4 Baked Oatmeal Cups (baby, toddler + kid-approved)
These allergy-friendly Baked Oatmeal Cups are about to make your crazy mornings a whole lot easier (and more delicious)! Plus they are baby, Toddler and Kid-Approved! They are made with wholesome ingredients such as oats, bananas, coconut oil and maple syrup and can be made refined sugar-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free!
Baked Oatmeal Cups
These oat cups are part muffin and part wholesome bowl of oats all rolled into one delicious breakfast for your baby, toddler, kids and/or you!
That means you can serve your little ones a healthy and nutrient-dense breakfast on-the-go in a matter of minutes!
Or you can gently heat one of the oat cups up in a bowl, pour some milk over top, sprinkle with a pinch of brown sugar and eat like oatmeal for a more relaxed breakfast. Hint – the antioxidant powerhouse is especially good devoured this way.
How To Make These Baked Oat Cups
- Blending Oats: we are going to start by grinding down some old-fashioned oats for a minute (you can also use pre-made oat flour) to help make the oat cups hold their shape. This step is important so the oat cups can be half-muffin in form and texture.
- Add Dry Ingredients: next we are going to add the oat flour into a bowl with more old-fashioned oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, we mix together 2 mashed bananas, 2 eggs, some milk, a small amount of maple syrup, melted coconut oil and a splash of vanilla extract.
- Mix Dry and Wet Ingredients: Then we fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold until incorporated.
- Mix in Add-Ins: Then we get to mix in some delicious add-ins for fun!
- Bake: Finally we bake them up, let them cool slightly and then dive in for a delicious breakfast.
You can make the basic base recipe for an amazing cinnamon maple syrup flavor oatmeal muffin (a great option if you want to add some your favorite toppings on later) or you can jazz them up beforehand with my favorite toppings.
COOKING WITH KIDS
You can easily have your kids help you make these muffins.
TODDLERS
- Toddlers can help measure and pour the oats into the blender.
- They can help put the lid on the blender and push start. Note: make sure to talk about not touching the blender blade while making something in the blender, as it can be sharp.
- Toddlers can help measure and put the ingredients into the bowl.
- They can help mix the ingredients together.
KIDS
- They can pick out and measure all of the ingredients. Note: make sure to talk about not touching the blender blade while making something in the blender, as it can be sharp.
- They can help mix the ingredients together.
- They can help to fill the muffin cups with the batter
Favorite Flavor Combinations
Carrot Cake – with shredded carrots, raisins and nutmeg
Antioxidant Powerhouse – with mini dark chocolate chips, raspberries and chia seeds
PB & J – with peanut butter (sunflower seed or almond butter) and your favorite jam
Almond Blueberry – with whole blueberries, slivered almonds and almond extract
Below, you will see that I give measurements for the add-ins for making a full 12 oat cup batch, but don’t let this discourage you from mixing and matching your favorite combinations so you can have more than one breakfast cup for the week ahead.
Oh, and let’s not forget that these little cups can be made allergy-friendly:
Refined Sugar-Free
Gluten-Free
Dairy-Free
Soy-Free
Nut-Free
Carrot Cake
Almond Blueberry
Antioxidant Powerhouse
PG&J
More Toddler + Kid Breakfast Ideas
- 4 Breakfast Egg Muffins (Baby, Toddler + Kid-Approved)
- 15 Smoothies for Toddlers + Kids (Healthy + Delicious)
- 74 Toddler Breakfast Ideas (Healthy + Easy Recipes)
- Freezer-Friendly Spinach Waffles for Baby + Toddler
DID YOU MAKE THESE BAKED OATMEAL CUPS?
I’D LOVE TO KNOW HOW THEY TURNED OUT! LEAVE A COMMENT AND A ⭐️ RATING BELOW 👇
Get the recipe: 4 Baked Oatmeal Cups for Baby, Toddler + Kids
Ingredients
Base of Oatmeal Cups
- 3 cups old fashioned oats, separated (see instructions)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large ripe bananas, smashed (roughly 1 cup)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup almond milk, or milk of choice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Carrot Cake Add-Ins
- 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
- 1/4 cup raisins (I used the golden variety)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Antioxidant Powerhouse
- 2 cups frozen raspberries, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
PB&J
- 1/2 cup peanut butter, or any nutbutter
- 1/4 cup jam
Almond Blueberry
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or spray 12 muffin tins.
