Ready in under 45 minutes, these Apple Oatmeal Muffins are easy to prepare and delicious. They are great for a quick breakfast, a mid-day snack with a cup of coffee or even as a sweet treat. This is a great fall recipe that can be enjoyed when apple season is in full swing.
Also, try my classic Blueberry Buttermilk Muffin recipe. And check out my Baking Recipes for more simple sweet and savory bakes.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
This recipe is incredibly easy to prepare with simple ingredients. It can also be adapted slightly to suit your tastes.
- Flour: For this recipe, all-purpose flour is what you need. But if you want, you can sub out ¼ of the white flour with whole wheat flour. You can also sub in some almond flour for added fiber.
- Oats: Whole rolled oats are ideal and will soften in the cooking process. But if you have quick oats, steel cut oats or instant oats, you can use those too.
- Sugar: I am using brown sugar here for the added flavor, which works really well with the other flavor profiles in the recipe.
- Fat: Butter is used in both the crisp topping and in the muffin base itself. You can use unsalted butter or salted butter. If you use salted butter, you can omit the salt in the dry ingredients.
- Milk: I recommend using whole or 2% milk that is spiked with a little yogurt to make it tangy. You can also use buttermilk here if you have it, just like in my Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins recipe.
- Leavener: I am using a combination of baking soda and baking powder in this recipe. The baking soda requires an acid to activate it (which you will find in the yogurt). The baking powder will activate regardless.
- Cinnamon: Apples and cinnamon go hand in hand. The cinnamon is used in both the crisp topping and the batter.
- Fresh Apples: Any type of apple will work in this recipe. Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Gala apples, etc. I like to leave the skin on for added fiber but you can totally peel them if you prefer.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make these Apple Oatmeal Muffins Recipe
This is a pretty straightforward muffin recipe. The key to getting a nice crunchy topping though is to refrigerate the crisp topping.
Step 1. Make crisp and preheat oven. In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Using your fingers, massage the ingredients until you get large crumbs. Preheat your oven to 400F/200C.
Step 2. Mix the muffin dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the muffin batter dry ingredients: flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine evenly and make sure there are no brown sugar lumps.
Step 3. Mix the muffin wet ingredients. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
Step 4. Make batter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, mix to combine. The batter will be a little wet.
Step 5. Add chopped apples. Add the diced apples to the batter and fold to incorporate. Do not overmix.
Step 6. Portion the batter. Divide the batter into a 12-hole muffin tin lined with muffin liners. The mixture should come up almost to the top of the muffin liners.
Step 7. Add the crisp. Break apart the crisp chunks and divide them evenly over the muffin batter.
Step 8. Bake. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven, on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool the muffins right in the muffin pan.
Expert Tips
- Don’t over mix: stir until just combined for a tender, soft crumb. Over mixing can lead to toughness.
- Cool before serving: muffin liners tend to stick when the muffins are still warm, but cooling them completely should solve this problem and you’ll be able to peel the liner without issues.
- Change it up. If you’re not a fan of oatmeal, try adding walnuts or pecans. Get creative with it.
- Keep the apple peel. For added fiber, don’t peel the apples. Just make sure the apples are cleaned well and any wax coating is removed.
- Versatile recipe. These homemade muffins are a delicious breakfast for busy mornings, a lunchbox treat as an after school snack.
Recipe FAQs
Certainly. This is a great make-ahead recipe. The muffins can be enjoyed at room temperature or reheated in a toaster oven or air fryer.
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. If you need to store them longer, consider refrigerating them for up to 5 days. They also freeze really well for up to 6 months in a freezer bag. They can be defrosted on the counter or in a toasted oven.
This recipe uses quite a few non-vegan ingredients, however standard substitutions should work. Replace the egg with a flax egg (flaxseed meal and water). Substitute the butter with coconut oil. Replace the milk and yogurt with coconut milk or other milk alternative.
Other Baking Recipes
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Apple Oatmeal Muffins with Crisp Topping
Equipment
- Muffin tin – Affiliate link
Ingredients
Crisp Topping
- 4 tbsp Cold butter – 2 ounces
- 3 tbsp All purpose flour
- 3 tbsp Oatmeal
- 2 tbsp Brown sugar
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
Muffin Batter
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- ½ cup Oats
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Whole or 2% milk
- ½ cup Melted butter – 1 stick or 4 ounces
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tbsp Yogurt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 Apples – diced finely
Instructions
- Make Crisp topping and preheat oven. In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Using your fingers, massage the ingredients until you get large crumbs. Preheat your oven to 400F/200C.
- Mix the muffin dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the muffin batter dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine evenly and make sure there are no brown sugar lumps.
- Mix the muffin wet ingredients. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- Make batter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, mix to combine. The batter will be a little wet.
- Add chopped apples. Add the diced apples to the batter and fold to incorporate. Do not overmix.
- Portion the batter. Spoon batter into a 12-hole muffin tin lined with muffin liners. The mixture should come up almost to the top of the muffin liners.
- Add the crisp. Break apart the crisp chunks and divide them evenly over the muffin batter.
- Bake. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven, on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool the muffins right in the muffin pan.
Notes
- Flour: For this recipe, all-purpose flour is what you need. But if you want, you can sub out ¼ of the white flour with whole wheat flour.
- Oats: Whole rolled oats are ideal and will soften in the cooking process. But if you have quick oats, steel-cut oats or instant oats, you can use those too.
- Sugar: I am using brown sugar here for the added flavor, which works really well with the other flavor profiles in the recipe. But you can use white sugar or even coconut sugar if you like.
- Fat: Butter is used in both the crisp topping and in the muffin base itself. You can use unsalted butter or salted butter. If you use salted butter, you can omit the salt in the dry ingredients.
- Milk: I recommend using whole or 2% milk that is spiked with a little yogurt to make it tangy.
- Fresh Apples: Any type of apple will work in this recipe. Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Gala apples, etc. I like to leave the skin on for added fiber but you can totally peel them if you prefer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I made these as mini muffins for my kid’s lunches (and mine!) and they turned out beautifully! The texture is very fluffy and moist! I got 40 generously sized mini muffins from the recipe.
Thank you so much for the feedback. Glad the kids liked them!
Would you recommend any additional steps to keep the apples from browning after you cut them until you are ready to use them?
Thank you for this recipe.
If you find the apples are browning too quickly, you can toss them in a small amount of lemon juice to help slow the oxidation process.