Just 5 minutes of actual cooking and 7 ingredients are all you need to make this delicious, cake-like chocolate chip baked oats. It feels like you’re eating dessert and yet it’s healthy enough for breakfast!
In this post you’ll learn:
- Why you will love this recipe
- Are baked oats good for you?
- Are baked oats the same as oatmeal?
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Other equipment you can use if you don’t have a blender
- Ingredients substitutions
- Storage instruction
- If you could make a bigger batch
- Meal prep tips
- How to make this healthy breakfast recipe a decadent dessert one
- FAQ
- Other variations of baked oats
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy: You only need 5 minutes of actual cooking and 7 ingredients.
- Healthy: The base for the recipe uses wholesome plant-based ingredients. Feel free to reduce the chocolate chips used if you want to make it even healthier!
- It feels like having dessert for breakfast: It feels a bit like eating cake for breakfast, but without feeling any guilt! It has that classic flavor of chocolate chip cookies but in the form of baked oats.
- Perfect for meal prep: Tight on time? You can make this banana chocolate chip baked oats ahead and store them for up to 5 days in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Vegan and naturally gluten free.
Are baked oats good for you?
Yes! Oats are loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Some health benefits include lowering cholesterol levels, improving blood sugar control, and helping you feel full!
This recipe only uses wholesome plant-based ingredients. And although chocolate chips are not the healthiest ingredient, this baked oats recipe is a much better alternative to eating chocolate chip cookies or any store-bought chocolate chip cakes since this recipe uses wholesome rolled oats instead of plain flour and does not include added sugar!
Are baked oats the same as oatmeal?
In terms of ingredients, they are very similar but the most important difference is in the texture. The oats in a baked oatmeal recipe are not blended while it gets blended in baked oats. This gives baked oats a more fluffy, cake-like texture. On the other hand, baked oatmeal has more bite to it, more like a chewy granola bar texture.
But fret not, both chocolate chip baked oatmeal and baked oats are both tasty!
Ingredients
- Rolled oats: The good old fashioned oats. It’s a healthy base for this dessert-like recipe.
- Banana: Banana acts as a natural sweetener and egg substitute in this recipe. An important ingredient in the recipe as its flavor is unique and the baked banana flavor makes this recipe irresistible.
- Chocolate chips: This is the real reason why you clicked on this recipe, isn’t it? Chocolate chips give this baked oats recipe a fun twist! If it’s hard for you to find chocolate chips, you can also use chocolate sprinkles.
- Plant-based milk: Adds moisture and creaminess to the baked oats. I used soy but feel free to use any other plant-based milk!
- Peanut butter: The slight bitterness rounds up the recipe nicely. Feel free to sub this with another nut/seed butter.
- Cinnamon: Adds a warm punch to this recipe, although feel free to skip it if you don’t like cinnamon.
- Baking powder: Helps the baked oats to rise.
- Salt: A natural flavor enhancer to deepen the flavor of these baked oats a bit more.
Step-by-step Instructions
Blend: Blend all the ingredients except the chocolate chips together in a blender until smooth. So there’s no need to separate the dry ingredients from the wet ingredients here!
Bake: Mix in the chocolate chips, then bake at 175°C (350°F) for 20-25 minutes. That’s it! Two simple steps that will get you dessert for breakfast! And it’s great for meal prep too!
I don’t have a blender. Can I use a food processor or an immersion blender instead?
Yes, you can. It will probably take longer to get everything blended up smoothly with a food processor but it will still work. When I tried this, the oats do not get processed as finely. This makes the baked oats to be less fluffy but it is still tasty!
However, if you do want to have fluffy baked oats using a food processor, here are some tips:
- Make a bigger batch so the food processor gets filled up and can blend better
- Process them longer
- First process the rolled oats until they become fine flour. Then add the other ingredients and blend
- Use oat flour instead of rolled oats
If you want to use an immersion blender, be sure to make a bigger batch so there is enough batter to blend smoothly.
Ingredients Substitutions
Some substitutions if you are running out of a certain ingredient, or just don’t like them.
- Rolled oats: Quick-cooking and instant oats are great substitutes. Subbing with oat flour will alter the texture but it will still work. For more information about the different types of oats (including pictures), check out this article. You can also experiment with other rolled grains such as dried spelt.
- Bananas: You can substitute them with apple sauce or pumpkin puree. However, this will definitely alter the taste and I strongly recommend using a banana for this recipe. If you are subbing them, don’t forget to add some sweetener.
- Chocolate chips: Sub this with chopped or shaved chocolate bars, or chocolate sprinkles.
- Plant-based milk: You can use all kinds of plant-based milk! But if you run out of milk, try substituting it with fruit juice. Water will also work fine, but then I recommend adding a bit more sweetener.
- Peanut butter: Using any other nut or seed butter would be fine! It will affect the taste but it will still be delicious.
