Using a few simple ingredients and 1 bowl, throw these healthy apple cinnamon baked oatmeal cups in the oven. They’re ready in about 30 minutes. The whole family, kids included, love them. Try the other flavors listed, too!
These Baked Oatmeal Cups Are:
- Refined-sugar free (no added refined sugar)
- Definitely healthy
- Easy & quick
- Soft-baked & moist in the center
- Chewy on top
- Garnished with crunchy coarse sugar
- Dairy free if using dairy-free milk
- Gluten free if using certified GF oats
The fall season may mean saying GOODBYE to pool days, but it also means giving a big HELLO to favorite seasonal flavors like apple cinnamon bread and comforting snacks like pumpkin oatmeal bars. And of course, plenty of pie crust and Thanksgiving pies! With fall flavors on my mind, I tested out a muffin version of my baked oatmeal. These oatmeal cups are a little more solid and sturdy than the creamy baked oatmeal, so they’re awesome as a portable breakfast or snack. And if you’re still in summer mode (I totally am!), swap the apples for blueberries or strawberries. These were so good!
Are They Oatmeal? Are They Muffins?
Yes and yes. If you’ve tried my chocolate chip oatmeal cups or these pumpkin baked oatmeal cups, you’re familiar with today’s recipe and process. They are more solid than oatmeal, but not as cakey as blueberry oatmeal muffins. If you are in the mood for a more traditional muffin, try these healthy apple muffins instead.
Ingredients in Baked Oatmeal Cups
You need 11 simple ingredients for my baked oatmeal cups. Each is important!
- Milk: Milk softens the oats and keeps the centers moist. I reduced the amount from my baked oatmeal so the oatmeal muffins are a little more solid.
- Eggs: Eggs provide protein and structure.
- Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup sweetens and flavors these baked oatmeal cups. If needed, honey is a wonderful substitute.
- Unsweetened Applesauce: Applesauce adds flavor and takes the place of butter or oil. I love using applesauce to replace all or some oil in certain baked goods, like my morning glory muffins.
- Oats: Unlike applesauce muffins where oats are simply part of the dry ingredients, here the oats are the entire base of the recipe. Old-fashioned whole rolled oats are the best and also what I recommend for oatmeal raisin cookies. Quick oats work, but the centers of the oatmeal cups aren’t as moist. Steel cut oats require extra prep, see recipe note.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder prevents the oatmeal cups from tasting dense.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg: Can you eat an apple baked good without either?! If you have any in the house, feel free to use apple pie spice instead.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor.
- Apples: Grab your favorite apple variety, peel it, and chop it into bite-size pieces. I usually use Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. Any variety works. If you enjoy it in your apple pie, you’ll enjoy it in these oatmeal cups. No need to pre-cook the apples before adding to the oat mixture.
Baker’s Tip: The batter is liquid-y. When you’re dividing the batter between the muffin cups, make sure you have both liquid AND oats/apples in each. Spoon batter all the way to the top of each. The recipe yields 12 apple cinnamon baked oatmeal cups.
1 Bowl, No Mixer Recipe
Besides taking approximately 2 seconds to prep, these oatmeal cups only require 1 bowl. No need to break out your mixer; instead, fold the mixture together by hand. They’re done in about 25 minutes. It’s practically shocking how easy these are.
Little work → big reward.
I usually prep these or regular baked oatmeal in the beginning of the week, then refrigerate for quick breakfasts or snacks. Reheat in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up. They freeze and thaw beautifully, too!
Who doesn’t crave a little variety?! Instead of apple, try any of these flavors.
Flavors & Add-Ins
- Pumpkin: See my pumpkin baked oatmeal cups. I swapped applesauce for pumpkin and reduced the milk to make up for extra pumpkin.
- Blueberry: Leave out the nutmeg, reduce cinnamon to 1 teaspoon, and swap apples for fresh or frozen blueberries. No need to thaw.
- Banana: Swap the applesauce for mashed banana.
- Chocolate Chip: Swap apples for chocolate chips. If desired, leave out the nutmeg.
- Peanut Butter / Nut Butter: Reduce applesauce to 1/3 cup. Add 1/2 cup nut butter. Leave out apples and nutmeg, if desired.
After these are done, keep out your muffin pan and make a batch of savory breakfast egg muffins next! And for even more inspiration, see my complete list of 30+ healthy breakfast recipes.
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Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Using a few simple ingredients and 1 bowl, throw together these healthy apple cinnamon baked oatmeal cups. They’re soft and moist inside with chewy tops and plenty of flavor. Make them ahead and enjoy all week long!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) milk (dairy or nondairy)
- 2 large eggs*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) pure maple syrup*
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsweetened applesauce
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 heaping cup (120g) peeled chopped apple*
- optional: 1/2 cup (50g) chopped walnuts or pecans
- optional: coarse sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray. If using muffin liners, spray them with nonstick spray. The oatmeal cups stick to the liners a bit regardless, so I recommend skipping them.
