Whether you’re looking for a delicious weekly breakfast prep or easy brunch recipe, Cinnamon Roll Baked Oats is sure to please!
I’ve had a lot of requests for baked oatmeal recipes lately. They are all the rage on social media these days. A simple, hearty breakfast prep.
I was hesitant to experiment, though, because I usually like a simple–some might say boring–breakfast. Scrambled eggs and fruit are fine with me.
But I finally gave baked oats a go, and let me tell you, I have definitely been missing out! You can bake this on a Sunday and have breakfast ready to go through Thursday.
I find myself way more full throughout the day when I have this in the morning instead of my usual!
For this version, I mimic the flavors of cinnamon rolls, including that cream cheese frosting! So delicious and filled with good-for-you ingredients.
Ingredients for CInnamon ROll Baked Oats
I wanted to make this recipe as allergy-friendly as possible. For that reason, I omitted as much dairy as I could. You can make this completely dairy free by using a plant-based cream cheese for the frosting.
This is gluten free as long as you make sure to buy gluten-free oats. I also omitted the banana that a lot of baked oats recipes include, since I know some people can be sensitive to them.
Instead of cane sugar, I use maple syrup to make this naturally sweetened and still vegan. You can sub honey or brown sugar, if you prefer.
Believe me, no flavor was sacrificed by making these substitutions! Here’s what you’ll need to pick up at the store to make this:
- Rolled Oats/Old Fashioned Oats (gluten free, if needed)
- Apple Sauce
- Almond milk (or other plant-based milk or skim milk)
- Maple syrup
- Chia Seeds (optional, but adds lots of nutrients and fiber)
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla extract
- Light Cream Cheese (or plant-based cream cheese)
how to make and serve Baked Oats
I keep things super easy by mixing all of the ingredients together in the same dish that I bake it on. Any 8-inch dish will do, whether square or round.
After you bake the oats, let them cook for a little bit while you make the frosting.
If you plan to eat it right away, you can stop the oats with the frosting. But if you intend to eat it throughout the week, you might want to wait to frost each serving before you eat it. I mainly do this for easier and less messy storage, but you could just store it with the frosting on top.
And don’t feel like you have to get fancy with the swirls like I did. You can just spread the frosting on top of the baked oats in a even layer.
The oats are a great base recipe for various toppings, too. So if cream cheese isn’t your thing, you can top with berries, whipped cream, nuts, maple syrup, whatever you like!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! Leaving a starred review and comment below helps my blog grow. I’m always grateful when you can take the time to do that!
It also makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Cinnamon Roll Baked Oats
Equipment
- 8-inch baked dish
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk , or other plant-based or skim milk
- 2 tbsp maple syrup , divided
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 ounces light cream cheese , softened
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients, except cream cheese, together in your baking dish.
- Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes, until set.
- While oats cook, make the frosting. Whisk cream cheese and 1 tsp maple syrup together until smooth. Add in milk, 1 tsp at a time, until the frosting reaches the consistency you like.
- Top oats with frosting. Cut into 4 equal servings.
What is the sodium content?
Hi Laurie, I don’t know the sodium content off hand, but you could estimate it by dividing the sodium content from the 1/4 tsp salt and 2 oz of cream cheese and divide it by the 4 servings. If you want to be more precise, I’d recommend importing the recipe into a nutrition calculator using the actual brand products you use. Hope this helps!
I made this for breakfast this morning and It was delicious. The only hiccup I found was figuring out the maple syrup division between the oatmeal and the glaze/frosting. After some googling, I did 1 tbsp and 2 tsp in the oatmeal, and the 1 tsp in the glaze/frosting. It turned out great! Super excited to eat the rest for the nest couple of days. Even my 2 year old said it was delicious!
Love it!
It’s so nice to finally have a baked oatmeal made with unsweetened apple sauce rather than bananas (because they make all oatmeal bakes taste the same to me.)
The cinnamon and cream cheese swirl makes it extra tasty.
Thank you, Gerri!
I wonder if this could be done in a microwave
Hi Joan. I personally wouldn’t try it (whenever I microwave oatmeal it tends to boil over and make a mess), but please do let me know if you decide to test it out.