Healthy Oatmeal Muffins — 😍❤️🎉 These healthy oatmeal muffins won’t jeopardize your New Year’s resolutions and are skinny jeans-friendly. No oil, no dairy, and just 1/4 cup of brown sugar!
Table of Contents
Healthy Oatmeal Muffins Recipe
These brown sugar muffins are a dump-everything-all-at-once-into-one-bowl-and-stir recipe — my favorite kind.
The muffins are very soft, moist, and super springy. Plus, they have wonderful chewiness, and great texture thanks in part to the oats. But there’s no oil or butter, no dairy, and just 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar in the entire batch. Really.
I used Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk, and it’s tied with Silk’s newer Unsweetened Cashewmilk as my two favorite milks for baking. Very low in calories, high in calcium and protein, very smooth, and irresistibly creamy. I get great results every time.
I honestly couldn’t believe how much flavor these skinny muffins packed given the very small amount of sugar. They’re a perfect grab-and-go breakfast or snack, and they freeze well so you can make a double batch and pull them out as needed!
What’s in Healthy Oatmeal Muffins?
To make these healthy breakfast muffins, you’ll need:
- Egg – I haven’t tested this recipe with flax eggs or chia seed eggs and can’t guarantee your results if you do
- All-purpose flour
- Rolled oats
- Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk – You’re also welcome to use another milk (dairy or non-dairy), if desired. Just be sure to use an unsweetened milk, otherwise your healthy oatmeal muffins will taste far too sweet
- Sugar-free pancake syrup
- Dark brown sugar
- Silk Vanilla Dairy-Free Yogurt – You can substitute with your favorite Greek yogurt or lite sour cream if that’s what you keep on hand. If using plain yogurt, I recommend adding a splash of vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
To make these healthy oatmeal muffins, simply add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir until just combined. Here’s an overview of the process:
- Add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to a large bowl, and blend just until smooth. Be careful not to overmix!
- Use a large cookie scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup to portion the muffin batter, spooning the mixture into a muffin tin greased with cooking spray or lined with paper liners.
- Bake until the tops of the muffins are set and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan.
- Transfer the oat muffins to a write rack to cool completely at room temperature.
What to Serve with Oatmeal Brown Sugar Muffins
Recipe FAQs
Most of the sweetness in these healthy oatmeal muffins comes from the sugar-free pancake syrup. If you want to use real maple syrup, feel free, but the oatmeal muffins won’t be as skinny since real syrup is packed with calories. You can also try using honey or maple syrup for natural sweetness.
No, rolled oats (aka old-fashioned oats) are a must. Instant or quick oats are more finely ground and act more like flour. Using instant oats would result in super dry muffins.
I love the simplicity of these muffins, but you can experiment with any mix-ins you like best! Ground cinnamon is a great way to add extra warmth and enhance the sweetness of the muffins. Or, you could fold pecans, walnuts, or even chocolate chips into the batter for extra flavor and texture.
I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flours but believe it would work just fine with a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
Stored in an airtight container, leftover muffins will keep fresh at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Yes! I love to freeze extra muffins for later. They will stay fresh in a sealable bag or airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight, or quickly defrost them in the microwave.
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Skinny Oatmeal Brown Sugar Muffins
Equipment
- 1 (12 Cup) Muffin Pan
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Large Cookie Scoop or 1/4 Cup Measuring Cup
- 1 Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup old-fashioned whole-rolled oats, don’t use quick cook or instant; they’re finer and act more like flour and batter will be too dry
- ½ cup Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk, Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk or another milk may be substituted
- ½ cup sugar-free pancake syrup, lite syrup or real maple syrup may be substituted
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed (strongly recommend dark, although light brown may be substituted)
- ¼ cup Silk Vanilla Dairy-Free Yogurt, Greek yogurt, sour cream, or lite sour cream may be substituted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 10 of the 12 cavities of a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan (note you will not use all 12) very well with cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (I don’t prefer the cosmetic look of muffin liners.)
- To a large bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk until smooth and combined, without needlessly over-mixing.
- Using a large cookie scoop or 1/4-cup measure, evenly distribute the batter into 10 of the cavities of the prepared pan, filling each cavity no more than 3/4-full or muffins will overflow while baking.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Use your judgment when evaluating doneness because muffin pans, ovens, ingredients, and climates vary. Start watching closely at about 16 minutes.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan on top of a wire rack for about 10 before removing and placing on rack to cool completely. Gently rim each cavity with a knife if necessary for easier removal.
Notes
- Muffins will keep airtight at room temp for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Healthy Muffin Recipes:
Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Trail Mix Vegan Muffins – Fast, easy, healthy, and made with your favorite trail mix ingredients!
Oatmeal To-Go Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins — Like having a bowl of warm pumpkin oatmeal in portable muffin form! Fast and easy!
Vegan Mini-Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins – Fast, easy, no-mixer recipe for healthy muffins!
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mini Blender Muffins — Gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, dairy-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free! Under 100 calories each, easy, and taste amazing!
