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
Loved this baked oatmeal recipe! It was even approved by my kids! I love feeding them yummy foods with no added sugar 🙂
Woo!! So glad these oatmeal cups were a hit. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
I loved this recipe! Like all of Brittany’s recipes, these were quick, healthy, and delicious. I added a scoop of chocolate protein powder and chocolate chips. While normally I like them crispy, they were also excellent when served with milk poured over it. Highly recommend!
Woo!! So glad you loved these oatmeal cups, Rachel. Thanks for the review, I so appreciate it!
I made the chocolate chip cups. They are delicious! My kids love them too!
Woo!! So glad they were a hit, Suketa. Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!
Loved this baked oatmeal recipe! It was even approved by my kids! I love feeding them yummy foods with no added sugar 🙂
Woo!! So glad the oatmeal cups were a hit. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I have always loved baked oatmeal and super excited to meal prep these before new baby arrives April24! I am low on eggs so I REALLY appreciate the flax AND chia sub ideas!! Thanks so much!
When using egg for this recipe does the amount of milk need to be reduced?
Do you have a variation that does not use nut butters?
If you add an egg, the amount of milk can stay the same. You’re fine to remove the nut butters if you like. I add the nut butter for extra richness and flavor, but the oatmeal cups can make made without and will still be yummy!
Being the scientist I am I tried multiple renditions.
I found that removing the nut butter doesn’t affect the consistency on the recipe, only the flavor.
Using eggs makes the recipe quite soupy but it will still cook. Using eggs while reducing the milk to 1 cup creates a firm yet soft texture.
I found that 1 cup of minced apple was more desirable to tasters than the 1/4 cup of diced apple. (I used Fuji apples.)
I found that increasing the total cinnamon to 1 1/2 tsp and the total salt to 1 1/2 tsp was more desirable to tasters. (I use Lite salt which is half sodium and potassium.) This may have been required because I used more apple.
After settling on these variations, I found the oat cups lasted only a day due to consumption. 🙂
Oh my, you are quite the scientist… I may need to hire you as a recipe tester. Kind of kidding, not also not kidding. 😉 Thanks for all the great feedback!
Have to thank a fellow baker nerd! I had the same thought seeing the sub especially because I like a firm oatmeal 🙂
These baked oatmeal recipes are my go-tos. Love that they are gluten and dairy free and so simple to make. They make the best on-the-go breakfast or snack food, especially with a newborn baby!
Yay!! I’m so glad you’re loving these baked oatmeal cups, Elizabeth. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
I have never been a big fan or baked oatmeal, but I loved these baked oatmeal cups! I made the chocolate chip banana ones and they tasted almost like chocolate chip banana bread. Definitely will be making these again 🙂
Ahh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear. So glad you loved these. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Hi there,
I am about to try these recipes! im so excited. However I see that the measurements are for one type. I want to do it exactly how you did yours with three of one kind three of another etc. Do you know what the measurements would be for smaller batches?
You can make the base recipe and then split it into 4 bowls and 1/4 the ingredients for the chocolate chip, blueberry, apple, etc.
Question: Not sure that we like almond butter here. What can I substitute for the almond butter in the apple/cinnamon cups because I’m not sure if peanut butter would change the taste. Will it work without the almond butter? Would I be able to add the almond flavor with extract instead? Thanks
I do another type of a nut butter. I personally think peanut butter would be tasty!
I live in Spain, so it’s rather difficult to find liners to make these recipes. Can I just lightly grease the cupcake baking pan with vegetable oil or will the oatmeal cups burn if I don’t use the liners?
You can use oil to grease the tin. The silicone liners are helpful but not absolutely necessary. Let me know how the oatmeal cups turn out for you!
Hi! These look delicious. You listed nutritional information. Is this the same for all the flavors or just the base recipe? Looking forward to making them this week. Thank you!
Hey Trish – the nutritional info is for the base recipe.