These vegan, gluten-free carrot cake oatmeal breakfast bars are like baked oatmeal in handheld form. They’re sweetened naturally with bananas and dates, and have entirely whole foods ingredients like oats, carrots, walnuts, and chia.
Carrot cake for breakfast! You’re not dreaming. Carrot cake is just one of those classic desserts that is beloved by so many. It’s my dad’s favourite dessert, so as you can imagine, we have enjoyed many carrot cakes in our house over the years. It took me awhile to warm up to it; I’ve always been more of a chocolate gal, and I’ve struggled to overcome the trauma I suffered as a little girl when my mom would bake shredded carrots into chocolate cupcakes to get me to eat my veggies. But in the past year or so, I’ve gained a real appreciation for carrot cake. I wanted to find a reason to eat it for breakfast without the empty calories or sugar buzz, so that is why I created these healthy carrot cake breakfast bars. 🙂
I will admit that these carrot cake breakfast bars are so called for their spice profile and their carrot, coconut, and walnut content more than for their texture. The texture of these bars is more like a sliceable baked oatmeal, because our goal at breakfast is to nourish our bodies with more than just sugar. 😉 But these bars have become a new favourite of mine. And with Easter just a few weeks away, it feels like the right time to share the recipe with you today.
These breakfast bars are inspired by the Oatmeal Almond Banana Breakfast Bars that I shared a few weeks ago. The recipe is very similar, only I’ve added carrots and coconut, and swapped the almonds with walnuts. They are very simple to whip up, as all that you need to do is throw all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend away. Then, you scoop the batter into a prepared baking dish and bake for 40 minutes! The bake time is longer on these than on the oatmeal almond banana breakfast bars due to the carrot content. They moisten and add volume to the batter, which is why these ones take much longer to bake.
Once you’ve allowed them to cool, slice them into nine squares and top with your favourite nut or seed butter and jam, honey, or a drizzle of maple syrup. Or mix together some coconut yogurt or Greek yogurt and honey or maple syrup for a simple 2-ingredient frosting. (This is entirely optional, of course, but definitely recommended!)
the details
These bars require just a handful of ingredients. If you have a well-stocked whole foods pantry, you probably have them on hand already: Carrots, rolled oats, walnuts, dates, coconut oil, ripe bananas, chia seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sea salt, vanilla extract, shredded coconut, and plant-based milk.
They key to these carrot cake bars, and what distinguishes them from many carrot cake recipes, is that you are going to pulse the carrots into little carrot flakes/crumbs right in your food processor instead of grating them. This leads to a much improved texture and a better bake. (Thanks to the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook for this tip!)
So, after you have pulsed the carrots into little pieces, empty out the food processor and give it a rinse. Dry it out and then add two cups of the oats to the food processor and process into a coarse flour. Next, add the walnuts and process until ground as well. Add the dates, bananas, coconut oil, chia, spices, salt, vanilla, and milk to the food processor and process until fairly smooth. Finally, pulse in the flaked carrots, the remaining ½ cup of rolled oats and the shredded coconut.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper and scoop the dough into it. Using wet hands or a spatula, smooth the dough out in an even layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes, remove from the oven, and let cool before slicing.
These bars are really lovely and quite honestly one of my favourite breakfasts. But remember, they are not meant to be like carrot cake in texture! I would say that they are more like a portable baked oatmeal. Dense, chewy, and delicious. They’re also packed with healthy fat, fibre, and a reasonable amount of protein (especially if you enjoy with some nut butter or Greek yogurt (if not vegan) and berries sprinkled with hemp) to hold you over for a few hours. And they taste great with a latte in the morning!
Looking for more healthy breakfast and snack bars and cookies?
Well, you might also like these ones!
- Oatmeal Banana Almond Breakfast Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
- Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Power Cookies
- Vegan Tahini Banana Chai Oatmeal Bars
Finally, I hope that you love these carrot cake oatmeal breakfast bars! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them: Leave a comment or rating below the post, and share a photo on Instagram (just tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen to make sure that I can see it). I really love hearing from you!
