A delicious breakfast cake made from whole grains, nuts, and seeds, with no flour whatsoever! Gluten-free with an egg-free option.
Cake for breakfast is usually not a good idea unless it’s Maple Pecan Oatmeal Breakfast Cake – then it’s a great idea! This cake has “healthy breakfast” written all over it, balancing carbohydrates from whole grains with protein and some healthy fats. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and has only 7 grams of sugar per serving.
A healthy breakfast is one that’s high in fiber and nutrients, but also one that will keep you full and satisfied until lunch. There’s nothing worse than eating a breakfast that leaves you starving by 10 a.m. Your stomach growls while you watch the clock, anxiously waiting for the lunch hour, and when it finally arrives you’re so hungry you could eat a horse! The key to avoiding this type of scenario is to choose your breakfast foods wisely. Remember the expression “strive for five”. This means, make sure your breakfast includes at least 5 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per serving. Maple Pecan Oatmeal Breakfast Cake fits the bill – with 7 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein, it will provide fuel for your busy morning and easily carry you through until lunch.
Maple Pecan Oatmeal Breakfast Cake is gluten-free and can be made egg-free as well if desired. Simply replace the eggs called for in the recipe with a flax egg replacer (directions are on the printed recipe below). A flax egg replacer works beautifully in this cake. Keep in mind that Maple Pecan Oatmeal Breakfast Cake contains no flour whatsoever, not even gluten-free flour. As a result, the batter is very loose and liquidy, but the chia seeds become hydrated, and expand, when the cake is baked, thereby giving it firmness and structure. Such is the magic of chia seeds!
Maple Pecan Oatmeal Breakfast Cake is super nutritious but you’ll also love its earthy quality and rustic texture. A piece sliced through the center and toasted, with a pad of melted butter on top, makes a heavenly breakfast.
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil, melted
- 3 cups (10 ounces) gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 2 eggs or flax egg replacer (see notes)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1¼ cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- ¼ cup/1 ounce pecans, finely chopped
- ½ cup/2 ounces pecans halves
- 9 dried cranberries (about 2 teaspoons)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and brush and 8-inch x 8-inch non-stick cake pan with melted coconut oil.
- Thoroughly whisk together the oats, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and chia seeds in a medium bowl.
- Add the eggs, maple syrup, butter, almond milk, and chopped pecans . Mix until well combined. (Batter may be liquidy- that's o.k.)
- Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Decoratively arrange pecan halves and dried cranberries on top of the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven.
Adapted from www.thekitchn.com – Baked Oatmeal Cups

i love a good breakfast oatmeal bake, especially during busy weeks. Sounds so delish!
Thanks Tara!
Love this! It sounds so delicious and perfect for fall!
Thanks Lauren!
I dont have chia seeds. Can i still make this?
Hmmm, the chia is what gives this cake is structure so if you omit it, the texture definitely won’t be the same. No guarantees because I haven’t test it this way, but, you could try using 1/4 cup ground flax meal instead of the chia, however, just make sure if you do this that you use 2 eggs instead of the flax replacer (recipe lists 2 eggs OR flax egg replacer). Good luck! Let me know how it comes out.
The instructions never say where to add the 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans listed in the ingredients so I added them to the batter. The batter wasn’t very liquids either, actually I’d say thick as I had to spread it out evenly in my pan, even though I added a bit more almond milk since my eggs were not as large as usual. It smells good in the oven but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet…..10 more minutes to go.
Hi Cherie – You guessed right – the chopped pecans go in the batter. Thanks for pointing that out! I’ve corrected the recipe card. I hope you enjoy the cake. If you like it please come back and leave a review. Thanks so much for your feedback.