This chocolate baked oatmeal is the perfect way to enjoy cake for breakfast! Blended oatmeal turns your chocolate oatmeal from creamy to decadent and cake-like. Plus, all you need is 8 ingredients for a gluten-free breakfast - optionally dairy-free, vegan, and sugar-free!
If you're not using oat flour, then process the rolled oats in a food processor into a fine flour. Then, add all of the remaining ingredients and blend again into a smooth mixture.
Feel free to taste the batter at this point and add extra sweetener or cacao powder, etc. For extra chocolatey goodness and a melty center, you could press a square of chocolate into the center of the batter.
Pour the chocolate oatmeal mixture into an oven-safe dish, sprinkle with some crushed hazelnuts (optionally), and bake in the oven for between 20-25 minutes. 20 will yield a softer center while 25 is more "cake-like".
How To Store
I prefer to enjoy this chocolate baked oatmeal fresh and warm from the oven. However, feel free to store any leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze them for between 2-3 months wrapped tightly to avoid freezer burn.
To reheat, allow the chocolate baked oatmeal to thaw in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or oven.
Notes
Optional Add-Ins:
Chocolate: for extra double (or even triple) chocolate flavor, feel free to add chocolate chips or chunks to the chocolate baked oatmeal. I use homemade dark chocolate (which can be left unsweetened or sweetened with sugar or a sugar alternative) and leave it in the freezer for at-leat 30 minutes (this will help it hold its shape slightly when baked if you don't want it completely melted).
Nutella: for a different way of adding extra chocolate flavor, you could add a spoonful (or two) of this homemade Nutella (all natural!) to the center of your batter before baking. Alternatively, drizzle some over the top when serving.
Nut/Seed butter: swirl a little of your nut or seed butter of choice into the batter, over the top of it, or added to the food processor for a
Jam: swirl a spoonful of any jam into the chocolate oatmeal batter for a hint of berry flavor. Strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry jam are all great options. You could also spoon some directly into the center of the batter for a 'surprise' once it's baked.
Raspberries: Add a few berries to the batter, folding them in.
Quick Variations:
Sugar-free: for sugar-free chocolate baked oatmeal you can either use a sugar alternative such as monk fruit sweetener or erythritol or omit sweetener entirely, though I feel like it needs a little.
Gluten-free: make sure to use certified gluten-free oats otherwise this blended oatmeal recipe is already gluten-free.
Vegan: this recipe is actually already vegan as I use dairy-free milk.