Remember that beautiful lemon poppy seed baked oatmeal? The one that we all went absolutely nuts for? It has a oatmeal bake twin sister filled with more citrus flavors you know and love.
Let me reintroduce my orange baked oatmeal that literally tastes like an orange creamsicle.
I took the flavors from my orange creamsicle smoothie, combined them with the delicious, cake-like consistency of the lemon poppy seed baked oatmeal and created a new breakfast & brunch recipe that’s going to knock your socks off.
Top this orange creamsicle baked oatmeal with a luscious orange yogurt drizzle and have yourself a damn good morning any day of the week. Options to add chocolate chips, cranberries, walnuts or even blueberries are in the notes section of the recipe. If you make it be sure to leave a comment and let me know how you like it!
Everything you’ll need to make orange baked oatmeal
This beautiful orange oatmeal bake is truly the perfect way to clean out your fridge and pantry. You’re going to love the mix of sweet and citrus flavors bursting in every bite! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Eggs: you’ll need two eggs to help the oatmeal bake set properly. I have not tested this recipe with flax eggs, but leave a comment if you do.
- Sweetener: this orange baked oatmeal is naturally sweetened with a little pure maple syrup.
- Extracts: I also added both vanilla extract and almond extract to this orange oatmeal bake and they’re the key to making it taste like an orange creamsicle!
- Oranges: we’re using fresh orange juice and zest for that true citrus flavor in this baked oatmeal.
- Moisture: say goodbye to dry oatmeal bakes! You’ll need just a little butter or coconut oil for moisture, plus any milk you’d like. I love to use vanilla almond milk for extra flavor but any milk will work.
- Oats: you’ll need old fashioned rolled oats in this recipe, gluten free if desired. Do not use steel cut oats!
- Baking staples: you’ll also need some baking powder and salt to make sure this bakes properly.
- For the vanilla orange yogurt drizzle: that gorgeous drizzle is made with greek yogurt, a little powdered sugar, more orange juice & zest plus some vanilla extract for creamy dreamy vanilla orange flavor.
Take this orange oatmeal bake to the next level
While the orange baked oatmeal is incredibly delicious and bursting with flavor, here are some fun mix ins and flavor add-ins you might also love:
- Add a little chocolate. Hello, orange chocolate magic. If you’ve tried my paleo orange-kissed loaf with chocolate drizzle, you’ll love this version. Stir in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and enjoy! I love mini chocolate chips!
- Boost the nutrients. Feel free to add 1-2 tablespoons of chia seeds to the batter for a boost of healthy fats and omega-3s. Plus who doesn’t love a crunch. Poppyseeds would also be delicious!
- Try a holiday twist. Fold in fresh, frozen or dried cranberries, walnuts, cinnamon & nutmeg for a fun twist around Christmas! Looking for a Thanksgiving brunch option? Swirl in some homemade cranberry sauce. YUM.
- Celebrate summer flavors. Add in a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries and enjoy this orange baked oatmeal all summer long.
How to make it gluten free, dairy free & vegan
- To make it dairy free: simply use coconut oil or vegan butter, dairy free milk and a dairy free yogurt in the topping.
- To make it gluten free: be sure to use certified gluten free rolled oats.
- To make it vegan: I think flax eggs or chia eggs will work well in this orange oatmeal bake, but please note that I have not tested it to be sure. If you try it, you’ll also need to make the above dairy free swaps to keep it vegan.
Can I use steel cut or quick oats?
I would not recommend using steel cut oats in this recipe as the texture will be much different. Rolled oats keep the orange baked oatmeal light and fluffy, but I think quick oats would work okay. You may need to use a bit more if you’re trying this recipe with quick oats.
Enjoy baked oatmeal hot or cold
That’s right, baked oatmeal is actually delicious both hot and cold! Feel free to heat up slices during the week or enjoy it straight from the fridge just like overnight oats.
How to make orange baked oatmeal cups
Looking for a portable breakfast option?
- Add muffin liners to a muffin tin and spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Divide the orange oatmeal bake batter into the muffin tin — you should get around 10-12 oatmeal cups.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the oatmeal cups are set and a little golden brown. Feel free to drizzle each cup with the orange yogurt topping and enjoy!
Storing tips
- To store: be sure the orange oatmeal bake has completely cooled, and then cover the pan with tinfoil before transferring it to the refrigerator. It will stay good covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You can also store individual slices in airtight containers for ease.
- To reheat: you can reheat individual slices in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Freezer-friendly orange baked oatmeal
Yes, this oatmeal bake is easy to prep ahead of time and freezer for later!
- To freeze: once the oatmeal bake has completely cooled, cut it into 6 squares/slices and wrap each square in plastic wrap and tinfoil. You can also freeze the entire orange baked oatmeal for later by wrapping it well and placing it in the freezer.
- To reheat: when you’re ready to eat it, place the unwrapped frozen square of baked oatmeal on a microwave safe dish and microwave it at 30 second intervals for 1-2 minutes. To reheat the entire baked oatmeal, simply reheat it in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F while it’s covered with tinfoil.