- Baking powder: Without baking powder, your baked oats will not rise. I have not tried any substitution but feel free to experiment by substituting 1 teaspoon of baking powder with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar.
How should I store my baked oats?
- Fridge: Store your baked oats in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 175°C (350°F), or simply microwave it in 30 seconds increments.
- Freezer: You can also freeze this for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake it in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 200°C (390°F).
Can I make a bigger batch of these baked oats?
Absolutely! Feel free to double, triple, quadruple, …, etc the recipe!
If you are making a big batch to meal prep, or for a gathering, it might be easiest to use a larger baking or casserole dish instead of small ramekins. The baking time would increase so that everything will be cooked through.
For example, if you are making 4 servings in a larger dish, I would start with 35 minutes of baking. Then check if it’s still underbaked, and continue. Remember that it’s best to underbake than overbake since you cannot undo overbaking!
Can I meal prep with the baked oats?
For sure! Make a big batch, bake them, and store them in the fridge or freezer. It will make your day feel special having such a treat for breakfast!
I want to make this recipe an indulgent dessert instead of a healthy breakfast recipe!😋
Sure you can!😉
I would then add more sweetener, starting with 2 teaspoons of your sweetener of choice per serving. I like using date paste but feel free to sub with maple syrup, agave syrup, light brown sugar, regular sugar, or whatever sweetener you prefer!
You could also opt to add more chocolate chips, or make this a double chocolate chip recipe by adding 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder to the batter!
If you want to batch this, a quick tip on measurement is that 1 Tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons. So if you are making 3 servings, you can add 6 teaspoons (3 * 2 teaspoons) of sweetener, equivalent to 1 Tablespoon.
FAQ
No, the steel-cut oats will not blend enough to give you a cake-like texture. However, you can substitute the old-fashioned rolled oats with quick oats, instant oats, or even oat flour. The texture will be different with oat flour but it will still be delicious.
Of course! I have not tested this recipe with vanilla extract but I think it’s never wrong to add one to a baked good recipe 😉
For a single serving, use an 8oz (250ml) ramekin.
If you are making a bigger batch, you can use a bigger baking or casserole dish. Note that the baking time would increase if you are using a bigger baking dish such that everything is cooked through.
Can I use a microwave instead of an oven?
Yes, you can! For my microwave, I need 1.5 minutes (90 seconds) for it to cook through. You might need anywhere between 1 to 3 minutes since every microwave is different.
I suggest starting with 1 minute and then incrementing by 30 seconds if it’s still not cooked through.
I have not tested this recipe using an air fryer but I imagine it would work by baking it at 175°C (350°F) for 8-10 minutes. Let me know in the comments if you decided to try this method!
Looking for Variations?
Try making Nutella baked oats by substituting the peanut butter with this homemade Nutella!
Or check out the following tasty variations of baked oats without bananas!
- cinnamon apple baked oats
- peanut butter and jelly baked oats
- mixed berries baked oats
- brownie baked oats
- matcha and dark chocolate baked oats
Or try one of my overnight oats recipes:
Chocolate Chip Baked Oats
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats 45 grams
- ½ medium banana 65 grams
- ¼ cup plant-based milk 60 ml, I used soy but any plant-based milk will work
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter 15 grams, or sub with another nut / seed butter
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1 Tablespoon chocolate chips
Instructions
- Blend: First heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Then place all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a blender. Blend until smooth for about 1 minute.
- Transfer: Transfer the batter to a 250ml (8oz) ramekin. Add the chocolate chips and mix.
- Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let it cool down for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- To substitute for rolled oats, try quick-cooking or instant oats. Subbing with oat flour will alter the texture but it will still be delicious!
- Feel free to substitute the chocolate chips with chopped or shaved chocolate bars, or chocolate sprinkles.
- If you run out of plant-based milk, try substituting it with fruit juice. Water will also work fine, but then I recommend adding a bit more sweetener.
- Feel free to add 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract per serving if you are a fan of vanilla!
- You can also use a food processor instead of a blender. The oats do not get processed as finely but this will be solved if you process the batter longer.
- If you are making a bigger batch, using an immersion blender will also work.
- You can also microwave instead of using an oven, although I recommend using the oven. To microwave, start with 1 minute and then increment by 30 seconds if it’s still not cooked through. I need 1.5 minutes (90 seconds) in total but the time will vary depending on the microwave.
- I have not tested this recipe using an air fryer but I imagine it will work. Feel free to experiment and let me know in the comments how it went!
- Store your baked oats in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To reheat, pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 175°C (350°F), or simply microwave it in 30 seconds increments.
- You can also freeze this for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, bake it in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 200°C (390°F).
April 23, 2023 at 8:42 pmLove the recipe as a healthy treat! I feel like I’ll neve turn back to eating cakes again after these baked oats recipes haha. Everything turned out well and love that combination of banana and chocolate chips🍪