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.
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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! ★

Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.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 teaspoon cinnamon
- Add sugar followed by the wet ingredients, stirring to incorporate.1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 large egg
- Fold in the chopped apples.2 apples
- Grease a muffin tin or line with baking cups. Divide muffin batter between the muffin cups.
- 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.
I was nervous how these would turn out as the batter seemed very runny (and I only had 6 TBSP of butter, not 8). They are definitely not as dense as other muffins I’ve made but they turned out great and very tasty. This recipe was much easier than other “cinnamon apple muffin” recipes I researched (which required sifting, creaming, mixers, etc.).
Delicious muffins and very easy to prepare.
Since my husband is a diabetic I substituted the sugar for Monk fruit sweetener. I also used instant oatmeal since that was what I had.
They turned out delicious just the same. We loved them. Thank you
Thanks for sharing your successful substitute!
I’ve made these three times in less than a month. They are so easy and so delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!