Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Posted Aug 23, 2026
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These oatmeal chocolate chip muffins are moist with hearty oats and lots of chocolate chips. They’re a delicious breakfast your whole family will love!
Ever since I had my first baby 15 years ago, I’ve been making healthy muffin recipes like these oatmeal chocolate chip muffins.
They’re one of the easiest breakfasts to make in advance, and with ingredients like hearty oats and naturally sweet applesauce, you can make them both filling and nourishing (my spinach banana muffins are another healthy favorite)!
This recipe strikes the perfect balance between wholesome and delicious. You still get a yummy buttery flavor and plenty of melty chocolate chips, but they’re lightened up with applesauce and packed with fiber-rich oats. Plus, these oatmeal chocolate chip muffins store and freeze beautifully—so you can bake once and enjoy them all week long.
Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Muffins: Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. You can make them gluten-free by using a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. You can substitute up to half of the flour with whole wheat pastry flour.
- Sour cream. Full-fat Greek yogurt or plain yogurt work well too.
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter, coconut oil, and canola oil are all potential substitutes.
- Applesauce. Mashed banana or sweet potato can be used in place of applesauce.
- Whole Milk. You can use half and half, 2% milk, or coconut milk.
- Light brown sugar. For a richer molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Quick cooking oats. If you don’t have quick oats, pulse old-fashioned oats in the blender a couple times, then use them in this recipe.
- Chocolate chips. Use your favorite variety – milk, dark, or semisweet. Or use different mix-ins like nuts, dried fruit, etc.
How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Let’s walk through this recipe together, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by mixing the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Then set the dry ingredients aside to use later.
Next, in a separate large bowl, whisk the sour cream, melted butter, applesauce, whole milk, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until the mixture is smooth.
Then, whisk in the dry ingredient mixture.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips and let the batter rest for 5 minutes so the oats can absorb some of the liquid. Or you can store it in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning.
Pour ¼ cup batter into each well of a greased muffin tin. You can toss a few extra chocolate chips on top for presentation if you’d like!
Then, bake the chocolate chip oatmeal muffins for 17-19 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched, the edges are slightly brown, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let them cool in the muffin pans for 20 minutes before removing with a spoon or sharp knife and transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Serve
Or, you can serve them nice and warm (my preference), slathered with cinnamon honey butter, homemade peanut butter, or this homemade vanilla almond butter.
Or, serve them with your favorite breakfast recipes or smoothie recipes.
Store/Freeze
Store leftover oatmeal chocolate chip muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To thaw, warm in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe FAQS
Yes, you can, but the muffins will have a chewier texture. What I recommend is pulsing the old-fashioned oats in the blender 1 or 2 times to give them the texture of quick-cooking oats before using in this recipe.
Yes for sure! These muffins stay fresh for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator. They also freeze really well for up to 2 months. You can reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave to restore the fresh-from-the-oven texture.
You may have baked them too long or used too much flour.
Nope, no need for this at all! The oats help soak in the liquid in the muffins so they’re soft and fluffy.
Yes! You can use any chocolate chips or flavored baking chips (peanut butter, cinnamon chips, etc.) that you’d like!
Yes, you can replace all or some of the chocolate chips with chopped nuts or dried fruit.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)
- ¼ cup salted butter (melted)
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius)
- Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl, set aside.
- Whisk the sour cream, melted butter, applesauce, milk brown sugar, eggs and vanilla together in a large bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk or stir to combine.
- Stir in the oatmeal and chocolate chips, and let the batter rest for 5 minutes so the oats can absorb some of the liquid. Or you can store it in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning.
- Pour ¼ cup batter into each well of the prepared muffin tin.
- Bake the muffins for 17-19 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched, the edges are slightly brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let them cool in the muffin pans for 20 minutes before removing with a spoon or sharp knife.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- All-purpose flour. make them gluten-free by using a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. You can substitute up to half of the flour with whole wheat pastry flour.
- Sour cream. full-fat Greek yogurt or plain yogurt work well too.
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter, coconut oil, and canola oil are all potential substitutes.
- Applesauce. mashed banana or sweet potato can be used in place of applesauce.
- Whole Milk. you can use half and half, 2% milk or coconut milk.
- Light brown sugar. For a richer molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Quick cooking oats. if you don’t have quick oats, pulse old-fashioned oats in the blender a couple times, then use in this recipe.
- Chocolate chips. Use your favorite variety – milk, dark or semisweet. Or use different mix-ins like nuts, dried fruit, etc.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
