How to Make Oatmeal Muffins (steam oven and conventional methods)

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Easy oatmeal muffins are my favorite thing to do with leftover oatmeal. They are a great healthy lunchbox muffin and can be adapted to suit almost any flavor combination. I bake oatmeal muffins in the steam oven for maximum tenderness and moisture, but they work well in a regular oven too.

Today I’m going to show you how to make apple oatmeal muffins. I’ll also give simple variations for other favorites including banana oatmeal muffins, blueberry oatmeal muffins and oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. 

Once you master the basic muffin recipe it’s simple to change them up; I bake a batch of these muffins about once a week and we never get bored of eating them because there are so many flavors which work in them! 

Basic oatmeal muffins recipe

The full recipe with quantities is below, but for a quick overview, here’s what you’ll need to bake your easy oatmeal muffins.

• Leftover oatmeal. I often have a few extra spoonfuls of oatmeal made in the steam oven after serving up breakfast for my kids. If you always eat all your breakfast, just make a little extra and save it for this recipe. Leftover oatmeal for muffins will keep in the fridge for several days. In a pinch, soak oats in hot water or milk for 10-15 minutes. It will give a similar result to leftovers. 
• Eggs
• Baking powder
• All-purpose flour
• Sugar (white or brown)
• Milk
• Melted butter or a neutral-tasting oil
• Salt
• Additions of your choice (fruit, nuts, chocolate, seeds or spices)

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2. Tip in additions; here I’m using peeled and diced apples, but any of the variations below work. Give the mixture another stir so the fruit is coated in flour, this helps it not to sink to the bottom of the muffins while they’re in the oven. 

3. In a separate bowl or jug, mix together the oatmeal, eggs, milk and melted butter or oil. Mash the oatmeal and whisk so the oatmeal and eggs are completely broken up.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until everything is combined and there are no streaks of flour. The worst thing you can do with a muffin is to overmix it; you’ll end up with tough and chewy baked goods! What you’re looking for at this point is a chunky, lumpy mixture.

5. Divide the batter evenly into your muffin pan. I line with paper cases for ease of baking and serving, but greasing the pan will work too. Work as quickly as you can; the batter toughens on standing, and the baking powder begins to act as soon as liquids are added to the mix. The faster you get the muffins into the oven, the better their finished texture will be. 

6. Bake your oatmeal muffins using a moderate heat. If you’re using a steam oven, add a low to moderate amount of humidity/steam. Bake until they’re risen, browned on top and spring back when pressed gently in the center. 

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• Don’t overmix your muffin batter. Muffins should be mixed only until the ingredients come together. If you’re stirring the life out of that bowl and ending up with a very smooth batter you’ll have chewy muffins instead of tender, soft-crumbed muffins.
• When it comes to the fat you use in your oatmeal muffins, you have two choices: melted butter or a neutral tasting oil. Butter gives muffins a richer taste and more cake-like, open crumb. Oil makes the other ingredients stand out because it doesn’t have much flavour of its own. Oil also gives a smaller, more even crumb. Some people say it makes the muffins last longer, though I think all muffins are best eaten on the day they’re baked. 
• You also have options for sweeteners in this recipe. I’ve used brown sugar because it’s a great companion to the apple and gives the muffins a caramel undertone. For a muffin with other fruits or chocolate, use white sugar or a mix of the two. Or, if you don’t want to use refined sugar at all, make extra healthy oatmeal muffins by switching the sugar for a quarter cup of honey or maple syrup. The texture of the finished muffins will be more dense but it’s still very good.       
• Whether you bake these in a steam oven or a regular oven will depend on which appliances you own. If you have a steam oven, I recommend you use it here. Steam helps muffins rise quickly and makes for really good crackly tops. I’ve given directions for both methods in the recipe.

I do hope you try my easy oatmeal muffins recipe. It’s such a delicious and adaptable muffin recipe to have up your sleeve for hungry hordes of kids and adults alike. 

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4.56 from 9 votes

Apple Oatmeal Muffins: Steam Oven and Conventional methods

Oatmeal muffins are easy, healthy and open to so many flavor combinations, from these apple oatmeal to banana oatmeal muffins, oatmeal chocolate chip or blueberry oatmeal muffins.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Afternoon Tea, Breakfast, Morning Tea, Snack

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: apple oatmeal muffins, oatmeal muffins

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 180kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour plain flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or white, see notes
• 4 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 3/4 cup diced apple from approximately 1 medium apple
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oatmeal cooked, see notes
• ½ cup whole milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly, or oil, see notes

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Method – steam oven

• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C, combination steam setting. If your oven has variable steam settings, choose 30% (if not, don’t worry! Just set to combi steam at the correct temperature and the oven will figure out the humidity for you). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the chunks of apple and stir so they’re coated with the dry ingredients.
  2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 4 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp fine salt, 3/4 cup diced apple
• In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the oatmeal and mash with a fork to break up clumps. Add the milk and butter, and stir or whisk to combine.
  2 eggs, 1 cup oatmeal, ½ cup whole milk, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir to just combine.
• Divide the batter evenly between the wells of the prepared muffin tin. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean, about 15 minutes. The muffins will look lightly browned and well risen.
• Remove the cooked muffins from the oven and turn onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Method – conventional oven

• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. If your oven has a convection (fan) setting, use that and set the temperature to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the chunks of apple and stir so they’re coated with the dry ingredients.
  2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 4 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp fine salt, 3/4 cup diced apple
• In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the oatmeal and mash with a fork to break up clumps. Add the milk and butter, and stir or whisk to combine.
  2 eggs, 1 cup oatmeal, ½ cup whole milk, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir to just combine.
• Divide the batter evenly between the wells of the prepared muffin tin. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. The muffins will look lightly browned and well risen.
• Remove the cooked muffins from the oven and turn onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

1. These muffins are best fresh from the oven and will go stale if not eaten on the day they’re made.
2. If you have leftover muffins, wrap well and freeze. Defrost in a low steam oven and warm or toast to serve.
3. My cooked oatmeal is usually made from rolled oats but steel-cut or pin head oatmeal makes really special muffins with a fantastic texture. If you haven’t planned ahead with your cooked oatmeal, soak 1/2 cup rolled oats in 1/2 cup hot water or milk for 20 minutes before starting the recipe.
4. The brown sugar in this recipe can be swapped out for white sugar or a mix of the two, or omitted entirely in favor of 1/4-1/3 cup honey or maple syrup.

Variations:

1. Healthy banana oatmeal muffins (low sugar): omit the apple and one of the eggs. Reduce the sugar down to 2-3 tablespoons. Mash 1 large or 2 small ripe bananas and stir into the wet ingredients. 
2. Blueberry oatmeal muffins: swap the apple chunks for blueberries (fresh or frozen). If you want your muffins to be more like a traditional blueberry muffin, swap out the brown sugar for white. 
3. Banana blueberry oatmeal muffins: add a half cup of blueberries to the healthy banana oatmeal muffins above. 
4. Oatmeal choc chip muffins: swap the apples for semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chunks of dark chocolate. Sprinkle a few rolled oats on top of the muffins just before they go into the oven. 
5. Cranberry oatmeal muffins: swap the apple for dried cranberries and the brown sugar for white sugar. Add the zest of a lemon or half an orange to the wet mixture.   

Nutrition

Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 216mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 177IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 1mg