Take the hassle out of weekday breakfasts with these delicious meal prep Baked Oatmeal Cups! Try these 5 different flavour variations.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Rolled oats – you can use steel cut or quick oats, but they’ll have a much different texture.
- Baking powder – unfortunately, there’s no good substitute for baking powder.
- Salt – to taste.
- Coconut oil – avocado oil would also be good.
- Almond milk – substitute for coconut milk or another plant-based milk of your choice.
- Eggs – use one mashed banana for a vegan option.
- Maple syrup – or another sweetener like honey, stevia or mashed dates.
- Vanilla – you can try using almond extract but it will have a different flavour than the vanilla extract.
- Add-ins – see recipe card for flavour variations.
How to make baked oatmeal cups
Step 1: Make the batter.
Mix together the rolled oats, baking powder and salt in one bowl; and the melted coconut oil, milk, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla in another bowl. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Step 2: Add the batter to the muffin tins.
Divide the oatmeal mixture amongst greased or lined muffin tins.
Step 3: Mix in your toppings.
Add in any toppings or add-ins of your choice.
Step 4: Bake in the oven.
Bake in the oven then serve fresh or store for later.
Recipe tips & tricks
Follow these recipe tips to ensure your baked oatmeal cups turn out perfectly every time:
- Use the right tools: Use non-stick muffin tins, silicone muffin cups, re-usable cupcake liners or regular muffin liners to prevent the oatmeal from sticking to the muffin tins.
- Try out different oats: Rolled oats are best for this recipe, but steel cut oats or quick oats can be used if they're all you have on hand. Just keep in mind they'll have a different texture.
- Let them cool first: Wait a bit for the oatmeal cups to cool before sliding a silicone spatula around each cup and gently lifting them out.
- Experiment with add-ins: I provided some of my favourite options for flavors, but feel free to get creative. Try mixing in different add-ins like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spices, raisins, shredded carrots and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
There's 1/4 cup of maple syrup in this baked oatmeal meal prep recipe and that makes them mildly sweet. If you'd like more sweetness or are looking for natural sweeteners, try adding in some honey, stevia, mashed dates, applesauce, shredded coconut, coconut sugar or mashed banana.
You can definitely make these baked oatmeal cups without milk or eggs, so they are vegan-friendly! I recommend using dairy-free milk such as almond or coconut milk to keep the calorie count lower, but you can use dairy milk, or just skip the milk altogether and use water. As for eggs, you can sub in 1 mashed banana in place of the two large eggs. The texture may be a bit off, but you will get similar results and end up with vegan oatmeal cups!
Rolled oats are best for this recipe, as they provide the best texture. You can try using steel cut oats or quick oats, but the texture will be different.
If you want to try making this recipe into a loaf instead, I'd recommend trying my baked oatmeal recipe.
I personally haven't tried adding protein powder to oatmeal cups before, but you can test it out! You'll likely need to add the protein powder to the dry ingredients, then fold it all into the wet ingredients.
The Best Baked Oatmeal Cups
I rounded up some of my favourite baked oatmeal cup recipes! The options are pretty much endless – if you can think of different flavors, you can add them to these muffin cups. Try out different add-ins like grated zucchini, peanut butter, chocolate shavings, coconut, nuts and more.
Pumpkin
Apple cinnamon
Blueberry banana
Mango coconut
Strawberry
Storing and reheating
This baked oatmeal meal prep recipe is a great time-saver in the morning and is the perfect healthy breakfast or snack. You can make the oat cups any time and they’ll be ready to eat in an instant. To meal prep them for the week, simply add them to square glass containers once cooled, store them in the fridge and then enjoy them hot or cold on-the-go.
These baked oatmeal cups will last in the fridge for up to 5 days, which gives you breakfast for an entire week. They do need to be refrigerated instead of stored at room temperature in order to maximize how long they will last. If you do leave them on the counter, you’ll need to eat them within 2 to 3 days.
You can eat them cold, at room temperature or even reheat them in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. If you think they’re a bit dry, feel free to add a splash of water or milk before reheating.
Can you freeze baked oatmeal cups?
