Next to the overnight oats, I think these Baked Oatmeal Cups are the easiest make-ahead breakfast out there!
If I don’t have a plan, I’m a complete mess in the morning. I will run and grab anything that is in front of me and then I end up overeating. 🙁 Can anyone relate?
Seriously, I become moody and irritable without a plan. Who knew that the lack of planning can play that much impact on your overall mood?
These oatmeal muffins are not only the meal prepper’s best friend, but they are also nutritious and versatile. You can put virtually any fruit in them to bake each week. It is much more fun to have something different than having the same old breakfast every single morning.
Let your imagination run wild here! I love a great “grab and go” breakfast!
❤️ Why You’ll Love These
Healthy | WW 5 Purple, 7 Blue, 8 Green, Vegetarian, Gluten Free. Everything will change depending on the mix in’s that you choose to add.
Meal Prep | Families love pulling these out of the freezer to heat up for a quick and easy breakfast. To whip these up takes under 10 minutes before cooking in the oven.
Freezer Friendly | Freeze these baked oat cups in a gallon sized freezer friendly bag. They will keep for up to three months without double wrapping.
🍓 Ingredients
The two I’m making are blueberry almond and blueberry, raspberry, white chocolate. I’m currently really loving blueberries so I tried to incorporate them into both of these baked oat cup recipes!
Oats: It’s best to use old fashioned oats (the ones that are large flakes) to get the right texture. Otherwise, the oat cups may fall apart and be a little mushy.
Sweetener: We use a combination of honey, white chocolate chips, and brown sugar. They are perfectly sweet and delicious.
Berries: I like using a combination of blueberries and raspberries, but you could substitute them for your favorite fruit or berry.
I made one batch of the oatmeal cups and divided them into two for the different toppings.
You can also split it up and fold in the berries rather than poking them in from the top, like I did in this recipe. Both ways work but I needed to poke from the top so you all could see what was in each cup! There are no steadfast rules here.
I do add a tad bit of sour cream to these. I learned that trick from Martha Stewart’s Banana Bread and fell in love. Ignore the ratings! This bread is to die for!! It is delicious!!! So I got hooked on adding a bit of sour cream to my baked goods and it really makes them moist!
⏲️ Instructions
These are easy to make and taste so good that you will want to add them into your breakfast rotation.
Step One: Combine the old fashioned oats, brown sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in one bowl and stir.
Step Two: In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, sour cream, honey and melted butter. You can see in the photo that part of my butter is not 100% melted and that is ok. It just needs to be really runny so it can mix into the dry ingredients without having separation.
Step Three: Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix. Fill into muffin pans (use the silicone or a regular aluminum pan) that have been well sprayed with nonstick spray and cook at 350 F for 18-20 minutes.
When they come out of the oven, I like to slide a knife around all of them to loosen them up so they don’t stick to the pan. After about five minutes, I take them out and allow them to cool on a rack.
❄️ Freezer Directions
Once the oatmeal cups have cooled completely, place them on a baking sheet to place in the freezer for several hours to freeze. Remove from freezer and then place them in a freezer grade Ziploc bag. To ensure that they won’t get frostbite, you can also wrap them in foil or a cling wrap and then place in a freezer bag.
They will stay fresh for three months.
To defrost, take them out of the freezer the night before and place them in the refrigerator to defrost. In the morning, place them on a plate and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Depending on your microwave, you may need a bit more. Test after the 30 seconds to see.
🍍 Other Tasty Add-ins
- Mangos
- Pineapple, mangos and coconut
- Chocolate chips and coconut
- Chia seeds and fruit
- Mix in a bit of instant coffee to them. If you do this, add in a little bit of oranges and make it a “mocha valencia” version named after Starbucks drink!
- Mix in a bit of instant coffee and add chocolate chips for more of a mocha version.
- Strawberries and banana are natural combination
- Bananas and pecans for a banana bread flavor
- Layer peanut butter and jelly in the center for a PBJ version
The options here are really endless and I hope you get the idea that you can do anything and to have fun making these!
🧁 Can I Use Muffin Liners?
