I sip on herbal teas all day long. Give me a big mug of peppermint, fennel, nettle, jasmine or green- anything, just as long as it’s not “normal” tea. I guess that’s why I never got into the whole Chai latte thing, since it’s made with yucky black tea. In fact, “chai” is simply the Hindi word for tea and Masala chai is the proper name for what we’re referring to- that is, the spiced beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs.
This lengthy introduction is all to say that, despite what I’ve called this recipe, there is no “chai” in it and really this should be called “Masala-spiced Baked Oats”. But, putting my pedantry aside…I prefer the word “chai” and figured you’d all know what I meant anyway…
On to the recipe! So, I do love all these sweet Indian spices, and beyond their delicious flavour they’re perfect for warming you up from the inside out. Coupled with one of my favourite morning meals- porridge- we’ve got the perfect winter breakfast.
I simply steeped whole spices in almond milk which I sweetened up with coconut sugar, poured the lot over a mixture of apples, oats and nuts and then let the oven do the work. Eaten warm with those chewy edges, it was like biting into a soft, spiced cookie!
Serve yourself a big scoop and top with a dollop of my Vanilla Bean Coconut Whipped Cream, Vanilla Bean Cashew Cream or just some non-dairy yogurt.
This reheats wonderfully, so if you’re not sharing it will see you through for a few days’ breakfasts.

- 3 Small/medium eating apples
- 1C (heaped) Rolled oats (GF if necessary)
- 1/3C Roughly chopped walnuts
- 3/4t Baking powder
- 1t Cinnamon
- Grating of fresh nutmeg
- 1t Vanilla extract
- 1T Coconut oil
- 1T Ground flax + 3T water
- 1C Almond milk
- 2" Fresh ginger, sliced
- 1/4t Whole black peppercorns
- 1 Star anise
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 1/2t Cardamom pods (4-5)
- 1/4t Whole cloves
- 1/4C Coconut sugar
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and lightly oil an oven-proof dish with coconut oil
- For the chai-spiced milk, combine the spices, milk and coconut sugar in a small pan and bring to boil. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 10 minutes. Strain and set aside
- Wash and chop two of the apples into chunks and mix with the oats, half the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg, in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the spiced milk, vanilla, coconut oil, flax and water.
- Spread the oat-apple mixture into the prepared dish and pour the milk mixture evenly over the top.
- Thinly slice the remaining apple and place on top. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and the remaining walnuts.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Serve warm with coconut/cashew cream or non-dairy yogurt.
- - This can be stored in the fridge or freezer and reheated.
Are you a tea or herbal tea drinker? What’s your favourite kind?
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You wrote the magic word: chai! The perfect combination of spices, IMHO.
I enjoy all kinds of teas, even black, though I usually go for green or herbal. I collect teas like Imelda Marcos collected shoes!
My tea collection is getting a little out of hand too! I’ve put a limit on buying any more until I finish one variety 😉
I LOVE this!:) I sip on herbal tea all day long too- and the same kinds as you!:) I love cold foods, but like my drinks hot! Am I weird or what?:) I don’t like black tea either and it totally doesn’t agree with me. I have found Yogi’s Roobios Chai ( caffeine-free) to be AMAZING. Definitely give it a try if you haven’t had it yet<3 Great oatmeal recipe too by the way!:)
I’ll check out Yogi’s Rooibos Chai, I’m loving the Yogi “Women’s Balance” at the moment.
And you’re not weird for liking your drinks hot- I drink much more herbal tea than I do water!
Yes, I love tea! My brother got me an infuser for Christmas so I’ve been experimenting with loose leaf teas.
These baked oats look wonderful. In winter I like to eat a warm breakfast and oatmeal is a go-to for sure; baked, overnight in the crockpot, etc.
Ooooh how fun on the infuser! I’ve got a teeny one but I’d like to get a pretty Japanese style pot.
I definitely go in phases with hot and cold breakfasts- sometimes I crave a frosty smoothie and other times a hearty bowl of oats is just what’s needed.
Yum, I LOVE chai! This sounds like a fantastic breakfast!
Thanks Suzanne
It was a lovely treat for these wintry mornings.
This looks gorgeous! I’d struggle to contain it to breakfast I think, and would want it mid-afternoon too
Like you, I drink herbal teas at highly regular intervals over the day, but I do like black varieties and chai tea too. It is chai lattes that I struggle to embrace, as every other cafe seems to use sickly sweet commercial syrup that is a million miles away from traditional chai spices!
