Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal Cups with Apples

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Oats ~ Old-fashioned rolled oats work best. They will soften a bit while baking, but still keep their great texture. Quick-cooking oats will work in a pinch. Steel cut oats won’t work.

While oats are naturally gluten-free, they are often processed in facilities that also handle wheat. Look for certified gluten-free oats, if needed.

Flax ~ Flaxmeal is ground flax seeds. You can buy flaxmeal or grind whole flax seeds in an electric coffee grinder to make your own.

The flaxmeal will soak up some of the liquid and expand helping to hold the muffins together. Flax is great for egg-free baking!

Not only that, but flax contains good amounts of fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. [source]

Spices ~ I used pumpkin pie spice for convenience and extra cinnamon because we love it. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can use a combination (from most to least) of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.

A drizzle of pure vanilla extract and pinch of salt rounds out the flavors.

Pumpkin ~ Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling.

Stock up when canned pumpkin is plentiful in the fall and winter so you can make tasty vegan pumpkin recipes all year long with this pantry staple!

Mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash purée can be substituted.

Maple syrup ~ Pure maple syrup is the only way to go, not pancake syrup! The maple complements the fall flavors so well, but agave syrup can be used as well.

Milk ~ Any unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk will work. Almond milk or soy milk are my go-to choices, but oat milk, cashew milk, rice milk, hemp milk, etc. will all work.

Apples ~ You can make these with your favorite apple variety. We have been crushing on Empires and Cortlands from the apple orchard lately. So tart and yummy! Granny smith, red delicious, or even sweet Honeycrisp apples will work.

I always leave the peel on, but you can peel the apples if you prefer. Just be sure to dice them fairly small so they incorporate easily into the oat mixture.

Use diced pears if you wish. Or you can leave out the fruit altogether.

Extras ~ You can add some chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts would be lovely), seeds (pumpkin seeds to bring home those pumpkin vibes even more), dried fruit (cranberries would be a complementary flavor) or even chocolate chips (because…chocolate!) to the mix if you wish.

Make them your own to your taste! Just don’t add more than about 1 ½ cups of add-ins or the muffins may crumble and fall apart.

Dump all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl (1) and whisk to combine (2).

In a separate small mixing bowl, pour the wet ingredients (3) and whisk until smooth (4).

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (5) and stir well to combine (6). Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the oat mixture thoroughly.

Add the diced apples (7) and mix to distribute evenly (8).

Scoop the mixture into a prepared muffin pan. Fill each cavity to the top and pack it down (9).

At first it may seem like you’ll have too much batter for one pan, but keep packing it down and add more to each cavity until they are completely full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden and the muffins are set (10).

Allow the pumpkin baked oatmeal muffins to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before removing them to a wire cooling rack to continue cooling completely (11).

Storage and freezing

Fridge: Store these pumpkin baked oatmeal cups in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freezer: You can also freeze these muffins. Let them cool completely before transferring them to a freezer-safe container or plastic bag. They should keep well for up to 3 months.

Reheat: Reheat individual muffins in the microwave in 30 second increments until warm. If you are reheating a whole batch, warm them on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil if the tops start getting too dark.

Pro tips and tricks

~ Use old fashioned rolled oats for the best texture. Do not use steel cut oats, they will not work.

~ Use 100% pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling.

~ Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to fully incorporate all of the oat mixture.

~ Feel free to customize the add-ins to your liking. Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or chocolate chips can all be used in addition to or instead of the diced apples. Just don’t use more than 1 ½ cups of add-ins or the muffins may crumble.

~ Fill up each muffin cavity all the way to the top and pack it down tightly. This will ensure the muffins hold together well.

~ To ensure these pumpkin baked oatmeal muffins are gluten-free, use certified gluten-free oats.

~ This recipe can be made in an 8×8 baking dish instead of a muffin tin if you prefer. It will take about 10 minutes longer to bake through. You can also double the recipe for 24 muffins or a 9×13 pan.

FAQs

More vegan oatmeal recipes

• Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
• No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
• Oatmeal Peanut Butter Energy Balls
• Strawberry Overnight Oats
• Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
• Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal
• Cranberry Baked Oatmeal Muffins
• Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies