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 and this banana 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 baked 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 or apple cinnamon scones, 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 12-count 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 silicone 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 | Silicone 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I have made this recipe so many times I’ve lost count. Everyone in my house loves them. We just call them pucks. It doesn’t matter what variety I make they disappear quickly. I have found oat milk gives the best results. Surprisingly better than cow’s milk. I have not tried nut milk because of allergies. Also I use brown sugar instead of maple syrup because it’s cheaper. I add a little maple flavor (KAF) and it gives you a great taste.
Simply delicious! I added raisins and an extra dash of cinnamon. Made these in the larger muffin cups. I have one with some yogurt for lunch. Yum!
These were so fast to come together. I made them in mini muffin tins and baked for 15 minutes. I only had Quick Oats on hand so I added a tiny bit of mashed banana to keep them a little more light/soft throughout and it seemed to work great.
These make a great make-ahead breakfast, but I found that the recipe as written was far too bland. The second time I increased the spices as well as increasing the salt to about two teaspoons. (I used Diamond kosher salt, but a quarter teaspoon seems really low no matter the type for three cups of oats!)
Can you make these in a mini muffin size? I’d like to make a bunch for a party.
Hi Sheri, absolutely. We’re unsure of the exact bake time. Hope they’re a hit!
I will let you know! I’ve made a lot of the recipes and posted on my Instagram. You are my “go to” baking website!
This was the first time I made oatmeal cups so I don’t have any other recipes to compare it to. The recipe was easy to follow and the oatmeal cups smell and taste delicious. I overfilled my muffin pan a little (my fault and not the recipes fault0 so had a little trouble getting the cups out but in the end got them out and they are cooling right now. I did find that I had to stir the raw mixture each time I scooped some out while filling the muffin tin. That seemed the trickiest part; to get liquid and solids even in each cup. Bake time was right on for my oven. All in all, a great recipe. For my own tastes, I could have added more cinnamon and will next time.
Has anyone tried these in a 9×13 baking dish? Just wondering if anyone has suggestions on baking time for bars instead of muffins.
Hi JS, you can use this batter with the baking time and directions from our 1 bowl baked oatmeal to make these as bars. Enjoy!
Hi, do you think using buttermilk for the milk would work? Ionly ask because i have it on hand. I also have unsweetened almond milk.
Your thoughts?
Hi Janice, the unsweetened almond milk will work great here!
Do you have a recommendation for increasing the sweetness? I need just a bit more. Brown or white sugar? More syrup?
Hi Nicole! You could try adding some brown sugar to taste. Let us know if you try it!
I added a 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and they were absolutely delicious for us!
I had some apple butter that I made last fall. I used it instead of applesauce for a richer apple flavor and they came out great!
What a delightful discovery these are! And so quick! I’m wondering if it would be possible to substitute some or all of the milk with cider to boost the apple flavor a tad? In the meantime, thanks yet again for another family favorite!
Hi John! Apple cider is a bit thinner, we recommend sticking with milk for best results but let us know if you try cider!
Oh my gosh! My 60 year old father who is super picky and usually hates muffins was eager to eat these right when they were in the oven! These are scrumptious! I recommend these more than anything! Beautiful, and you can decorate them as you wish!
Followed recipe exactly but liquid pooled at the top of my muffin pan. Thank goodness none spilled over into the stove. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi Tee, this isn’t typical muffin batter and you’ll have a lot of liquid pooling at the top before baking. That’s normal with this recipe. Unless the muffin cups are over-filled, it doesn’t spill over when baking.
Made these today for my kiddo for easy healthy breakfasts during the week. She ate two right away and said they were so good schools should serve them for breakfast. Followed recipe exactly. Thank you!
I love this recipe! I am going to try another version for fun! How many cups of mashed banana would you use to replace the 2 eggs? Also, what ratio of cups of banana to cups of applesauce if I want to swap that?
Hi Miriam, you can use 1/3 cup of mashed banana in place of the two eggs. You can swap the applesauce for the same amount of mashed banana — 1/2 cup (120g).
Has anyone tried a savory version? No sweetener, maybe cheese or ham? Any ideas on how to do this?
Would there be any way you could think of to make these in an instant pot or similar pressure cooker? I don’t have an oven but I’m not sure how long I would need to pressure cook them for. I’ve made muffins in the pressure cooker for instance using the silicone egg bite style molds. Thanks in advance, especially cuz I do miss being able to make baked oatmeal it’s so delicious!
