This healthy vegan brownie batter oatmeal is just like having dessert for breakfast and requires no effort but some simple prep the night before! High in protein, gluten free and with a sugar free option- Give your breakfast a sweet start!
Four weeks ago, I was quite skeptical about publishing a post proclaiming that I was about to undertake a reader’s challenge and tackle several eating styles within a there month time span- Paleo, Vegan, Low carb and one meal a day based around protein powder.
While I was confident with the paleo, protein powder and low carb challenges (the latter only being for a week, thank goodness), I’ve been skeptical about the vegan one.
Fellow bloggers who have often posted vegan recipes would be well aware of this, as I often leave comments about how delicious their food looks, and how I’d go vegan for it….with the intentions of eating a steak later. This is all in good humour but on a deeper level, this dietary choice eliminates many of my daily staples-
- Eggs- I’ve been on a huge egg kick lately especially as eating these Paleo Flatbreads and Cinnamon Raisin Flatbreads have been eaten on the constant all week.
- Cheese- I went through a phase of literally eating a block of cheese for breakfast all week (thanks to these posts for reminding me). I’ve toned it down slightly but it is still eaten daily- Especially when it comes to stuffing them in waffles, mixing them with sweet potatoes in some cakes or going crazy and adding four times to these crispy pancakes.
- Meat- I’m a consistent meat eater, but went crazy on the chicken during the first couple of weeks of the paleo challenge. Besides, chicken and bacon combined is like chocolate and peanut butter.
- Fish- I eat fish 5-6 times a week, whether it be in the form of canned sardines, or doctoring up a can of tuna or salmon to make these curried salmon patties.
I looked through my recipe archives for vegan recipes and except for this slow cooker vegetable korma and this vegan chili, the rest are all sweet treats or healthy snacks. Now that it’s literally the peak of Summer, whipping out my slow cooker will NOT be happening. So what’s a boy supposed to do?
Make vegan pancakes and eat them three times a day.
Just kidding.
It’s amazing how we can subconsciously perceive a dietary lifestyle to be ‘restrictive’ when in reality, it can be the necessary push to branch out and try some new recipes- Something I’ve actually enjoyed doing since the beginning of this! I’ve started slowly with working with things I’m confident with and for me- It’s breakfast foods, notably oatmeal.
Long term readers would remember me going through a phase last year of creating oatmeal recipes which tasted like you were eating dessert for breakfast and based off some of my favourite sweet treats. A key element to achieving that texture was due to adding an egg– Something the vegan challenge prohibited me to do. Enter- Trying out different egg substitutes. I’ve had experience with making flax ‘eggs’ before, but never tried other versions. I knew some had success using a ‘chia’ egg so I wanted to try it out with this.
…….I still need to practice with chia eggs. I turned a beautiful bowl of oats into…..slime?
Let’s leave it there for now.
I went back to my true and tested method of using flax and the texture was perfect and what I was after. These healthy brownie batter oats aren’t false advertising here– The texture is actually like brownie batter and the taste reminds me of my favourite brownie recipe batter. After a recent reader survey and some feedback on my Facebook page, many chimed in for options which catered for those who avoided sugar so this one fits the bill.
These oats are the perfect grab and go breakfast because all you need to do is prep it the night before and in the morning- Add extra non dairy milk, and some not optional chocolate chips and dig in. Like all my other oat recipes, I really recommend following the method of pre cooking it the night before because it gives you that texture- We’re all about texture here.
TEXTURE. Say it with me, TEXTURE.
Okay, that was lame. I’ll leave it here. Make this healthy vegan brownie batter oatmeal which is high protein, gluten free and can be made completely sugar free too.
As for the chia seeds- You haven’t won this battle yet.
Healthy Vegan Brownie Batter Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup gluten free oat bran can sub for rolled oats or quick oats
- pinch sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups dairy free milk divided (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)*
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 Flax egg 1 T flax meal + 3 T water
- 1 scoop vegan chocolate protein powder 32 grams**
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour sifted (can sub for almond flour)***
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon sweetener of choice I used coconut palm sugar
- Dairy free chocolate chips for topping
Instructions
- Combine oat bran, salt, 1 cup of dairy free milk and vanilla essence in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl until most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir through the flax 'egg' very well and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes, until oats are fluffy.
