Chocolate Baked Oatmeal (With Zucchini)

If you’re a chocolate lover, you’ll love these chocolate baked oats. It’s like having a slice of brownies for breakfast filled with healthy carbs and fats. It’s a great make-ahead breakfast option to satisfy your sweet tooth with a serving of zucchini right in the mix! I love incorporating vegetables into recipes and the zucchini adds the perfect added moisture to this oatmeal bake. It’s mild in flavor and blends in seamlessly!

If you’re looking for other ways to get in a serving of oats in the morning, you’ll love these strawberry banana oatmeal bars, healthy apple oatmeal bars, and sweet strawberry jam crumble bars as well!

What You’ll Need

Here is what you’ll need to make this chocolate baked oatmeal:

• Rolled Oats: Rolled oats are packed with nutritious! Gluten-free rolled oats make this baked oatmeal gluten-free.
• Cocoa Powder: The main ingredient for that chocolatey, brownie flavor. Make sure to use an unsweetened variety.
• Baking Powder: Leavening agent to allow the baked oats to rise.
• Milk: I used whole milk but any type of milk with work here.
• Maple Syrup: The main source of sweetness for this baked oatmeal. Be sure to use pure maple syrup.
• Egg: Serves as a binder to help the baked oatmeal together when baked.
• Peanut Butter: For added healthy fats and flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: For added flavor.
• Zucchini: I like to use the smallest hole on a box grater so that the zucchini blends seamlessly into the baked oats.
• Chocolate Chips: Optional ingredient for a little added sweetness and flavor.

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Ingredient Substitutions & Additions

• Egg: For an egg-free version, substitute the egg with a flax egg by mixing one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water and letting it sit in the fridge for 15 minutes to set and thicken. You may also replace it with 1/4 cup of mashed banana. If you are replacing it with banana, you may want to decrease the amount of maple syrup by 1 tablespoon since the banana provides sweetness as well.
• Peanut butter: The peanut butter may be replaced with any nut butter or seed-based butter. You may also replace it with equal parts cooled melted butter or melted coconut oil.
• Milk: The milk may be replaced with a dairy-free alternative like oat milk.

Step By Step Instructions

STEP 1: To a bowl, add in the milk, egg, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla and whisk until well combined (Images 1 & 2).

STEP 2: To the same bowl, add in the oats, cocoa powder, and baking powder and mix until combined. If some of the cocoa powder is settling to the top, continue mixing until it is well incorporated (Images 3 & 4).

STEP 3: Add in the finely grated zucchini (no need to squeeze out the moisture!) and chocolate chips and mix until it is combined (Images 5 & 6).

STEP 4: Pour this mixture into a 9-inch by 5-inch parchment paper-lined loaf pan. Use a spoon or spatula to mixture the oats evenly into the pan so that no oats are settling to the top. The mixture will seem very liquidy but will firm up during the baking process. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top (Image 7).

STEP 5: Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the top begins to form a brownie-like crust (Image 8). Allow it to cool completely before slicing and serving.