Happy Sunday and happy February!! Today’s recipe is a sweet treat inspired breakfast that is one of my absolute favorites to make or prep ahead: cinnamon roll baked oats. As you may have guessed, this recipe is a play on arguably one of the best breakfast pastries—cinnamon rolls. We’re taking the same spice from the rolls and turning it into a protein and fiber-loaded breakfast you’ll be looking forward to each morning. Bonus points for baked oats: there’s really just about 10 minutes of active prep time to get them in the oven and they’re incredibly freezer-friendly. Best practices for freezing and reheating your baked oats and how to make this recipe your own if you prefer a bowl of oatmeal or overnight oats are included in today’s post!
Oats are truly a blank canvas, which makes them perfect as the foundation for a wholesome breakfast. On their own, they provide 4 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving, which is honestly a really great starting point for a fulfilling breakfast. Baking them with a variety of sweeteners, fruits, and spices helps create seasonal variations of the same breakfast. Having the same type of meal with easily swappable variations is one of my favorite energy-saving meal prep tips!
Today’s recipe is straight from week 1 of the February Meal Prep Plan, which just dropped for the entire month!! For the rest of the recipes to prep and store today, weekly grocery lists, prep day plans, and monthly calendar, upgrade to paid.
cinnamon roll baked oats
gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian
serves 6 | prep time: 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes cooling time | bake time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
neutral oil spray
2 large eggs
2 cups milk of choice (like almond milk, oat milk, or whole milk)
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the yogurt topping
2 cups low-fat or whole milk Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a 9x 9 baking dish with neutral oil spray.
Prepare the baked oats: Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk, maple syrup, and vanilla, and mix to combine.
Fold in the oats, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Smooth out the top and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the yogurt topping: In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, maple syrup, and cinnamon until combined.
Cool the oats in the baking dish for 10 minutes then slice into 6 rectangles.
When you’re ready to serve, top with the yogurt topping. For meal prep, store the baked oats and yogurt topping separately.
Store it: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Refrigerate the yogurt topping for up to 1 week. You can also use a storage bag to refrigerate or freeze.
Reheat it: From the refrigerator, microwave the baked oats until warm, about 90 seconds. For a little extra crisp, pop the oats in the air fryer at 350ºF for 3 to 5 minutes. Or return to a 350ºF oven on a small sheet pan until warm, about 5 minutes. From frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then follow microwave or oven instructions. Top with the yogurt topping after reheating.
recipe notes:
Dairy-free: Use a dairy-free yogurt for the topping.
Protein powder: My go-to vanilla protein powder is from Clean Simple Eats. If you are not using a vanilla flavored protein powder, add an additional 3 tablespoons of maple syrup for sweetness. If omitting, add 1/4 cup almond flour or 1:1 gluten-free or regular all purpose flour in addition to the maple syrup.
Vegan: To keep your baked oats vegan-friendly, use a pea protein, brown rice protein, soy protein, or hemp protein. This recipe was tested with whey-based protein. The type of protein powder used may impact the texture slightly.
Make it a bowl: You can easily turn this recipe into a warm bowl of regular oatmeal or overnight oats! For warm oats: Make individual portions. Start by cooking the oats then incorporate the mix-ins, omitting the baking soda. For overnight oats: Combine all ingredients, omitting the the baking soda, in a large bowl and divide between four 12-ounce jars or containers with lids.
Make it dessert: Baked oats toe the line between breakfast and dessert. If you want to make a batch for a little sweet treat, you can enjoy as is, or make a quick icing with powdered sugar, unsweetened milk of choice (almond, oat, soy, cow’s all work!), and a splash of vanilla extract. Drizzle it on top with a spoon or spread with a spatula & enjoy :)
Raspberry Swirl Baked Oats use a homemade raspberry chia seed jelly to add a bit of moisture and weave that tangy berry flavor throughout. Follow the recipe for homemade jam or swap it out for your favorite jarred!
Hidden Veggie Oat Bars (pg. 70) are a very similar option to baked oats with a bit of hidden veg thrown in! Still just as easy to make and take on the go. Also very freezer-friendly. This recipe is from the Breakfast Blueprint chapter of Don’t Think About Dinner.
Carrot Cake Baked Oats are a spring-forward recipe if you’re looking for a healthier twist on a carrot cake. This variation is chock-full of goodness and also uses (not so hidden) veggies to add bulk and nutrients.
what I’m prepping
Orange Cream Chia Pudding: Need my splash of winter citrus!! This chia pudding has a much needed refreshing bite (+ loads of fiber) for breakfast. It’s the other breakfast included in week 1 of the February Meal Prep Plan.
High Protein Pasta with Ground Chicken: A new lunch recipe from this month’s prep plan! I love a simple dinner that doesn’t compromise on rich flavor and protein. Try it out if you have a picky eater in the house—it’s a crowd pleaser.
what I’m loving
One Degree Oats: The oats I used in today’s recipe and always stock up on when it’s on sale (they also have a huge bag at Costco)! I also use them in my overnight oats.
Square baking dish: My tried and true baking dish also used in today’s recipe. It’s 9x9 and made from non-stick ceramic making clean up easy! Sometimes I don’t even spray it or use parchment and it still works.
what I’m recommending
Skylight calendar: I gifted my sister a Skylight for Christmas and I’ve been itching to get my own, I finally did this week! It’s a digital planner, calendar, and task tracker that’s the ultimate life-organizer. My sister uses hers for planning meals and uploads DTAD recipes right to her cal 🫶🏻
Meal prep sticky notes: If you live by a pen-and-paper calendar try out this sticky note tip from Lorraine to keep you on top of what you have prepped and ready to eat throughout the week. Meals are not tied to a specific day giving you flexibility to move things around!
Let me know what you’re trying this week and send your meal prep pics in our chat! If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, now is a great day to order my cookbook Don’t Think About Dinner!
Made this today! I baked it in 1/2 cup Souper Cubes and it turned out great! Love this recipe as there are nut allergies in family and can see how this could be adapted for additional flavors! Will definitely go into meal prep rotation! Ty
This is delicious!! Going on weekly breakfast rotation around here. I normally don’t love how protein powder makes things taste a little chalky, but it wasn’t like that at all here! My new favorite way to sneak in protein powder. Thank you so much!