Packed with all the best parts of a classic carrot cake, these carrot cake baked oatmeal cups are an easy, filling breakfast and the prettiest addition to any brunch!
You heard it here first, carrot cake is officially on the breakfast menu.
In HEALTHY baked oatmeal muffin form with a big fat drizzle of cream cheese glaze. Forget about that slice of leftover carrot cake for breakfast, it’s all eyes on these gems.
And many of them on my Easter brunch plate. Don’t judge.
These muffins really do let you have it all for breakfast and honestly, I really can’t think of a single downside.
Besides the obvious fact that you won’t want to share them.
These Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal Muffins feature…
- A soft, tender baked oatmeal interior
- Lots of shredded carrot and toasted pecans
- A sweet vanilla cream cheese glaze
Making the Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal Muffins
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Eggs
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Milk
- Greek yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- Pecans
- Old-fashioned rolled oats
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Salt
- Carrot
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
Choosing Your Oats
We recommend using old-fashioned rolled oats for these muffins. We found that the rolled oats gave a nice and hearty texture to these muffins and also helped them set up perfectly sturdy.
You can find rolled oats in the cereal section of most grocery stores. Please note that we do not recommend using quick-cooking or steel-cut oats for this particular recipe, as it will not yield the same results.
Tips for Perfect Muffins
- Mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls – this will ensure that all the ingredients are properly mixed before combining the wet and the dry. Especially important for the egg since we want it beaten very well to prevent any egg chunks in the finished muffins!
- Toast pecans – toasting the pecans helps bring out a lovely nutty flavor and gives them a perfectly crunchy texture. Toast your pecans by tossing around in a skillet over medium heat until the nuts are fragrant.
- Shred carrot on large box holes – you can do this on a box grater or in a food processor.
- Squeeze liquid out of carrot – place the shredded carrot in the center of a kitchen towel, gather up into a ball, and squeeze the liquid out of the carrots. This might seem like an unnecessary step, but don’t skip it! It helps keep excess moisture out of the muffins.
- Use nonstick spray, not muffin liners – we found that this batter tends to stick to muffin liners, so for this reason we recommend greasing your muffin tin with a nonstick spray instead. The muffins should easily release by running a butter knife along the edges.
- Allow muffins to cool before glazing – make sure your muffins are completely cooled before topping with glaze, otherwise the glaze will melt and run off.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different spin on these muffins!
- Make it full-sized – you can easily make these muffins in a 9×9 square baking pan instead of muffin form. Be aware, you may have to increase the bake time by a few minutes.
- Try a different nut – walnuts or almonds would be great in place of the pecans.
- Flavor the glaze – try almond extract or a little grated orange zest.
- Add dried fruit – 1/2 cup of golden raisins, regular raisins, dried cranberries, or blueberries would be a great fruity addition to these muffins.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
To store muffins, allow to cool completely then store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Important: do not glaze the muffins before storing as the cream cheese glaze will spoil if left out at room temperature. We recommend making the glaze up to 6 days in advance, storing in fridge, and glazing muffins just before serving.
To freeze muffins, allow to cool completely (do not glaze), arrange in a freezer-safe container, and freeze up to 2 months.
For thawing, allow muffins to thaw at room temperature for a few hours, then top with glaze per recipe instructions.
The texture of these muffins is literally a dream! The tender oats, crunchy nuts, and sweet carrot play so well together and a big drizzle of cream cheese glaze just gives it all the perfect carrot cake vibes.
Meet your new brunch star.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Watch these oatmeal cups made step-by-step on Google web stories.
More oatmeal recipes you will definitely want to try next!
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Banana Bread
- Raspberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars
- Breakfast Peach Blueberry Oatmeal Cobbler
Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal Cups
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cups
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup 2% or skim milk
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup firmly-packed shredded carrot
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 1 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons 2% or skim milk
Instructions
Oatmeal Cups
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, honey, sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine pecans, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fold the liquid mixture into the dry until just combined.
- Place shredded carrot in the center of a kitchen towel, wrap tightly, and squeeze liquid until carrot is dry, discarding liquid. Fold shredded carrot into oatmeal mixture.
- Divide batter between greased muffin cups. Bake oatmeal cups at 350F 20-25 minutes until edges are golden brown and muffins spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool completely in pan on a wire cooling rack.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- In a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla and just enough milk to achieve drizzling consistency.
- When ready to serve, remove oatmeal cups from pan and drizzle with cream cheese glaze. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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