Skinny Blueberry Muffins — These easy blueberry muffins are made with Greek yogurt instead of butter, and there’s only a little vegetable oil and sugar in these. Don’t worry, these don’t taste healthy at all!
Skinny Mini Sweet Potato Muffins — A cute title for cute little muffins that are only 64 calories each. The muffins are super soft and tender in the interior with slight chewiness around the edges.
Flourless Blueberry Banana Blender Muffins — No flour or oats, no butter, and no added white or brown sugar yet they’re incredibly moist, super soft, perfectly sweet, and are bursting with blueberries!
This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
These are fabulous! I loved them. For my second batch, I did add some Splenda. Since it’s cup for cup like sugar I added 1/4 cup for a tad extra sweetness. (I have an admittedly bad sweet tooth, so I tend to like things sweet lol!) I also added cinnamon to taste. But thank you so much for this recipe. You’ve saved my breakfast!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Good to know it works with some Splenda. I have never actually baked with it so have no idea if it really behaves like real sugar does with the heat of the oven but sounds like it worked great!
If you don’t know what the calorie count is, how can you call them “skinny”?
Because there’s no butter, 1/4 cup sugar in the ENTIRE batch, and they’re made with Cashewmilk and Fat Free Greek Yogurt and whole grains. If that’s not a skinnier muffin than traditional muffins made with oodles of sugar, butter, or oil, I don’t know what is.
You don’t have to know the exact calorie count to know something is logically skinnier than the traditional alternatives.
Do you have any idea what the caloric value is?
No I don’t but there are online tools that you can plug the data into.
I am recovering from pancreatitis, so I can’t eat a lot of fat. I found this recipe and just substituted the almond milk with fat free milk and the yogurt with fat free greek yogurt. The flavor was very mild but it had a great texture and they are overall very good! Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Hiya Averie. I just wanted to say that this recipe was great and works well with my goal of eating more grains and fiber and using up a plethora of oatmeal that i bought during Randall’s fab5 sale! I used whole wheat pastry flour and also threw in a sprinkle of cinnamon as well. Oh yes, and i chose the maple syrup route! Absolutely delicious! I’m so happy it really only took 15 minutes to bake! The crunchy edges and chewy oatmeal texture are my favorites!
This will definitely be a staple in my kitchen to get my morning oatmeal in.
If i omitted the Brown sugar would it change the recipe too much? Do i need to add something to replace it? Dry or wet?
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad that w.w. pastry flour worked well as sometimes you can’t swap it for AP flour, but glad it was fine! I really don’t know what would happen if you omitted the brown sugar to the texture; however I fear it just would lack that sweetness you need for a muffin.
As with everything I’ve tried on your website, these were awesome! I added shredded carrots and coconut… the house smells amazing and my husband is on his second muffin!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! With shredded carrots and coconut sounds great! Bet it did smell amazing!
Sugar free syrup is TERRIBLE for you. Real maple syrup will taste better and be easier for your body to digest. Calories in do not equal calories out! Same goes for all things, full fat milk/sour cream is better for you than fat free. Almond milk is definitely better for you than dairy though! Looking forward to making these with all natural and real ingredients.
We all have to make our own choices in life and everyone is entitled to their own opinions and choices about what they deem best. Enjoy the muffins.
Hi! I tested out this recipe on my blog and shared the results! Please check it out.
Thanks for trying the recipe!
How many calories per muffin ?
Hmmm, definitely not a leavening issue. I bake constantly and rotate through those fairly often. I’ll try again with greek yogurt and let you know.
My batter came out really runny, and then very dense muffins after baked. I don’t think lite sour cream is advisable, as this is what I used. Do you have weight measurements for the dry ingredients? Perhaps I needed more.
All variations and brands of sour cream do vary and there are indeed some that are much more watery and thin than most. I personally have okay luck with the brand I typically use for baking and get at my grocery store (Knudsen’s Light) but given you said that your muffins were dense, that almost sounds like they didn’t rise well and that could be due to baking powder and baking soda that isn’t super fresh. If you re-make them, I’d use brand new baking powder/soda and also full-fat sour cream and I bet you’ll be just fine. Also I have only baked these with non-dairy milk such as Silk Almond and Silk Cashew milks. The type of milk used could be a confounding factor; i.e. skim milk is MUCH thinner and runnier than the Silk milks are.
I don’t have weight measurements. Thanks for trying the recipe.
you say these are dairy free yet the recipe calls for an egg…eggs are dairy
Here are just a couple quick links. You may want to double-check your research.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/14/eggs-not-dairy-are-they_n_5976814.html
https://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/dairyfreebasics/f/eggsdairy.htm
https://www.godairyfree.org/ask-alisa/are-eggs-dairy
could you tell me the Weight Watchers plus points value on this
This recipe looks delicious! Is there a way I can sub quick oats if that’s all I have? Can I put in some more liquid to balance the consistency?
Been a while since I’ve gotten to bake, and I made these tonight, which totally hit the spot. :-)
Do you have a calorie or nutrition breakdown on these?
https://https://www.averiecooks.com/faq/ Check out #4 for links I like.