Apple Oatmeal Muffins make a great breakfast or quick afternoon snack. Filled with apples, cinnamon, and oatmeal, then topped with an easy oat streusel, these apple muffins are an easy grab and go breakfast.

a close-up image of chunks of apple in an apple oatmeal muffin on a wire cooling rack.


Table of Contents
  1. Why this recipe works
  2. Recipe Ingredients
  3. How to Make Apple Oatmeal Muffins
  4. Recipe FAQ’s
  5. Recipe Tips
  6. More Apple Recipes
  7. Apple Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

I’m having a hard time deciding what my favorite thing is about these muffins. I’m torn between the chunks of sweet apple, the perfectly moist and gently spiced muffin batter which gets a texture boost thanks to the addition of oatmeal, or the crumbly oat streusel topping.

I have another muffin recipe on the site that calls for apples that I adore (my morning glory muffins, which are loaded with grated apples, carrots, zucchini, pecans, and coconut), but in the fall when apples are abundant I want to focus on their flavor even more. Enter these apple oatmeal muffins.

My family devoured these and while I normally have leftover muffins that I stick in the freezer to have on hand for busy mornings, these almost never last longer than a day in our house.

If you love muffins for breakfast, be sure to also check out our Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, The Best Double Chocolate Muffins, and Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Why this recipe works

  • It uses fresh, real apples for the apple flavor.
  • The wholesome, hearty texture of the oatmeal gives them a satisfying chew factor.
  • The muffin batter comes together with just a bowl, whisk, and spoon, requiring minimal effort. Even beginning bakers and kids can make these!
  • Applesauce replaces some of the oil, resulting in a lighter muffin with more apple flavor.
apple oatmeal muffins on a white plate.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Apples: Use your favorite baking apple here! Many varieties work, but some of our favorites are Envy, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Jazz, and Honeycrisp.
  • Oatmeal: You can use old-fashioned oats, quick oats, or even instant oats for these muffins. The old-fashioned ones will have a chewier, heartier texture. The quick cooking oats and instant oats are rolled thinner to cook quicker, but they still work. This article has a great explanation of the differences.
  • Applesauce: I used applesauce in these easy apple muffins, even though the recipe doesn’t rely on the applesauce for most of the apple flavor. Apple muffins with applesauce are a little healthier than other muffins because the applesauce takes the place of some of the oil that would otherwise be required for moist, tender muffins.
  • Apple juice/cider or milk: Most apple oatmeal muffin recipes call for milk as the liquid, but I decided that as long as I had plenty of apple cider in the fridge for apple cider donuts, pumpkin juice, and a creamy apple cider chicken skillet, I might as well use it in the muffins to see if I could get even more sweet apple flavor. It was one of those duh moments and I’m so glad I made the switch. But you can just use milk if you don’t have any apple cider or apple juice on hand.
ingredients for making apple oatmeal muffins in separate bowls on a white surface.

How to Make Apple Oatmeal Muffins

  1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
  1. Add the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, apple cider (or apple juice or milk), applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir just until combined and no streaks of flour remain.
  2. Stir in apples. Use a spoon or spatula to gently stir or fold in the diced apples. The chunks should be small so there are some in every bite of muffin and the muffins don’t fall apart when torn open.
  1. Fill the muffin pan. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray, then fill all 12 muffin cups full of batter – it should pretty much go almost right to the top and divide perfectly into 12 muffins.
apple oatmeal muffin batter in a greased muffin pan.
  1. Make the topping. In a separate bowl, make the oatmeal streusel topping by stirring together the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. Then sprinkle a spoonful over each muffin.
  1. Bake the muffins in a 400 degree F. oven for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean with just a few crumbs sticking to it.
an overhead image of apple oatmeal muffins in a 12-count muffin pan.

Recipe FAQ’s

How do you store apple oatmeal muffins?

The muffins will stay fresh on the counter in an airtight container for about 4 days, if they last that long in your house. Ours never do.

Do these freeze well?

Yes, you can freeze any leftover muffins for 2-3 months and just thaw them in the microwave for 30 seconds or so for a quick and easy breakfast. I will sometimes double the batch to make sure to have extras on hand.

Can I replace the apples with other fruit?

Yes! The muffin base would be excellent with pears, cranberries, blueberries, and other fruits.

Recipe Tips

  • You can use paper muffin liners or baking spray on the pan. Personally I like muffins made directly in the pan best, but either way works.
  • Don’t overmix the muffin batter. You will get lighter, fluffier, more tender muffins by just mixing everything together but not stirring too hard. It’s why you should always mix muffins by hand with a spoon rather than using a hand mixer.
  • You could even concentrate the apple cider by reducing a larger amount in a small saucepan for a bit, just like I do when making apple cider donuts. But unlike apple cider donuts which are a sweet, once-a-year treat that we enjoy on weekends, apple oatmeal muffins are something that I will whip up in 10 minutes in the morning on a school day while my girls are still waking up and have them ready for breakfast, so I like keeping things easy here.
  • Try adding some chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter or streusel topping for extra crunch!
three apple oatmeal muffins stacked in a tower.