- Take 1 cup of the old fashioned oats and pour into a blender or food processor. Pulse the oats for 30 seconds or until you they resemble a thick flour that resembles corn flour. Don’t over pulse or you will get a sticky flour. You can also use 1 cup of pre-made oat flour instead of grinding your own.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the smashed bananas, eggs, milk, syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated.
- Gently stir in add-ins.
- Spoon oat batter into the muffins tins all the way to the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until just golden brown on top. Let cool slightly and serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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56 Comments on “4 Baked Oatmeal Cups (baby, toddler + kid-approved)”
Would the consistency still be the same or at least hold together well if the Maple Syrup was omitted? I’m not too crazy about adding that as an ingredient just yet… 🙂
Would the consistency still be the same or at least hold together well if the Maple Syrup was omitted? I’m not too crazy about adding that as an ingredient just yet… 🙂
The carrot cake is my favorite. Can you advise on the paper cups. The muffins are very sticky to the paper cup. Also, what is the best timing and method for cooling and storing. Thank you!
The carrot cake is my favorite. Can you advise on the paper cups. The muffins are very sticky to the paper cup. Also, what is the best timing and method for cooling and storing. Thank you!
I’ve made the carrot & raisin twice. Going to make them again. The first time I used cupcake papers and that didn’t work very well. The 2nd time I greased the pan well with Ghee and they were beautiful. I’m going to add Chia and raisins & carrot and thinking about spinach. Any thoughts? I’m also going to make some mini-muffins because we have a 2 and 3 year old and they only eat part of each muffin. Trying to guess baking time for mini muffins?
Love the idea of greasing with ghee! I have never had a problem with the cups sticking to the paper cups but it probably depends on what brand you use. But greasing them with something would probably be a safe bet no matter what brand you use.
How did the mini muffins turn out?
I’ve made the carrot & raisin twice. Going to make them again. The first time I used cupcake papers and that didn’t work very well. The 2nd time I greased the pan well with Ghee and they were beautiful. I’m going to add Chia and raisins & carrot and thinking about spinach. Any thoughts? I’m also going to make some mini-muffins because we have a 2 and 3 year old and they only eat part of each muffin. Trying to guess baking time for mini muffins?
Love the idea of greasing with ghee! I have never had a problem with the cups sticking to the paper cups but it probably depends on what brand you use. But greasing them with something would probably be a safe bet no matter what brand you use.
How did the mini muffins turn out?
Sounds and looks delicious! When you make a batch of 12, how do you store it? Can these be frozen? If so, how’s best to defrost quickly?!
Many thanks!
Yes they can be frozen, just pop in the microwave to reheat.
Sounds and looks delicious! When you make a batch of 12, how do you store it? Can these be frozen? If so, how’s best to defrost quickly?!
Many thanks!
Yes they can be frozen, just pop in the microwave to reheat.
Can i use Honey instead of maple syrup?
I haven’t tried using honey in this recipe, but I would imagine it would work just great!
I love these muffins and my toddler does too! I make them almost every week for her breakfasts. She does not eat a full muffin though. Do you have a guess on the baking time for mini muffins? Thanks for the awesome recipe!
So glad you both love these muffins! I would try baking mini oat muffins for 8-10 minutes and then keep checking on them from there.
I did minis at 15 minutes!
Ooh I love the idea of making a variety all at once! I would make these in mini muffin form (so they’r’e less intimidating for my picky eater toddler) freeze them and rotate through them so my son doesn’t get tired of them and gets exposed to new and different flavors regularly.
Love the idea of making these in a mini version.
What would you suggest using as a substitute for eggs?
You could try using applesauce, flax eggs or an egg substitute instead.
Absolutely LOVE how creative and diverse all your recipes are! Seriously awesome!!! Wondering if I could just use the basic oat muffin recipe at the top of the post, fill muffin tin about 3/4 of the way leaving room for toppings, and then just add mix ins as toppings instead so that I can make a variety in one pan— just like your first picture showing a variety all in one. Do you think that would work well?? Loving the mini muffin idea also since my 20 month old prefers mini muffins. Btw, your book is amazing! I’ve learned to cook delicious and super healthy food for the whole family… not even pureeing anymore, lol!
Yes, you can totally just add the topping to the top of them oat cups. If I do it this way my kiddos will eat the toppings right of the top and toss the rest of the oat muffin 😂. I am so glad you like the book!
