Baked Oatmeal Cups 4-Ways
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Keep these baked oatmeal cups in your fridge or freezer for an easy, healthy breakfast! There’s four different flavor options so you’ll never get bored. Vegan + gluten-free.
As you probably know from my countless oatmeal recipes… I’m a BIG fan of oatmeal. I love overnight oats, steel cut oatmeal, slow cooker pumpkin oatmeal, baked oatmeal, alllll the oats! Today, I wanted to focus on baked oatmeal cups! I’ve posted about baked oatmeal cups before sharing this original recipe for banana oatmeal cups and these pumpkin oatmeal cups, but I wanted to put together a full post about baked oatmeal cups because they’re pretty special and perfect for meal prep.
Here’s why:
- You can make one big batch and keep them in your fridge for a week or freezer for up to 3 months.
- They’re pre-portioned so there’s built-in portion control.
- They’re super easy to reheat in the oven, toaster oven or microwave.
- They’re super portable so you can take then on-the-go.
- The flavor combinations are endless aka you can switch things up week to week so you don’t get bored.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE BAKED OATMEAL CUPS:
How do you make oatmeal cups?
Oatmeal cups are very similar to muffins. The main difference is that oatmeal cups are flourless because you’re just using oats and they have more liquid added to the batter. In addition, muffins (especially bakery-style muffins) often have a lot of processed flour and sugar, but oatmeal cups are made with the same healthy ingredients you’d would put into a bowl of oatmeal! Huge win!
To make these oatmeal cups, you simply mix your dry ingredients in one bowl and your wet ingredients in another. Combine the two gradually and then put the batter into muffin cups. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350°F and voila… you’ve got baked oatmeal cups for the week.
You can totally just use a greased muffin tin, but highly recommend investing in silicone liners because the oatmeal cups will pop right out (no wasted oatmeal) and they are super easy to clean!
What type of oats are best for oatmeal cups?
I like to use rolled oats because they’re less processed and give a good texture to the oatmeal cups, but if you only have quick / instant oats on hand those should work fine as a substitute. I don’t recommend using steel cut oats for this recipe because the oat to liquid ratio is different and the baking time is longer. If you’re looking for ways to use steel cut oats you could try these creamy steel cut oats or this apple cinnamon baked steel cut oatmeal.
How to store baked oatmeal cups?
Store them in a sealed, air-tight container in the fridge or freezer. For freezing, I usually put them in a ziplock bag made specifically for the freezer.
How long do baked oatmeal cups last in the fridge?
Keep your baked oatmeal cups in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. I usually keep what I plan to eat that week in the fridge, but if I make a double batch or don’t plan to eat them all in a week for some reason, I freeze them! Which leads me to my next question…
Can you freeze baked oatmeal cups?
You sure can! Like I said, I love to make a bunch of oatmeal cups and then freeze any I don’t plan on eating that week. I usually put them in a ziplock bag made specifically for the freezer. When you’re ready to eat them, I recommend taking them out the night before and putting them in the fridge to thaw. In the morning (or whenever you’re ready to eat, pop them in the microwave or toaster oven if you prefer to eat them warm! If you forget to thaw the oatmeal cups, you can reheat it from frozen, it will just take a little longer.
How do you reheat oatmeal cups in the oven?
You can definitely reheat your oatmeal cups in the oven, but if I’m being honest I usually just pop them into the microwave or toaster oven to reheat them!
- Oven or toaster oven: remove from liner and cut the oatmeal cup in half and heating on low (250-300°F) for 5-6 minutes or until the cup is warm throughout.
- Microwave: remove oatmeal cup from liner and wrap in a paper towel, microwave until warm throughout, about 30-60 seconds.
You can thaw the frozen cups by transferring them from the freezer to the fridge the night before or cook the oat cups directly from frozen. Just wrap the frozen cup in a paper towel and heat in 30 seconds increments until warm throughout. It should only take 1-2 minutes.
Now, onto the recipe for these baked oatmeal cups! As you might notice, each of the four flavors have a base recipe and then I add in specific ingredients to customize them. These are my top four go-to flavors and they’re all delicious — you can’t go wrong!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Baked Oatmeal Cups (4 Variations)
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cups Base
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cups milk, I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed, see subs below
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Chip
- 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 mashed bananas, about 1/2 cup
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips, divided (dairy-free, if needed)
Apple Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon total
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter
- ½ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup diced apple, divided
Blueberry Almond
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter
- ¼ cup blueberries, divided
- 2 Tablespoons sliced almonds, divided
Peanut Butter Banana
- 3 Tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 mashed bananas, about 1/2 cup
- banana slices, for topping (optional)
Instructions
Oatmeal Base
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with silicone liners. Paper liners work too. Spray liners with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, mix rolled oats, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together almond milk, maple syrup, ground flaxseed and vanilla. Let sit for about 5 minutes before adding remaining wet ingredients which will vary based on which type of oatmeal cup you’re making.
Chocolate Chip
- Add peanut butter, mashed bananas and 1/8 cup of mini chocolate chips into the bowl with the ground flaxseed and almond milk.
- Pour wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Scoop mixture evenly into muffin tin with liners and top each cup with remaining mini chocolate chips.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cups has set and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cups to cool before transferring to a storage container and placing them in the fridge or freezer.
Apple Cinnamon
- Add extra cinnamon, almond butter, applesauce and 1/8 cup of diced apples into the bowl with the ground flaxseed and almond milk.
