Apple Baked Oatmeal Cups with simple, wholesome ingredients are the perfect easy grab and go breakfast or snack. These healthy oatmeal cups are low in added sweetener, are dairy-free and refined sugar-free.
If you’ve been knocking around The Roasted Root over the last several months, you know oatmeal is a major thing in my household.
From various types of baked oatmeal to oatmeal pancakes and muffins galore, I’ve been using oats in all sorts of goodies.
And for a great reason!
The delicious inviting flavor of oats is unparalleled and they are a highly satiating source of complex carbohydrates.
A marvelous tool for a fitness geek such as myself.
My Sweet Potato Rolled Oat Protein Pancakes, Gluten-Free Rolled Oat Pumpkin Brownies and my 6-Ingredient Apple Oatmeal Bars are some of my favorite oatmeal recipes.
And so here we are, baking apple baked oatmeal cups that are just so easy to make and also packed with benefits for a healthy breakfast or snack.
Full of fiber, whole grains, and healthy fats, these easy apple baked oatmeal cups are a stellar option for those who enjoy a sweet treat but keep their intake of excess sugar low.
We only add two tablespoons of pure maple syrup, which I think makes for the perfect level of sweetness.
To give these muffins a complete macronutrient breakdown, you can easily add your favorite protein powder for a protein boost.
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients needed to make these delicious oatmeal apple cups.
Ingredients for Apple Baked Oatmeal Cups:
Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce adds volume, natural sweetness and apple flavor to these apple baked oatmeal muffins. Replace the applesauce with mashed overripe bananas if you’d like.
Unsweetened Almond Butter: Creamy almond butter makes up the healthy fat content of these muffins and also adds richness and thick texture.
Eggs: A couple of large eggs makes these oat muffins nice and fluffy. You can replace them with your favorite egg replacer such as flax egg for a vegan version, but just note that the muffins will be very dense.
Oat Milk: Oats absorb a great deal of liquid, so we must add some! Any dairy or non-dairy milk works here! I love using oat milk because I enjoy the flavor, but unsweetened almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or regular milk work too.
Vanilla Extract: A little splash of vanilla extract brings some warmth to the treat.
Pure Maple Syrup: Only a couple tablespoons of pure maple syrup adds enough sweetness to make these healthy muffins taste like a treat but without adding a ton of extra sugar. If you prefer using coconut sugar, brown sugar or regular cane sugar, feel free to make the swap!
Rolled Oats: Old fashioned oats bring that delicious thick texture and nutty flavor to these muffins. For the best texture, I recommend sticking with rolled oats but quick oats or instant oats will work too. I use sprouted gluten-free oats that are glyphosate-free so that the nutrients in the oats are more bioavailable.
Ground Cinnamon: A dash of cinnamon gives such a lovely flavor to these muffins! You can also use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice.
Salt: A generous amount of salt helps enhance all of the flavors in these muffins. The measurement may seem high but I highly recommend sticking with it unless you must avoid salt for health reasons. This ensures the muffins taste nice and sweet without having to add more sweetener.
Fresh Apples: Fresh chopped apples bring that crisp texture and tart apple flavor to these muffins! I use granny smith apples, but you can choose any variety of apple. Honeycrisp, gala, pink lady, fuji apple all work.
Want to customize these cinnamon apple muffins? Here are some ideas for changing up the recipe.
Recipe Adaptations:
- If you have ripe bananas on hand, you can mash two to three of them (1 cup worth) to replace the applesauce.
- Replace the almond butter with peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter if you’d like.
- You can increase the sweetness if you’d like by adding up to ¼ cup of pure maple syrup or up to ⅓ cup of any granulated sweetener.
- Omit the pure maple syrup altogether for a completely naturally sweetened muffin.
- Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of chia seeds, flax seeds or hemp seeds for an infusion of omega-3 fatty acids.
Now that we’ve covered the ingredients list, let’s bake some delicious healthy oatmeal cups!
How to Make Apple Baked Oatmeal Cups:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with muffin papers.
Combine the applesauce and creamy almond butter in a large mixing bowl and stir well until combined.
Add in the eggs, oat milk, vanilla extract, and pure maple syrup and mix well until all of the wet ingredients are combined.
Pour the oats, ground cinnamon, and sea salt (dry ingredients) into the mixing bowl and mix until everything is combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups two thirds of the way up with the oat mixture. Sprinkle the chopped apple on top of each oatmeal cup.
I do this instead of mixing the apples into the oat batter to ensure each muffin gets about the same amount of apple rather than being unevenly distributed. If you’d prefer mixing the apples into the batter, feel free!
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 22 to 30 minutes, or until the muffin cups are golden brown and test clean.
Allow the baked oatmeal muffins to cool completely (at least 25-30 minutes) before peeling off the muffin liners and eating.
Serve the muffins as is or with melted butter and honey. A dollop of Greek yogurt and fresh fruit like blueberries and sliced bananas goes great with these oatmeal muffin cups.
Store leftover apple baked oatmeal cups in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. These baked oatmeal muffins freeze very well! Simply freeze them in a zip lock bag for up to three months.
Make a double batch in two muffin tins ahead of time for quick breakfasts for the whole family.
And that’s it! A healthy light breakfast for busy mornings, a grab and go snack, the perfect post-gym bite, a tasty dessert.
Meal prep these apple oatmeal cups on repeat to always have a tasty treat on hand! Perfect for school lunches, road trips, camping, you name it!
If you loved baked oatmeal or oatmeal cups, also try my Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups, Mixed Berry and Apple Baked Oatmeal and my Banana Baked Oatmeal.
Also try these healthy muffin recipes!
Healthy Muffin Recipes:
- Oatmeal Banana Zucchini Muffins
- Grain-Free Morning Glory Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal Muffins
- Paleo Hummingbird Muffins
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
A cup that’s full to the brim 😉
Apple Baked Oatmeal Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup applesauce or 2 large ripe mashed bananas
- ½ cup creamy almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups oat milk*
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup**
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 Granny Smith apple peeled, cored, and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with muffin papers.
- Combine the applesauce and creamy almond butter in a large mixing bowl and stir well until combined.
- Add in the eggs, oat milk, vanilla extract, and pure maple syrup and mix well until all of the wet ingredients are combined.
- Pour the oats, ground cinnamon, and sea salt (dry ingredients) into the mixing bowl and mix until everything is combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups two thirds of the way up with the oat mixture. Sprinkle the chopped apple on top of each oatmeal cup. I do this instead of mixing the apples into the oat batter to ensure each muffin gets about the same amount of apple rather than being unevenly distributed. If you’d prefer mixing the apples into the batter, feel free!
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 22 to 30 minutes, or until the muffin cups are golden brown and test clean.
- Allow the baked oatmeal muffins to cool completely (at least 25-30 minutes) before peeling off the muffin liners and eating.
Notes
Nutrition
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I WOULD LIKE TO ADD PROTEIN POWDER TO THIS RECIPE. HOW MUCH SHOULD I USE & WILL I NEED TO ADJUST ANY OF THE OTHER INGREDIENTS?
Hi Renee! You should be able to add up to 1/4 cup of protein powder without adjusting the liquid. Any more than that, you’ll want to add some non-dairy milk to offset the addition.
Hi Julia, would apple butter work here just as well as the apple sauce?
Hi Ana! Apple butter would work great! Hope you enjoy! xoxox
These Apple Oatmeal Cups are delicious. The recipe was very easy to follow, and I froze half to enjoy them later. Thank you!
I’m thrilled to hear it! Thanks, Patty!