This gingerbread oatmeal is made on the stove-top using chewy steel oats, gingerbread spices and molasses for a true gingerbread taste! This creamy, cozy winter oatmeal is gluten-free and vegan.

I don’t have a ton of gingerbread recipes on this site and you know why?

I didn’t always love the taste.

In the past, I equated gingerbread to the pathetic thin little cookie men everyone gets all crazy about every Christmas season.

I never understood the hype with those cookies. There’s just nothing about a thin, crunchy cookie that does it for me.

I want chewy, fudgy, thick or soft-baked. If a cookie isn’t at least one of those adjectives, I’m out.

But, then I made these chocolate chunk molasses gingerbread cookies and I saw the light with this whole gingerbread thing.

Soft and chewy gingerbread collagen cookies and gingerbread peanut butter came next and along with these gingerbread chocolate chip bites that I could snack on all month long in December, I’m now a convert.

I especially love when the classic gingerbread spices combine with molasses.

The two combined bring such depth to whatever it is you’re cooking or baking as opposed to just the spices.

Because of that, I knew molasses had to be a key ingredient in these creamy cozy gingerbread oats.

HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD OATMEAL

This easy, winter themed breakfast is made right on the stove-top in just about 15 minutes. To make the gingerbread oats, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• steel cut oats
• ground flax seed
• almond milk (or milk of choice)
• gingerbread spice mix (see below)
• vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• molasses
• maple syrup

To make the gingerbread spice mix combine the following:

• 1 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

If you have a pre-made gingerbread spice on hand, feel free to use that instead! I like creating my own to control the ginger level which I enjoy a little spicy.

Combine the oats, flax and milk in a sauce pot on the stove top over medium heat.

Give it a stir and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.

As it starts to thicken, add the remaining ingredients and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Continue cooking for about another 10 minutes stirring frequently until the oatmeal reaches the desired consistency.

I like to remove it when the oats are still creamy and have a little bit of “chew” to them.

Serve in bowls with a splash of additional milk, some pecans and an extra drizzle of molasses or maple syrup.

STOVE TOP GINGERBREAD OATS SUBSTITUTIONS

STEEL CUT OATS – you can swap out rolled oats for steel cut if you prefer. Cooking time will be a little shorter but everything else should remain the same ingredient wise. You can even use oat bran if preferred.

Be sure to use gluten-free certified oats if that’s important to you.

MILK – Use whatever milk (dairy or non-dairy) you prefer in this recipe. I use homemade unsweetened almond milk in mine most of the time to keep the recipe vegan.

You can also choose to use part milk/part water in whatever ratio you like. The more milk, the creamier the gingerbread oatmeal will be.

MAPLE SYRUP – Feel free to use brown sugar in place of maple syrup if desired.

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS/GARNISHES:

Protein powder or collagen peptides are always a nice addition to oatmeal to round out the macro nutrients a little more proportionally.

You can add a scoop of unflavored or vanilla protein powder (I use Nuzest) or collagen to this recipe without changing any of the ingredient quantities.

Hemp hearts are something I love to add to oatmeal and smoothies for a good vegan source of protein and healthy fats.

Pecans or walnuts are a nice garnish and go well with the gingerbread flavor of the oatmeal.

Nut butter is great dolloped on top before serving for some extra staying power and fat!

I don’t know what you eat on Christmas morning, but if you’re looking for an easy breakfast that brings all the cozy winter vibes possible, I can’t recommend this festive gingerbread oatmeal or gingerbread waffles enough.

It’s creamy yet chewy at the same time, filled with warming spices and lots of deep molasses and maple syrup flavor. Each spoonful is a delight and almost like dessert for breakfast!

In fact, if you have gingerbread cookies on hand for the season, crumbling one on top would be a fun garnish!

Even if you have other plans for Christmas breakfast, these oats are perfect on any cold December day.

Spiced pear oatmeal is a great seasonal breakfast option too.

And if you ask me, a bowl of gingerbread oats is a million times better than any gingerbread man cookie, even the ones with cutesy icing!

The recipe is easily scaled up too so you can make a bigger batch for the whole week if you want!

Looking for something a little more special for Christmas morning? Try this cranberry mascarpone english muffin casserole or these Christmas morning muffins.

MORE RECIPES LIKE THESE GINGERBREAD OATS:

Paleo Gingerbread Granola

Tea Glazed Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf

Dairy Free Gingerbread Pudding

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Instant Pot Sweet Potato Steel Cut Oats