Baked Oatmeal Cups (vegan, oil-free, fruit-sweetened)

Get ready to bust out of your breakfast rut with these 1-bowl, delicious and beautiful Baked Oatmeal Cups!  This recipe is all about using simple, whole-food ingredients and making something tasty, satisfying and share-worthy.  Perfect to prep ahead when you’re looking to shake up your morning routine or when you need an ooh-and-ahh-worthy breakfast for guests!

Whether you’re nutritarian or just looking for a fun, healthy, fruit-sweetened breakfast recipe I think you’re going to love these Baked Oatmeal Cups.

What ingredients do you need for these Baked Oatmeal Cups?

1. rolled oats
2. date syrup (or sub with a ripe banana and dates)
3. almond butter
4. unsweetened apple sauce
5. ground flaxseed
6. cinnamon
7. vanilla powder or extract

I really wanted to make this recipe in one bowl so I used date syrup as the majority sweetener.  This is the date syrup I use.  If you don’t have date syrup you can substitute with a spotty banana and whole dates (just head to the “substitutions” section below for more info).

What makes this recipe special?

There’s a long list of things to love about these Baked Oatmeal cups, they’re:

• vegan
• gluten-free
• oil-free
• fruit-sweetened
• SOS-free (salt, oil, sugar)
• WFPB
• made in one bowl

Most of the similar vegan recipes use maple syrup and coconut oil to make more of a granola-style cup.  I challenged myself to recreate the concept with better ingredients but still keep it easy and fun!

These Baked Oatmeal Cups have indents or “wells” where you can add fun fillings and toppings.  They can be eaten like a muffin or cupcake or cut with a fork and knife.  However you choose to enjoy them, they are a fun way to eat breakfast or enjoy a truly-good-for-you dessert.

These are also ideal for meal prep.  Just bake a batch or two for the week and store them in your fridge or freezer.  For reheating you can microwave them, heat them in a moderate oven or crisp them up in the air fryer.

When we had extended family staying with us over the summer I turned to these Baked Oatmeal Cups over and over again because everyone could choose their own toppings–the kids enjoyed making a breakfast bar with these as the feature!

How to make these Baked Oatmeal Cups: 

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Because this is an oil-free recipe we’re not going to grease our muffin tin.  Instead, I highly recommend getting silicone cupcake liners for the easiest removal (I use these).  Alternatively you could use parchment muffin liners.

After your muffin tin is lined, grab a large mixing bowl.

Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Using a measuring cup add 1/4 cup of the oatmeal mixture to each lined muffin well.

Next, use your fingers or a small round cookie cutter (I have this set) to make an indent for the Baked Oatmeal Cups.  It helps to wet your fingers slightly when working with the mix to make the indention.

Be careful not to go too far down, you want at least 1/4 inch of mix on the bottom to ensure your fillings don’t leak out.

Bake the muffins at 350°F for 25 minutes or until he edges are just beginning to brown.

Allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack.

You have the choice here to save the Baked Oatmeal Muffins in the fridge or freezer for later or you can fill and serve immediately.

Filling and topping the Baked Oatmeal Cups:

I like to spoon in 1/2 Tbsp. of the Raspberry Chia Jam into each cup as a filling.

Then, for the “frosting” I like to use 1 Tbsp. of my Easy Vegan Yogurt.

You can always create a muffin bar (like a salad bar) and have a variety of fillings, toppings and fresh fruit for everyone to choose from!

What are the best healthy toppings?

• fresh chopped fruit
• nut or seed butters
• raw chopped nuts
• raw seeds (flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds)
• Raspberry Chia Jam
• Easy Vegan Yogurt
• Snickerdoodle Dessert Hummus
• Nutritarian Apple Pie Filling

Here I’ve topped some of the Baked Oatmeal Cups with my Easy Vegan Yogurt, raspberries and sliced peaches.  The others I topped with my Snickerdoodle Dessert Hummus and fresh sliced figs.

Whatever you choose, these create a truly show-stopping group breakfast or dessert!

What substitutions can you make?

Sweetener:

If you don’t have access to date syrup you can use a spotty or over-ripe banana and 1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates.  You’ll bend this up with the almond butter and applesauce in a high-speed blender before mixing the batter together.

Nut butter:

If you’re allergic to almonds or nuts in general use roasted sunflower seed butter as a substitution.

Storage recommendations: 

Room temperature:

The Baked Oatmeal cups will last for 4 to 5 days at room temperature in a cool area stored in a glass container with a tight-fitting lid.  This is my favorite 8-cup capacity storage container that will fit all 12 of the cups.  Do not put the cups into your container warm or this will cause condensation and premature spoilage.  Make sure they are fully cooled first.

Refrigerator:

The cups last for at least 12 days unfilled when stored in a glass storage container with snaplock lid (as shown above).  They can last up to 7 days when filled with the recommended chia jam, yogurt or Snickerdoodle hummus stored in the same type of container.  If you’re storing with chopped fruits, the shelf life will depend on the shelf life of the fruits (see my book Fridge Love for guidance).

Freezer:

The Baked Oatmeal Cups will last for up to 3 months when stored in an airtight container.  Separate layers with freezer paper.

What’s the best way to reheat these Baked Oatmeal Cups?

