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You are here: Home / Blog / Healthy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

Healthy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

November 2, 2016 by Marisa Moore

18.7K shares
apple cinnamon muffin with oats on top

These healthy apple cinnamon oatmeal muffins make an easy breakfast or grab and go snack. Packed with juicy apples, fragrant cinnamon, and wholesome oats, this muffin recipe is perfect for meal prep!

Jump to Recipe
healthy-apple-oatmeal-muffins

These muffins are the perfect healthy comfort food in the fall or anytime you have some extra apples on hand. And that’s usually always.

The list of ingredients may seem a bit long but there’s really just two steps to mixing up these easy muffins.

Ingredients

  • Apples
  • Old fashioned oats
  • Buttermilk
  • White whole wheat flour
  • Salt
  • Baking powder and baking soda
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Brown sugar
  • Egg
  • Avocado or other oil for baking
  • Vanilla extract
Put #breakfast on autopilot this week with these healthier Apple Oatmeal Muffins Click to Tweet

If it doesn’t feel like fall where you are, these Apple Oatmeal Muffins will help. I promise. Once these muffins start baking, the house will smell like fall. The heartwarming aroma will give you all the fall feels.

Not into apples? Try these Pear Oatmeal Muffins instead!

Baked muffins in a tin
Fresh-baked muffins in a pan

Directions

To make these muffins, you’ll need to prepare the dry ingredients in one large bowl. Simply whisk them together.

The most important step to keep these muffins tender and moist is soaking the oats in the milk. Once the oats are soft and well-hydrated, stir in the grated apples, eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Combine the two and get ready to bake!

Switching out flours

These muffins are fine with basic all-purpose, white whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry flour. Using half oats helps add a bit more bite to the muffin along with extra fiber. So they are not light or cakey but a bit more hearty – good for breakfast with a smear of peanut butter.

Don’t have buttermilk?

I know now everyone stocks buttermilk. You can easily make some at home by combining 1 tablespoon white vinegar or fresh lemon juice with enough milk to total one cup of milk. Let sit for at least 5 minutes. Substitute that for each cup of milk in the recipe.

You can also use regular milk or non-dairy milk like almond or cashew milk. Please note that the muffins may be a tiny bit drier and less tender with the nondairy milk because of the lower fat content.

healthy-apple-oatmeal-muffins

Enjoy these for breakfast tomorrow. Smear a muffin with a little nut butter, peach jam, or eat it plain.

These muffins freeze well too. I like to freeze the majority of the batch on the first day to enjoy for days and weeks to come.

To reheat the oat muffins: Reheat from frozen at 350ºF for 15 minutes or more depending on desired crispiness. I like to use a toaster oven for a quick reheat while I’m getting dressed.

More healthy muffin recipe ideas

And if these have you hungry for more muffins, you’ll love these Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins in the spring, these no-flour Healthier Blueberry Blender Muffins in the summer, and my Flourless Gingerbread Muffins when it turns chilly outside. Those last two come together in the blender!

And you’ll flip over these Carrot Cake Oatmeal Pancakes!

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apple cinnamon muffin with oats on top

Go ahead a make a batch. Let me know what you think.

healthy-apple-oatmeal-muffins
Print Recipe
4.93 from 14 votes

Healthy-ish Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

These healthier apple cinnamon oatmeal muffins make an easy breakfast or grab and go snack. Packed with juicy apples, fragrant cinnamon, and oats, this muffin recipe is ready in minutes!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time12 mins
Total Time27 mins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple muffins, healthy muffin recipes
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 144kcal
Author: Marisa Moore, RDN

Ingredients

  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg beaten
  • ¼ cup avocado or olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ cup apples, shredded (about 1½ medium apple)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray or grease a muffin tin with oil. Set aside.
    In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk. Let sit 15 minutes.
  • In a second mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
  • Stir the oil, egg, brown sugar and vanilla into the soaked oat mixture. Add dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold apples into the batter.
  • Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let the muffins cool in the pan 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

TIP: These muffins are best served warm. They also freeze and reheat incredibly well. To enjoy after freezing, thaw at room temperature or heat frozen muffins in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes. 
NOTE: I don’t recommend using paper muffin cups in this recipe. Baking directly on the muffin tin produced the best results – keeping the moisture in and creating a nice crust on the outside. 

