Orange Cranberry Vegan Oatmeal Cups

Vegan oatmeal cups packed with dried cranberries and orange zest are a perfect grab-and-go breakfast or snack. They only take seven ingredients and about half an hour to make, and my family loves them. Make them as-is, or try one of the five flavor variations. That's six flavor options total!

What is it about orange and cranberry together? In these vegan oatmeal cups, this classic flavor combination really gets a chance to shine. It's a healthy breakfast or snack that you're going to turn to again and again.

Not an orange and cranberry fan? Check the section of variations below for five more flavor ideas!

I consider my son the ultimate recipe tester. Like most kids his age, he knows what he likes and is not shy about telling you. He ate three of these oatmeal cups on the first day.

The next morning, he had one for breakfast and made me promise not to finish them while he was at school because, "I want some for later!"

That's high praise, y'all.

These baked oatmeal cups are based on my creamsicle overnight oats, and they're adding some sweet-tart variety to our mornings.

They use mostly pantry ingredients, so they're perfect for those times between grocery shopping when you want something healthy, hearty, and delicious.

I can't wait for you to try them!

Ingredients and substitutions

• rolled oats - Use old fashioned, rolled oats for this recipe. If you want this to be gluten-free, make sure the oats are certified gluten-free. Some rolled oats can have a lot of cross-contamination.
• soy or oat milk - Or the creamy vegan milk of your choice.
• applesauce - For moisture and sweetness.
• dried cranberries and orange zest - This is for the orange cranberry oats. See the section of variations below for making blueberry vanilla, cinnamon apple, oatmeal raisin cookie, peaches and cream, or maple walnut baked oatmeal cups.
• maple syrup - For moisture and sweetness. You can use agave nectar instead.
• baking powder - Helps bind the ingredients.
• salt - Brings out all of those amazing flavors!

How to make vegan oatmeal cups

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the mixture into your muffin pan, stirring the mixture each time you scoop, so you get all of the goods into each cup.

Bake for 25 minutes. Pull them out of the oven, and let them cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

A note about binders

Normally, baked oatmeal cups use eggs as a binder. A binder is an ingredient that holds everything together. Eggs are a great binder, but they're not the only game in town.

Oatmeal actually has some binding properties of its own, so you don't need to use fancy egg replacers in this recipe. Instead, I replaced the eggs with applesauce, which is a great egg replacer that works in a lot of vegan baking recipes.

The applesauce also brings some natural sweetness to these oatmeal cups, which allowed me to use just a touch of maple syrup.

Flavor variations

Not a fan of orange and cranberry? That's okay! Here are five more flavor ideas for you:

1. Blueberry vanilla: omit the orange zest, use 1 cup blueberries instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2. Cinnamon apple: omit the orange zest, use 1 cup diced apple instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3. Oatmeal raisin cookie cups: omit the orange zest, use raisins instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, add an optional extra ¼ cup brown sugar
4. Peaches and cream: omit the orange zest, use 1 cup diced fresh peach instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5. Maple walnut: omit the orange zest, increase the maple syrup to ½ cup, add ¾ cup chopped walnuts

Feel free to experiment with your own flavor combinations, too. Basically, you can add up to a cup of whatever mix-ins you like, plus any fresh or dried spices, citrus zest, and extracts.

Serving, storing, and reheating

When you pull these out of the oven, don't remove them from the pan right away. They need to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. If you try to eat these right away, they will fall apart.

To store, transfer the completely cooled baked oatmeal cups to an airtight container. They will keep for around five days in the refrigerator.

You can eat these cold, but I prefer them warm. Warm them up for 10 minutes in a 350° F oven or toaster oven or for 30 seconds in the microwave.

You can also freeze these by storing them in a freezer bag. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or for a few hours on the counter.

More vegan oatmeal recipes

📖 Recipe

Vegan Oatmeal Cups

Tender baked oatmeal cups are a perfect quick breakfast. They only take seven ingredients and about half an hour to make!

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5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: baked oatmeal cups, vegan baked oatmeal, vegan oatmeal cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Author: Becky Striepe

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 cups rolled oats
• ▢ 1 ½ cups soy or oat milk
• ▢ 1 cup dried cranberries
• ▢ ¾ cup applesauce
• ▢ ¼ cup maple syrup
• ▢ orange zest from 1 orange - about 1 heaping tablespoon, or 1 teaspoon dried orange zest
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• ▢
  Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
• ▢
  Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the mixture into your muffin pan, stirring the mixture each time you scoop, so you get all of the goods into each cup.
• ▢
  Bake for 25 minutes. Pull them out of the oven, and let them cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Equipment

• citrus zester

Video

Notes

• The oats in the batter are going to want to sink to the bottom of the bowl, which is why you need to stir before each scoop. When you scoop the batter into the muffin pan, make sure you get an even mixture in there. If you don't, your oatmeal cups won't properly set, and you'll be sad. I'd hate that for you!
• Don't be shy about filling the cups of your muffin pan all the way up. These aren't muffins, and they won't rise like muffins. Get back in there for another scoop, if you have more batter left after you scoop ¼ cup into each section of the pan.
• It's important that you let these cool, so they have time to set. If you pull them out before cooling completely, they will fall apart.

Flavor variation ideas

• Blueberry vanilla: omit the orange zest, use 1 cup blueberries instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cinnamon apple: omit the orange zest, use 1 cup diced apple instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Oatmeal raisin cookie cups: omit the orange zest, use raisins instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, add an optional extra ¼ cup brown sugar
• Peaches and cream: omit the orange zest, use 1 cup diced fresh peach instead of cranberries, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Maple walnut: omit the orange zest, increase the maple syrup to ½ cup, add ¾ cup chopped walnuts

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Oatmeal Cups

Amount per Serving

Calories

162

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

2

g

3

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.3

g

2

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.4

g

Sodium

 

109

mg

5

%

Potassium

 

316

mg

9

%

Carbohydrates

 

30

g

10

%

Fiber

 

6

g

24

%

Sugar

 

6

g

7

%

Protein

 

7

g

14

%

Vitamin A

 

66

IU

1

%

Vitamin C

 

0.2

mg

0

%

Calcium

 

95

mg

10

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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