- Stir in the vanilla protein powder, coconut flour, cocoa powder and sweetener of choice until fully combined- Oat bran mixture should be extremely thick. Add in the extra 1/4 cup of dairy free milk if needed and ensure it is well mixed. Once this is done, refrigerate uncovered.
- The next morning, stir the oatmeal very well and add extra non dairy milk if needed before adding the chocolate chips or other toppings of choice. Eat cold for a delicious, brownie batter taste or can be eaten warm- Add chocolate chips post heating!
Notes
** Can omit- If you do, reduce the dairy free milk by at 1/4 cup
*** The coconut flour or almond flour is key for the batter like texture- If you choose to omit, the next morning, stir through an extra tablespoon of raw oats
Craving more oats? That’s not uncommon. Try one of these ones below!
Healthy Tiramisu Oatmeal (Gluten Free, Sugar Free, High Protein)
Healthy Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal (Gluten Free, Sugar Free, High Protein)
Healthy Cake Batter Oatmeal (Gluten Free, Sugar Free, High Protein)
Healthy Caramel Cookie Dough Oatmeal (Gluten Free, Sugar Free, High Protein)
Have you ever eaten a vegan diet before?
What is a food staple you’d need to give up if you were to try going vegan?
What’s your current breakfast food?
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So basically I either need to lick this screen or make oats asap! I’m tempted to make this and eat it in the form of overnight oats as it’s become way too hot to eat cooked (hot) oatmeal over here. Major props for doing the vegan challenge. As much as I love chicken, I think I could manage a few weeks without it but eggs? No chance! I know vegan chocolate exists but I think I’d also have a hard time giving up my beloved, cocoa butter-filled bars of Lindt!
YES! I had to recheck the recipe itself but I highly recommend eating it cold- It’s like pudding!
There is nothing better than a bowl full of oats. I could eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum!
YES! Omg. I did that three years ago for a few months then I developed an oat intolerance- The worst!
Looks delicious! I agree that most “restrictive” diets make you try at least some new foods, which of course you can then bring back into your regular diet, so, win win 🙂
Exactly! Well said, Michele!
hahahah, i never thought , that i will ever try healthy food. i used to think, healthy food = never tasty :p . but actually tried it after looking at the picture on your paste and it was tasty 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words, Sahil!
This is like dessert for breakfast. I love reading on how you are doing with all your challenges. You are doing better than I would 😉
Haha, thanks Dannii! Luckily avocado is allowed!
After seeing this I am now craving a giant bowl of oatmeal. This looks great. Props to you for trying out different dietary lifestyles even if you know they aren’t for you.
Thanks so much for the support Allie- Not going to lie, I’ve been thinking of steak!
I’d have to give up egg whites and greek yogurt and ice cream to go vegan. I could do vegetarian, but even then, I love fish, and chicken, and bacon, and well that would be difficult. I tried a chia egg once, and tried chia in different things, and it just isn’t my thing. a) because when it did change things, I didn’t like it, and b) when it didn’t do what it was supposed to, I was like, well that made no sense give me my fish for my omega 3s!
Seriously, I thought chia was like gross play dough!
This is the greatest thing i have seen in SO LONG. And this time i don’t even have to try and work my own egg substitute!! I feel like I’m always searching vegan recipes/products etc. and then have been asked multiple times at the grocery store if i enjoy being “vegetarian/vegan” as they ring up my steak. =l Talk about not being able to fit into a category.. unless me and you form our own category and elope to Guam while we let these oats thicken up overnight on the long travel. I clearly hate dessert for breakfast, oats, and chocolate. Thanks to you i now know exactly what’s going into my refrigerator and into an almost empty nut butter jar ASAP!
Hahah YES. We need our own category.
Amazing.
I’ve never worked with flax, but yup, this is on my list.
Go for it!
13 tablespoons water for the flax egg? Is that correct? Otherwise these look amazing!!
i think he meant 3! haha
OH wow, my error- thanks so much for pointing it out!
I swear Arman, your writing just gets better and better. It was always good but now? Off. The Charts. I can always count on you to make me laugh.
