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Oatmeal Muffins get a serious bakery style upgrade in this recipe, with hearty oats, gooey chocolate chips, a brown sugar streusel, and a maple glaze on top. I first baked these on a slow Saturday morning when the girls wanted something between a muffin and a treat, and the streusel had everyone hovering by the oven. If you love a chocolate chip bake, our moist chocolate chip banana bread is another family favorite.
Hearty rolled oats, a splash of maple, and a crunchy streusel top make these chocolate chip oatmeal muffins taste like they came from a bakery case.
Oatmeal Muffins Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 18 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 33 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 muffins
- ⚡ Calories: 504kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Hearty oats, sweet chocolate, and maple streusel
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, as simple as our oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Quick Answer
Whisk the dry ingredients, then mix the oats, sour cream, oil, sugars, maple syrup, eggs, and espresso powder in a separate bowl. Combine the two, fold in chocolate chips, and rest the batter in the fridge, ideally overnight. Scoop into a lined muffin tin, top with brown sugar oat streusel, and bake at 425 then 350 degrees. Finish with a maple glaze.
Jump to:
- Oatmeal Muffins Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Oatmeal Muffins
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Oatmeal Muffins FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Muffin and Breakfast Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Resting the batter is the secret. Chilling the batter, ideally overnight, lets the oats hydrate and gives you taller, more tender bakery style muffins.
- Oats add hearty texture. Old-fashioned rolled oats give these muffins a satisfying chew and a wholesome, oatmeal cookie vibe.
- A hot start makes them rise. Baking at a high 425 degrees first, then dropping to 350, gives the muffins that tall, domed bakery top.
- Brown sugar oat streusel. A crumbly streusel on top adds sweet crunch that takes these way past an ordinary muffin.
- Espresso deepens the chocolate. A little espresso powder in the batter makes the chocolate chips taste even richer without any coffee flavor.
- That maple glaze. A quick maple glaze drizzled over the warm muffins ties everything together with cozy sweetness.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are hearty, tender, bakery style muffins loaded with oats and chocolate chips.
- A brown sugar streusel and maple glaze make them feel like a special treat.
- The batter is made ahead, so you can bake fresh muffins in the morning, like our baked cake donuts.
Key Ingredients
A mix of pantry staples and a few special touches make these muffins bakery worthy.
- Old-fashioned rolled oats: The hearty base that gives these muffins their signature chew. Rolled oats hold their texture better than quick oats.
- Sour cream and vegetable oil: The combo that keeps the crumb moist and tender for days.
- Maple syrup and brown sugar: Add deep, cozy sweetness to both the batter and the glaze.
- Espresso powder: A little goes in to intensify the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee.
- Chocolate chips and streusel: Semi-sweet chips throughout plus a brown sugar oat streusel on top, similar to the crumble on our cranberry pumpkin muffins.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These oatmeal muffins are easy to customize.
- Swap the chocolate chips for blueberries, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts.
- Leave out the espresso powder if you prefer, the muffins are still delicious.
- Use a simple powdered sugar glaze or skip the glaze entirely for a less sweet muffin.
- Make them into a loaf, or bake mini muffins for lunchboxes like our pumpkin cornbread muffins.
How to Make Oatmeal Muffins
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in one bowl. In a larger bowl, mix the oats, sour cream, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, and espresso powder until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until combined, then fold in the chocolate chips. Cover and rest the batter in the fridge, ideally overnight, for the best texture.
- Make the streusel by mixing the brown sugar, flour, granulated sugar, oat flour, and salt, then stir in the softened butter until the mixture is coarse and pebbly.
- Line a 12 cup muffin tin and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Divide the batter evenly, sprinkle each muffin with streusel, and bake for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven, drop the temperature to 350 and bake 8 minutes more.
- While the muffins bake, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and maple syrup to make the glaze.
