Pumpkin Baked-Oatmeal Muffins - Breakfast in your Hand

These flourless Baked-Oatmeal Muffins are like eating a bowl of creamy oatmeal in muffin form. They're filled with nutritious pumpkin and lots of nubbly oats, warmly spiced, and only lightly sweetened. You can feel good about grabbing one or two to eat on the go. A great make-ahead for weekday breakfasts or a special treat warm out of the oven. (Skip to recipe.)

I am not a morning person, as in, I can't even look at food when I first wake up. (But give me a few hours, and I have absolutely no problems looking at food, speaking to it lovingly, and stuffing it in my mouth.) I've never been able to understand my husband, who can tuck into a big breakfast first thing in the morning with gusto, or my one daughter, who stumbles blindly toward the kitchen as soon as she rolls out of bed, before she's dressed or even fully awake, to head for the fridge and find something, anything, to assuage her ravenous morning hunger. For me, I have to be awake a couple hours before I have an appetite for breakfast. Which is a problem when you have to head to work or leave for early appointments.

So, packing along a portable breakfast to eat around mid-morning has always been my best solution. And since packing a bowl of creamy, comforting oatmeal is not a very practical idea, having a couple of these baked-oatmeal muffins loaded with pumpkin and spices is just the thing. They really are like a half-muffin/half-oatmeal hybrid; more moist and creamy than regular muffins and less sweet (only 1 teaspoon of maple syrup in each muffin). Plus they've got all the health and fiber benefits of oats, the vitamins and antioxidants in the pumpkin, along with the extra protein from eggs and milk. Each little oatmeal muffin is a nutrient-dense serving of fuel to start you on your day. A couple of muffins will leave you feeling satisfied and energized, ready to tackle anything.

If you like a scoop of creamy baked oatmeal (apple or pumpkin version, peanut butter banana version) for breakfast, you'll like this easy portable muffin version to enjoy wherever you are when the craving strikes.

One-Bowl Flourless Pumpkin Baked-Oatmeal Muffins

Phew - that takes longer to say than it does to whip up these easy muffins!

Just whisk a couple eggs, stir in some pumpkin purée (from a can is fine, but you can make your own, too), melted coconut oil or butter, maple syrup, and spices. Then stir in the milk and oats, maybe some raisins and nuts. Let them rest and soak for a few minutes.

Pop into muffin tins and bake.

Breakfast is ready to go.

If a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, then an oatmeal in the hand is definitely worth two in the pot.

Other Portable Breakfast Ideas

• Breakfast Balls
• Make-Ahead Breakfast Cookies
• Power Patties
• Ham 'n Green Onion Egg-Buns
• Blueberry Breakfast Pudding
• Chia Pudding
• Gluten Free 'Bran' Muffins
• Light 'n Crispy Granola with milk
• One Cup Cookies

And if you've got leftover pumpkin, you can freeze it to use for smoothies, soups, and curries, or check out this post for recipes to use it up.

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Kitchen Frau Notes: Check at the bottom of the recipe for a Banana-Chocolate Chip variation.

It's important to use large-flake old-fashioned rolled oats here. If you use regular oats or quick oats, the texture of the muffins will be gummy as the oat flakes are too small to retain their shape and structure.

If you don't have maple syrup, you can substitute honey instead.

Pumpkin Baked-Oatmeal Muffins

• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup (180ml) pumpkin purée (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
• ¼ cup (115gms/60ml) melted coconut oil (or butter or ghee)
• ¼ cup (60ml) maple syrup
• 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or ¾ teaspoon cinnamon + ½ teaspoon ginger + ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups (360ml) milk (any kind)
• 2½ cups (250gms) old-fashioned rolled oats (large flake), gluten free if necessary
• ¼ cup (35gms) raisins
• ¼ cup (25gms) chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until foamy. Beat in the pumpkin purée, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, spices, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk and stir until smooth.

Stir in the rolled oats, raisins, and nuts. Leave the batter to sit for 10 minutes to give the rolled oats time to absorb some of the liquid.

While the batter is resting, grease a 12-cup muffin tin well with softened coconut oil, butter, or cooking oil spray.

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Batter will still be quite liquid, and will fill the muffin cups almost to the tops.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges of the muffins are browned and the tops spring back when touched.

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, as they are soft when they first come out of the oven, then run a butter knife around the sides of each one to loosen the edges and remove from the pan. They will firm up as they cool.

Serve warm, or allow to cool fully and pack into a covered container. Refrigerate for up to a week. Pack into individual containers to transport in lunches. Eat at room temperature or warm slightly to serve.

Makes 12 oatmeal muffins for breakfasts or snacks.

Variation: Banana Chocolate Chip Baked-Oatmeal Muffins

Replace the pumpkin with ¾ cup of mashed banana. Omit pumpkin pie spice and use 1 teaspoon of vanilla and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg instead. Replace the raisins with chocolate chips. Lay a slice of banana on top of each muffin before baking.

Guten Appetit!

 

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