Soft, doughy, and loaded with warming spices, this flavourful vanilla chai breakfast bake is pure comfort on those cooler autumn days. Naturally vegan and easily made gluten-free and/or nut-free, it makes a healthy and delicious breakfast that everyone can enjoy.
We need to talk.
… Is that not one of the worst phrases to hear from someone? It’s like… if you’re going to hit me with something just lay it on me. Don’t prolong my suffering by forcing me to go through an extensive mental inventory of all the things I could have possibly done to prompt a “talk.”
Is this about that time I took the last pizza slice without asking? Or when I borrowed your toothbrush without asking? Ohhh I know what this is. This is about that time I…. nope. I’m taking that one to the grave.
But we do need to talk. About spices.
Pumpkin spice has taken over the world, and while that’s all fine and good, I do have one minor gripe with the fall phenomenon…
See, pumpkin takes all the glory. Everyone is all “oooooo pumpkin this” and “oooooo pumpkin that,” when really… pumpkin isn’t all that impressive without spice at its back.
I mean, have you ever tried to eat pumpkin straight out of the can? Some brands aren’t terrible, but others make me want to shrivel up into a little ball of “oh.my.god.what.is.THAT” and die. A slight exaggeration, maybe, but you get what I’m saying. Pumpkin would crash and burn without spice as its wingman… which is why we’re going to let spice steal a little bit of the spotlight today and do pumpkin spice without the pumpkin.
In other words — chai. We’re doing chai.
Confession: I actually had to google what kind of spices were in chai, despite plenty of previous encounters with chai-flavoured things.
So if you’re in that same boat and have no idea what makes your chai teas or chai tea lattes taste so fabulous, it’s a comforting combination of: cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. And sometimes peppercorn. And star anise. Even mace, fennel, or all spice. Honestly… there are a lot of variations, but it’s more or less a combination of everyone’s favourite spices. Unless you’re someone who gets all weak in the knees over something like cayenne or turmeric, in which case… no judgment.
SO! Spices. Did you know they’re not just a pretty face? No sir (or ma’am). In addition to their knock-your-socks-off good looks taste, they boast some pretty impressive health benefits as well.
- Cardamom – helps control cholesterol levels; acts as a mild anti-depressant; helps protect against gastrointestinal disorders; aids in treating and healing infections.
- Ginger – used to treat and alleviate nausea and vomiting; activates digestive juices and promotes proper digestion; helps reduce pain and inflammation; stimulates circulation; boosts immunity.
- Cinnamon – improves sensitivity to insulin; lowers blood sugar levels; helps fight bacterial and fungal infections; may help protect against Alzheimer’s; aids in wound healing.
- Nutmeg – aids in pain relief; reduces bad breath; activates digestive juices and promotes digestion; reduces irritation and inflammation in the skin; helps eliminate toxins.
- Cloves – helps fight bacterial infections; aids in treating gum diseases; preserves bone density; rich in anti-cancer properties; provides relief from inflammation and pain.
Not bad, eh? And if you’re wondering how you can take advantage of all these healing powers yourself, might I suggest whipping up your very own vanilla chai breakfast bake?
It’s been a while since I made a breakfast bake, and I seriously forgot how much I adore these things.
They have a soft and doughy texture that falls somewhere between baked oatmeal and a muffin, with a kind of ooey-gooey-ness that reminds me of a sticky bun… if that makes sense. Basically, the texture rocks my socks off, and I love that these bakes add a nice bit of variety to the oatmeal-for-breakfast rotation, while still keeping things healthy and filling.
As far as ingredients go, there’s definitely a lot of wiggle room in this recipe for you to adapt it to suit your dietary needs. If you need it to be gluten-free? Use gluten-free flour and certified gluten-free oats. If you need it to be nut-free? Use soy or rice milk; or, if you don’t need it to be vegan, use regular cow’s milk.