- Once a toothpick comes out clean, move the muffins to a cooling rack, drizzle with maple glaze, and serve warm.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Rest the batter overnight if you can, since it makes a noticeable difference in how tall and tender the muffins bake up.
- Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats, for the best hearty texture.
- Start hot, then lower the heat, and do not open the oven during the switch so the muffins dome nicely.
- Pile on the streusel, using it all, for that irresistible bakery style crunchy top.
- Do not overmix the batter, stirring just until combined keeps the muffins soft.
- Glaze while warm so the maple glaze sets into a pretty, shiny finish.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These chocolate chip oatmeal muffins are best warm from the oven, when the chocolate is still melty and the glaze is soft. They make a cozy breakfast, brunch treat, or afternoon snack with a cup of coffee.
Set them out on a brunch table alongside our apple cinnamon coffee cake and a batch of baked cake donuts for a spread that covers all the cravings.
For a make ahead breakfast, bake a double batch and pack them into lunchboxes next to our chocolate chip banana bread all week long.
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze them unglazed for up to two months. Warm a frozen muffin in the microwave for about 20 seconds and add fresh glaze before serving. Because the batter rests in the fridge, you can also mix it the night before and bake fresh muffins in the morning, which makes these perfect for holidays and weekend guests.
Oatmeal Muffins FAQs
Resting is highly recommended but not strictly required. Chilling the batter, ideally overnight, lets the oats absorb moisture and results in taller, more tender muffins with better flavor. If you are short on time, rest it for at least 30 minutes, though overnight gives the best bakery style result.
Old-fashioned rolled oats are best for texture, giving the muffins a hearty chew. Quick oats will work in a pinch but the muffins will be softer and less textured. Avoid steel cut oats, which stay too firm and will not soften enough in the bake time.
Starting at a high 425 degrees gives the muffins a burst of heat that helps them rise fast and form tall, domed tops. Dropping to 350 degrees partway through lets the centers finish baking without the tops burning. Do not open the oven when you lower the temperature.
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5. If they are glazed, they may soften slightly, which many people love. Warm briefly in the microwave to bring back that fresh baked texture.
Yes. Freeze the cooled, unglazed muffins in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm in the microwave, then add fresh glaze before serving. Freezing them unglazed keeps the texture best.
Absolutely. The espresso powder is there to deepen the chocolate flavor, not to add coffee taste, but the muffins are still delicious without it. Simply leave it out and proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
Made these chocolate chip oatmeal muffins? I would love to hear how they turned out, leave a comment and a star rating below!
End breakfast-for-dinner night with our warm baked apples.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the streusel:
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 tablespons unsalted butter softened
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
For the muffins:
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.
- Mix oats, sour cream, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, and espresso powder together until well combined.
- Add flour mixture to wet mixture just until fully incorporated.
- Fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Cover and place batter in the fridge to rest overnight.
- When ready to bake, place cupcake liners in a 12-tin muffin pan and preheat the oven to 425°F.
For the streusel:
- Make the streusel by mixing brown sugar, flour, granulated sugar, oat flour, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add in the softened butter and stir to combine until the mixture is coarse and resembles small pebbles. Set aside.
- Evenly divide batter into the muffin pan sections.
- Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of streusel over each muffin, use it all.
- Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes are up, without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
- For the glaze:
- While the muffins bake, make the maple glaze by mixing powdered sugar, heavy cream, and maple syrup. Set aside.
- Test the center of a muffin with a toothpick. They are done once it comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
- Remove each muffin and place them on a cooling rack. Drizzle maple glaze over each muffin and serve warm.
Notes
- There are many ingredient substitutions, see my notes above on that.
- This makes a large batch to feed a crowd or freeze for later.
- Bake the muffins are high heat for 10 minutes then lower the heat to make a bakery-style beautifully domed muffin.
- These are can be frozen, see my tips above for that.
- Use whatever chocolate chips you like.
- Be sure to use fresh baking soda and baking powder to get the maximum rise.
Nutrition
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