Recommended tools
- Citrus zester
- Citrus juicer
- Mixing bowls
- 9×9 inch baking pan (you can also use an 11×7 inch baking pan that’s pictured)
Check out all of our favorite kitchen essentials here.
More oatmeal recipes you’ll love
- Chunky Monkey Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Lemon Poppy Seed Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Vanilla Brown Butter Pear Baked Oatmeal
- Almond Butter Peach Blueberry Oatmeal Cups
- Almond Butter, Strawberry & Banana Overnight Oats
Get all of our delicious oat and oatmeal recipes here!
I hope you love this incredible orange creamsicle baked oatmeal recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Orange Creamsicle Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup (104g) pure maple syrup
- Zest from 1 large orange
- ½ cup (100g) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoons melted butter, vegan butter or melted and cooled coconut oil
- 1 ¼ cup (300g) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups (190g) old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Orange yogurt topping:
- 2 tablespoons plain or vanilla greek yogurt (or sub dairy free yogurt or softened cream cheese)
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (or you can sub maple syrup or honey)
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh orange juice, to thin
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 inch pan with oil or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pure maple syrup, orange zest, orange juice, melted butter, almond milk and both vanilla and almond extracts until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients: oats, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 40-55 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown and center is set. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, while you make the orange glaze.
- To make the orange vanilla glaze: in a small bowl, mix together the greek yogurt, powdered sugar, orange juice, zest and vanilla; mix to combine. Add more orange juice if necessary to thin it out so you can drizzle it over the top of the oatmeal. Drizzle over the top of the oatmeal, cut into 6 slices and serve!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on April 27th, 2021, and republished on February 25th, 2024.
This is one of my favorite baked oat recipes. Juicing the orange is a bit of work but so worth it. I added the chia seeds and baked them in muffin tins so they’re easy to grab on the run. I skipped the icing but found they are delicious with Siggis vanilla yogurt.
Absolutely! Love these as oatmeal muffins 🙂
This was so delicious!!! It’s so light and fluffy. I made the glaze but honestly the oatmeal bake itself is so good that the glaze isn’t even necessary. I used the Bob Mills super thick old fashion oats and the texture was just amazing.
Such a great breakfast!
This is so good! I am trying to start eating a little healthier and recipes like this one make it easier! I received your cookbook as a Christmas gift last year and have been a fan of your recipes ever since. Keep them coming!
So happy to hear that! I hope you find tons of new recipes to try here and in the cookbook 🙂
Made this for a galentines day event at my church, everyone was asking for the recipe!!
Also wanted to note, I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 to fill a 9×13 pan and substituted one of the eggs with a flax egg. Turned out great!
Amazing! Glad it was a hit!
Oh my goodness I just made this (as written but no glaze) and it’s incredible!!! I can’t wait to make it again with some of the suggestions from others. 10/5 stars
It’s one of my favorite baked oatmeals, for sure. So glad you tried it!
Great recipe. I subbed yogurt for the milk and added in chocolate chips. For the glaze I did a combo of half cream cheese, half yogurt, honey and orange juice. Served with chopped pecans and it was absolutely delicious!!
Sounds fabulous!
Made this recipe this morning. Absolutely delish! I did add some blueberries a little more nutritional kick!
I travel for my job a lot, so these are easy to freezes and take with me.
This one is great for making ahead! So glad you enjoy it! 🙂
I made this exactly as written and it was DELICIOUS!! This is the best baked oatmeal I have ever made (and I make it a lot)! It will be put in permanent rotation at my house! The only thing I might change is baking it in an 8 x 8 pan as it was really thin. I am a retired personal chef and am headed off on a girls weekend and will serve this for breakfast.
Love that you’re such a fan of this one!
How would you substitute steel cut oats for regular oats?
I would not recommend steel cut oats for my baked oatmeals, unfortunately!
Should the almond milk be 1 1/4 cups (300g), or 200g as stated in the ingredients?
Thank you for the catch! It should be 300g. I’ve updated the recipe!
I got a bag of oranges and I’m really excited to try this baked oatmeal but can it be made ahead of time? I’ve made multiple different baked oatmeal and never tried it that way. Can I put all the ingredients together and refrigerate overnight, then bake in the morning? Would love to save some time
I haven’t tested it but I think it should work – let me know if you give it a try!
Amazing recipe. I served this alongside an egg/sausage bake for guests. They loved it. I also loved it all week long as a not too sweet breakfast on the go. It is a great make ahead breakfast and the flavors were the perfect combination of hearty, creamy, and sweet. I bought your book and desperately need to find time to peruse it to find more amazing recipes!!
Such a great brunch recipe!! Hope you find some delicious recipes to try from the cookbook 🙂
I’m not usually a fan of creamsicle flavored food, but this oatmeal was so stinking good! It was more orange than it was creamy, even with the drizzle on top, and that was perfect for me. I drizzle pieces individually so I can freeze the leftovers. I’ve made other baked oatmeals from ambitious kitchen and they freeze/reheat really well!