The only thing I suggest you don’t skimp out on is the spices. I know everyone’s preferences vary when it comes to how spiced their foods are, so I kept things somewhere in the middle as far as flavour factor goes. There’s still plenty of chai goodness in every bite, but it’s not going to punch you in the tastebuds… unless that’s what you’re after, in which case go ahead and add a little bit extra of every spice.
Happy eating!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
Print
Vanilla Chai Breakfast Bake
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 2 Tbsp. oat bran*
- 2 Tbsp. flour of choice**
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
- 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 dried fig, chopped (optional)***
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F, and lightly spray an individual sized 16oz. ramekin with cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl (or in your ramekin), combine oats, oat bran, flour, baking powder, and spices. Add almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla, mixing until well combined.
- Transfer dough to your greased ramekin, adding in the chopped fig, if desired. Bake for 18-20 minutes, depending on desired consistency.
- Remove from oven, top with your favourite toppings, and enjoy!
Notes
* If you don’t have any oat bran on hand, just use an additional 2Tbsp. of oats. ** I usually use an all-purpose or whole wheat, but this recipe works with most flours, including gluten-free and grain-free ones. You might have to add additional milk if using coconut flour, though, or simply reduce it to 1Tbsp. *** This was a last minute addition, and while I loved the chai and fig flavour combination, you can easily replace this with a different dried fruit or leave it out completely.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Looking for more breakfast bake recipes? Try one of these!
Oatmeal Cookie Dough Breakfast Bake
Blueberry Muffin Breakfast Bake
Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bake
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Breakfast Bake
Chunky Monkey Breakfast Bake
I think you know what I’m thinking about right now.
Your pictures are absolutely beautiful. I have been sticking to just cinnamon in my oatmeal but I think I’ve been doing it all wrong- this looks delicious. I also have some oat bran I’ve never used so now I know what to make!
Fresh spices really are amazing little things, and I just adore all their health properties. Bring on the chai.
I must admit I do love eating pumpkin right from the can, the spics make it WORLD better. This baked goodness just SCREAMS fall and warm delicious hugs.
My husband is Indian and so when I started talking about chai tea lattes he kindly informed me that “chai” in Hindi actually means “tea,” so whenever people say chai tea they are actually redundantly saying “tea tea.” Ha 🙂
Spices are my jam! I usually double what other people suggest becasue I just love them so much! These chia flavors, omg yum! I bet this would be perfect on a Saturday morning after a high intensity workout!
Because I also love these spices, I have to share this: I sell cookies at our local farmer’s market one night a week (because it’s more fun than my ‘real’ job) and had my favorite molasses spice cookies for sale a couple weeks ago. This one woman walks by, takes one look at the sign listing the flavors, and comments loudly to her friend “Spice in cookies, ugh, that’s just wrong!” Since she clearly didn’t mind that I heard, I took the opportunity to point out that spices are pretty universal in baking. “Not in cookies!” she insisted. Can you imagine how small her dessert world must be without spices??
That makes me incredibly sad for her 🙁 And molasses spice cookies are AMAZING. I seriously can’t wait for the holidays to roll around so I can start playing around with molasses more.
I love all spices hot and warming but I am loving gram masala at the moment and seem to be eating tons of curry but cinnamon is a winner for breakfast time – I am loving apple sauce porridge and cinnamon with some pecan – autumn in a bowl!!
mmm…chai. I usually only have it in tea latte form, but considering that i love those, i could handle it in a breakfast bake.
As for breakfast, for the last week or so it’s usually been some variation of eggs, toast or oatmeal, fruit and/or yogurt. AKA: hotel continental breakfasts that I’m getting rather sick of.
Is it weird that I’m actually super fond of hotel breakfasts 😆 They’re nowhere near amazing, but always associated with good vacation memories so I guess that might be why.
Great insight about spices! They’re one of the foods I’ve taken for granted given how commonly used they are in Indian cooking. We only grind our cinnamon fresh so you can imagine my dismay when I bought a bottle of cinnamon from the store in London for the sake of convenience- the flavour was just not on!! As much as I love coffee, I have a special place in my heart for chai and combining its flavours with oats? Now that’s just genius!
I tried grinding my own spices for the first time while I was making this recipe, and o.m.g… I’ll never be able to go back. The pre-ground stuff has NOTHING on freshly ground spices. And some brands of cinnamon just taste like straight up sawdust.
We need to talk just needs to be banned from usage. Unless it’s about chai spices and this breakfast bake. Good talking things only 🙂
It’s so true about pumpkin! People go nuts over it, but really it’s the spices. You could probably leave pumpkin out of most recipes and just add the spices and it would barely taste any different lol.
This breakfast looks right up my alley. Dates get all the love in the blog world, but I think dried figs deserve just as much recognition!
So, when you were talking about how pumpkin is nothing without spices, I was thinking of avocados. No one eats them without at least salt and pepper but they’re everywhere. Isn’t it crazy? lol
Also, I’ve had the same unopened box of oat bran for almost a year now. Thanks for giving me a reason to finally use it haha
Confession: I eat avocado without at least salt *insert monkey covering mouth emoji here*. It’s definitely better with a bit of salt, but I don’t mind it without either.
Neither my taste buds nor my stomach can handle spicy foods either! Nothing but pain – and no t fun at all in my mind. This weekend, I had chocolate smoothie bowls for breakfast each morning. YUM!
It’s funny. I used to be able to DRINK hot sauce like it was water. And then I didn’t have it for a really long time, and now I don’t like it, or any spicy food. Every other vegan I know loves sriracha and all that stuff, but I get queezy even thinking about it X-)
I tried sriracha -once- and couldn’t understand what the big deal was and why everyone went so crazy about it. Maybe I’ll have to give it another shot and see if my tastes have changed…
This looks so warm and comforting, especially on cold, grey days! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for sharing, I love to read when people include the health benefits. I love chai. I almost purchased the pumpkin spice chai at Kroger, however I had one pumpkin drink this year and it was horrible. Have a great day
bakingrunner.blogspot.com
It’s a funny coincidence you’d mention the health benefits of spices today. Because I just had an intense conversation about the healing powers of spices and their use in Indian cuisine with my uncle who’s been to India and is very knowledgeable on the topic. I’m a huge fiend of those spices and Yogi chai is pretty much the only tea I drink. #teasnob
Seeing the picture yesterday I guessed dried dates but figs are a great idea, too! The whole bake sounds really delicious and I bet it’d be amazing paired with my favourite Sweet Chili tea.
I don’t actually think I’ve ever tried the Yogi chai tea, but I’ll probably end up picking it up the next time I’m in the store because I haven’t been able to get enough of the chai spice combo lately.
CHAI LOVERS UNITE! <3 I'll trade you…. muffin for bake??
P.S. THAT SPICE SHOT. Holy wow.
You’re right about pumpkin getting all the love this time of year, but this recipe is a good way to change that. I love the addition of the fig!!
I am so curious as to how you grind your own spices, like you showed on Instagram! I want to try!! 🙂
It’s actually super simple! You can do it with a mortar & pestle, a coffee grinder, or a microplane. I just used a cheap coffee grinder and it worked perfectly. Just buy the whole spice from the store and run it through the grinder.
This looks so good! And spices are amazing
So I know your microwave is broke, but have you ever tried microwaving one of your bakes? I’m a little impatient in the AM. 😀
To be completely honest… I’ve never even tried making oatmeal in the microwave 😆 I have no idea how to do that…
This looks amazingly comforting for a drizzly, cool late autumn morning. I do love my pumpkin, but it can be good to mix it up!
Pumpkin chai? 😉
Holy cow, this looks amazing! I love all the spices together, it probably tastes and smells like fall!
