Vegan Oatmeal Muffins

Easy homemade vegan oatmeal muffins that are dairy-free, egg-free, can be made gluten-free, and contain no banana. They’re moist, fluffy, lightly sweetened, and filled with warm spice flavour.

You can make them plain or customize them with the add-ins of your choice (like chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, and more!).

Bake up a batch of these simple and delicious vegan muffins and serve them at snack time, breakfast or brunch.

Muffins are a favourite around here in case you didn't notice! If you haven't had a chance to browse all of my recipes, there are quite a few to choose from like my vegan carrot muffins, vegan sweet potato muffins, and vegan lemon poppy seed muffins to name a few!

These vegan oatmeal muffins (without banana!) are the latest addition and they're a must-make! They're soft, fluffy, wholesome, and filled with oats and spices. They're also extra good when enjoyed with a mug of creamy oat milk hot chocolate.

You'll love that you have the choice of making them plain or adding in some dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips to customize them just the way you want.

This recipe is vegan but you have the choice of making it gluten-free, too. If you do make the gluten-free option, I usually only give one flour blend recommendation for my muffin recipes, but with this one, you get two. Keep reading for all of the details!

Ingredients You'll Need

All of the ingredients are vegan pantry staples.

You will be making a quick, DIY vegan buttermilk with two of them which will contribute to the muffins' texture (just like it does in my vegan buttermilk pancakes recipe!) and soften the oats, I'll explain how to do everything below, it's easy!

I recommend making these easy plant-based muffins exactly as the recipe is written for the best and intended results, but you’ll find some info below so you know what can and absolutely cannot be changed.

Ingredient and Substitution Notes

This recipe was developed and tested to be just vegan or vegan AND gluten-free, so you have some choices for the flour you use.

For vegan oatmeal muffins: Use regular all-purpose white flour.

For vegan gluten-free oatmeal muffins: You'll need a gluten-free flour blend, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour to be specific, the one in the BLUE bag with xanthan gum.

I also tested it with the other Bob's Red Mill GF flour blend, the one in the red bag and the results were also great. See the "Which Flour Blend to Use" section below for more info.

I have not tested this recipe with any other type of flour than the three mentioned above, so if you use something different, your result may not be the same as mine.

Make sure to measure your flour correctly or the muffins will not have the correct texture.

Rolled Oats – Old-fashioned rolled oats are what you need for this recipe, with no substitutions. Be sure to use certified gluten-free rolled oats, if needed.

Quick-cooking oats, instant oats, and steel-cut oats cannot be used, stick with rolled oats for the best and intended results.

Dairy-Free Milk – I recommend using almond milk or soy milk for this recipe since you need to make vegan buttermilk to soak the oats in. Those two types of milk make the best vegan buttermilk, however, if you don't have either, you can substitute with another plant-based milk.

Lemon Juice – Lemon juice is needed to make the buttermilk but if you don’t have lemon juice, the second-best choice is apple cider vinegar, followed by distilled white vinegar.

DO NOT use balsamic, white wine, red wine, or sherry vinegar. They will give your buttermilk a strong flavour that may come out in the muffins.

(If you use lemon juice or one of the recommended types of vinegar, the taste will not come through in the muffins.)

NOTE: Using vegan buttermilk helps to break down the oats so they are tender in the muffins. It also helps to make the muffins rise (the acid reacts with the baking soda), and finally, it helps, along with the oil, to make the muffins moist. If regular plant-based is used instead, the texture of the muffins will not be as intended.

Flax Eggs – Since this is an eggless recipe, the flax eggs act as the binder. If you can’t have flax, chia eggs will work as a substitute.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda - These are both very important ingredients that help the muffins to rise (the baking soda also interacts with the buttermilk!). They cannot be substituted, so make sure they're both fresh or your muffins will turn out dense and not rise very much.

Sugar – You can use either coconut sugar or brown sugar for this recipe. If you use brown sugar, make sure you’re using a vegan brand (organic will always be vegan). They will no longer be refined sugar-free if brown is used. I have not tested this recipe with any liquid sweeteners or alternative sweeteners.

Oil – I usually use melted coconut oil when making this recipe, but any neutral-flavoured oil, like safflower, or sunflower can be used instead. If you use coconut oil, make sure that your other ingredients are at room temperature so it does not solidify when added to the recipe. I have not tried to make this recipe oil-free.

Spices and Vanilla - They won't be oatmeal spice muffins without them, so don't leave these ingredients out.

If you love vegan breakfast muffins or muffins for brunch or snacks, click this link to find even more muffin recipes!

Which Gluten-Free Flour Blend to Use

If you're making the vegan gluten-free version, it's important to know that you should always use the same flour the recipe calls for to get the expected results.