Greek yogurt would be the hardest thing for me to give up were I to go vegan. I was vegetarian for about ten years and really didn’t miss meat but I do love me some dairy. I have been struggling with breakfast recently. My stomach has been wonky in the morning and nothing seems to work. I definitely need to eat in the morning but cannot seem to find anything that does not leave me feeling green. This oatmeal looks yummy but it will probably be a later in the day treat for me because plain and bland is all I can handle in the wee hours and your recipes are not that.
Have an awesome weekend!
Thanks so much, Sarah- I hope you’ve been well! i’ve been meaning to ask a random question- Is there such thing in LA as furnished studio/one bedroom apartments which are cheap?
*virtual fist bump* for sticking it to the chia seeds, Arman! Actually, maybe I should be *virtually fist bumping* the chia seeds as it sounds like they won the battle. Truthfully, though, I am mega impressed at your dietary challenges. It’s been fun to follow along. It’s also been fun to clean the drool off of my keyboard after seeing all of these delicious recipes you keep posting. This oatmeal sounds perfect for a cold Saturday morning…or a brutally hot Tuesday afternoon if you live in Australia. 🙂
hahaha those stupid seeds. You know what they did today? They got stuck between my teeth. On purpose.
That’s the beauty of this- Eaten cold in the morning! 😉
Hi Arman, First of all, always wonderful to see someone trying to eat less animal produce! 🙂 Secondly, this is not at all meant as any kind of criticism, it’s just my two cents’ as a vegan: I think the reason many people find veganism restrictive or feel like they will have to give up lots of food they like, is because veganism is perceived by many people (in healthy living communities and mainstream media) primarily or only as a ‘dietary’ choice, and is in that sense lumped together with lots of other so-called healthy diets. But the whole point of veganism (since it was invented by Donald Watson in the 1940s) is to life a cruelty-free lifestyle. Diet is a big (perhaps the biggest) part of that, but it’s only one aspect. When people make the decision to commit to a vegan lifestyle, they often find it much easier than they expected, at least if they’ve done the research and prepared properly. I realise you’re just eating vegan food for a limited time rather than committing to the lifestyle, but should you (or anyone else reading this) ever decide to take the plunge, when it comes to food there’s an expression in vegan communities – “crowding out”, as opposed to “cutting out”, that is, you fill your diet with lots and lots of yummy plant foods and focus on discovering new things that you like, rather than focussing on eliminating things you used to eat (and looking for replacements). When I committed to veganism a couple of years ago I did so from being a long-term vegetarian, so with the kinds of replacement products that exist these days it could’ve been a fairly small change in terms of diet, but, despite being a former cheese and yoghurt addict I hardly ever buy vegan dairy replacement products and the way I eat, and how I think about food, what I look for, how I prepare it, etc, it’s all changed quite radically, mostly because I discovered so many new foods and food combinations and ways of preparing food. The other thing that is strongly recommended before committing permanently to veganism is to do the research, both in terms of learning what your different sources of nutrition will be so you get everything you need, and also in terms of reading about farming practices (I’m not suggesting you do this for your vegan trial period, just making a general point). The latter is what usually makes it a very easy transition to make for a lot of people – once you read about that stuff in detail you can’t just unlearn the information and it becomes almost unthinkable to eat an egg ever again….Which is why I personally never preach veganism to my family and friends and never share anti-farming articles and stuff on social media – it’s something I think people really have to choose to come to themselves, because the information is so confrontational and difficult to process, and no one should have it shoved in their face. So yeah, that was a VERY long-winded way of saying, if you ever do decide to go vegan, it will most likely be because you’ve come to that decision after deliberation and research, in which case you probably won’t feel like you’re cutting out foods or missing out on things you love. But in any event, great that you’re bringing attention to veganism on your blog! And if anyone reading this is curious about the vegan lifestyle, best place to start is the Vegan Society (which Watson founded), they’ve got heaps of great resources and information.
Hi Karolina,
Thank you for this comment. I am most definitely not going to be undertaking a vegan diet permanently but should the challenge go well, I’ll definitely incorporate more vegan meals on occasion!
This looks so good! See? Eating vegan isn’t that bad. I’ve never eaten 100% vegan, but I do cook a lot of vegan meals so I think I could probably do it for a short period of time. I’d miss cheese a lot though!
I’m interested to see what you’re eating for your vegan lunches and dinners!
YES! I’m starting it officially next week so…I may need to pick your brain!
Need this in my belly NOW!
YES! so good!