Baked Oats Recipe (TikTok Viral)

Baked oats are blended in the blender and baked in the oven until the top is set and the center is soft (and fudgy). Although it looks and tastes like cake, serves as a healthy dessert or breakfast! It is a TikTok viral recipe… and we made the chocolate version with 2 different fillings!

Baked Oats

These baked oats for one (sometimes called blended oats) are inspired by the famous TikTok recipe with a molten center.

It is made by blending oats with a few other ingredients in the blender and after baking in the oven or the air fryer, it comes out looking like a chocolate lava mug cake.

Unlike our microwave mug cake, it is baked and has a dense texture!

You can prepare it from start to end in less than 30 minutes, making a quick breakfast!

Because of the ingredients we used, this is a healthy baked oats recipe that you can serve with fresh fruit like wild blueberries. But you can easily replace them as you wish!

For sure, it is not your regular oatmeal.

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make these baked oats, you’ll need about 8 ingredients:

 

• Rolled oats: Also known as quick oats, it is the type that works best for this baked oats recipe. But old-fashioned oats would make a suitable substitute! I made mine with certified gluten-free oats, but if you’re not celiac, you can use a regular one.
• Milk: Unsweetened almond milk was my choice. However, regular milk or any other plant-based milk (like coconut milk, soy milk, or oat milk) works fine!
• Pure vanilla extract: It will serve as a flavor booster! You can skip it or use coconut or almond extract instead for example!
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: I used 100% natural unsweetened cocoa powder, but you can use any of what you like! If you prefer to make protein-baked oats, substitute chocolate protein powder for cocoa powder. But add an extra tablespoon of yogurt to the mixture because protein powders tend to dry baked goods).
• Greek yogurt: Because we are making baked oats without bananas, I used yogurt instead (the plain one but you can use a vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt). Please do not use another type as others are not as thick. For a dairy-free version, you may use 2 tablespoon of mashed bananas instead, but decrease the amount of sweetener because bananas are already sweet. If you want, mix in 1 teaspoon of chia seeds after blending the other ingredients as an extra source of protein!
• Sweetener: I used honey but you can use (sugar-free) maple syrup, sugar, brown sugar, powdered Swerve, or any other sugar substitute.
• Baking powder: Our recipe is egg-free! Baking powder will be the leavening agent here!
• Filling: There are several options to choose from such as Nutella, creamy peanut butter or any nut butter, chopped chocolate (preferably dark or bittersweet), or prepared protein chocolate pudding. It must be something that melts well while baking. If using Nutella or almond butter, I recommend mixing with a splash of milk before spooning into the center of the unbaked oats batter. It will make the center fudgier but it is optional!
• Topping: Although optional, you can use mint, cinnamon, peanut butter, or chocolate chips for topping the oats. For a healthy dessert or breakfast, use either dark or bittersweet chocolate chips!

How to make baked oats

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Grease a 10 to 12-oz ramekin or oven-safe bowl with no-stick cooking spray and reserve.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender, blend the rolled oats, milk, vanilla, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt, and honey until almost smooth. Then mix in the baking powder by using a small silicone spatula or whisk! Make sure there are no lumps!
3. Pour ⅔ of the oat mixture into the greased ramekin. Place the Nutella, peanut butter, or chopped chocolate in the center. Then cover the filling with the remaining mixture.
4. Bake in the middle rack for about 18-22 minutes or until baked oats are set. It will rise like a cake! The center will be soft because of the melted filling. Let cool for at least 2-3 minutes and enjoy while is still warm. You can serve it with fresh berries if you want!

WATCH OUR QUICK VIDEO FOR THE STEP-BY-STEP!

Tips for making this baked oats recipe

1. Do NOT blend baking powder: Make sure to mix or whisk the baking powder at the very end by hand after blending the other ingredients. Because we used rolled oats, the baked oats will already be dense and chewy. If blending the baking powder, you take the risk of over-mixing. This may cause it to lose a bit of its risen power and the baked oats can become chewer!
2. Use a food processor or high-speed blender to blend the ingredients: Except for the baking powder, you want to blend the ingredients well for the baked oats to have a cake-like texture. Moreover, the difference between apple baked oatmeal and baked oats is all in the texture. While the first uses the oats whole and has more of a sweet bar texture, the second blends the oats, resulting in a cake-like texture.
3. Choose for the filling something that can easily melt under heat: Nutella, caramel, nut butter, pudding, and chocolate, among others are some of the best choices. For making a runnier or softer center, make sure to mix either the peanut butter of Nutella with a touch of milk or yogurt.
4. Double or triple the recipe: Most baked oats recipe is for one, just like a mug cake. However, you can double or triple this easy recipe by throwing everything together in a blender and then dividing it into multiple ramekins. You can also transfer it to a cake pan or loaf pan if you prefer.
5. Grease the ramekin: Because we’re not using any oil or butter in this baked oats recipe, the cooking spray will help the batter not stick to the ramekin when baking.
6. Cook in the microwave: If you are in a hurry, you can cook it in the microwave for 1 ½ to 2 minutes, depending on your microwave power. But no matter what, use a microwave-safe bowl that it’s twice the size of the oatmeal batter since it will rise more in the microwave than if baked in the oven. Otherwise, it will spill all over.

Frequent Asked Questions

How can I make these baked oats vegan?

Simply use plant-based milk, mashed bananas instead of Greek yogurt, maple syrup or coconut sugar as the sweetener and vegan chocolate for the filling and topping. In recipes that ask for an egg, use flax egg instead! 

Can I use steel-cut oats for the recipe?

No! Steel-cut oats are tough and won’t blend well enough to give you the cake-like texture. The best oats for this recipe are rolled oats/old-fashioned oats or oat flour, made from those types of oats.

What size bowl or pan is best for these chocolate baked oats?

A 10 to 12-oz ramekin is enough for the content of our baked oats recipe. But if you are cooking it in the microwave, make sure to use a ramekin or microwave-safe bowl that is twice the size.

Can I make this in a muffin tin or can pan?

Yes, it is one of those oat recipes that you can make in a muffin pan. However, our recipe will yield about 3 muffins and will have to adjust the bake time.

You can use a cake pan (or casserole dish) instead, but depending on the size of the can pan you’ll have to scale up this recipe.

Our batter yields about 9 to 10 fl. oz. If you use an 8-inch cake pan for example which holds about 6 cups, you will have to triple or quadruple our recipe.

Of course, the baking time won’t be the same. It depends on the depth of the baking pan and batter, but make sure to start to check for doneness after 20 minutes.

Storage 

Store baked oats covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or up to 4 days in the fridge.

Freeze after baking (and cooling) for up to one month.

Thaw in the fridge overnight and heat in the microwave for 20-40 seconds, or until the baked oats are hot and the center is soft again.

More recipes with oats to try

• Protein overnight oats
• Blueberry oatmeal
• Oat rolls
• Gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
• Nutella cookies
• Breakfast parfait 
• Indian oats poha upma

 

If you tried this healthy baked oats recipe, please don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below!

PIN AND ENJOY!