I’m sure you’ve all heard the old adage “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” For most of my life, I ate little or nothing for breakfast, especially when I was in college and couldn’t be bothered to drag my butt out of bed and to the dining hall early in the morning. As I got older, and especially now that I’m a regular working stiff, I can’t possibly make it through the morning without eating something substantial. However, this is tempered by the fact that I am still a lazy bum and want my breakfast to take as little time as possible. Usually I eat cereal with bananas, but in the winter it’s always comforting and satisfying to eat something hot. These baked oatmeal cups can be stored in the fridge and/or freezer, allowing you to make a big batch ahead of time and pull one out each morning. They are best served warm and are a great way to start the day!
Baked Oatmeal Cups (adapted from here)
What You’ll Need
- 3 eggs
- 2 ½ cups skim milk
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 5 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh/frozen fruit or chocolate chips
What To Do
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla.
After these are well-blended, add the brown sugar and banana. If you are using another fruit as your filling, add it at this step. If you are using chocolate chips, add them last.
Mix until the sugar is uniformly combined with the egg mixture. I will say that it seemed odd to me to leave the bananas in slices, but the original recipe did not call for them to get mashed or otherwise worked into the liquid, so I left them as is. The final product tasted great so I think this is more of a personal preference than anything, but I will probably mash them the next time around.
In a separate large bowl, mix the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
(I forgot to take a picture. It looked suspiciously like oats in a bowl.)
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir until blended. Add your chocolate chips if you are using them.
The original recipe tells you to add the milk AFTER you have mixed the wet and dry ingredients together. I completely glossed over the fact that milk was not included in the list of wet ingredients, and had added it when making the egg mixture. I don’t think it made a lick of difference.
Spray 2 12-cup muffin tins with cooking spray, or line with cupcake liners. Note: the original recipe also tells you this makes 18 muffins, which is a dirty lie. I used a 6-cup and a 12-cup muffin tin and had a bunch left over, so go with the 24 cup total. Scoop the mixture evenly into the cups, and bake for 35-40 minutes.
The muffins are done when a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. After removing from the oven, let them cool for 15-20 minutes. They may be eaten while warm or stored in the freezer in freezer bags until future use.
My hubby thought these were for dessert, and honestly they could easily be a healthy dessert alternative. We had them for breakfast the morning after I made them, and they were absolutely delicious. I heated mine for 1 minute in the microwave, then topped with some vanilla almond milk, and I just about thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The one pictured in the ramekin above is about twice the size of the actual muffins (it was made from the extra mixture), and I was stuffed after eating it. I had a single muffin this morning and remained full straight through to lunchtime. It’s easy to forget that these little guys pack a potent punch of fiber because you’ll feel so decadent eating one with chocolate chips for breakfast. Next time I plan on trying these with blueberries, mango, or cranberries. Breakfast really can be exciting!