More Apple Recipes

Did you make this recipe?

Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.

Stay in the know

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

4.93 from 139 votes
Amy Nash
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 12 muffins
Apple Oatmeal Muffins make a great breakfast or quick afternoon snack.  Filled with apples, cinnamon, and oatmeal, then topped with an easy oat streusel, these apple muffins are an easy grab and go breakfast.

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Muffins

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk or apple cider
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely chopped apple

Streusel Topping

  • 1/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal
  • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 12 count muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper liners and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal, ¾ cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, applesauce, oil, and vanilla.  
    2 large eggs, ½ cup milk, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Fold in the chopped apple, then divide evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  
    1 cup finely chopped apple
  • Combine all of the streusel ingredients together in a small bowl, then sprinkle over each muffin. Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.  
    ¼ cup quick cooking oatmeal, 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Notes

You could swap ½ cup of whole wheat flour for ½ cup of the all-purpose flour.  Adapted from All Recipes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 233mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!

This post was originally published in September, 2018. The photos and content were updated in September, 2021.

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About the author

Hi, I'm Amy

I enjoy exploring the world through food, culture, and travel and sharing the adventure with mostly from-scratch, family friendly recipes that I think of as modern comfort cooking.

4.93 from 139 votes (105 ratings without comment)

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Reader questions and reviews

  1. Ambreen says:

    5 stars
    I love it, very easy tasty and moist cupcakes. When it was warm I felt that should be more sweeter but perfect after cooling down 💕

  2. TRICIA MARSHALL says:

    5 stars
    I’m about to make this now, but I have to tell you how much I appreciate when recipes list the amounts of the ingredients along with the steps, so I don’t have to scroll back up and lose my place. 🩷

    1. Amy says:

      Yes it makes things so much easier! I’ve been loving it as well.

    2. Sharen Kesti says:

      I agree !

  3. Jamie says:

    5 stars
    Great muffins ! Can I make this in a loaf pan ?

    1. Amy says:

      Yep it should be fine. Start with 45 minutes and check it from there to see if it needs more time.

  4. Rachel says:

    5 stars
    These are perfect! I made them yesterday morning & they are gone. Easy to make, not expensive, and delicious.

    1. Amy says:

      Thanks for making them!

  5. Alexandra says:

    5 stars
    Love this! So easy to make and tasty. I left out the streusel and simply added exatra apples and a few nuts on top. Great! Makes 12 perfect portions, no need to adjust ingredients.

    1. Amy says:

      Thank you! Extra apples on top sounds great!

  6. Darcey says:

    Made these today! A yummy Fall treat!! They came out really well!

    1. Amy says:

      Great! Thanks for making these Darcey!

  7. Jess says:

    4 stars
    This recipe yields a very light, soft, sweet muffin. I found it to be too sweet and would lessen the sugar by about 1/4 cup if making again. I did substitute melted butter for the oil and it came out fine. Loved the streusel topping.

  8. Jenny says:

    5 stars
    This was what I was craving and they came out absolutely delicious. The only change I made was to cut back on the cinnamon (personal preference). They’re filling and perfect for breakfast. Thank you for this great recipe.

    1. Amy says:

      Thank you! It is a great breakfast food and I love storing some in the freezer for an easy snack.

  9. Karen says:

    I wish everyone wrote their receipes like this it so much easier to follow. The muffins were perfect.

    1. Amy says:

      Thank you so much for saying this Karen! It means a lot to me to have you say something so nice!

  10. Margaret says:

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I did substitute 1/4 cup of brown sugar with 1/4 cup molasses and it still came out great, just a little darker color and slightly more old-fashion taste. Would definitely recommend and will have to try apples on top next time!

    1. Amy says:

      Thank you for making the muffins! Yes apples on top would be delicious!

  11. Penny says:

    5 stars
    Once, again one of your amazing recipes turns out to be… well, amazing!! These were super tasty and I plan to make more and freeze them so I can grab one and go when I need apples and oats 🙂 The one thing I do different with apple recipes is I tend to grate my apples unless it’s a crisp recipe. These were perfect!

    1. Amy says:

      Thank you! I love making big batches and freezing the extras to enjoy later.

  12. Kristi says:

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing this recipe. Delicious.

    1. Amy says:

      Thank you!

  13. Brenda Barre says:

    5 stars
    I have made this recipe twice now.
    This time I replaced the apple sauce with 3/4 cup apple juice (unsweetened) and 400 gm finely chopped Honeycrisp apples. 92cal per muffin.

    Love this easy recipe. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Amy says:

      Thanks for making these muffins! I am glad you enjoy them!