Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Snack Cake
This easy recipe is perfect for breakfast, snacks, and even pre-bedtime treats! It’s full of sweet pumpkin flavor, cozy spices, and hearty oats. It’s a pumpkin lover's dream! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (150g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (244g) pumpkin purée, room temperature (not pumpkin pie mix!)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 6 tbsp (90mL) pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Add in Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps of yogurt remain. Stir in the maple syrup. Alternate between adding the oat mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the oat mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the oat mixture in 3 equal parts.)
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 25-28 minutes or until the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing and serving.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That's the one I own and love!) Too much of either will dry out your cake and give it a dry and/or crumbly texture — especially the oats! They act like little sponges and soak up moisture from your cake batter.
INSTANT OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are also known as "quick cooking" or "one-minute" oats. (They are not the ones that come in individual packets with flavors like "apple cinnamon" and "maple brown sugar!") Instant oats only include one ingredient: oats! You can find them in canisters right next to the old-fashioned rolled oats at the grocery store.
In a pinch, to make your own DIY version, add the same amount of old-fashioned rolled oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times. (You’ll also use instant oats in all of these cookie recipes of mine, too!)
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the regular whole wheat flour.
SPICES ALTERNATIVE: If you prefer, 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: For the gluten free flour, I recommend the following blend: ¾ cup (90g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.
{gluten free, clean eating, low fat}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.