Start your day off right with Healthy Oatmeal Muffins! Gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free, these protein packed healthy muffins are moist and delicious.
We also love these healthy banana oatmeal muffins and healthy morning glory muffins for quick and easy breakfast.
Table of Contents
These healthy oatmeal muffins are a convenient baked, pre-portioned way of eating your morning oatmeal.
Healthy oat muffins are gluten free, dairy free, vegan, egg-free, sweetened with maple syrup, and laced with the warm flavor of cinnamon.
Made with both rolled oats and oat flour, these healthy muffins are kept nice and moist thanks to the addition of mashed bananas. They are the perfect high fiber, protein-packed, portable breakfast or snack.
Ingredients for Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
To make this healthy oatmeal muffins recipe, you will need just a few simple ingredients.
- Bananas: You will need soft ripe bananas that range in color from yellow to brown and spotty. Avoid under ripe green skin bananas. Please refer to Tips section below how to ripen your bananas faster.
- Milk: To keep oatmeal muffins healthy and dairy-free, I like to use almond milk. You can use any milk.
- Liquid sweetener: Maple syrup and honey have different flavors but both add a delicious sweetness, pair well with bananas and cinnamon, and deliver nutritional benefits.
- Oil: Any light oil like avocado oil, grapeseed oil or light olive oil will work as an added fat to maintain moisture and texture.
- Rolled oats: I like old-fashioned rolled oats for texture, especially when I keep some for sprinkling on top.
- Oat flour: It’s mild in flavor and isn’t too heavy. You can use store-bought oat flour or here is quick tutorial how to make oat flour at home.
- Baking staples: Vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
How to Make Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
Here is a quick overview how to make healthy oatmeal muffins. Please find full recipe card below.
- Mash bananas: In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork or masher. You’ll find the riper and softer are your bananas, the easier they mash to a smoother consistency.
- Add liquid ingredients and baking staples: To the same bowl, add the milk, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk everything to combine well.
- Hydrate the oats: To make the oatmeal muffin batter, add in the oats and the oat flour. Stir to mix well and allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes.
- Scoop and bake: Fill the muffin pan with equal amounts of batter in each prepared muffin cup and sprinkle extra oats on top, if you wish. Bake healthy oatmeal muffins on the middle rack for 17 minutes.
- Cool the muffins: Remove oat muffins from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips for Best Results
Here are my top tips for the best healthy oatmeal muffins from the first try.
- Don’t skip the cooking spray: Muffins that don’t have a lot of fat tend to stick to the liners more easily and spraying with non-stick cooking spray is a must.
- Follow the recipe: Follow the recipe for dry ingredients and wet ingredients proper ratio. For any substitutions, please see Ingredients section and FAQs.
- To help ripen banana quickly: Bake them at 300 F for 30-40 minutes.
- Let batter sit for 10 minutes: Hydrating the oats softens them up making oat muffins rise tall and fluffy.
Variations
Here are a few ideas how to make healthy oatmeal muffins more fun and flavorful.
- Warming spices: Swap the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg or even chai spice mix.
- Healthy add-ins: Keep these healthy oatmeal muffins tasting like your favorite bowl of oatmeal and add some hemp hearts, chia seeds, or coconut flakes on top.
- Extra flavor: Chocolate chips or fresh blueberries would be great in these healthy oat muffins.
- Citrus zest: Try lemon zest with poppy seeds for lemon poppyseed muffins or orange zest with cranberries.
- Decadent: Add in cacao powder and cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips.
- Add some nuts or dried fruit: Chopped walnuts or pecans, slivered almonds, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dried dates or dried mangoes, and goji berries.
- Nut butter: A small amount of peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter would taste great and add additional protein.
How to Store Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
Store: Keep healthy oatmeal muffins in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 3-4 days. You could also store them in the fridge for about 1 week.
Freeze: Make 2 batches and freeze an entire batch for later. These oat muffins keep well in a freezer for up to 3 months.
Storage Tip
If you would like to learn more about making your leftover muffins stay fresh longer, check out my posts how to store muffins and how to freeze muffins.
FAQs
Yes. Swap the bananas for 1 cup of applesauce and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey.
Yes. Quick oats are softer and ready to absorb liquids quicker than old-fashioned oats, so you’ll find your healthy oatmeal muffins will have a different texture.
Are you wondering what is oat flour? It is just ground oats and super easy to make at home. Place your oats in a food processor or high-power blender and pulse away. Then sift it through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of larger pieces of oats.