- Pour wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Scoop mixture evenly into muffin tin with liners and top each cup with remaining diced apples.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cups has set and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cups to cool before transferring to a storage container and placing them in the fridge or freezer.
Blueberry Almond
- Add almond butter, applesauce, almonds and 1/8 cup of blueberries into the bowl with the ground flaxseed and almond milk.
- Pour wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Scoop mixture evenly into muffin tin with liners and top each cup with remaining blueberries and almonds.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cups has set and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cups to cool before transferring to a storage container and placing them in the fridge or freezer.
Peanut Butter Banana
- Add peanut butter and mashed bananas into the bowl with the ground flaxseed and almond milk.
- Pour wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Scoop mixture evenly into muffin tin with liners and top each cup with banana slices, if using.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cups has set and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cups to cool before transferring to a storage container and placing them in the fridge or freezer.
Video
Notes
- Flaxseed substitutions: 2 Tablespoons of chia seeds or 2 eggs or 1/3 cup egg whites
- Honey can be subbed for maple syrup
- For storage: Store baked oatmeal cups in a sealed, air-tight container in the fridge (up to 7 days) or freezer (up to 3 months). For freezing, I usually put them in a ziplock bag made specifically for the freezer.
- To reheat: remove cup from liner and wrap in a paper towel, microwave until warm throughout, about 30-60 seconds. Or reheat in the toaster oven by cutting the cup in half and heating on low (250-300°F) for 5-6 minutes or until the cup is warm throughout. You can thaw the frozen cups by transferring them from the freezer to the fridge the night before or cook the oat cups directly from frozen. Just wrap the frozen cup in a paper towel and heat in 30 seconds increments until warm throughout. It should only take 1-2 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Want to see the full recipes? Click the links below:
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cups
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cups
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups
I made the apple ones and really enjoyed them! Thanks!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed these baked oatmeal cups, Melinda. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it!
Thanks for the recipe! My 1-year-olds love them! However, they are very crumbly. Is there a way to make them less crumbly so they are easier for them to eat? I made the blueberry almond and substituted chia seeds for flaxseeds. Thanks!
Hey Polly – Did you change anything about the recipe? Do they seem dry and overcooked to you? They definitely shouldn’t be crumbly.
No, the only thing I did was substitute chia seeds for flaxseeds. Also, I used whole milk, but I don’t think that would make a difference. I can try cooking for a shorter time to see if that helps.
No that shouldn’t make a difference! Yes, I’d maybe try cooking them for a few less minutes to see if that helps to make them not so crumbly next time. Let me know how they turn out if you make them again!
I absolutely LOVE these, but do have one question for ya! When I cooked them at 35m on 350 (the apple cinnamon ones) they were still a tad mushy on the inside, but great on the outside. I cooked for 10 more minutes (probably a bit too long) and then they, of course, were nice on the inside but overdone on the out. Would it be a good idea to lower the temperature and maybe bake them for 40-45 instead?
Other than my inexperience on the baking end of things – they were delicious 😀
I’m so glad you enjoyed these baked oatmeal cups, Steffane! You could either try just cooking them for 5 more minutes (40 minutes) and covering the top with tin foil so they don’t get too overdone or you could certainly try lowering the temp to 325 and cooking them for longer. If you do that, I’d check them at 40 minutes to see how they look and cook for 5 more minutes at a time until you think they seem done. 🙂
Can this recipe be used to make cookies somehow? It’s a nice recipe & I like the ingredients but I think my kids will find the middle of the muffin dense. I liked how the top of them crisped up when baking.
Thank you for posting.
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it, but feel free to experiment! You could always fill the muffin tin up with less of the oat mixture so the cups aren’t as dense.
I just made these for my daughter to have as snacks at school. We tried the blueberry almond recipe but omitted the sliced almonds since they are too hard for her. Still very good and so versatile. I can’t wait to try the apple cinnamon and peanut butter banana. Also consider trying a blueberry banana combo. That sounds delish! Always looking for healthy snack options for toddlers. Thanks for sharing!
Yay!! I’m so glad these baked oatmeal cups have been a hit with your daughter. I bet a blueberry banana combo would be delish!! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
Can I use pumpkin puree instead of mashed banana?
Hey Sarina – That should work just fine!
I’ve made each of these except for the chocolate chip version in the past, I LOVE them I’m back for more of the blueberry almond! It turns out I’m out of baking powder though and with everything going on the store is also out. Will these turn out ok if I make them without?
Hey Katy – I wouldn’t skip the baking powder, but you could try swapping the baking powder for baking soda if you have it or even making your own baking powder with baking soda + cream of tartar.
Hi, I’m making these tonight but realized I don’t have applesauce or almond butter…. can I use regular butter instead ? Or do you recommend oil ? Let me know thank you so much!:)
Hey Hayley! You could use mashed bananas instead of the applesauce and you could swap the almond butter with another nut butter or even just leave it out if you don’t have any on hand. Let me know how these turn out for you!!
I made the peanut butter banana version and they were a hit. Do you think these could be baked in a mini muffin tin?
So glad you enjoyed these baked oatmeal cups, Eva!! I’m sure baking these as mini muffins would work just fine! You’d probably just have to adjust the cook time. Let me know if you try it!!
Made the blueberry almond and used chia seeds!! Moist and delish. Just sprayed my muffin tin with an avocado oil spray and they came out very easily!!