Thank you! That actually makes sense that you would stir in the toppings so they don’t pick them off the top!! I hadn’t even considered that!! Lol!! Maybe best to stir them in as you initially suggested. 😉 Thanks!
Quick and easy to make. Came right out of the greased tin. We made the base with no add-ins which came out moist. The taste is pretty basic for someone with a sweet-tooth, but our young toddler gobbles ’em up, which is what really matters.
Thanks!
Love to hear this!
I’m confused as the why the 3 cups of oats have to be separated? I might be missing it, but I don’t see further instructions about that anywhere
From 1 of the oat cups you make an oat flour, the other 2 you put as it is. The flour is just to hold the muffin shape.
Is there a printer friendly page?
I’m just in the process of updating all my recipe cards and haven’t gotten to this one yet. I’ll do is asap for you:)
Would I be able to replace the banana with something else? Maybe applesauce?
I haven’t tried it, but I think its worth a try
These are super easy and yummy! We made the PB + Jam and carrot cake ones, some berry with almond essence, and some feijoa and apple ones, delicious! I omitted the maple syrup. I ran out of big patty pans so made some mini ones too and cooked for 20 minutes, perfect snack size for my 9 mo. I don’t think these will last long in our house
This is a lovely recipe! I have made the carrot raisin and the blueberry almond. My one-year old loves them. It’s perfect for needing a quick snack or a some finger food breakfast.
So happy to hear this!
These are amazing, except you shouldn’t call them but free as the base recipe contains coconut oil, which the FDA (strangely) classifies as a tree nut.
Hi! I’d like to try out these muffins but feel a little silly that I’m confused about the quantity of the add-in’s. Are the quantities given for 12 or 3 oat cups? I’d like to make a variety like you had suggested, but didn’t know if I had to cut down the add-in ingredient quantities in order to make a variety all at once (ie: 3 cups of each of the add-in muffins)
Sorry for the confusion. The quanities for the add-ins are for 12 oatmeal cups. If you want to make a varity you will have to scale down. The good thing is you don’t have to have exact measurments.. so you can eyeball all the fun add-ins!
What do you recommend as a substitute for maple syrup? My LO is allergic. Can I just omit? Thanks in advance!
You can omit it or add in honey or another sweetener of your choice.
Instead of grinding up oats or buying oat flour, do you think it would be possible to use the baby cereals as a substitution for that 1 cup?
Love all your recipes! My LO has loved everything I’ve made.
I haven’t tried using baby cereal, but I think it’s worth a shot. I would start by using 1/2 cup of baby cereal and seeing how the mixture looks, you want it close to the consistency of muffins.
I tweaked this recipe just a bit! I used a half cup of strawberries in my batter, I didn’t use bananas or vanilla (because I was out lol), and lastly instead of coconut oil I subbed for butter. I topped them with blueberries also! They came out perfect!
Love your additions! Sounds delish!
Is there anything I can substitute for the bananas? Would It be possible to omit them?
You do need something the bind the oats together, but you could try applesauce.
I can’t use coconut oil, I’m wondering if anyone has tried anything different? Maybe olive oil or could you use applesauce in place of it? Thanks so much, looking forward to making!
You could use olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, avocado oil, or applesauce in place of coconut oil. Hope that helps.
These are excellent. The 4 year old and 16month old love them. Great on the go snack. I made with dates and walnuts. Really nice add-on.
So happy to hear that both of your kiddos love these oatmeal cups! I love the addition of dates and walnuts.. yum!
I’ve been making this recipe for years and love it!
I add cranberries and chia, it’s delicious.
My teenagers love the cocoa and choc-chip version.
Thank you, thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much Teresa for the review! I’m so glad this recipe has stood the test of time!
How would you replace the banana? I’m allergic and I want to able to scoop some for me too lol
You can sub 1 cup of applesauce for the 1 cup of mashed bananas. Let me know how it turns out! =) xo, Michele
I absolutely love this recipe and say often it is the best recipe I’ve ever found, hands-down! Not even just for kids and baking, and I bake and cook alot. I say this because I’ve never made a single recipe so many times. I’ve been batch making and freezing them since my 4.5 yo was weaning as a baby. And I’ve sent it to many friends.
Q: what’s the best way to adapt this using fresh apples? I’m going to try it and the recipe is so forgiving, but I’d like an expert take. Thanks!
If you use shredded or chopped apples, blot them before adding to remove extra moisture. Add 1/2-3/4 cup. xo, Michele