I haven’t made these healthy oatmeal muffins with any other flour but the oat flour because when I do decide to make muffins with whole wheat flour, I usually make healthy banana oatmeal muffins.
Coconut flour or almond flour will not work in this recipe. If you want to use wheat flour, substitute it by weight. 1 cup of oat flour weighs 90 grams.
More Oatmeal Recipes to Try
More Healthy Muffins Recipes
- Healthy carrot muffins
- Oat flour banana muffins
- Oat bran muffins
- Applesauce banana muffins
- Banana protein muffins
- High protein muffins
Browse through all my healthy muffin recipes!
Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas 1 cup mashed
- 3/4 cup any milk I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 tbsp any oil
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup rolled oats more for topping
- 1 1/3 cups oat flour about 1 2/3 – 2 cups oats grinded
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, line 12 muffin tin with parchment paper liners and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add bananas and mash with a fork or a masher. Add milk, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk well to combine.
- Add oats and oat flour, stir to mix and let batter sit for 10 minutes for oats to hydrate.
- Using large ice cream scoop, fill 12 openings with batter and garnish with more oats, if desired. Bake on a middle rack for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let muffins cool for 5 minutes and enjoy.
Notes
- Store: In an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 3 – 4 days or in a fridge for up to a week.
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Bananas can be yellow and not over ripen. Or you can use 1 cup applesauce + 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey instead of bananas.
- Quick oats: I am sure you can use instant oats, the texture of muffins will be slightly different.
Are you using a cupcake pan or a muffin pan for this recipe?
Regular sized muffin pan (with 12 muffin cups).
I made 1/2 the recipe and only got 4 muffins 3”x2”. That’s why I asked if you used a cupcake pan. Recipe was very good and will surely make again. I’m wondering if some protein powder could be used in it?
Oh, I am sure you could try them in a cupcake pan if you would like. Protein powder can be ‘thirsty’ but you could start with a small amount and see how it goes or try adding small amount of nut butter for added protein. Banana protein muffins could be another muffin to try, those are made with protein powder.
Can you add fresh berries to the batter?
Yes, sure!
I have made this more times than I can count.
The recipe is perfect as it is, but even if you tweak it a little bit, it works.
I’ve used spelt flakes, barley flakes, rye flakes, or a combination instead of the oats. I’ve used up oat and wheat bran for extra fiber. I’ve replaced the bananas (although this version is my favorite) with pumpkin puree, beets puree, carrots, and it has worked beautifully every time. Soy milk work, so does almond and even whey.
These have become my absolute favorite breakfast muffins.
Thanks for another great recipe, Olena.
Hi Susana! It means so much to me that you truly enjoy this muffin recipe. Thanks for sharing all your tips and variations too!
TBH i was skeptical when i made the batter cos it looked like overnight oats XP But they turned out really well! & i love how simple it is! Great recipe 😀
LOVE THIS. My slight differences: 3 bananas (instead of 2 to make super moist muffins), semi-sweet chocolate chips, and approximately 1/2 teaspoon of coconut manna (coconut butter) on top of each muffin when they are warm out of the oven as a sort of “icing”. I also ensure I take the muffins out of the oven when they are golden brown, no risk of uncooked eggs as there are no eggs in this recipe. I love how easy this recipe is, and the best part- NO FLOUR!!! That is the #1 thing I search for in snacks, as I feel I don’t really need flour in my life. I would rather get my carbs from sweet potatoes, lentils, chick peas, etc. I realize oats have carbs but I just prefer eating less (i.e., no flour recipes) as I feel much better when I eat less carbs. Overall- AWESOME recipe. ifoodreal is the #1 website I search recipes on as I love your approach to recipes and health. Keep the amazing recipes coming 🙂
Aw. Thank you and you are welcome, Chelsey!
Very easy to make and tasty too.
I made a few changes:
Cinnamon – more than 1/2 tsp ( closer to 3/4 tsp).
Used olive oil in place of coconut oil.
Added 1 dark square of Trader Joe’s 70% chocolate
Chopped finely with large handful of walnut halves
Sounds like you made the best oatmeal muffins in the world!
These muffins were SO good.
I make these instead of oatmeal for breakfast every other week.
Great recipe. My 2 year old son who usually doesn’t eat oats or banana liked this very much. Thanks.
That is the best review you can get for the recipe.:)
Wow! I’m making these this week. I have one of those apple trees too! I never thought to make apple sauce. Sheesh. I will now!
Yeah, organic apples you can’t eat. What a waste! Applesauce is delish though! Glad I posted it.:)