Oatmeal To-Go Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins — These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are essentially baked oatmeal bites with the perfect amount of pumpkin spice!! They’re the perfect grab-and-go breakfast or snack!!
Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Love the idea of a nice big bowl of oatmeal but it’s just not practical for busy mornings? I can relate. I’ve got you covered with these soft, chewy, texture-filled muffins.
They’re like having a warm and hearty oatmeal, but in portable muffin form. Make a double batch and freeze half for grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks. So easy.
The batter is some of easiest and least fussy ever. Whisk together nine ingredients at once in one bowl, including pumpkin, brown sugar, maple, and Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. It only has 30-calorie per 8 ounces, tastes great, and if I need a milk for baking, vegan or otherwise, it’s what I use most often.
All Silk products are dairy-free and gluten-free and I like that Silk is committed to and believes in the benefits of a plant-based diet.
The pumpkin flavor in these oatmeal chocolate chip muffins is quite subtle. It adds a homey quality but really serves to add welcome moisture. Dry oatmeal muffins are far too common, but you have nothing to worry about here. Make either Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins or Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins if you want more pumpkiny muffins.
These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are naturally gluten-free (use certified GF oats if needed) and there’s only 1/3 cup brown sugar for the entire batch. I used sugar-free pancake syrup to keep the amount of added sugar even lower.
I couldn’t resist adding chocolate chips. They really add a special boost so you don’t feel like you’re eating health food even though the oatmeal muffins are pretty darn healthy. But you’d never guess it.
This is my new favorite way to eat oatmeal. And it’s never too late (or early) for a pumpkin recipe!
What’s in Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins?
For these pumpkin oatmeal muffins, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Pumpkin puree
- Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- Light brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Canola oil
- Vanilla extract
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Salt
- Old-fashioned oats
- Baking powder
- Chocolate chips
How to Make Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
These pumpkin oatmeal muffin cups couldn’t be any easier to make! Simply stir together all the ingredients and divide the batter amount greased muffin cups. Bake until the muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins will need to cool for at least 20 minutes before you’ll be able to safely remove them from the muffin pan. Don’t rush the cooling process and attempt to remove muffins from pan too soon because they’ll be prone to breaking. It’s much easier to remove them when cooled completely.
Can I Use Instant Oats Instead of Old-Fashioned?
No, you must use old-fashioned (rolled) oats in these oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. Instant oats aren’t the right texture and will likely dry out these muffins.
Can I Freeze Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins?
Yes, these muffins freeze so well. To freeze these, first let them cool completely before sealing them inside a freezer bag. When you’re ready to eat the frozen muffins, set them on your counter overnight to thaw.
Tips for Making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
It’s really important that you use pumpkin puree for these muffins and NOT canned pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and will throw off the flavor of these muffins.
If you don’t have unsweetened vanilla almond milk on hand, you can use another milk. Any milk will work, but make sure whatever you’re using is unsweetened.
Lastly, feel free to play around with the spices and add more or less depending on your preferences. I used pumpkin pie spice here, but you could use a mixture of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
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Oatmeal To-Go Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, or your favorite milk
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup maple or pancake sryup, I used sugar-free lite pancake syrup
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 3 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats, do not use quick-cook or instant
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, mini recommended, but regular-sized chips may be substituted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan in 11 of the cavities (I don’t prefer the cosmetic look of paper liners and they may stick); set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the first 9 ingredients (through optional salt), and whisk to combine.
- Add the oats, baking powder, and stir to combine.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Using a large cookie scoop or 1/4-cup measure, evenly distribute the batter into 11 of the cavities (don’t use all 12, muffins will be too skimpy). Each cavity should be nearly full since muffins don’t rise much.
- Bake for about 23 minutes, or until tops are set both visually and when touched lightly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling, but no batter (toothpick test is tricky because you’ll likely hit chocolate patches). Don’t overbake because muffins will be prone to drying out.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 20 minutes before removing and placing on a rack to cool completely. Don’t rush the cooling process and attempt to remove muffins from pan too soon because they’ll be prone to breaking. It’s much easier to remove them when cooled completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Pumpkin Breakfast Recipes:
Cooking With Pumpkin: Recipes That Go Beyond the Pie is my second cookbook and it was officially released October 6. There’s over 50 pumpkin recipes including sweets, savory, drinks, and a photo for nearly every recipe. I’d be super grateful if you headed over to Amazon.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins – You’ll never miss the eggs or butter! Easy, soft, fluffy and so good!
Pumpkin French Toast — Thick slices of French toast that are full of rich pumpkin, cinnamon and brown sugar flavor.
Pumpkin Pancakes – Soft, fluffy, and packed with big pumpkin flavor! Perfect comfort food for chilly mornings when a smoothie just won’t do!
The Best Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls – Super soft, fluffy, and topped with a cream cheese glaze! Move over Cinnabon, these are better!