Mid-afternoon sounds good to me. It firms up when cool so I actually packed a “slice” for breakfast on the go one morning!
Ah, I didn’t realize that’s what cafés did, doesn’t sound very tasty to me.
I can’t stand the taste of normal tea - love herbal teas - esp the fruity kind but I tried making a chai spice mix once (more masala than chai) which I loved so it just shows how good it can be when fresh - so this mix sounds lovely and would definitely perk up the oats
I’m glad it’s not just me! At least herbal teas are much more frequent nowadays. Here in England it definitely used to be considered strange not liking “breakfast tea”!
Wow, Emma, this is gorgeous! I love masala chai spices. I loved drinking proper chai when I was in India but I’m always a bit too lazy to make it just right at home.
Thanks Clem. You should definitely make it at home if you’re a fan” If you have the whole spices it’s not really too much trouble.
I had no idea that chai wasn’t really chai! But it’s a good thing you called it chai, otherwise, you’re right, I would have had no idea what it was. Those flavors go oh so perfect with apples and would make the perfect comfort breakfast!
Yep, “chai” is not what we think it is!
This looks delicious! The spices sound wonderful too. And after all this horrible weather we’ve been having here, it’s the perfect way to warm up. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks Jamie. The sun has been shining these last couple of days so I took the opportunity to have smoothies for breakfast, but most of the time lately it’s been cold and wet and these baked oats were exactly what was called for!
Sounds delicious. I love baked oats and the sound of the spices.
Thanks Lauren. It made all the difference using the fresh, whole spices.
looks absolutely wonderful! I don’t care that there’s no actual tea in there, this sounds amazing!
And one of my biggest pet peeves was when I worked in a tea store and people came in asking for chai tea. “So you want tea tea?” I would think! Haha oh man, it’s not a big deal but for some reason it got to me!
That’s totally the kind of thing which would annoy me so don’t worry you’re not alone! Glad you like the look of this
This looks so good…. oh and i love a good mint tea the best!!
Mint tea will always be my favourite 😉
This looks like the most delicious and warming recipe for breakfast in the UK right now. Im loving your blog!
This looks delicious, I’m such a big fan of chai flavours and that looks like a wonderfully comforting breakfast
I seem to recall seeing chai pop up on your blog quite a bit 😉
o my, this looks wonderful, definitely have to try this out! I actually do like chai tea, but my favourite is green chai from yogi which is with green tea, I’ll send you over a bag to try when we get to our exchange! (I bought another raw treat with maca in it, stupid me, but luckily spotted it on time, and now I’m saving it for our foodswap 😉
Ooooh green chai sounds so much better! Yogi teas are hard to find here for the most part though I’ve been really enjoying their “Women’s Balance” variety lately. I’m excited to put some goodies together for you too 😀 x
This breakfast looks absolutely perfect for this season… super warming & comforting
Thank you. I really loved it. The whole spices made all the difference.
I’m not a fan of black tea either so, when I make chai, I tend to dunk the teabag for about 2 seconds flat! Next time I make chai, I think I’ll try green tea instead x
Mmmm, sounds so perfect for cold winter mornings. I love the flavors! I think I’d like to drink the Chai milk by itself! I am a tea drinker now that I’ve beaten the caffeine addiction. I love Dandy Tea with a splash of nut milk and a few drops of stevia. I also drink peppermint a lot throughout the day.
I reused the spices and made some more of the milk to drink warm and it was lovely. I still haven’t tried Dandy but I love the smell of it!
Not sure about this lasting several breakfasts: I had it for pudding, at tea time and at breakfast. Consequently it didn’t really see more than two sunrises!
On tea: Dragonfly Vanilla Rooibos is really good stuff.
Haha, I’m guessing you liked it then?! Thanks for making it and thanks for the tea recommendation
We’re looking at a week of 80-degree, sunny weather and plenty of humidity ahead, but I would still brave the heat and crank up the oven for this recipe! It just sounds too good to resist. I do adore that cardamom-spiked chai spice twist.
The spiced milk is lovely cold too!
Mmmm, apple chai spiced bake oats! Sounds really lovely with all these spices! I’ve been loving coconut sugar lately…a versatile ingredient in baking and cooking! I love black tea though
Coconut sugar is such a great ingredient- great tasting and doesn’t spike my blood sugar levels as much as the refined stuff.
I love chai flavours - they bring everything to life. I normally put them in cakes, but I think now my porridge needs a makeover too!
They really do don’t they? You should definitely try some of these spices in your regular porridge, even if you don’t make the full recipe.