Easy Homemade Apple Oatmeal Muffins with Cinnamon

Made with rolled oats, these easy apple cinnamon oatmeal muffins are an easy and quick breakfast or after school snack.

Originally published September 2018; this post has been updated.

If your weeks are as busy as mine, spending some time on the weekend preparing food for the coming week is a good strategy to save time (and headaches). This easy apple oatmeal muffins recipe fits the bill. 

They freeze easily. They’re tasty, so kids will love them; they’re a great school snack to tuck into the lunchbox. And they’re easy to make. 

This recipe makes a dozen homemade muffins, but making a double batch will feed a hungry crowd or allow you to freeze some for the whole family to enjoy on busy mornings the rest of the week. You can pop a frozen muffin in a school lunch box and it will be thawed and ready to eat by noon.

Ingredients

Apples — Cut fresh apples in chunks for a chunky muffin or grate the apples. You can peel the apples, or not. Any kind of apples will work, but my preference is an apple that has a little tartness to it, like a Gravenstein (my favorite apple!) or Granny Smith apple. Sweet apples like Pink Lady or Gala apples will make a sweeter muffin. Read about different types of apples for baking here. 

Flour — When I bake with all purpose flour I opt for the unbleached version. Bleached flour is very white, but it’s also treated with bleaching agents that I don’t really need in my food. If you’d like to amp up the fiber in these apple muffins, you can safely replace up to half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour.

Rolled oats  — They’re not just for breakfast! Old fashioned rolled oats give these muffins a little extra fiber and a delicious flavor. Quick oats will not give you the same results.

Brown sugar — The rich molasses flavor of brown sugar is delicious in this dessert. Use light or brown sugar, as you like.

Eggs — Fresh eggs, store bought, use what you have readily available. 

Butter — Allow the butter to come to room temperature for easy mixing. I used salted butter; if you prefer unsalted, that will work fine. You can also substitute coconut oil for a dairy free muffin.

Milk — Use whatever type you typically keep on hand. The addition of milk helps the muffins brown nicely. You can certainly use a non-dairy alternative like almond milk or coconut milk if you prefer.

Cinnamon — This familiar and warming spice brings out the sweetness of the apples.

Making the Muffins

I like chunks of apple in my muffins, but if you prefer them less chunky, simply chop the apples smaller. Or grate them. You can peel the apples if you want, too. Your call.

Once the apples are chopped, it’s just a matter of measuring some ingredients and mixing them together.

Start by combining the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and wet ingredients and stir just until incorporated.

You can use a stand mixer or a simple bowl and wooden spoon. It’s an easy batter to mix by hand, and honestly, unless your mixer sits out on the counter for easy use, it’s probably not worth pulling it out.

Add the chopped apple pieces to the muffin batter. 

Note: This recipe makes a slightly thinner batter than some muffin recipes. Not to worry! The oats will expand and cook so that the resulting muffin is a moist and delicious morsel.

For an extra pop of flavor, sprinkle on a tablespoon or two of this easy lemon sugar!

Bake these muffins in a regular muffin pan or use a mini muffin tin for fun-sized muffins.

Eco-Friendly Muffin Liners

Cleaning up after muffin making is so much easier with paper muffin liners. Trouble is, those paper liners often come in a plastic container, leaving you with another unnecessary piece of plastic in the trash. Seek out the If You Care brand of baking cups for a product that is made from unbleached paper, certified compostable, and packaged in cardboard. They’re available at health food stores and online. 

Serving

Enjoy these easy apple cinnamon muffins out of hand (and definitely have one fresh and piping hot, right out of the oven). Or break them in half and top with a pat of butter or a spread of jam.

Looking for a gluten free option? Try this gluten free apple cinnamon muffin recipe!

Storage

If you have leftovers, tuck these muffins into an airtight container and store at room temperature for several days. 

★ Did you make a batch of these easy apple cinnamon muffins? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★

Continue to Content

Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Celebrate apple season with these easy apple oat muffins. Freeze extras for school lunches.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup unbleached organic all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 apples, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Add sugar followed by the wet ingredients, stirring to incorporate.
3. Fold in the chopped apples.
4. Grease a muffin tin or line with baking cups. Divide muffin batter between the muffin cups.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out clean.

Notes

Chop the apples coarsely or grate them for less visible apple chunks.

I have had good luck making this recipe gluten free by replacing the all purpose flour with 1/2 cup 1:1 gluten free flour and 1/2 cup almond flour.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 muffin
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 200Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 161mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 3g

Did you make this recipe?

Share an image on Instagram and tag @attainablesustainable with #attainablesustainable!

Click to save or share!