Vegan Baked Oats for One (6 Flavors!)

While the flavors and mix-ins you add to baked oats can vary drastically, the base ingredients for baked oatmeal are fairly consistent. The ingredients for the base recipe for single-serve baked oatmeal are written below:

• Fruit / Veggie Puree or Yogurt - When using puree, I usually use mashed, ripe banana or applesauce. You can also use pumpkin puree, but then you may need to add more sweetener. As for yogurt, I love to use non-dairy yogurt. The puree helps to bind everything together just as regular eggs would do.
• Oats - I personally love to use rolled oats whenever I'm making baked oatmeal. They hold their shape well and provide some texture to the oatmeal. If I want a cake-like baked oatmeal, I'll make this single serve protein baked oatmeal which uses oat flour.
• Maple Syrup - Maple syrup is always my sweetener of choice. It's a natural sweetener that adds a nice rich flavor. Any liquid sweetener will work.
• Baking Powder - You'll need a leavening agent to get your oatmeal to rise and get nice and fluffy. Because there are no eggs in these vegan baked oatmeal recipes, I use baking powder instead.
• Salt - Salt always helps to make oatmeal taste better in my opinion. It seems like a unnecessary ingredient, but don't leave it out!
• Non-Dairy Milk - You'll need non-dairy milk to add moisture and help bind everything together. Any kind of non-dairy milk from a carton will work, such as almond milk, soy milk or oat milk. Or you can make your own homemade almond milk!
• Spices - I almost always add in some kind of spice or flavor, such as cinnamon, cocoa powder or vanilla extract.
• Mix-ins - Once you have your basic batter mixed together, you have to add in some mix-ins or toppings! Add in chocolate chips for some decadence; chopped nuts for crunch; dried fruit for chewiness, etc.

See the recipe card for full list of ingredients and instructions.

🔀 Substitutions & Variations

Today I'm sharing 6 different flavors of vegan baked oats, but you don't need to stop there! There are so many different flavor possibilities when it comes to baked oatmeal that you never will run out of options. I'll list out some flavor ideas to start with below:

• Banana Bread - Use mashed banana as the puree.
• Lemon Blueberry - Use non-dairy yogurt as the puree and add in some lemon zest, lemon juice and blueberries.
• Double Chocolate - Mashed banana adds natural sweetness. Then add in cocoa powder and chocolate chips to the batter.
• Apple Pie - Choose apple sauce for your puree, add in lots of cinnamon and add a cheeky streusel topping on top!
• Pumpkin Spice - Choose pumpkin puree as your puree and add in lots of warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves.
• Funfetti/Birthday Cake - Applesauce adds a little sweetness while still being pretty neutral in flavor for the base of birthday cake baked oatmeal. Then simply stir in some spinkles.
• Peanut Butter and Jelly - Add peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter) to the batter and dollop some jelly in the middle of the batter before baking for a sweet, inside treat.
• Snickerdoodle - Add lots of cinnamon to the batter and sprinkle the top of your baked oatmeal with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Coffee Cake - Make a streusel to go in the center of your batter and on top as well!
• Zucchini Bread - Stir some shredded and drained zucchini into your batter. Additionally, add in some warming spices, raisins and chopped walnuts as well!
• Cranberry Orange - Use orange juice instead of non-dairy milk and add in some orange zest for extra flavor. Stir in some fresh cranberries.
• Lemon Poppyseed - Add in some lemon juice and zest to this basic recipe and stir in some poppyseeds right before baking.
• Coconut - Use coconut yogurt and coconut milk as the liquids in the base recipe and stir in some shredded coconut.
• Almond - For you almond lovers, add in some almond extract and slivered almonds!
• Gingerbread - Add lots of warming spices to the base recipe and use molasses instead of maple syrup.

To make a single serving of vegan baked oatmeal, all you really need is a small mixing bowl and a spoon.

1. Ideally, start by whisking or mixing together the wet ingredients, including the puree/yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, baking powder, salt and non-dairy milk.
2. Next stir in the oatmeal and mix-ins.
3. Pour the batter into a greased single-serve ramekin and bake at 350F for about 18-25 minutes or until set.

To be honest, I often forget about my baked oatmeal and bake it for about 30 minutes and it still turns out great! It's just a little more dry. Carefully remove the baked oatmeal once it's ready and top it with your favorite toppings. Dig in!

Best Baking Dish for Single-Serve Baked Oatmeal

When you're making vegan baked oatmeal for one, you'll need to purchase a smaller baking dish. Thankfully there are a few options that should work! I love this 2 cup pyrex dish, but you can also use a 1 cup ramekin (16-18oz). Another great option is to use a Jumbo muffin cup.

Can I Double This Recipe?

Yes! I often double this baked oatmeal recipe to serve two! It's an easy way to meal prep or feed more mouths. If you're making a double batch in one ramekin, you'll just need to increase the baking time to about 40-45 minutes. Alternatively, you can divide the batter between two ramekins and bake them for the normal 18-25 minutes.

Can I Cook Vegan Baked Oats in the Microwave?

Cooking "baked" oatmeal in the microwave is never as good, in my opinion, as when I take the time to bake it in the oven. So yes, you can cook these vegan baked oats in the microwave, but the texture will be a little more gummy versus the lighter, cakey texture you get when bake these oats. If you choose to microwave your oats, you'll probably need to cook them on high for about 2 minutes.