Yes! You can make a big batch of these baked oatmeal cups and store them in the freezer to enjoy later. Wait until they have cooled to room temperature then freeze individual portions in glass containers or Ziploc bags for up to 3 months. To reheat, pop two into the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes until defrosted and slightly warm.
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More meal prep breakfast recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you're going to meal prep these oatmeal cups.
- Get some non-stick muffin tins here.
- These silicone muffin tins also help avoid oatmeal from sticking.
- These re-useable cupcake liners are also perfect for this recipe and totally non-stick.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Baked Oatmeal Cups {5 Ways}
Ingredients
Oatmeal cups base
- 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cups almond or coconut milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup maple syrup `
- 1 tbsp vanilla
Strawberry
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
Pumpkin
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
Blueberry banana
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 banana, mashed
Mango coconut
- 1 cup mango, diced
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Apple cinnamon
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled & diced
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, mix together rolled oats, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl, mix together melted coconut oil, almond/coconut milk, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then mix in add-ins of choice.
- Line muffin tins with cupcake liners or spray with non-stick spray. Divide oatmeal mixture among cups, making sure to balance the wet and dry ingredients evenly.
- Bake in oven for 40 minutes. Leftovers will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.
Comments & Reviews
Chey says
Hey, Taylor!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It looks amazing and it is such a great treat for my weekly meal prep.
I tried to make it for the first time today, and I followed the recipe. I set the oven to 350°F and I put it in for only 30 minutes, but they came out burned. Could there be a reason for this? The recipe says 40 minutes. I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Again, this looks amazing and I am excited to try it again. Hopefully, there is some advice you can give me. I never learned how to cook and I am trying to learn.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Chey! I’m sorry you had trouble. Every oven is different so if yours runs hot maybe they didn’t need as long to cook. I’m wondering what type of baking dish you put them in. Using a larger dish would spread the mixture out more and possibly result in the edges being burned.
Heather says
I am allergic to eggs and coconut oil. Are there any substitutions you could recommend to still make this recipe work?
Taylor Stinson says
You could use any other type of oil but I’m not sure on the eggs unfortunately. You could try baking without them or trying a chia egg.
Kay says
I just made these with apple and cinnamon. they’re so good. I made some subs based on what I had, they still came out great. taste like mini apple oat muffins. I was worried about all the liquid bc it seems like a lot, but the oats just soak it all up. will definitely be making these again. great way to use up fruit!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Olivia says
Is the nutrition information based on 1 oatmeal cup? Which flavour?
Thanks,
Olivia
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Olivia! It’s for 2 cups. The flavours will all differ a tiny bit but the difference is so slight, maybe 10-20 calorie difference depending on the fruit being used. If you need an exact count, I recommend using a calculator such as Myfitnesspal.
anne says
Ugh my earlier comment got deleted because it said it was duplicate. Here is the question. can I sub apple sauce for the coconut oil. i don’t think it’s very good for you. Does the recipe for the add in make enough for the entire recipe of 6 muffin cups. Same goes for all of the admins? Thanks
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Anne – I wouldn’t recommend substituting applesauce. Coconut oil is not bad for you, it’s a healthier oil. Your best bet would be sunflower or olive oil in place of the coconut oil. I’m not sure what you’re trying to ask in regards to the other part of your question. This recipe makes 6 servings – this is 12 muffin cups (eg 2 muffins per serving). You will choose which flavour you want to make, then add in the appropriate mix-ins under that specific heading and that will fill the entire 12 muffin cup tray. I hope that makes sense.
Kris Whitaker says
Is the nutritional info for one muffin or two?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Kris! It’s for 2 🙂
Safak Yildirim says
I made these this morning. they were amazing!!
mika tremblay says
Can I use quick oats?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes for sure!
Lissa King says
Could you freeze these?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes you can! Detailed instructions are in the blog post 🙂
Sam says
Hi! When do I add the coconut oil? It’s in the ingredients list but not in the instructions. Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Sorry for the typo Sam! You melt the coconut oil then mix it in with the wet ingredients. I have updated the recipe to reflect this change.
joyce peters says
can skim milk be used rather than coconut or almond?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes it can for sure!