This post is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company and I have been compensated for it. As always, all opinions are my own. #ad #IHeartQuakerOats
Looking for a healthy low sugar breakfast? An on the go one that the kids won’t complain about? One that tastes good? These Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins fit the bill. This orange muffin recipe is chock full of fiber, thanks to the old-fashioned Quaker Oats® and fresh cranberries put jammy pockets of fruit into these orange cranberry muffins.
The Ultimate Low Sugar Breakfast
My family has had a long history with Quaker Oats®. My grandmother, we call her Myne, has a bowl every morning for breakfast, as she’s done for most of her 90+ years. She calls it “porridge” – and it was a common breakfast in Scotland, where her family heralds from. Instead of piling it with sugar, spices and dried fruit, they “seasoned” it liberally with SALT. You heard me right. NO SUGAR. Salt. Personally, it’s too much for my tastebuds, but these oatmeal muffins are a different story.
Now, this isn’t a sugar-free recipe, because there is 1/2 cup of brown sugar in the mix, but divided among 12 cranberry muffins, that roughly equals 1.3 tablespoons of sugar per. So, a fairly low sugar breakfast, right?
Ingredients For Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins
- Old Fashioned Quaker Oats®
- Buttermilk
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Brown Sugar (just a little)
- Butter
- Egg
- Pecans
- Cranberries
- Orange Zest
This recipe is really easy, but it does take a little planning because the oatmeal needs to sit to absorb the buttermilk and because we’re using Old Fashioned Oats instead of the instant variety, an overnight rest is what it takes…. or soak them in the morning and make the cranberry orange muffin recipe in the evening.
How To Make Oatmeal Muffins
- Combine the oatmeal and buttermilk in a bowl or glass measuring cup and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, combine the dry and ingredients for the orange muffin recipe and whisk to combine.
- Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- Stir in the pecans, cranberries and orange zest.
- Transfer the orange cranberry muffin batter to prepared muffin cups and bake until golden brown.
Oatmeal Muffins Fuel The Day
Because oats are 100% whole grain, they digest slowly, giving you the energy you need throughout the morning without weighing you down.
Can You Freeze Muffins?
Yes. Absolutely. In fact this is a great way to always have an easy low sugar breakfast ready for yourself and the kids. If you’re putting them in a lunchbox, cranberry muffins will thaw nicely by lunchtime. For quicker readiness, they can also be microwaved at 50% power in bursts of 20 seconds until they’re thawed and warmed.
How To Freeze Muffins:
Place the muffins on a sheet pan (that will fit in your freezer) and freeze until the muffins are solid. When the oatmeal muffins are frozen, transfer to a zip top storage bag and return to the freezer. This will ensure that they don’t stick together and you can easily remove them from the bag whenever you’re in the mood.
More Muffin Recipes:
- Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Light and Fluffy Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins
- Fruit and Nut Bran Muffins
- Jiffy Lemon Blueberry Corn Muffins
- Crunchy Banana Chip Mini Muffins
More Low Sugar Breakfasts:
Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins
ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 cups buttermilk well shaken
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup pecans toasted and chopped
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the oats and buttermilk and stir. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425°. Prepare a muffin pan by lining with paper muffin liners and spraying each with vegetable spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar and stir together. Add the oatmeal mixture, melted butter and egg, stirring until well combined. Mix in the pecans, cranberries and orange zest.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the muffins are golden brown. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.
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Would frozen cranberries work for this recipe?
Yes. Stir frozen cranberries into the batter and bake.
Can I use another milk? Almond?
Yes, that will work.
Love the oatmeal in these!!! I am always looking for healthy muffins!
In the winter we kids knew that Oatmeal would be our breakfast. Keeps you warm and going. Loved These muffins,.
These look yummy!
I eat PB oatmeal every morning!
We love Quaker Oats! We also love cooking with them and add them to our meals such as meatloaf and muffins!
my favorite way to eat Quaker Oats, is oatmeal dark choc chip cookies, or homemade peaches n cream hot cereal
These muffins look so yummy!
I I love Quaker oats. They are always in our house. These look yummy!
I made these and they are fabulous.
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
My favorite simple way to eat Quaker Oats is to cook it with raisins and then top it off with brown sugar and milk/cream.
I substitute a half cup of oats for flour when I make bread w/an extra two pinches of both salt & sugar (or a tablespoon of honey), three tablespoons more water (or milk) & one of Baking Powder, as well. Finally, I usually also add another 20 minutes, covered, in that warm spot where the dough can rise as much as possible before going into the oven for baking.