Hi Tracey! We’ve never tried making these in a pressure cooker or instant pot, so we’re unsure of how they’d turn out. But perhaps another reader can chime in if they’ve done so! Or you might try searching online to see if any similar recipes provide instant pot cooking directions. If you give it a try, we’d love to know how it goes for you.
I love these! They are so easy to make and don’t require a lot of cleaning up afterward! My house smells amazing and I got a lot of positive feedback from these muffins. They’re also healthy and can be eaten for breakfast or for a snack. I got these right on the first try.
P.S: I am a beginner baker!
Hi
Could you check the nutritional info please – I added this up and they were 168 cals at least ? I did use unsweetened almond milk and unsweetened apple sauce ?
Hi Sally,
Made these and the flavor is great. Question, they had soggy bottoms – do I need to bake them longer? They were brown on the edges and the moisture appeared gone. Just looking for that crispy crust along the sides and bottoms. Thanks in advance!
Hi Nicole, You can definitely bake them longer if you prefer!
My bottom was also a little soggy after 30 mins….I may bake them for 4 more mins next time.
I baked these for 35 minutes. Still very soggy and falling apart at bottoms. Maybe less applesauce or milk next time?
I did the shortening and flour on the muffin pan. Any flour works. No sticking no sogginess, I was out of apple sauce so I soaked 1/4 cup raisins in apple juice, and pureed with 1/2 an apple and the apple peels.
I have made these three times. The last two times I added cranberries, coconut and mini chocolate chips. I toast them in the morning and sometimes spread peanut butter on top.
They were easy and delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
I have made these three times. The last two times I added cranberries, coconut and mini chocolate chips. I toast them in the morning and sometimes spread peanut butter on top.
They were easy and delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
What adjustment can I make to make them more cakey, similar to your Blueberry Oatmeal muffins?
Hi Jackie! That would take some recipe testing. You could use the blueberry oatmeal muffins recipe as a base and add apples instead of blueberries or you may love these whole wheat apple cinnamon muffins instead!
Can you make them in an 8×8 pan? My muffin tin is missing!
Hi M, Sure can. 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan would be best. This is similar to our baked oatmeal recipe.
How would you adjust the recipe for large muffin tins?
Hi Emma, You can use a jumbo muffin pan without changing the recipe. I’m unsure exactly how many it will yield or the exact bake time needed. The bake time will be longer – keep an eye on them and bake until the edges are lightly browned and top appears set.
Great recipe! I have made them at least six times in the last three weeks. I use a large six muffin tin, and leave out the sugar / syrup / honey. I did add a little Stevia the first time I made them, but leaving out the sweetner hasn’t changed the taste for us. We love baked oatmeal and this is the best recipe we have tried. Thank you!!!
If I am to use quick oats for this recipe do I need to change any specific ingredients to make it more moist.
Quick oats work, but the centers of the oatmeal cups aren’t as moist. You can try shortening the bake time by a few minutes but we haven’t tested it. Let us know if you try!
Love these, had to substitute 1:1 ratio water for milk due to allergies in family and added tbsp of butter. They kind-of fall apart easy so I know I need to tweak the recipe somehow? Can not wait to try different substitutions like raspberries and peanut butter ‘n banana instead of apple!!!
These turned out amazing. My picky eater daughter gobbled them. How long do they last in the refrigerator? I made 12 and she can’t eat more than one a day so wondering how to store the rest. Thanks 🙂
Hi Riddhi, these last for about a week in the refrigerator. So glad your daughter enjoyed them!
Loved these! I thought they had too much liquid since I added additional apple sauce to replace the egg (thank you for the substitutions listed). They were perfect. I added some whole-fresh cranberries (no nuts) because I like the tart contrast, my spouse would have preferred dried cranberries or chopped-fresh ones. I had 2 additional ramekins that I filled, so mine made 14. I had vanilla soy milk for the milk in these.
I’ve been following your site for years but this one I HAD to comment on right away. Thanks for the recipe that will be soooooo much fun to experiment with! I respect your addiction!!!!
My husband doesn’t like oatmeal and he had seconds. So easy and delicious.
I wish I had this recipe sooner! My son was allergic to wheat when he was younger. This recipe is great and they are perfect for breakfast on the go!
So yummy!
I made these this morning. All I did different was add more cinnamon. Everyone loved them and actually wanted seconds! I love that they are flour free and oil free! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
These are delicious! Very easy to make and I love having them in the refrigerator for the week. I do not usually have applesauce in the house, so I just boiled down two apples and made my own. 🙂 I look forward to trying some other flavor combinations!