Loaded with grated carrots, raisins, and cinnamon these sweet and creamy carrot cake overnight oats taste like cake for breakfast! These take 5 minutes to come together and can be meal prepped for the entire week (vegan and gluten-free).
Strawberry Overnight Oats and Overnight Oats with Coconut Milk are two other oats breakfast recipes that I love to prepare on the days when my mornings are super hectic.
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About This Recipe
Carrot cake overnight oats are delicious (with all the flavors of carrot cake) and a super healthy breakfast recipe that comes together in under 5 minutes.
To make these overnight oats, rolled (old-fashioned) oats are soaked in milk and yogurt along with shredded carrot, spices, raisins, and honey for 6-8 hours creating the most creamy, and delicious carrot cake flavors in a bowl.
This recipe is great for meal prep too. Double or triple the batch and divide it into mason jars. You can just grab one jar in the morning and have it on the go.
Carrot cake overnight oats are sweet and crunchy and can also be enjoyed as a snack or a guilty free dessert. This easy recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free and can be easily made vegan.
The recipe is also highly customizable. Add your choice of milk, yogurt, and sweetener, and top the oats with your favorite toppings to create a new version each time.
Ingredients
Oats – Rolled oats (old-fashioned oats) are the best to make refrigerator overnight oats. They soak up the flavors well and keep their texture intact.
Instant oats or quick oats tend to get too soft and mushy, whereas steel-cut oats need more time to soak up nicely.
Carrot – Carrot gives a crunchy texture and sweet taste to the overnight oats. Shred them using the middle hole of a box grater.
Raisins – Carrots and raisins go very well together. But if you are not team raisin, feel free to skip. You can replace them with dried cranberries or cherries.
Spices – To bring out the flavors of carrot cake in these oats, make sure to add ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.
Milk & Yogurt – I like to add whole milk and Greek yogurt to make these oats super creamy. You can choose to add skim milk and light yogurt to make them healthier.
To make these vegan, use plant based milk and yogurt.
Sweetener – feel free to use any sweetener of your choice. I added honey but for a vegan version, use maple syrup or brown sugar. Sugar-free substitutes like stevia or monk fruit also work fine. You can also add in one ripe mashed banana to add the sweetness.
Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract makes the oats more flavorful and aromatic.
Chia Seeds – High on nutrients, these chia seeds add more nutrition and texture to the soaked oats.
Variations – Add a scoop of protein powder, if you are making these for your pre or post-workout snack. You can also stir in a little softened cream cheese while mixing the ingredients for creamier oats. If you are a chocolate fan, then add some cocoa powder to the oats and top with cocoa nibs.
How to make Carrot Cake Overnight Oats?
Stir together 1 cup rolled oats, ½ cup shredded carrot, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ cup raisins, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, ¼ cup Greek yogurt, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ cup honey in a medium mixing bowl with a lid.
Close the lid and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. If the oats are too thick, stir some more milk to thin them down.
Transfer the overnight oats to 2 serving bowls and top with shredded carrots and sprinkle a little ground cinnamon on top. Serve chilled or heat in a microwave and serve warm.
Topping Ideas
- Nuts & seeds like toasted almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds etc.
- Granola of your choice.
- Coconut flakes, cocoa bibs, chocolate chunks.
- Nut Butter like almond or peanut butter.
- A dollop of whipped cream cheese is one of my fav toppings.
Storage Suggestions
You can store carrot cake overnight oats for about 5 days in the fridge in a mason jar or a covered glass jar. Though it lasts for 5 days, I will suggest you to consume it within 2 days for the best flavor.
You can also freeze them for about 2 to 3 months. Just thaw them overnight in the fridge and they are ready to be consumed in the morning. You can also heat them up in the microwave if you like them hot.
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Recipe Card
Carrot Cake Overnight Oats Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Stir together 1 cup rolled oats, ½ cup shredded carrot, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ cup raisins, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, ¼ cup Greek yogurt, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ cup honey in a medium mixing bowl with a lid.
- Close the lid and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. If the oats are too thick, stir some more milk to thin them down.
- Transfer the overnight oats to 2 serving bowls and top with shredded carrots and sprinkle a little ground cinnamon on top. Serve chilled or heat in a microwave and serve warm.
Notes
- Nuts & seeds like toasted almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
- Granola of your choice.
- Coconut flakes, cocoa bibs, chocolate chunks.
- Nut Butter like almond or peanut butter.
- A dollop of whipped cream cheese is one of my fav toppings.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!