All this makes for a still, fairly light bread but with the oats adding just a hint of its’ hearty, natural flavor & texture we like …. and also becomes another helpful source of that extra bit of recommended dietary fiber that we all really, really need and, sadly, just aren’t getting.
And on that note, I think I’ll just go & make myself a sandwich! 😉
Happy March, Everybody! 😀
Jim, In Pittsburgh
I actually have a recipe for a delicious oatmeal bread on this site as well. You should check it out.
I like Quaker Oats in a muffin or bread. I really don’t care to eat them by themselves. Add cranberries and orange, so delicious!!
my favorite way is in morning with brown sugar and milk…my dog is going on 12 years old and every morning of his life he has a bowl of oatmeal with me
That is too funny!
OK, ANOTHER recipe on my “gotta make this” list. Can’t wait!
I love Quaker Oats in my cookies and in my breakfast bowl, warm and tasty, with just a touch of stevia and fresh fruit. Yummy anytime of the day too!
Love the flavor of cranberry and orange together.
This is breakfast for tomorrow!! I wonder if it would throw the recipe off too much to toss in a handful of coconut? Opinions?
I say make them your own — coconut sounds great.
Holy cow, do these look really good! I’m saving this recipe to make when I return home after visitng my daughter at college! I like to make soft, oatmeal cookies with cinnamon and NO rasisins.I like the cookies soft and chewy!
These sound really good and I can’t wait to make them.
I enjoy them for breakfast. I also add a variety of fruits to my oatmeal.
Oh, these Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins look wonderful! I know I will enjoy these.
I enjoy Quaker Oats as plain and simple Oatmeal, with brown sugar.
My favorite way to eat Quaker oats is to use them in baking, such as cookies and my favorite snack the last few months, 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Energy Bites!
love Quaker oats in cookies but mainly as a breakfast food with butter and brown sugar
You can use Quacker oats for just about anything. We love no bake cookies and things like that but my favorite way in the whole world is making a serving of oats and adding some sugar and maple syrup. It is a healthy breakfast (long as you take it easy on the sugar and syrup lol)
I love eating a hot bowl of oats for breakfast … but my favorite way to eat them is in cookies!!!!
These look so good.
I grew up eating oatmeal. I love mine with brown sugar, cinnamon and milk.
I eat oatmeal almost every morning! I love mine with raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar. These muffins look delicious!
I enjoy it just the way it is and in my muffins and cookies.
you are talkin my language with this recipe! all delicious – some of my fave flavor profiles together – YUMMY!
Our favorite way to eat Quaker Oats is when it transforms into a cranberry oatmeal cookie….yes, we are the Cookie Monster fan club!
These look divine!
Oatmeal is my favorite kind of breakfast! These muffins look like a pretty tasty breakfast too! I love cranberry and orange together. I’ve never added oatmeal to my muffins, but I think that needs to change! Bring in that extra energy!
Oatmeal will definitely provide you that long-lasting energy!
Fantastic muffins, cranberry and orange is such an amazing combination. I do like adding oats to baked goods, it just adds that little bit of protein, flavour and texture. I eat oats most days too for breakfast, be it in porridge, overnight oats, in my bread or in a smoothie.
It really is so versatile, isn’t it?
I love the chewiness that oatmeal gives to baked goods! Yum!
Yes, it’s all about the texture, isn’t it?
Yeah, I’m pretty certain I need to make these! I made a cranberry orange muffin a while back, and something was missing…maybe oats! Love this idea, Lisa…I’ll have to give it a go 🙂
Please let me know how you like them.
Cranberries and orange are an exquisite flavour combination. I love adding oats to pancakes! Yep, just a quarter or third of a cup of oats add fibre to the pancake batter without changing the texture. No-one usually even knows there are oats in the pancakes.
I make quaker oatmeal for my baby (almost) Every Morning! I use quick oats though. But it’s her absolutely favourite breakfast. If I skip a day or two on very rare occasions then the next time she sees me making oatmeal (I call it Kasha since I’m russian and it’s what all the porridges are called) she starts squeaking and bouncing with joy.
The muffins look amazing. I’m sure going to give them a try!
I remember when my daughter squeaked and bounced…
These muffins sound delightful! I love putting Quaker’s rolled oats in my fruit crisps and there is nothing like eating a bowl of Quaker Instant Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. It’s been my favorite flavor since I was a child. Definitely saving this recipe to make this week!
Thanks so much for commenting. Let me know how you enjoy the recipe!