Pumpkin Waffles — The waffles are brimming with pumpkin flavor between the entire can of pumpkin puree and the pumpkin pie spice.
Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins — The muffins are soft, moist, fluffy yet pleasantly dense, and packed with fall spices.
This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
Originally posted November 2014. Reposted October 2019 with updated text.
I was just thinking Jordan needed a better breakfast than Honey Nut Cheerios. This might be it – and an oatmeal she’d eat (me too!) Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and breakfasts here are SUCH a hodgepodge. Yesterday’s avocado salad blog recipe before all the avos turn brown? Sure. Pumpkin muffins that were made when it was 90F and we were having a heat wave? Sure. So random, always!
maybe this has already been asked…do you think a blend of oatmeal and almond flour work to lower the carb count? If so, what proportions?
Thanks! These look delicious.
Almond flour has no gluten and oats have very little/none depending on what type are used. By eliminating the flour you’re eliminating the gluten (and replacing it with a very heavy nut-based flour). So….you will have a very heavy, dense muffin with higher overall fat (thanks to the almond flour) but less carbs. Your choice :)
These look like giant oatmeal cookies, packed with flavor! Loving these muffins! Pinned!
Thanks, Anna, and I kind of thought the same thing :)
I love making muffins that are easy to grab ‘n go, and also healthy! These pumpkin chocolate chip ones look incredible, Averie! I love how the sugar content isn’t high either. Sounds like the perfect breakfast!
Love the idea of portable oatmeal! After reading your book, I didn’t think it was possible for you to come up with another pumpkin recipe, but you always amaze me with your never-ending ideas:) Will definitely be giving this one a try!
I didn’t think it was possible for you to come up with another pumpkin recipe <--- and if you asked me in 2012-13 I would have said the same thing after writing my pumpkin cookbook. But ultimately things came to me :)
I need these in my life right now! This would have been a perfect and much tastier breakfast this morning then what I did have.
Breakfast to go! I love this concept and it’s perfect to make ahead for busy mornings.
I eat oatmeal EVERYDAY, and lately have been obsessed with putting pumpkin in it! I love that I can have the same flavour, but bring it on on the go with me. Sometimes it;s hard to eat a bowl of oats while driving and running errands ;) Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and if you’re a pumpkin + oatmeal person, I think you’ll be happy with these! And on-the-go is even better, right :)
Totally my kind of muffins! Hope you had a great weekend ~ can’t believe it’s Monday ;) Pinned!
Girl. Weekend? What’s that….oh yes, cooking/precooking/baking/blogging/answering questions :) It went by in a blur! Thanks for pinning and I wish you THE BEST on the contest!
Of course it’s not too late for pumpkin! I think pumpkin recipes should go all the way until New Years. These look so good! Can’t wait to try!
Love the way you think!
I loved your oatmeal CC cookies so much and am thrilled to see these!! The recipe looks so healthy and so packed with oats. I have a couple of days off–may need to whip up a batch. I really think Jon would like these–he generally doesn’t want anything too sweet in the am and I could always leave the chips out of half the batter for him (and cram them into the other half for me)!
And they’re not really a super sweet thing, even with the chips, but if he’s a purist, well, just more for you that way :)
Remember how I told you you were psychic almost sometimes with the recipes I’m making…well I just got done making a twist on the oatmeal cookies because I loved those things so much! But it won’t hit for a long time because I have all these holiday recipes now I have to post!
Anxious to see what that twist is–so many possibilities!!
It’s about -1 degrees with wind chill here today–perfect weather for baking these hearty muffins (and eating them on the couch while catching up on some recorded shows–I’m having a relaxing day off)! There is just enough sweetness to take the edge off the pumpkin and the pumpkin pie spice is just right. I put chips in half and dried cranberries in the other half for Jon (his usual oatmeal add-in). They’re great both ways!
Thanks for trying the recipe the very day after I posted it, Paula. Brrr, stay warm! Ugh, that’s just awful weather!
Glad you found the sweetness and pumpkin spice just right – and doing half a batch with chips and half with cranberries, great thinking :) Glad you guys liked them!
Wow. I’m loving how low in sugar these are! And I’m glad you couldn’t resist the chocolate chips. They always add a little more fun!
Holy crap–trying these immediately! <3 can't go wrong with oats, pumpkin, and chocolate!
xo
That’s awesome and if you do try them, LMK!
These are a perfect portable breakfast or snack. During the holidays it’s good to have a healthy go to.
Almost mandatory since we’re bombarded with sugar cookies and eggnog and fudge EVERYWHERE! :)
These look so good! I like how many oats you have packed in – delicious and keep us full! Can’t wait to try these out.
Thanks for noticing they’re jam-packed :)
These look so delicious. I love a good grab and go muffin for busy mornings!