Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

This Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal is like eating dessert for breakfast — we’re channeling all the best flavors from an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie into this nutritious meal! 

Looking for a different flavor of baked oatmeal? Try our Berry-filled Baked Oatmeal next time!

Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

All the flavors you know and love from Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies come through in this nutritious baked oatmeal that the whole family will love — my kiddos can’t get enough of this!

If you’ve never had baked oatmeal, it’s super chewy, soft, rich, and a little custardy. We love super creamy Oatmeal, but baked oatmeal is quite different. This baked breakfast casserole has pools of melted chocolate and an ever-so-slightly crisp topping.

We prefer baked oatmeal to be chewier and softer than super creamy, so you’ll notice this recipe has a bit less milk than most recipes. If you’d like creamier baked oatmeal, serve up squares of this Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal in bowls and drizzle additional milk on top — such a treat!

Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Ingredients

• Milk. Any milk works, but we prefer plant-based milk in this recipe. We use unsweetened almond vanilla milk most often and macadamia nut milk is another favorite.
• Eggs. The eggs bind everything together and give rise to the oatmeal. We use one whole egg and an additional yolk for richness. Save those extra egg whites and add them to this egg wrap for lunch!
• Pure maple syrup. Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup is the sap from a maple tree that has been boiled down to a thicker consistency. It contains just one ingredient and is a fantastic natural sweetener! See “quick tip” below for more info.
• Vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. All these ingredients are big contributors to the flavor of the oatmeal. 

QUICK TIP

Pancake syrup is made with corn syrup and maple extract. Pure maple syrup is quite pricey (a lot more than pancake syrup), because it is so labor-intensive to make (you can read more of the process here) and is a natural ingredient (not made in a factory). We rely on the flavor and stickiness of pure maple syrup for both taste and consistency of this baked oatmeal.

Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Ingredients, Continued

• Melted coconut oil. The oil adds a nice texture and richness. It’s very helpful in keeping this oatmeal from tasting gluey. For firmer oatmeal bars, use melted butter instead.
• Baking powder. This ingredient gives the oatmeal rise; again, it helps to avoid rubbery bars. Make sure your baking powder is fresh before adding it in!
• Miniature chocolate chips. We love using mini chips because they dot every part of the oatmeal with chocolate — no plain bites of oatmeal in this recipe! Use whatever chocolate you like best and, if desired, replace the chocolate chips with coarsely chopped nuts, dried cranberries or cherries, or coarsely chopped fruit.
• Optional: Our favorite way to finish off this baked oatmeal is with a generous sprinkling of turbinado sugar or sparkling sugar. It adds such a delicious crunchy topping!

Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Recipe Tips

• Use old-fashioned (rolled) oats. Avoid quick oats and steel-cut oats, they won’t work the same and will yield inconsistent results.
• Bake soon after assembly. Don’t make the batter ahead of time and let it sit — the oats will absorb the liquid and bake up dry. As soon as everything is mixed together, pop it in the oven!
• Save (and enjoy) leftovers. This recipe is divine the first day it’s made, but leftovers heat up very nicely! Warm individual leftover bars in a bowl in the microwave and add a splash of milk to add additional creaminess if desired.
• Use the right-sized pan. This recipe is for an 8×8-inch pan. Very lightly grease with cooking spray or line with parchment paper for easier serving and clean-up.

Baked Oatmeal FAQs

QUICK TIP

Make this oatmeal your own! If you prefer slightly softer oats, bake for a little less time and serve in bowls topped with a splash of milk or coffee creamer. For firmer oats, bake slightly longer and let stand out of the oven for 5-10 minutes before serving. (The longer these bars cool, the cleaner they cut out).  If you prefer less sweet oats, slightly reduce the maple syrup — you can always add more as a topping on bars once they’ve been baked. For sweeter bars, add maple syrup on top of bars after they’ve been baked!

More breakfast recipes to love:

• Chocolate Chip Pancakes with buttermilk
• Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars with dark chocolate
• Oatmeal Smoothie with cinnamon
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies no baking required
• Dutch Baby with a vanilla syrup

FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content.

Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

4.91 from 10 votes

- Review this recipe

This Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal is like eating dessert for breakfast -- we're channeling all the best flavors from an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie into this nutritious meal! 

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

4.91 from 10 votes

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

This Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal is like eating dessert for breakfast -- we're channeling all the best flavors from an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie into this nutritious meal! 

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Vegetarian

Keyword Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8 servings (1 8x8-inch pan)

Calories 469kcal

Author Chelsea

Cost $5.01

Equipment

• 8x8-inch baking pan

Ingredients

• 1 cup (230g) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk Note 1
• 1/3 cup (105g) pure maple syrup Note 2
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (71g) melted coconut oil (or melted butter -- these are more crumbly with coconut oil and more sturdy with butter)
• 2 cups (215g) old-fashioned oats Note 3
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (or 1/4 teaspoon regular table salt)
• 3/4 cup (130g) miniature chocolate chips
• Optional: 1-1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar or sparkling sugar (or light brown sugar)

Instructions

• PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper or grease with nonstick spray.
• BATTER: Add the milk, egg, egg yolk (discard the whites or save for another recipe), maple syrup (Note 2), vanilla extract, and coconut oil (measure when melted) or melted butter to a large bowl. Use a whisk to mix until smooth. Add in the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and miniature chocolate chips (Note 4). Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
  
• BAKE: Use a spatula to scrape every bit of batter from the bowl into the prepared pan. Using the back of the spatula, smooth in an even layer. If desired, sprinkle coarse sugar, turbinado sugar, or brown sugar on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden on top and the middle is set. (The longer in the oven, the firmer the oatmeal is; remove sooner for softer baked oatmeal.)
  
• ENJOY: Remove and allow to slightly cool. Cut and serve in bowls. If desired, pour a drizzle of milk and maple syrup over the bars -- so good!
  
• STORAGE: Don't make the batter ahead of time -- as soon as it's made up, it needs to bake or it will dry out (oats will absorb the liquid). Leftover baked bars store nicely though! Let cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy leftovers for up to 4 days after being made. Cut out individual portions, add to a bowl, and microwave. Add some creaminess back in with a drizzle of milk, coffee creamer, or extra maple syrup.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Egg whites: Discard or save extra egg whites to use in a different recipe.

Note 2: Maple syrup: Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup contains just one ingredient and is a great natural sweetener! These bars are sweet, so feel free to reduce the maple syrup if you'd like less-sweet bars (you can always drizzle more maple syrup over baked bars if you want them to be sweeter).

Note 3: Oats: Use old-fashioned oats. Quick oats and steel-cut oats won't work properly in this recipe.

Note 4: Chocolate: Again, these bars are sweet with lots of chocolate. If you'd like your oatmeal less sweet (and with less chocolate), reduce it to 1/2 cup. If not using miniature chocolate chips, you'll want to only use 1/2 cup of regular-sized chocolate chips.

Nutriton information does not include the optional sugar topping.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 469kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 338mg | Potassium: 249mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 113IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 3mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.