- In a large bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together, except for the apples (and nuts and coarse sugar). Using a spoon or rubber spatula, fold in the apples and nuts (if using). Batter will be a little liquidy. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups, making sure both the oats/apples and liquid are in each. Fill all the way to the top. See photo above. If desired, sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and top appears set. If the tops are browning very quickly, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the muffin pan.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Cover leftover oatmeal cups tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Bake the oatmeal cups, cool completely, and store in the refrigerator all week for easy breakfasts. Reheat in the microwave or bake in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 5-6 minutes. To freeze, bake and cool oatmeal cups. Cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Warm to your liking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Rubber Spatula
- Don’t: Do not make oatmeal batter ahead of time. The oats will soak up all the liquid! Whisk it all together, then bake right away. See make ahead instructions above for alternative.
- Eggs: Eggs bind the ingredients. If needed, you can replace the eggs with 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana. I do find the oatmeal cups fall apart a little when replacing the eggs.
- Sugar: I recommend pure maple syrup because the flavor is outstanding and the baked oatmeal cups are extra moist. Instead, you can use packed brown sugar, coconut sugar, or honey.
- Oats: Whole oats give you the best texture. You can use quick oats instead, but they soak up more moisture so the centers won’t be as moist. If using steel-cut oats, soak the oats in the milk for 30 minutes, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Add a few extra minutes to the bake time. The oatmeal cups are best with whole oats.
- Apples: Use your favorite variety such as Granny Smith, Fuji, or Honeycrisp. You need about 1 medium apple.
- Nutrition Information Per Oatmeal Cup (with unsweetened applesauce and unsweetened almond milk using Spark Recipe Calculator): Calories 138, Total Fat 3g, Carbohydrate 26g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 11g, Protein 4g.
Keywords: baked oatmeal cups
Took these out of the oven a few minutes ago and just bit into one. OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG, so good in every way imaginable plus super easy. Love that it’s all mixed up in one bowl. You’ve done it again Sally. You never fail me.
★★★★★
These are excellent!! I made them as a “breakfast on the go” for a Saturday filled with early morning baseball and softball games. I didn’t have apple sauce so I subbed coconut oil and banana. I probably could have used just one or the other, but they both sounded good so I figured why not?!
Delicious! Thank you Sally for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Great recipe! I added about 3tbsp of brown sugar a pinch more salt and about 1/4 cup chopped pecans and a few drops of lemon juice. So good!!!!!!
★★★★★
I added a little more brown sugar along with the maple syrup. I also cooked them a bit longer, my oven may be 25 degrees off. They weren’t really brown on the edges yet, but still set on top. Loved the texture and moistness of them. I will be doing these again.
★★★★★
This recipe did not work. Total mush and gummy inside, despite baking an extra 10 mins. Perhaps a little flour would have made this recipe work. Nice flavor and appreciate a healthy muffin recipe.
Healthy and flavorful perfect for fall breakfast…or add ice cream for dessert!
★★★★★
Thank you for another great recipe! I really struggle with breakfast during the work week. I froze part of the batch. They were moist and tasty!
Hello, I would like to make these, but in Colombia, South America, applesauce is very hard to find. Could I just substitute oil for the apple sauce in equal parts, even if it won’t be as healthy?
Hi Katherine, You could use oil or yogurt here, or even half oil, half yogurt or half oil, half mashed banana. See the section just above the recipe titled “Flavors & add-ins” for more ideas for swapping out the applesauce.
Thanks for the egg alternative! My son has an egg allergy and your recipe gave an honest, helpful alternative!
★★★★★
Hello, if I halve this recipe, will the baking time remain the same?
Thank you
Hi Shami, yes, same baking time, you’ll just have fewer oatmeal cups. Enjoy!
Sally,
These Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal cups are fantastic! I easily made a half batch as well as a half batch with peanut butter-dried apples plus I made a batch of the Baked Blueberry Oatmeal cups. These are quick grabs for my husband’s breakfast so I like to have variety available for him since they freeze so well. He has not been disappointed 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Sally! Love your recipes, they are straightforward and delicious! I live in another country and i can get most ingredients, but applesauce is not available. I’m not up to the challenge of canning my own so do you have a recommendation for a substitute? I think yogurt would add the moisture but I am not sure how that would affect the flavor. Thank you!
Hi Jenni! You could use oil or yogurt here, or even half oil, half yogurt or half oil, half mashed banana. See the section just above the recipe titled “Flavors & add-ins” for more ideas for swapping out the applesauce.
So, I found 100% apple puree baby (no sugar or additives) that i used in place of applesauce. Pretty much applesauce though perhaps a bit more finely pureed. But, I have to say, this was the first of all of Sally’s recipes I’ve tried that didn’t work. I had to throw out the entire batch. They never cooked all the way through, even after 40 minutes, stuck to the pan despite greasing and flouring the tins (maybe that was wrong), and kinda ended up like eating soggy oatmeal. I didn’t let the batter sit, everything was mixed and immediately baked. What could have gone wrong?
★
Has anyone tried blending the batter in a blender prior to adding the apples?
Hi Allison, we fear that would break up the oats too much. Best to stick with the mixing bowl if you can!
Has anyone had success using steel oats for this recipe?
Hi Stephanie, Steel cut oats require extra prep, see recipe note for details.
I did do the extra prep. I used 2 cups regular oats and 1 cup steel oats. Muffins came out great…and didn’t stick as much as I expected.