Nutrition

Calories: 144kcal
18.7K shares

Filed Under: Baked Goods, Blog, Breakfast, Recipes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elizabeth Shaw

    November 02, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    5 stars
    WOOOHOOO! So glad you got these up my friend 🙂 XOXO

    Reply
    • Marisa

      November 02, 2016 at 9:48 pm

      Thanks, Liz!!

      Reply
  2. Spencer

    November 15, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    I made this today and I loved it so much. The muffins tuned out moist, aromatic, warm and delicious. Thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      November 15, 2016 at 12:14 pm

      Thanks! I love them too. One of my favorites for sure!

      Reply
  3. Sue Piracci

    October 18, 2017 at 6:09 am

    5 stars
    LOVE the ingredients (grated apples!) & what came out is pure gold! Took a batch o a morning meetup & everyone agreed it’s the best apple muffins they’ve had. I’ll have to make double batches next time.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      October 18, 2017 at 10:19 am

      Thanks for the note, Sue. What a compliment. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe!

      Reply
  4. Jody

    January 28, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    Next time I would use refined coconut oil as the unrefined I used made them taste soapy which is a common problem I’ve noticed when baking with coconut oil.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      January 28, 2018 at 10:56 pm

      THanks for the note. I tend to find that the extra virgin coconut oil adds a fruitiness but I’ve never noticed a soapy flavor. I will pay attention next time I bake with it.

      Reply
      • Holly

        May 11, 2020 at 1:57 pm

        The “soapy” flavor is from your coconut oil having gone rancid. It can spoil!

        Reply
  5. Sheri

    February 08, 2018 at 2:06 pm

    Hi there, I was just wondering if I could swap out the buttermilk for almond milk just because I don’t have buttermilk and I do have apples but not sure how long they’ll last and I would love to try these muffins!

    Reply
    • Marisa

      February 08, 2018 at 2:21 pm

      Hi Sherii, I haven’t tried these with almond milk. It would possibly work but the muffins may be a bit more dry. I chose buttermilk because it helps keep the muffins moist.

      Reply
  6. Natalie blanks

    April 19, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    How high up on the muffin tin do we fill it?

    Reply
    • Marisa

      April 19, 2020 at 4:38 pm

      Hi! Great question. Fill almost to the top. These muffins won’t rise as high as those with all regular flour because of the oats.

      Reply
  7. Mary

    August 09, 2020 at 9:55 am

    I substituted 1/4 c stevia + 1 T. Molasses for the 1/2 c sugar and olive oil for the coconut oil. Also used brown whole wheat flour.
    The muffins turned out delicious!
    Thank you for such a good recipe!!

    Reply
  8. Helena

    August 18, 2020 at 2:30 pm

    5 stars
    Really enjoyed these muffins, thanks so much for the recipe. For the flour, I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup ground flax, 1/4 white flour. Soaking the oats was a great idea. I let the flax soak in there too to aid digestion. Super yummy.

    Reply
  9. Ginny

    September 21, 2020 at 1:48 pm

    5 stars
    I made these yesterday. I used regular flour and powdered buttermilk. I made half because didn’t know if I would like them or not. They were delicious! . Not to sweet either. I will definitely be making these again. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Marisa

      September 21, 2020 at 1:49 pm

      Thanks for the note. So glad to hear you enjoyed them! And that you appreciate my low sugar habit 🙂

      Reply
  10. Matías

    October 03, 2020 at 1:28 am

    5 stars
    I’ve made this but as a loaf and without sugar, I used 3 Tbsp of stevia in replace.. it turned out delicious but kinda crumbly, next time I’ll try to add some applesauce. Also, is the batter supposed to be kinda runny (liquid) ?