I only recommend reheating unfilled cups.  If thawing from frozen allow them to defrost in the fridge overnight or leave them out on the counter until softened.

You can microwave the cups for 30 seconds or bake at 350°F for 4 to 6 minutes.  You can also add one or two to your air fryer basket and heat at 375°F for 1 minute.

Is it okay to eat these Baked Oatmeal Cups when you’re on the nutritarian plan?

Yes!

If you’re following the Aggressive Weight Loss Plan I recommend enjoying one cup for breakfast or dessert.  But you will only have 1/2 cup left for your whole grains for the day.

There is 1/4 cup dry oatmeal per Baked Oatmeal Cup.  1/4 cup dry oatmeal equals 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal, so a single cup will supply you with 1/2 cup of your 1-cup whole grain allotment for the day.  Remember, your 1 cup of whole grains are counted cooked not dry.

There is also .66 Tbsp. almond butter and .16 Tbsp. flaxseed in each Baked Oatmeal Cup.  These will contribute to your nut/seed allotment for the day as well, so be mindful of that too.

If you’re following the maintenance plan, you have a higher whole grain and nuts/seeds/avocado allotment so you could enjoy up to two of these cups for breakfast or dessert!

Print

Baked Oatmeal Cups (vegan, oil-free, fruit-sweetened)

You only need one bowl to make these gluten-free, oil-free, fruit-sweetened Baked Oatmeal Cups filled with chia jam and topped with yogurt!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten-free, healthy, nutritarian, oil free, vegan, WFPB, wfpb baking

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 12 cups

Calories 172.2 kcal

Author Kristen Hong

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats (~280 grams)
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. date syrup* (~120 grams)
• 1/2 cup almond butter** (~96 grams)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (~114 grams)
• 2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed (~13 grams)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract or powder

Optional fillings and toppings:

• 6 Tbsp. Raspberry Chia Jam (for filling)
• 12 Tbsp. Easy Vegan Yogurt
• 12 fresh raspberries
• 12 slices fresh peaches

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a muffin tin with silicone, parchment or paper baking cups. 

2. In a large mixing bowl mix together the rolled oats, date syrup, almond butter, applesauce, flaxseed, cinnamon and vanilla.  

3. Scoop 1/4 cup of the mixture into each of the 12 muffin cups.  Using damp fingers press the oat mixture into the center and up the sides of each cup. 

4. You can use a small 1.5-inch round cookie cutter to help make the indent or "well" of the oatmeal cup. Just press the cookie cutter down, making sure to leave at least 1/4 inch of mixture at the bottom of the cup. Remove oat mixture from inside the cookie cutter with your fingers. Apply the mixture to the sides of the cup and press down firmly. Remove the cookie cutter. Repeat with all 12 cups.

5. Bake the Oatmeal Cups at 350° F for 25 minutes, edges will just be browning.  

6. Allow the cups to completely cool on a wire rack before filling.  

7. Optional filling and topping instructions:

8. Fill each cup with your choice of fresh fruit or 1/2 Tbsp. Raspberry chia jam.  “Frost” with 1 Tbsp. Easy Vegan Yogurt.  Add one raspberry and one peach slice (or fresh fruit of your choice) just before serving.  

Recipe Notes

*Sweetener Substitution: If you don’t have date syrup you can use 1 medium spotty banana (~106 grams), 1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates (~83 grams). Add these along with the almond butter and applesauce to a high speed blender and blend on high for 40 seconds.  Continue with the recipe as written.  

**To make these nut-free: Replace the almond butter with roasted sunflower seed butter.

 

Storage: 

Room temp: The cups last for up to 5 days at room temperature stored in a glass container with a tight fitting lid.  Do not put them into the container warm, they must be fully cooled first before storing at room temperature.  

Fridge: The cups last for up to 12 days unfilled when stored in a glass storage container with snaplock lid.  They can last up to 7 days when filled with the Raspberry Chia Jam, Easy Vegan Yogurt or Snickerdoodle Dessert Hummus recipes and stored in the same type of container.  If storing with fresh chopped fruit the shelf life is dependent on that fruit.

Freezer:  Keep for up to 3 months stored in an airtight container, separate layers with freezer paper.  

 

Reheating unfilled cups:

If thawing from frozen allow them to defrost in the fridge overnight or leave them out on the counter until softened.  

You can microwave the cups for 30 seconds or bake at 350°F for 4 to 6 minutes.  You can also add one or two to your air fryer basket and heat at 375°F for 1 minute using the “air fry” setting. 

Please note that the nutritional information provided is for 1 Baked Oatmeal Cup with no fillings or toppings added.

 

Nutrition Facts

Baked Oatmeal Cups (vegan, oil-free, fruit-sweetened)

Serving Size

 

1 cup

Amount per Serving

Calories

172.2

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

6.4

g

10

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.3

g

2

%

Sodium

 

26.8

mg

1

%

Potassium

 

208.6

mg

6

%

Carbohydrates

 

24.3

g

8

%

Fiber

 

4.5

g

19

%

Sugar

 

6.4

g

7

%

Protein

 

5.7

g

11

%

Calcium

 

39.26

mg

4

%

Iron

 

1.31

mg

7

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I’d love to know what you think if you give this recipe a try.

Your comments and recipe ratings motivate me so much to keep creating memorable and delicious recipes!