I followed the recipe exactly, except we usually substitute one of the eggs for a flax “egg” and it turns out just fine 🙂 this flavor is being added into our oatmeal rotation, I’m so glad I have it a try
Amazing! So glad you gave this one a try, too! Perfect breakfast 🙂
So so delicious! I find baked oatmeal recipes can be hit and miss when it comes to actual flavour, and this is one of my favourites i’ve tried! Such strong flavour, and a perfect filling breakfast. Looking forward to making it again during winter when there are oranges everywhere and i need a warm start 🙂
Amazing! So happy you found this one!
Made your recipe exactly as you suggested. I ate some warm out of the oven and this morning I ate some cold for breakfast. I enjoyed it both ways! This will be a regular in my baking rotation. So, so good. We have orange groves out here in the east valley in AZ. I buy them from local people, zest them, juice them and freeze all of it so I can make recipes like this when oranges are not in season.
Love that! I bet those oranges make this SO delicious 🙂
I preferred this one the next day cold! Monique can you please transform this to an overnight oats recipe?! I think the orange flavor would be delicious.
Ooo that’s a GREAT idea!!
This was so easy to make, and ALL FIVE of my kids loved it!! I will absolutely make this again, and will experiment with the different flavors as well. We have a GF child, so anytime i can make a GF recipe all of the kids love, its a win!
So happy to hear that!
It’s the most delicious baked oatmeal that I’ve ever tried. I didn’t expect much but it turned out really good. I eat it cold as a dessert as well. Thank you for the recipe!
So good! Glad you loved it!
Ate this for breakfast all week long and LOVED how it just bursts with flavor. I did the chia seed add-in and also put walnuts on top. I would love to try it with cranberries next holiday season. Definitely making again!
So good!! Great idea to add cranberries, too!
This was so delicious! I would have never thought to make dreamsicle baked oats but it works so well! Mine baked up perfectly in 40 minutes!
So good! Glad you loved it!
I made this after getting your email and it is easy and perfect for breakfast. The flavour is so tasty! I froze it in squares and just put one in the fridge the night before and warm it in the microwave in the morning.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
I’ve tried many of the AK baked oatmeal and this is my most favorite. The flavors are so good. The glaze with the orange juice adds so much extra flavor. I think I mainly make it with coconut oil. The glaze I use honey instead of powdered sugar and unsweetened dairy free almond milk yogurt. I will eat this cold right out of the refrigerator as I wait for my piece to warm. It’s that good. I also freeze some of the pieces and it’s wonderful warmed up in the microwave. One of my most favorite AK recipes.
I can’t rate it as it hasn’t come out of the oven yet. Just curious….I soaked the oats before I added them. Did I ruin it? It doesn’t seem to be setting up
Hi! I’m not sure what you mean – did you soak the oats in water first? You should just mix the dry ingredients (including the rolled oats) in with the wet ingredients and pour it all into your pan to bake. The oats don’t need to be soaked beforehand!
This was an outstanding recipe. The yogurt topping is a nice touch.
Aw yay! I am so glad you’re enjoying this baked oatmeal, Victoria!
These taste just like a creamsicle! I bake a big batch as cups and freeze and defrost them when needed. A great idea for a snack or even to add on a little treat for breakfast. I made them without the glaze and they are still delicious!
I thought I was no baked oatmeal lover. Tried this recipe though, just because I had some oranges left. This is heaven!
I added an extra egg (we have small chicken so small eggs), chia seeds and chocolate chips. I used just half of the maple syrup and omitted the drizzle as I had nice-looking chocolate dots on top. Then did some yoga while it baked in the oven and after that and the beep of the oven, I was really suprised by the amazing, soft and fluffy stuff with my favorite scent of orange and chocolate. I ate more than I should have! Thank you for turning my idea of baked oats around 🙂
Yess! This makes me so happy to hear! Glad you loved this recipe and it turned out great for you ❤️
This is my new breakfast go to, it turned out amazing!
I have never made baked oatmeal before and now I will be making it every week! This recipe is delicious and my kiddos love it! I added 2 TBSP Chia seeds!!!
Yay! I am so glad you and the family are enjoy this baked oatmeal 🙂
I had oranges I wanted to use up and was a little skeptical of the flavors for the recipe, but WOW this blew me away!!! Can’t wait to make it again with the yogurt orange glaze. Top with shredded coconut for an extra treat. Added chia seeds and some extra oats as the batter was pretty liquid-y to portion into baking cups. Next time I will follow the recipe and use a full baking dish.
Very delicious, we loved the flavors!
This was my first time making an oatmeal bake and now I’m wondering why! I made this with chia eggs, non dairy chocolate chips and added candied oranges on the top and it was divine! Thanks for sharing this fabulous recipe.
Can this be made the evening before and cooked in the morning?