out more ideas!

How to make it

(Find all the details in the recipe card at the end of this post)

To get ready, pre-heat the oven to 350º. If you have a mini toaster oven, then use that instead of your big oven!

Combine the basic ingredients

In a small oven-safe dish, combine the wet ingredients (mashed bananas), plant-based milk, liquid sweetener, nut butter and vanilla extract. Stir well until uniform making sure there are no nut butter clumps visible.

Then, add the dry ingredients (rolled oats and baking powder) and stir to combine.

Flavor the mixture

Once the basic mixture is done, then add the flavoring ingredients of your choice, such as fruits or other spices, and stir to combine. See below for inspiration!

Bake

Bake in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes. There is a wide range of baking time for this recipe, which will depend on the shape of the dish (more or less deep) you used and also your oven. Once it has been baking for about 18 minutes, watch for doneness every minute or so.

How to flavor your vegan baked oats

You can absolutely leave it as is, with the banana and vanilla flavoring the baked oats so deliciously. But, I like to add more depending on how I feel and what I have. It is super fun to customize this recipe! 

Here are a few flavor variations to try:

1- Chocolate chip baked oats

Add about 2 tablespoons (of each) of vegan chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. I love using mini chips in that case. You can add a few extra chocolate chips on top just before baking. This flavor combo works so well with the banana used to make the basic baked oat mixture, it's my favorite one! Top with a few banana slices when serving.

2- Matcha white chocolate baked oats

Add 1 teaspoon of matcha green tea powder and about 2 tablespoons of vegan white chocolate chips. If you don't have white chocolate chips, then simply use regular chocolate chips or chopped nuts of your choice. Also, if you want to avoid a banana flavor in this case, use apple sauce instead of mashed banana.

3- Lemon blueberry almond baked oats

Add the zest of half a lemon, 1 tablespoon of slivered almonds and a few blueberries (about ¼ cup) to the mixture and stir in. Also make sure to use almond butter as opposed to peanut butter when making the basic oats recipe. Then, add a few more fresh berries on top and gently press them in the batter before baking.

4- Peanut butter and jam

Use peanut butter instead of almond butter when making the basic oat mixture and swap the maple syrup for jam. Once the mixture is combined, then you can add an extra swirl of jam leaving some "blobs" intact, then bake.

5- Dark chocolate and raspberries

Add 1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder) + 1 extra tablespoon of plant-based milk and stir very well until you see no more clumps of powder. Then, stir in a few raspberries and press a few extra over the mixture before baking. You can add some chocolate chips as well to make it extra chocolatey!

6- Apple cinnamon pie

Use apple sauce instead of mashed bananas when making the basic oat mixture. Then, add ¼ cup of finely diced apples (or pear!) and ¼-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Smaller pieces of apple work best for this small batch recipe, you could also shred the apple instead of chopping it.

More favorite mix-ins to try

• Shredded carrots
• Raisins
• Pumpkin purée (instead of banana)
• Grated zucchini
• Protein powder
• Chopped dates
• Strawberries

You can make the basic baked oats as is and then serve with vegan whipped cream, coconut yogurt, vegan chocolate sauce, extra drizzle of maple syrup or a quick tahini caramel. Such a fun and tasty way to turn this recipe into a healthier dessert!

What container to use + baking time tips

You will need an oven-safe small container of about 16 or 20 oz. I love ceramic ramequins for this recipe, but use any kind you have as long as it can go in the oven and has a size that can hold the mixture (not too small, not too big). 

BUT, you want to avoid dishes that are large and shallow as the mixture would cook faster that way. 

I recommend watching carefully when you bake the oats as the baking time might vary slightly depending on the shape. 

Aim on slightly undercooking the baked oats, which means that you should try taking it out of the oven once it looks mostly cooked, but with a soft middle. This is a vegan baked oat recipe made without eggs and without flour, which means that undercooking it is totally safe!

Then once done, let it rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before enjoying it so it finishes cooking. You want to avoid overcooking it as it can turn dry and rough.

Storage and meal-prep tips

These vegan baked oats store very well! You can make a few at a time to use during the week. 

Once they are baked, simply let them cool completely at room temperature, cover them well and store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days. When ready to eat, reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until warm up. 

You can also freeze them! Once cooled down, cover them and pop them in the freezer. To reheat, you can warm them up straight from the freezer using the microwave for about 60-90 seconds or until thawed and slightly warmed up. 

FAQ's

How to make it nut-free? 

To make it completely nut-free, swap the nut butter for pumpkin seed butter or sunflower seed butter and make sure to use a nut-free plant-based milk, such as oat or soy milk.

Is this recipe gluten-free? 

This flour-free recipe makes it easier to be completely gluten-free. Just make sure your rolled oats are certified gluten-free!

More oat recipes you might like

• Vanilla overnight oats
• Chocolate oatmeal no bake bars
• Chocolate orange overnight oats
• Chickpea and oats vegan burgers
• Pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
• Turmeric blueberry oatmeal
• Vegan oat flour pancakes
• Oatmeal raisin bars with pear
• 3-Ingredient banana oatmeal muffins
• Oatmeal with flaxseed

I hope you like this vegan baked oats recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!

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