These oaty muffins with chopped apple, spices and a buttery top, are perfect for breakfast, brunch, and after-school snacks. They're quick to put together and ready in about 45 minutes. Reader feedback inspired these muffins as they shared variations on our popular oatmeal muffin recipe and how great their versions turned out!
Quick and easy
Including apples and cinnamon in an already great oat muffin created these beauties, the latest additions to our very popular muffin category.
They have a crunchy, sugary top with oats and the crumb is not overly sweet; perfect breakfast food if you ask me.
These apple cinnamon oatmeal muffins have an excellent chew and moisture, thanks to soaked oats, a step that makes this a solid recipe. And they freeze well so you can warm them up as needed.
Watch our step-by-step videos
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed in the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Apples: though I normally use Granny Smith (tart green apples), I tried these with other variations and also love them with red baking apples that are slightly tart, like honeycrisp and braeburn, or pink lady for a sweeter muffin.
- Milk and lemon juice: We mix both to create homemade buttermilk, but you can also use regular buttermilk from the store.
- Oats: I use old-fashioned rolled oats (traditional oats) because they have more texture and hold their shape more, adding great texture to these homemade muffins. But you can use instant or quick-cooking oats, which will most likely produce a more even-textured muffin. Both work; it's not like you won't get good results by using the instant kind.
- Vegetable oil: Use whatever type you like. I use sunflower oil (which I always have) or coconut oil if I want to avoid seed oils. Canola oil also works well. Even a light olive oil can be used if you're a little more daring with your flavors and are used to using it for baked goods.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Make sure they're not expired.
Variations & substitutions
- Non-dairy: Use unsweetened almond milk.
- Flour: Use part white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour (very finely ground). The texture will not be as soft, especially with the latter.
- Flavor variations: Adding other spices or citrus will instantly change the flavor of these muffins. Apple pie spice, instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg, and orange zest are great variations.
Steps to make oat apple muffins
I love this recipe because it's the old-fashioned way of making muffins: easy and fast, with no fancy equipment or gadgets, just a few mixing bowls, a spatula or whisk, and a muffin pan.
Oat mixture
Let the oats steep in the buttermilk. It's as easy as mixing both in a bowl and letting it stand for a few minutes.
The grain will absorb some of the liquid, softening it. The muffins will have a creamier texture but be rustic at the same time since the oats will be chewier but not mushy.
Oil, butter and egg
You can add them to the oat mixture directly and stir everything together, or lightly mix them in a separate bowl first. In both cases, don't beat; just whisk to integrate well.
Dry ingredients and apples
Sift the flour and spice mixture first in a separate bowl, or have them measured and sift them directly over the oat mixture. It will leave behind impurities, dissolve clumps and make folding easier.
The apple is chopped and you decide the size. I like small pieces that will meld into the oat crumb. Too large and they tend to fall off when you bite.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
Combine the muffin batter with a wire whisk, a spoon, or a spatula. There is no need for electric beaters; they will overbeat the mixture and we don't want that. So don't use them them for this recipe.
Prepare the pan
You can use paper liners or simply grease the molds.
The difference is that only the muffin tops will be crusty with the paper cups because the bottom and sides will touch the paper. They're easier to transport if that is the case.
If you butter the muffin tin and don't use the muffin liners, it will have more surface baking against the metal, resulting in a crust on the sides and bottom, not just on top.
Baking
Topping: a buttery oat crumble is added before baking, creating a fantastic crunchy top.
Preheated oven: this is necessary so the muffins rise well. If you forgot to turn it on and the battle is already in the muffin pan, leave it at room temperature while the oven reaches the desired temperature.
When are they done? Use the baking time as a guide and test for doneness by inserting a cake tester or toothpick in the center. It should turn out clean with no wet crumbs attached.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: Read the recipe first and ensure you have the ingredients at the correct temperature, the equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: Consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend tracking how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Stir, don't beat: The oat mixture only needs to be combined until moistened. Don't use an electric mixer for this recipe. Excessive mixing will make them tougher.
- Muffin pan: No matter what size you use, don't fill it more than ¾ of its capacity. This is important so it doesn't overflow in the oven.
- Smaller muffins: simply use a pan for mini muffins. The baking time will be much less, so take that into account, and the yield will be double or slightly more depending on the pan size or pans.
Related recipes you might like:
One last thing
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Apple Oatmeal Muffins with Crunchy Top
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Ingredients
For the topping:
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup traditional rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the muffins:
- 1 cup milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups traditional rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of allspice or nutmeg, optional
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup oil, I use sunflower
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped baking apple
Instructions
For the topping:
- Stir ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ cup traditional rolled oats, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a small bowl until clumpy.
- Refrigerate while making the muffins.
For the apple oat muffins:
- Mix 1 cup milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add 1 ½ cups traditional rolled oats, and leave to hydrate while preparing the rest.
- Turn on the oven at 350°F (180ºC). Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Or butter and flour them if not using paper cups. Reserve.
- Sift 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of allspice or nutmeg (if using) into a large bowl.
- Add ½ cup light brown sugar to the oat mixture and stir to combine.
- Add ½ cup oil, 1 egg and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract to the oats, or stir to mix. Integrate everything well without beating.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then 1 cup chopped baking apple and stir with a spatula until just combined. Don’t be tempted to beat it or overmix it as it will result in tougher and less fluffy muffins.
- Fill the muffin tins or paper cups no more than ¾ full, dividing the mixture as evenly as possible.
- Sprinkle the reserved oat topping on top of the muffins.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester comes out dry. Let them cool on a wire rack.
- Store muffins that are left in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and reheat briefly before eating. Or in the freezer for a month.
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