These carrot cake overnight oats taste like cake for breakfast thanks to the rich and creamy texture, sweet flavors, warming spices, and freshly grated carrots.
Add some chia seeds for fiber and prep them in a mason jar for a quick and healthy breakfast.
Imagine enjoying the delicious flavors of carrot cake first thing in the morning. Your busy morning just got a new best friend because overnight oats, just like blueberry baked oatmeal, are a great way to eat breakfast in a hurry. They're the ultimate meal prep breakfast, especially if you store them individually.
We love pumpkin pie overnight oats in the fall, blueberry overnight oats in the summer, and peanut butter overnight oats all year long. These carrot cake overnight oats are especially delicious during the spring (Easter recipe!).
Easy recipes that happen to be delicious and full of flavor are our expertise. Try prepping gluten-free morning glory muffins or air fryer scrambled eggs for more easy breakfast inspiration.
Why You'll Love These Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
- Easy to prep and grab on the go the next morning.
- Rich carrot cake flavors in a healthy bowl.
- The whole family will love them (hidden veggies for kids).
- Once you make them once, you'll have the ingredients to make them a few more times.
- Health benefits: balance your blood sugar, support your digestive system with fiber and enjoy a serving of vegetables.
Love oats for breakfast? This banana baked oatmeal and these oat flour pancakes will hit the spot.
Grab These Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients for this overnight oats recipe. Most are pantry staples and easy (and affordable) to find in grocery stores. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Oats: we recommend the hearty old-fashioned roll oats for this recipe. Use a certified gluten-free oat if needed. Our favorite brand is Bob's Red Mill! I don't recommend using steel-cut oats or quick oats because they don't absorb liquid the same way.
- Chia seeds: these add fiber and a rich, pudding-like texture.
- Maple syrup: for a touch of sweetness, without overdoing it.
- Carrots: freshly grated carrots work best for this recipe because they're small and easier to enjoy with each bite. You can roughly chop matchstick carrots if that's easier.
- Nut butter: almond butter, cashew butter, or peanut butter give the oats extra flavor and healthy fats.
- Vanilla extract for flavor.
- Spices: salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg give you the classic flavor of carrot cake.
- Plant milk: we recommend unsweetened plant-based milk, like unsweetened almond milk, for the best results. They don't add any extra sugars and they're dairy-free and vegan.
- Extras: we like to mix in raisins and shredded unsweetened coconut and top them with chopped pecans for the most delicious carrot cake oats.
Tip: use any leftover rolled oats to make homemade oat flour for oat flour banana bread or chewy oat flour cookies.
How to Make Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through the steps with some photos and a video so you have a clear idea of what to expect. This overnight oatmeal is really easy and these step-by-step instructions will make sure they turn out every time.
Video: Watch How to Make It
Note: you can make the entire recipe in one bowl and divide them into separate jars. However, separating the ingredients into their own jars to start saves an extra mixing bowl to clean.
Divide the oatmeal evenly into 4 mason jars then distribute the rest of the ingredients between each.
Pour in the dairy-free milk and use a large spoon to stir everything until the nut butter is evenly distributed and the raisins are mixed well.
Seal them tightly with a lid and store them in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or up to 5 days.
When you're ready to eat the oats the next day, remove the jar from the fridge and give everything a quick stir. The final texture should be thick like pudding. You can add a splash of milk at this point if you want to thin it out slightly.
To serve, spoon a dollop of greek yogurt on top to look like cream cheese frosting and finish with a dash of cinnamon and crushed pecans. You can use vegan yogurt if needed.
Recipe FAQs
Depending on what you put in them, they can be a delicious and healthy start to the day because of the added fiber and healthy fats in them. add a scoop of protein powder or two for an even healthier meal.
Producers flatten quick oats to help them cook faster and if left soaking overnight they can break down too much. You can still use them if you have them on hand, but I don't recommend leaving them in the fridge for more than a few days.
Overnight oats are essentially the same thing as traditional stovetop oats, but they're soaked in cold liquid overnight rather than hot liquid quickly. Overnight oats allow you more flavor flexibility because you can mix anything into them and the oats absorb the combination of flavors. They're also served cold rather than hot.
Chia seeds boast many health benefits including added fiber and protein and give the oats a thicker texture.
Any type of milk will work with overnight oats because they'll all absorb into the rolled oats slowly. However, we prefer low-glycemic milk without added sugars like unsweetened cashew milk or almond milk. Although we love making homemade oat milk, we wouldn't want double the oats in the recipe.
Carrot Cake Overnight Oats Recipe Variations
- Add in hemp seeds instead of chia seeds to get fiber, without the texture of chia seeds.
- We always add a couple of scoops of vanilla protein powder to oatmeal, even our hot pumpkin pie oatmeal, to balance the macros and help keep us full all morning. My favorite protein powder is Be Well By Kelly because the protein is such high quality, there are zero carbs, and the flavor is amazing.
- Omit the raisins or oats and try adding chopped dates
Tools for this Recipe
Box grater to shred the carrots. You could also pulse them in a food processor to speed up the process.
Storage container to soak the oats overnight in the fridge. Our favorite sealable container is a mason jar or Weck jars.
Storage Tips
Creamy oats stay fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing overnight oats as the texture can change while they thaw.
If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More Oatmeal Recipes
Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats certified gluten-free if needed (Note 1)
- 4 Tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ½ cup peeled and grated carrot about 1 large carrot
- 4 Tabslepoons nut butter almond, cashew or peanut
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ⅓ cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder optional (Note 2)
Recommended Equipment
- 4 individual jars with lids like a mason jar
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well to combine. Distribute the mixture evenly into 4 separate mason jars or glass jars with tight-fitting lids. Alternately, divide the ingredients evenly into glass jars and mix them separately to save an extra bowl being cleaned. See Note 3 for individual measurements.
- Seal the jars and store overnight in the fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 5 days. Remove a serving of oats as needed, stir, and top with greek yogurt, cinnamon, chopped pecans, or nut butter.
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