Chocolate and Fig Baked Oats (Vegan Gluten-Free)
These Chocolate and Fig Baked Oats taste like cake, packed with oats, figs and chunks of chocolate. Serve these oats warm or cold with yoghurt, dairy-free milk and more fruit for a delicious vegan, gluten-free and wholesome breakfast.
You only need a few breakfast staples to make these baked oats which literally taste like cake. They are so delicious and naturally sweet, fluffy and tender loaded with fresh juicy figs and warming melting chocolate. These may just become your new favourite make ahead breakfast or brunch to feed a crowd.
Why will I love these baked oats?
If you are new to baked oats, you are in for a treat. These are so much better than the runny “baked” breakfast dishes you see online which are basically porridge or oatmeal… these are like an oaty-cake.
- Cake-y, dense, fluffy yet light and spongey
- Naturally sweet, fruity and richly chocolatey
- Made with wholesome ingredients
- Made in one dish (the same one you bake them in)
- Delicious warm or cold
- Great for meal prep
- A great choice to feed a crowd for brunch
- Naturally vegan and gluten-free and easily nut-free
- High in protein, fibre and wholegrain goodness.
If you already love the sound of these chocolate fig oats, skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.
What ingredients do I need?
I based the recipe for these oats on my favourite Kinder Bueno Baked Oats and we need:
- Ripe banana: or you can use applesauce for a banana-free option. Unlike for banana bread, I am not too picky on the weight of the banana but aim for a medium-sized one, about 100g.
- Thick coconut yoghurt: this is the only yoghurt I use as it’s thick, creamy and made with natural and simple ingredients. I like the natural or the vanilla flavour here and if using another yoghurt, use a thick dairy-free Greek-style one that is creamy.
- Plant-based milk: use your favourite milk for these oats like oat, almond, coconut (from the carton) or soya milk.
- Smooth runny almond butter: the smoother, runnier nut butters mix in more easily and I love the almond flavour with the figs and chocolate. You can swap this for another nut or seed butter like cashew, peanut or sunflower seed or tahini.
- Maple syrup: only a little bit for sweetness. You can try other syrups like agave, date or tapioca or try vegan honey.
- Chia seeds: these thicken the batter and replace the need for eggs that you may find in non-vegan recipes.
- Vanilla essence and cinnamon: for flavour.
- Oats: essential for baked oats. Use any type of oats and make sure they are gluten-free where needed.
- Vegan protein powder: this adds the best cakey texture and a good protein boost per serving. I love the Vanilla Buttercream or the White Chocolate berry Cheesecake proteins from Macromike for these oats. You can save off everything with code AMB-AMY.
- Baking powder: for a rise.
- Dark chocolate: I like to use a bar of chocolate and chop it up into chunks so that the pieces of chocolate are bigger when you dig in. I used the dark chocolate from HU Kitchen which is my favourite (save with code AMY on the UK site or code AMY20 for the US website) or you can use chocolate chips or another dairy-free bar.
- Figs: this recipe calls for fresh figs which is perfect this time of year. Chop up 2 figs for inside the oats and then slice the third fig for decoration on top.
How do I make them?
As these oats come together in one dish they are so easy:
- Mash the banana into the dish: or pour in the applesauce.
- Whisk in all the other wet ingredients: till smooth.
- Add in the dry ingredients: and stir to a thick, cakey mix.
- Fold in the figs and chocolate: and smooth over the top.
- Arrange the fig slices on top with extra chocolate: and brush with figs with some more syrup to make them even stickier.
- Bake for 32 to 35 minutes or until cooked through: they will be golden brown on top, crisping at the edges but slightly softer in the middle.
- Cool for 5 minutes before slicing into these oats: and enjoy warm or cold.
Are they gluten-free and nut-free?
Yes these are naturally gluten-free, just check that your oats do not contain gluten (nor does your yoghurt, milk or chocolate). As for nut-free, swap the almond butter for sunflower seed butter or use tahini and check your milk, yoghurt and chocolate, too.
How long will they keep?
You can make these ahead of time as they will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge in a sealed container or they will freeze for up to 1 month, warped well. Allow to defrost and enjoy cold or warm back up in the oven or microwave.
Can I add other ingredients?
Yes, feel free to swap the fruits and chocolate, try:
- 100g of frozen or fresh berries
- Chop up 1-2 more bananas into the mix with chocolate
- Add 1 chopped apple with 50g crushed pecans
- Add some chopped stoned fruit like plums or nectarines inside
The possibilities are endless.
I love baked oats, what else can I make?
I hope you are going to love these Chocolate and Fig Baked Oats and for more ideas, how about my:
- Kinder Bueno Baked Oats
- White Chocolate Berry Baked Oats
- Vegan Protein Pancakes 3 Ways
- Triple Chocolate Brownie Baked Oats
- Peanut Butter Blueberry Chocolate Chip Courgette Baked Oats
Chocolate and Fig Baked Oats
These Chocolate and Fig Baked Oats taste like cake, packed with oats, figs and chunks of chocolate. Serve these oats warm or cold with yoghurt, dairy-free milk and more fruit for a delicious vegan, gluten-free and wholesome breakfast.
Ingredients
For the Baked Oats:
- 1 ripe banana or 100g applesauce
- 120g coconut yoghurt, or other dairy-free yoghurt
- 120ml plant-based milk
- 2 tbsp smooth, runny almond butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 100g oats
- 40g vegan protein powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Add-ins:
- 60g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 3 fresh figs
To Serve:
- Coconut yoghurt
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and have an 8-inch ovenproof dish ready.
Into the dish, mash the banana till smooth or add the applesauce. Now pour in the yoghurt, milk, almond butter, syrup, chia seeds and vanilla. Whisk till smooth. - Add in the oats, protein powder, baking powder, and cinnamon and stir to a thick mix.
- Chop two of the figs into chunks (about 2-cm in size) and cut the third fig into thin slices.
- Fold in most the chocolate and the two chopped figs to the oats and smooth over the top. Arrange the sliced figs on top and brush these with vegan honey (to prevent them from burning and so they turn really sticky). Sprinkle over the remaining chocolate.
- Bake for 32-35 minutes, till firm to touch and risen.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes before spooning and serving with extra yoghurt and syrup.
- The oats will firm up as they cool and are delicious served cold, too. Store leftovers, once cool, in a sealed container in the fridge for 2-3 days. The baked oats can be frozen as a whole or in portions for up to 1 month, and allow to defrost at room temperature (or you can microwave portions in 20-second intervals till warmed through).
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I look forward to hearing what you think of these Chocolate and Fig Baked Oats so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these, I’d love to see your creations, so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With choccy fig oats of love x
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