Yay for this! i have been searching for a recipe to treat my husband at breakfast. Winner winner muffin … OK that didn’t quite work out. Printing this. Thanks!
Oh THANK YOU. We eat old fashioned rolled oats for breakfast most mornings, and I’m running out of creative oatmeal ideas so this is PERFECT to add in to the rotation. A great way to start the day!
Love Quaker’s rolled oats. They’ve been a staple in our pantry for breakfasting and baking for as long as I can remember. Buttermilk muffins always have such a fantastic texture, too. These would be perfect in a bread basket at brunch.
Quaker oats oatmeal has long been a favorite breakfast here too! (We love it with frozen blueberries.) But it’s nice to mix it up and cranberry oatmeal muffins sound great! Perfect for breakfast on the go or to stock in the freezer for future need.
I like to cook them and then add honey. No milk
I use oats in my breakfasts all the time! Love them! And these oat muffins sounds delicious- I love the combination of orange and cranberry!
I am assuming from the directions that the oatmeal mixture is added into the dry ingredients before the egg etc? Or do we leave the oatmeal mixture in the fridge? LOL
Hi Colleen! I don’t know how I missed that one. Thanks for the catch. I fixed the instructions.
These look amazing! Our favorite thing to do with oats is oatmeal raisin cookies. 🙂
I love having a variety of muffins and quick breads in the freezer for breakfasts. Do you think these would make into a bread loaf? If I use frozen cranberries should I let them thaw first?
We just acquired 20 pounds of oranges and I’m on the hunt for a couple of new recipes. Thanks!
20 pounds of oranges will make a lot of muffins… Yes, I think you could make these into a loaf and, no, I don’t think you’d need to thaw the cranberries before putting them in the batter — otherwise they might “run”.
These muffins look absolutely fantastic! My favorite way to eat Quaker Oats is baked as a topping on an apple or berry crisp!
I love the combo of cranberry and orange. What a terrific muffin recipe. This is going to be great for our Valentine’s Day brunch!
Let me know how you like them!
Orange and Cranberry go so good together. I make cookies with this combination but I bet these muffins are fantastic!
I can actually taste the citrus just looking at your pictures, gorgeous!
Truthfully? Baked into cookies.
I love using oats for Apple Crisp crumble!
These cranberry orange oatmeal muffins are perfect for busy mornings when you need a healthy breakfast on the run! Love the flavors of cranberry and orange together!
You can’t go wrong with cranberries and oranges. These look wonderful! I must say I love the wooden background too. What a backdrop!!
that’s a cutting board that I found in a salvage yard.
I love making overnight oats with coconut chips and almond milk….ready for me every morning.
Love, love Quaker oats! It is a staple at our house and I use in cereal, breads, muffins, toppings for crisps, cookies and more cookies!
Hot with brown sugar and milk; oatmeal cookies: crisp or chewy; granola! Yes, my husband ears his porridge every day —with salt and milk. It’s a staple at our house!
Oh my God – that’s the way that my Dad eats his — salt and milk….
I love to use Quaker oats for my oatmeal raisin cookies and my dog Sadie’s no cook peanut butter balls!
I always have a HUGE bag of oatmeal on hand. I am Ukrainian (Canadian) and we call it porridge too. Hubby’s grandparents are from England…and that is term they use too. These muffins look delicious, and I would eat them for breakfast, brunch or snack with my afternoon coffee or tea. I entered the contest…and I also LOVE KitchenAid products.
I love Quaker Oats, it’s the only brand that we actually buy. These muffins look and sound sooo delicious. I wonder if i can use just milk instead of buttermilk?
Hmmm… Never tried it with plain milk. If you do, let me know!
Oats are a staple in our house and what a great way to use them. Such a lovely flavour combo b
I’ve grown up with Quaker Oats too! I use their old fashioned oats to make my own homemade granola, that we eat every day! In the winter I use them for oatmeal! I love these muffins and will definitely be making them!
One of the best ways to make muffins I’ve seen lately. And one of the best muffin recipes, too. Never tried the Quaker Oats before but thanks to your amazing recipe I see that I definitely should.
I always have Quaker Oats in my pantry. Besides eating them for breakfast, I love making muffins with them too! My kids always ask for them because they are so delicious. Your cranberry and orange combo looks so tasty. I need to make a batch soon!
These muffins have my favorite ingredients, cranberries and orange and I love Quaker Oats. Mmm, I want one right now. Pinning for later.
Thanks Jere! We love Quaker Oats too – always a container in the pantry.
love using oats in crisps/crumbles..often substitute overripe bananas for butter for a healthier breakfast option
Great idea!