Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins
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.
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
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 ½ 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:
- Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- 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 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup pecans toasted and chopped
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1 ½ teaspoons orange zest
DIRECTIONS:
- 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.
RECIPE VIDEO:
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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.