I tested two gluten-free flour blends for this recipe and they both worked well, so please use one of these for the best and intended results:

Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour (in the blue bag) - I tested this recipe with both of the Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour blends and both results were great, however, I prefer the texture and flavour results from using this flour best. The muffins you see in the pictures in this post are made with the 1-to-1 blend.

Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (in the red bag) - The muffins made with this flour were fluffier, but because these are lightly flavoured muffins and because this flour blend is bean-based, those flavours are present in the background, but just slightly. The batter is also runnier than what is shown in the images below.

These muffins also last for a shorter amount of time, which is typical for baked goods made with this flour and they need less baking time than muffins made with the other blend. If you use add-ins, the batter will likely make more than 12 muffins.

Are you making the vegan gluten-free version of this recipe? If you are new to vegan gluten-free baking, be sure to read all of my vegan gluten-free baking tips!

How to Make Them

(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)

1. The first step is to make vegan buttermilk, it's easy and quick. Simply add the milk and lemon juice to a bowl and stir.

2. Next, add the rolled oats, stir, and set the bowl aside so the oats can hydrate and soften.

3. Mix the dry ingredients together.

4. Add the rest of the wet ingredients, including the sugar, to the soaked rolled oats you prepared earlier. Stir to combine everything, but don't overmix. The oats will be very soft at this point and you don't want to turn them to mush by mixing too much.

5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.

6. Stir until everything has combined, and again, don't over-mix. If you are using any add-ins, fold them in here.

7. Evenly divide the batter into your prepared muffin pan. You can use either a spoon or a scoop to do this. I like using a scoop because it’s quicker and easier to divide the batter, this is the scoop I’m using in the picture below.

8. This step is optional, but if you'd like, you can add a small amount of rolled oats to the top of each muffin. (If you don't want to use rolled oats, you can leave them plain or use turbinado sugar or cinnamon sugar instead.)

9. Continue adding the rolled oats to the top of each muffin, again, this is optional.

10. Bake!

How to Know When They’re Ready

Follow the time stated in the recipe, and you can also do the toothpick test by simply sticking a toothpick into the center of the largest muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, they’re done.

Note that if you are making the vegan gluten-free version, both of the flours I recommend using require different baking times. See the recipe notes for more info.

After your oatmeal muffins have been baked, remove them from the oven and let them sit in the pan for a few minutes before carefully removing them (they’ll still be hot!) and placing them on a cooling rack.

Allow them to cool almost completely before serving.

Optional Add-Ins

The muffins in the pictures were made without add-ins, but they're wonderful with add-ins. Make them plain, or use add-ins...it's up to you!

Here are some ideas:

• raisins
• chocolate chips
• nuts (toasted walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds all work well)
• dried cranberries
• chopped dates
• chopped apples (see my vegan apple oatmeal muffins and make those instead!)
• chopped pears
• blueberries
• lemon zest or orange zest

Storing Leftovers

Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, after that, move them into the refrigerator for another 1-2 days.

When you’re ready to serve, bring them up to room temperature, and you can warm them up slightly, if you’d like, before serving.

Note: If you use fruit as an add-in such as blueberries or apples, they will only last at room temperature for 2 days because of the extra moisture. After 2 days, move them into the refrigerator for another 3-4 days.

Freezing

To freeze, fully cool and wrap them tightly. Place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to one month.

When you’re ready to serve them, thaw at room temperature and serve. Just before serving, you can warm them up a bit in the microwave if you’d like.

What's the Texture Like?

Soft, fluffy, moist, and perfect! (See the image below!) No one is going to know these are vegan (or vegan AND gluten-free!).

But to get this texture, you must follow the recipe exactly as it’s written. Any substitutions or changes and you risk your muffins not turning out as expected.

Tips for Success

• Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
• Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale (this is the one I have) and my weight measurements. Please read my article about how to measure flour correctly.
• Use the same flour I use. Baking vegan gluten-free can be tricky because different flours produce different results. My top recommendation for the vegan gluten-free version is Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour (in the blue bag) and as a second choice, the gluten-free all-purpose flour (in the red bag) can be used). See the “Which Gluten-Free Flour Blend to Use” section above for more info.
• Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh, these are two of the ingredients that help the muffins to rise and become fluffy.
• Don’t over-bake. If over-baked, you’ll end up with dry, crumbly muffins. See the section above called “How to Know When They’re Done” for more details.
• Read this post from top to bottom before you start. I’ve included a lot of tips and tricks so you get things right. Also, read through the actual recipe before getting started.
• Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.

If You Make This Recipe...

Please let me know how things went by leaving a star rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture of your vegan oat muffins on Instagram and tag me (I’m @delightfuladventures) so I can see them!

And If You Like This Recipe...

You may also like these other easy vegan gluten-free muffin recipes:

• Vegan Applesauce Muffins
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Cranberry Orange Muffins
• Pumpkin Spice Muffins