Oatmeal Muffins – brown sugar gives these hearty muffins great flavor, and buttermilk makes them soft and tender! Perfect plain, or with butter and jam.
I love muffins. You may have figured that out seeing as how I have already posted over two dozen recipes for muffins! They are the perfect portable breakfast, and there are so many tasty varieties.
A VERSATILE MUFFIN RECIPE
I try to make my muffins healthier by loading them with dried fruit or nuts. Blueberries and craisins are my favorite. My kids however, sometimes just want plain muffins. On those days I make either my whole wheat muffins, or this recipe for oatmeal muffins. They eat them just about as fast as I can pull them out of the oven!
These muffins are healthy and hearty thanks to the oats. But the addition of the buttermilk makes them nice and tender. Brown sugar add a perfect amount of sweetness.
Since my husband and I like dates or craisins in ours, sometimes I will spoon half of the batter into muffin cups, then stir the dried fruit into the remaining batter. Then everyone is happy. 🙂
They also freeze really well, which is great for busy school mornings when there isn’t even time for cereal and you have to toss breakfast at your kids as they run out the door. Who decided that buses should come at 7 am anyway?
HOW TO MAKE OATMEAL MUFFINS:
(To skip my tips and just see the full recipe card, simply scroll to the bottom of the post.)
Ingredients needed:
- oats (Either old fashioned or quick oats will work for these muffins.)
- buttermilk (Fresh is best, but you can make your own soured milk. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, and fill to one cup with milk.)
- egg
- vanilla extract
- brown sugar
- oil (I used vegetable oil, but any oil that is liquid at room temperature will work.)
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- dried fruit (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
PREP WORK: Spray a muffin tin with non stick cooking spray.
SOFTEN OATS: Stir together oats and buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes or until oats are soft. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
WET INGREDIENTS: Add egg, vanilla, brown sugar, and oil to the oat mixture. Whisk till smooth.
DRY INGREDIENTS: Pour flour into the wet ingredients. Make a small well in the pile of flour and spoon the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the well. Gently stir them into the flour, then stir the whole mixture till just combined.
If desired, stir in about a half cup of dried fruit and/or nuts. We like Craisins or dates and chopped pecans.
BAKE: Spoon batter into well greased muffin cups. If desired, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with oats. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks.
SERVE: We like them best served warm. They are extra tasty with butter and jam, or honey butter. Of course if you use dried fruit and nuts, they are great all alone.
VARIATIONS:
- As I mentioned above, we like to add dried fruit to our muffins. Craisins and dates are tasty, but you can try your favorite.
- Chopped nuts add a nice crunch to the muffins; we like pecans.
- For an extra indulgent muffin, toss some chocolate chips into the batter.
- To spice things up, stir a teaspoon of cinnamon in with the dry ingredients. Or use pumpkin pie spice, or your favorite spice.
- Instead of sprinkling oats on top of the muffins, sprinkle them with coarse sugar instead.
MORE TASTY RECIPES WITH OATS
DELICIOUS MUFFIN RECIPES:
- Blueberry Muffins with Sour Cream
- Almond Muffins with Apples
- Donut Muffins
- Sour Cream Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Strawberry Muffins
- Whole Wheat Muffins
BUTTERMILK OATMEAL MUFFINS RECIPE
Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats old fashioned or quick
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Spray a muffin pan with non stick cooking spray.
- Stir together oats and buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees while oats are soaking.
- Whisk the egg, vanilla, brown sugar, and oil into the oat mixture.
- Dump flour into the wet ingredients and make a small well. Pour the baking powder, soda, and salt into the well and stir them into the flour with a measuring spoon.
- Stir the batter all together just until moistened.
- Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with oats if desired.
- Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.
Notes
- We like to add 1/2-3/4 a cup of dried fruit and/or nuts to the batter before adding the dry ingredients.
- Without optional ingredients, you get 10 muffins. With added fruit and nuts you get 12 muffins.
Nutrition
(originally published 4/3/2014, updated April 2020)
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Can sub brown sugar for coconut sugar?
I’ve never used coconut sugar before, so I’m not sure. If you’ve tried subbing it in similar recipes with good results, it’s worth a try.
Since finding your Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffin recipe a few months back
I’ve made them several times. I’ve done different variations with add ins (as you suggest) like coconut, chopped chocolate pieces, dried cherries; sliced almonds on top whatever the craving may be. I love the fact that their so quick, so easy as well as tender & delicious. Thank you !😊
Can these be frozen for a month or two?
Yes, they freeze beautifully. I freeze mine in ziplock freezer bags.
These are wonderful. I make them for my sister often. Very versatile recipie..tweaks with different nuts and fruits. Thanks!
Yes, I love them with craisins and pecans! So good!
Can I used whole wheat flour ?
Thanks
I’ve made them with half whole wheat flour, and they were still tasty. If you love baked goods with whole wheat flour, go for it!
I was excited to make these and was a very disappointed, very bland and I even added raisins. If I was a more experienced baker I would know what they were missing. But kind of boring. They are however very moist.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy them. They definitely aren’t a fancy muffin, but we sure love them.
These are nice and moist. I managed to get 9 really large muffins out of my first batch, but found them a little bland. Ran to the store to get regular “large” liners and added a little lemon zest and 1/4 tsp nutmeg to the second batch. This time I got 14 regular sized muffins. My mother-in-law made marmalade today, so I thought these would be perfect with that!
These sound delicious!
I just made these fabulous muffins. I added a small teaspoon of strawberry jam to the middle of the batter in each muffin cup… Oh my goodness, pure heaven.
That is a great idea! Who wouldn’t love a little surprise inside?
Hi,I just tried this recipe and doubled it.I made breakfast bars.They were awesome, but tweaked for healthier version.I used 1/4 c . coconut oil,1/4 c.butter for oil.I used 1 cup oat bran for oatmeal 1 cup oatmeal.1/4 c.honey for brown sugar.2 scoops of protein powder (vanilla).3 scoops of psyllium hulls powder for fiber.Last but not least.2 cans of wild blueberries drained.1 cup chopped walnuts.Thanks again.
These were fantastic! I used white whole wheat flour in place of the flour in the recipe & they were super light & fluffy!
I’ve done that a few times as well- it’s always good to sneak in some extra fiber! So glad you liked them. 🙂
These look delicious. Sometimes it’s nice to see a simple muffin recipe without a zillion add ins. I bet these would be delicious for breakfast with some jam and a nice cup of coffee :).
They are delicious with jam- or honey butter!