On a somewhat Chai note, I had chai yogurt a few weeks ago and forgot how much I really liked that flavor combination.
Wow this looks so good! I’m having the hardest time with your Blog it keeps freezing and won’t let me pin! UGH…… I don’t know if its my computer cause I installed the new version IE 11. Love you posts!
Arlene
Oh no! I’m not sure why that could be, but I’m going to be getting rid of some plugins in the next little while so hopefully that will help?
I got worried when I read, we need to talk. LOL, that really is the worst thing someone can say!
But anyways, I’m obsessed with fall spices and the more places I can get them, the better. This bake sounds amazing and I love how easy it is! Also, that shot of the spices is GORGEUS.
I love vanilla chai. I don’t have all those spices but chai is definitely one of my favorites, especially in tea 😉 I’m going to have to get the spices I don’t have and make this! It just sounds perfect for the chilly mornings we’ve been having.
Definitely! I’ve always been a little blasé about spices, but they really do make a huge difference… especially if you grind your own.
Oh my gosh, yes! I love all spices, including the really spicy ones, but I’ve been loving chai lately. This looks so good and comforting without being too sweet.
First, I love spices. fresh spices are unlike any pre-ground spice. Its kind of like herbs – why use dried herbs when you can use fresh?!
Secnd, chai is one of my all time favorite flavors. It was actually the 1st drink I ever ordered at starbucks and to this day is one of my favorites!
I tried grinding my own spices for the first time while I was making this, and hooooooly snap I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back. They taste amazing.
We need to talk…… ABOUT HOW PERFECT THIS IS. The good kind of talk 🙂 I love love love chai, but I tend to only consume it in drink form. A breakfast bake sounds delicious.
Am thinking it was growing up in Sri Lanka that helped introduce me to spices ( both the tongue searing and flavor enhancing kinds). My mom always cooks with them and makes chai tea with her own from scratch-blend – and so I’ve grown to love those tongue searing and flavor enhancing spices!
Amanda – your chai-vanilla breakfast bake sounds so comforting.
That sounds amazing, Shashi! I’ve only ever had store-bought chai, but I’d love to try my hand at making it myself one day.
I love your blog. I can’t even begin to describe the happy warm feeling I get whenever I read it 🙂 I hope will have the same affect on someone one day 😀
And PS: I’m totally having that for dinner tonight!!! ?
Pps: what’s oat bran? ?
Aww! Well your comments definitely make me smile, Cora. So thank you 🙂 And oat bran is just the outer husk of oats that they remove when processing whole grain oats. It has slightly more fibre and protein than rolled oats, as well as a different texture. Tastes the same, though.
Chai smoothie?
That would be awesome. I’ll start playing around with some different ideas.
Oh this has me written all over it! Your breakfast bakes are my favorite (yes to that “doughy” consistency you’ve been able to achieve… all other bakes I make end up way too dry). And chai is also my favorite! It’s the cardamom. You can’t do true chai without cardamom. Oh and figs! Can’t wait to try!
Hope you like it if you try it, Lilly!
I love that you areback to oatmeal for breakfast. I love adding cinnamon to anything and everything but need to try the chai combo for my oatmeal! Reminds me of my favorite yogi tea actually – kava stress relief – same spices.
I almost picked that one up the last time I was in Whole Foods! I’ll have to grab it the next time I’m down in the States — I haven’t seen it up here.
I’m with you on spices – I can’t handle super spicy stuff and probably my “spicy” recipes need to be adjusted if you love spicy food! But if we’re talking fall spices, totally different story, love them! I need to hop on the breakfast bake train 🙂
I’m a texture freak so having a bake as opposed to stovetop oats makes things a little more interesting. And there are days where I swear I can barely handle mild salsa 😆
Yum! Thanks for including the health benefits of the chai spices! Chai is delicious in the fall, but I had no idea about what cinnamon, cardamom, etc. do for my health. Yay 🙂