I don’t suggest it. When you spray the muffin cups you are helping to create that crispy outside exterior you see in the photos. If you chose to use the muffin liners, you would lose that. Just remember to spray generously.
If you are looking for a great non stick option, reach for the silicone cupcake liners that are reusable. They slide right out of these and you can use them over and over again.
🥛 Can I Substitute a Different Milk?
Absolutely! We love making our own almond milk and coconut milk as they are both so creamy mixed with oats. This time, we chose to use regular 2% milk to show that it will come out perfectly using a dairy milk. But those that love the nut milks out there, we are with you! Go ahead and use them with no concerns in this recipe.
💡 Meal Prepping
Baked oatmeal cups are fantastic for meal prep. Make them on a Sunday and they will keep until Friday in a freezer bag. Separate them into smaller bags for a grab-and-go from the refrigerator. Heat them up for 30 seconds in the microwave for a warm and filling breakfast.
FAQ
They are dry due to over mixing or over baking.
Remember to mix just enough to combine the ingredients.
To make sure that the cups aren’t over baking, make sure to always use an oven thermometer to make sure the oven is cooking correctly. Cook at the lowest amount of time. If your oven cooks faster on a normal basis, use that information to apply that data to all your recipes.
This is caused by using QUICK OATS instead of old fashioned oats. Don’t substitute the oats listed in the recipe card.
These also might needed to be cooked a bit longer as each person’s oven is slightly different.
Also make sure to not over add any ingredients. The eggs are the binder, the milk makes it softer along with the sour cream. If there is too much milk and / or sour cream added, it will be too much fluid.
Up to five days in a sealed container.
You sure can. Substitute 1:1.
🔍 Related Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Easy Baked Berry Oatmeal Cups
Ingredients
- 3 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Milk
- ¼ cup Sour Cream
- ¼ cup Butter
- ½ cup Berries blueberries and raspberries
- ¼ cup White Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray muffin pan with cooking spray or use muffin liners.
- Combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir.
- Combine the honey, vanilla, 2 eggs, milk, sour cream and butter into a bowl. Stir.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients together. Gently add the berries so you don’t crush them.
- Divide into 12 muffin cups evenly.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, depending on your oven. Check at 18 minutes first and add a minute or two, as needed.
Notes
Nutrition
As others stated-good flavor, but did not hold together, made a mess-was nothing like the picture : ( Super sad, really wanted these to work for my busy family. I followed the recipe exactly (even using old fashioned oats)…
Angela, I’m so sorry to hear that. We have re-tested it and it turns out great. I wish it worked for you better!
Great idea but a HUGE mess. I followed the recipe exactly and they overflowed and did not set properly
Oh, Donna, that breaks my heart it didn’t work for you. We have made these for years and they come out perfectly every time. Can I help figure out what went wrong? Did you divide them into 12 regular sized muffin tins? Did you use OLD FASHIONED OATS as suggested? If using quick oats, they will not work. If using those oats, the end result will cook faster, not set up the same and not have the same texture. I hope these tips work for you.
Can sweetener be used instead of brown sugar to make them diabetic-friendly?
Hi there, Laura! Great question! This isn’t the best idea. Sugar has a job in baking besides adding sweetness. It is adding shelf life, moisture and liquifies as it bakes. There isn’t a true substitution 1:1 for sugar. When you start adding in sweeteners such as Sucralose which can be substituted for sugar 1:1 but is 600% sweeter. The other sweeteners use less in recipes but still contribute to the recipes being sweeter, oftentimes by 100-400%. I would honestly skip this recipe all together if you need one that is diabetic friendly and search for one that fits better. I won’t suggest switching out as I don’t want you to have a bad experience. Look for ones like this: https://www.mastercook.com/app/Recipe/WebRecipeDetails?recipeId=20746160 Cheers~ Ginny
The flavor of these was excellent. But mine did not hold up at all…totally fell apart and bubbled up over everything. Perhaps it was the sour cream? or the 2 tablespoons of baking powder? I don’t know? I’m a seasoned baker, I followed the recipe exactly, and these were a disappointment.
Oh man, I’m so sorry! These are a staple for us and work out great. I’m so happy to hear you loved the flavor in spite of them not holding up for you!