One of the most common ways to eat oats is in muffins, and it’s easy to see why. The smell of fresh muffins on a Saturday morning is a signal it’s going to be a good day, and you can easily freeze and thaw them for a perfect grab-and-go breakfast on a busy morning.
We prefer to eat oat muffins over other types for a few reasons. On top of the added fiber and vitamins, oats act as a balancer in baking. Add a moist ingredient to your muffins, and oats will help stop the muffins from getting soggy. Add a dry ingredient, and oats prevent the muffins from drying out.
Whatever you throw at them, oats are ready to rise to the occasion and pull the recipe together. To celebrate the awesome versatility of oats, today we’re posing a challenge: never bake the same muffin twice!
Well, maybe not never. But try to see how long you can go without baking the same muffin. The variations you can make on a simple oat muffin recipe are nearly endless, but we’ll start by sharing three to get your creative juices flowing.
Chocolate Chip: You can’t go wrong with chocolate chip oatmeal muffins. Put a smile on someone’s face by offering them a muffin filled with warm, delicious chocolate chips. It’s like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, in muffin form. We used mini chocolate chips in ours, which makes them even more fun in our eyes.
Berry Burst: Berries and oats are perfect pair, look no further for proof than our Banana Berry Oatmeal. We learned the hard way that you can’t take “grab-and-go” too literally with oatmeal. It was messy. So, we took the same idea and turned it into berry oat muffins that you can quite literally grab and eat on the go! Take your basic muffin batter and pour a generous spoonful into the muffin liner. Then divide raspberries, blueberries and strawberries evenly between the muffins. Top with the remaining batter and a sprinkle of sugar.
Cinnamon Streusel: For those who don’t know, streusel is a crumbly topping made for muffins and pastries. Our cinnamon streusel recipe is made with flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and of course, oats. Now, you can top your oat muffins with a sweet and decadent streusel topping.
These variations are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to oat muffins. Has your mind wandered to some flavor combinations you’d like to try out? Great! With the versatility of oats, you’ll never have to bake the same muffin twice.
Oat Muffins (Three Ways)
Start with a good, basic recipe for oat muffins and the possibilities are limitless. Try all three versions – chocolate chip, berry burst and cinnamon streusel – or invent your own masterpiece. You never have to bake the same muffin twice!
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats (250 ml)
- 1 cup milk dairy or non-dairy (250 ml)
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup canola oil (60 ml)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed (60 ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml)
- 1 cup flour all-purpose (250 ml)
- 1 tsp baking powder (5 ml)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (2.5 ml)
- 1/2 tsp salt (2.5 ml)
- 1 tsp cinnamon (5 ml)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, or spray well with cooking spray.
- Combine oats and milk in a large bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. After the oats have absorbed some of the milk, stir in oil, egg, sugar and vanilla.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir together until just mixed. Batter should be lumpy.
- Fill muffin liners 2/3 full and then bake for 12-15 minutes, or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center tests clean.
- Remove from muffin pan and cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.
Variations:
- Chocolate Chip: Follow the basic recipe, adding 1/2 cup (125 ml) chocolate chips along with the dry ingredients.
- Berry Burst: Follow the basic recipe. In step 4, place spoonful of batter into each muffin liner. Divide 1 cup (250 ml) mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries) evenly between the muffins. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle tops with a pinch of sugar.
- Cinnamon Streusel: Follow the basic recipe. Mix together 1/4 cup (60 ml) flour, 1/2 cup (125 ml) rolled oats, 3 Tbsp (45 ml) brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 3 Tbsp (45 ml) melted butter. After filling muffin liners, sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a heaping spoonful of streusel.