Enjoy.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Bars (V + GF)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These vegan, gluten-free carrot cake oatmeal breakfast bars are like baked oatmeal in handheld form. They’re sweetened naturally with bananas and dates, and have entirely whole foods ingredients like oats, carrots, walnuts, and chia.
Ingredients
- 2 medium peeled carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats, divided
- ½ cup raw walnut halves
- ½ cup pitted Medjool dates (soft for best results)
- 2 tablespoons softened coconut oil
- 2 large over-ripe bananas, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Place the peeled roughly chopped carrots in a food processor and pulse several times until crumbs form. You should have about 1 cup. Rinse and dry the food processor.
- Place 2 cups of the oats in the food processor and grind into a coarse flour. Next, add the walnuts and process until ground.
- Add the dates, coconut oil, bananas, chia, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sea salt, vanilla, and milk. Process until mostly smooth; some texture is okay.
- Pulse in the carrots, the remaining ½ cup of oats and the coconut.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 8×8-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper. (There should be overhang so that you can lift the bar out of the pan afterwards.)
- Scoop the dough out of the food processor into the prepared pan. Using wet hands or a spatula, spread the dough out in an even layer and smooth the top as much as you can.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. (I baked mine for 40, but my oven runs cooler than some.)
- Let cool in the pan before lifting out and slicing into 9 squares. Spread with toppings of choice and enjoy!
- You can store leftover bars in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You could probably freeze them for longer term storage as well.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Amara says
I made this for my family the other day and everyone loved them! I had to omit the walnuts because my daughter is allergic, and they still turned out great!
Allison says
Hi Amara, that’s wonderful to hear! Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
Danielle Harper says
So glad you posted this. My son has treenut allergies and I was just coming to ask if it was ok to omit the nuts?
Anne Marie Gregory says
Can this be made without the chia seeds?
Allison says
Hi Anne Marie, the chia seeds help to bind the bars. You can try using ground flax seeds or an egg (if not vegan) instead. I hope you enjoy these bars!
Nancy says
What is the topping?
Allison says
Hi Nancy, I just spread some peanut butter on mine! You could also try a healthier cream cheese/Greek yogurt icing like this one (if you eat dairy, that is): https://www.hummusapien.com/healthy-cream-cheese-frosting/
Enjoy!
John Eric says
Fabulous!
Allison says
Glad you enjoyed these!
Christine says
Any suggestions on how to know when it’s done? I’m using a metal pan instead of glass. Thanks!
Allison says
Hi Christine, if it is firm on top and lightly browned, it should be done! Hope this helps!
Janice says
Perfect way to start my day. Very energizing and tasty too.
Allison says
Thank you!
Emil says
So tasty and healthy!
Allison says
Hi Emil, glad to hear that you enjoyed these bars! Thanks for leaving a comment!
Jordyn says
I’ve made these several times and they are just perfect for meal prep, meals on the go, travel, camping etc. I love to get fancy with the spices and throw in a little extra here and there. I have also used formerly frozen bananas and blitzed them with the liquids in the blender and it still turns out beautifully.
Allison says
Hi Jordyn! I am thrilled to hear how much you enjoy these bars! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. It means a lot! Have a great weekend. ?
Samantha says
Very satisfying and wholesome too.
David says
Easy to make, totally nutritious and very tasty. A great way to start my day!
Sue says
Super delicious. Thanks Allison
Allison says
Hi Sue, thank you so much! I appreciate you! ?? Glad you enjoyed these bars.
Kate says
I think I may have slightly underbaked mine orrr used a bit too much date just because they’re a smidge tacky but my toddler downed these. I cut them into 16 portions and had to leave out the walnuts due to daycare rules. Do you think you could sub 1/2 cup applesauce for a banana by chance?
Thanks for the recipe!
Allison says
Hi Kate! Happy to hear that you and your toddler enjoyed these. 🙂 I think you could definitely substitute some applesauce in these- great idea!
Denise says
What is the topping on them in the picture for the carrot cake oatmeal breakfast bars ???
Allison says
Hi Denise, I am so sorry for the very late reply. It is just peanut butter!
Merr says
This recipe is awesome! Got my very picky Three-year-old to eat carrots! How healthy this is and how simple. Thank you for the great recipe!