Introducing caramel baked oats that taste so much like dessert you won’t believe it’s actually healthy! Think vanilla cinnamon baked oats swirled through with homemade date caramel. Sounds good right?

Inspired by sticky date pudding, I wanted to take this classic dessert and make it super healthy and acceptable to eat for breakfast. So now this vegan sticky date pudding baked oats is:

Easy and super quick to make/meal prep
Super healthy unlike an actual date pudding
Tons of protein and nutrients
Makes the perfect balanced breakfast

Oh, and did I mention that these vegan baked oats have no banana – unlike so many other vegan baked oats recipes out there! This healthy caramel baked oats recipe is the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth in the morning!

baked oats next to a plate and spoons and linen cloth

Caramel Baked Oats Ingredients

I’ll leave the full list of ingredients for this cinnamon roll baked oats recipe here, along with substitutions for certain ingredients and what you can use instead!

Rolled Oats/Oat Flour: you can use either rolled oats and grind them into flour yourself or use oat flour. I recommend grinding your own oat flour, since it’s so much cheaper and super easy. Simply pop the rolled oats into a dry blender or spice grinder and blend until it becomes a fine flour.
Protein powder: protein powder is absolutely not necessary, but it makes these waffles more balanced by adding a protein boost. I’ll link my favorite protein powder right here. It’s so good! If you’d like to leave out the protein powder, you can replace it with 2 tbsp spelt flour.
Dates: are essential to make this healthy date caramel. The caramel not only sweetens the oatmeal but also serves as a nice little topping once the oatmeal is done baking.
Almond milk: I personally like using cashew or almond milk, but any kind of plant milk will work well.
Lemon juice: is essential to making sure this batter gets fluffy and silky smooth. However, any type of acid will work, like apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.

Can I Substitute…

Oat flour: substitute this with any type of flour you like, such as spelt, all-purpose or whole wheat flour. Keep in mind that alternative flours like almond and coconut will not work with this recipe.
Protein powder: You can replace it with 3 tbsp spelt flour. However, any protein powder brand will work!
Almond milk: Any kind of plant milk will work well.
Lemon juice: if you’re using a super tangy yogurt you can omit the lemon juice, otherwise substitute with apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.

FAQ’s for Caramel Baked Oats

Why do baked oats take so long to cook? Most often this is because you’ve used too much liquid – so too much water or plant milk. Different types of flours or even the humidity can determine if the baked oats batter is too runny. Ideally, you want a thick pancake batter consistency in order for the baked oats to cook in less than 20 minutes.
Are baked oats healthy? I’ve outlined in detail why these baked oats are so healthy. However, since baked oats have oatmeal, cashew milk, date syrup and other whole-foods ingredients, these all combine to make this breakfast packed with protein, whole grains and tons of nutrients. See below for even more details on why baked oats are so healthy!
Can baked oats be reheated? You can definitely reheat these baked oats. Simply pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes, covered with foil. Or reheat them in the oven at 350° for 15 minutes covered with foil. Make sure to cover the top of the oats with foil otherwise the top will burn. Also, as a side note, since baked oats are so easy to reheat you can easily make these at night time and then reheat them in the morning for a quick and decadent breakfast!