    Reply
    • Marisa

      October 03, 2020 at 7:42 am

      Thanks so much for sharing! I don’t find the batter to be runny at all. Soaking the oats gives a place for the liquid to go. But I have not baked with stevia – wonder if that has any effect.

      FYI: (until I can update this one) The pear version of this recipe has a few pictures of how the muffin batter should look: https://marisamoore.com/pear-oatmeal-muffins/

      Reply
  11. Stacey

    November 03, 2020 at 7:23 pm

    5 stars
    These are sooooo good! I added an extra 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, and added a sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar on top before baking ….. they came out perfect. I will definitely be making these again.

    Reply
  12. Alana

    February 24, 2021 at 5:35 pm

    5 stars
    I made these muffins for my family last night and they were a hit all around! I’m hoping to make a double batch and freeze half. Would that effect the outcome of the recipe? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Marisa

      February 24, 2021 at 6:48 pm

      So happy to hear! I highly recommend baking extra and freezing a batch! These muffins taste great reheated in the toaster oven!

      Reply
  13. Carmela

    February 28, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    Can you make these with almond flour instead.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      March 04, 2021 at 7:20 pm

      Do you mean to swap it for the oat flour or the wheat flour? I haven’t tested it so can’t say if it will work. I think it might work for either or but not both.

      Reply
  14. Diane Martinez

    March 04, 2021 at 11:32 pm

    My brother is diabetic. What can I use to swap out for the brown sugar?

    Reply
    • Marisa

      March 05, 2021 at 8:45 am

      Hi Diane, I haven’t made this recipe without the brown sugar so I can’t say. You might be able to use a zero calorie sweetener. Check the package on that product to determine what the equal swap for the sugar.

      Reply
  15. Angela Doucet

    April 25, 2021 at 7:48 am

    5 stars
    Do you make chocolate muffins?

    Reply
    • Marisa

      April 25, 2021 at 8:34 am

      Hi Angela! I have a lot of muffins but haven’t done chocolate ones yet. Maybe I will!

      Reply
  16. Anne Taylor

    May 12, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! I tweaked slightly. Replaced oil with 4 ozs. unsweetened apple sauce. In the future, I shall add additional 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.

    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  17. LauraH

    September 01, 2021 at 9:34 am

    5 stars
    Delicious! Subbed buttermilk for oat milk+ 1T ACV, used coconut oil and added walnuts! Love that they’re not too sweet.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      September 01, 2021 at 9:41 am

      Love this and the walnut addition!

      Reply
  18. Jane

    October 30, 2021 at 11:51 am

    4 stars
    Just pulled these out of the oven! The house smells wonderful.
    The muffins turned out great; I subbed GF quick oats and GF all-purpose flour.
    Added chopped pecans. The batter was thinner than most muffin recipes but it bakes up fine with a delicate ‘crumb.’ Watch the baking time—ovens do vary and these bake fast. I love trying new recipes; thanks for a tasty new apple muffin recipe.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      October 30, 2021 at 11:53 am

      So glad you enjoyed the recipe with the gluten-free flour! This and the pear muffins are my fave!

      Reply
  19. Valerie Robertson

    January 18, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Marisa, these baked up wonderfully well. I subbed all sprouted buckwheat flour, used monk fruit as the sweetener too as I’m diabetic. They were delicious and smelled heavenly.

    Reply
  20. Olivia

    November 29, 2022 at 1:48 pm

    Could I use quick oats instead of old-fashioned? and can you taste the olive oil at all?

    Reply
    • Marisa Moore

      November 29, 2022 at 1:54 pm

      The recipe measure is for old fashioned and I recommend keeping them for texture. Quick cooking are cut smaller so you’ll need adjust the amount.

      I don’t notice the flavor of the olive oil but you can use any neutral-flavor oil you prefer. Just make sure it’s fresh.

      Reply

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Marisa Moore

Hi! I'm Marisa, a registered dietitian nutritionist living in Atlanta, GA. I use this blog to share (mostly) vegetarian recipes, credible nutrition information and a peek into my Southern roots and travels!
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