Tender and sweet, these Cocoa Oatmeal Muffins make a special breakfast treat or a great after school snack. Add in mini chocolate chips to intensify the chocolate flavor!
Have a little more chocolate for breakfast with these Chocolate Banana Muffins or these Chocolate Waffles.
Cocoa Oatmeal Muffins
We are a muffin loving family. I really do make them at least 2 times a month for breakfast. Sometimes once a week. I love them because they are easy and they are something my whole family will eat, and I love that the kids can eat what is leftover as an afterschool snack.
While we usually go for our favorite Brown Sugar Muffins, I like to change things up every once in awhile. Especially for my chocolate loving middle child. These Cocoa Oatmeal Muffins not only have cocoa throughout the muffin, but they also have mini chocolate chips to give them an extra chocolate punch.
Whether making them for breakfast or as an afterschool snack, these Cocoa Oatmeal Muffins will be a hit!
How to Make Oatmeal Muffins
This Oatmeal Muffin recipe does take a little more time than our typical muffins, but mostly because the oats have to sit in buttermilk to give them a chance to soften. But they really are quite easy!
- Start by mixing the oats and the buttermilk in a small bowl and let them sit for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. You can spray the muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line them with cupcake liners.
- Combine the butter, sugar and egg in a large bowl and beat them together until the mixture is fluffy. In another bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add some of the flour mixture (about 1/3) to the butter mixture and mix to combine. Add half of the buttermilk/oat mixture and stir to combine. Add in another portion of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining buttermilk/oat mixture, then the remaining flour mixture.
- Once the batter is combined, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full with the batter. Bake them for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
More Easy Muffin Recipes
Cinnamon Muffins
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Raspberry Muffins with White Chocolate Chips
Easy Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Sour Cream Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Brown Sugar Muffins
Carrot Muffins
Tools Used to Make these Cocoa Oatmeal Muffins
- I have both a 12-cup muffin pan and a 24-cup muffin pan. This recipe makes 16 muffins, so if you have a 12-cup standard pan, you’ll either need 2 or you’ll need to wait for the first pan to cool down before you are able to use it again.
- I also like to use a scoop to add the batter to the muffin cups. It makes things a lot less messy.
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Cocoa Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the oats and buttermilk and let sit for 20 minutes.1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats, 1 cup buttermilk
- Heat oven to 400ºF. Grease 16 muffin tins or line with cupcake wrappers.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and egg until fluffy. Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda; add to butter mixture alternately with the oats mixture. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter.1/3 cup butter, 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- Fill prepared cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Mary B says
These muffins are my absolute favorite! I keep homemade muffins in the freezer for grab & go breakfast and these Cocoa Oatmeal muffins are always on hand.
Deborah says
Thanks, Mary! I’m so glad you have been enjoying them!
Lynn S. says
Pretty good, but a little too much salt in the recipe for my taste…..
Martha Stewart says
Can you substitute 1/3 oil for the butter?
Deborah says
I haven’t tested it, but I think it should work!
Jess says
Instead of sugar I used 2 decent sized ripe bananas and added 1/4 of a super-seed blend. Came out great! I might add more powder or soda and another egg for a little more fluff, but they’re super moist. So good!! Thanks for recipe!
Beverly tennyson says
Holly says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. it’s so good! I didn’t have quick cooking rolled oats, just old fashioned oats. I let them sit a few minutes longer and that worked great. I made everything else as written & loved it. On 1/2 of the muffins, I did sprinkle some almond slivers & extra mini chocolate chips before putting in the oven. Those were really good too. Wonderful recipe!
Libby Mullens says
Has anyone tried subsituting oil for the butter?
Nancy Johnson says
I put my dry and wet ingredients together in the evening, so I can put them together in the morning and have fresh baked muffins before going to work (school.) It’s easier to use oil. Just mix all the wet ingredients together in one bowl. Stir into dry just until moistened. Should turn out fine. I’m going to do that again tonight.
Jan says
coconut oil works wonders in this recipe
Jacque says
I make a cake similar to these, so wanted to try. They are very yummy!! I followed your recipe exactly with the exception adding just a little more cocoa..Since like things chocolatey. Will definitely be making again thank you!
Julie says
These were delish perfect for a lunchtime treat, I reduced the sugar by a 1/3 and included chocolate chips. My daughter said they were the best ever!
Amanda says
I used gf dry ingredients, cacao, made buttermilk with oat milk and white vinegar, vegan butter, enjoy life chocolate chips and used golden coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Great recipe! My partner loves chocolate and these passed his test!
Jess says
I’ve tried this and it turned out just fine. It’s kinda crumbly, a bit salty for me and stays soft for days. I’ve followed everything, but I used vegetable oil instead of butter and added 1 more egg.
Maybe, I should have used 1/2 tsp of salt instead of 1 tsp, added more cocoa powder and more sugar to it.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Lisa says
I made these this morning. I took the advice of some of the other people who had tried the recipe already. I doubled the amount of cocoa powder (1/2 cup) and I also doubled the sugar. (1 cup – I actually did half white sugar and half brown sugar) plus 1 tsp vanilla..
And they turned out awesome. Thank you 😀
Dalila says
This recipe is a keeper and definitely will be making this again and again. I ended up with 12 muffins but mine are tall and have lovely classic dome muffin top. These tastes really good and I highly encourage anybody who read this to make this recipe asap. Next time I’m making this, I will try to use fewer bowls.
JH says
Hello! I just came across your recipe and am wondering if it has to be buttermilk or can it be just whole milk or almond milk? Trying to find a recipe using what I’ve already got.
Deborah says
I haven’t tried it with almond milk or whole milk. I’m guessing they would be fine, but not as moist. You can always make your own buttermilk substitute by combining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to the regular milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then continue with the recipe as written.
Sunshine baker says
After reading the comments upped the cocoa powder to 1/2 cup and used 1 cup packed brown sugar and added 1 Tbs of cappuccino powder. I used 1 cup of a mixture of semisweet and milk chocolate chips. I think 3/4 cup brown sugar would have been fine. My only complaint is that the oats are a bit crunchy in the muffins. I baked them at 350 for 16 min.
Cathycooks says
I will be trying this recipe soon, however, if your oats are crunchy, perhaps you didn’t let them soak enough in the liquid before you incorporated them? I’m going to try oat flour to reduce the carbs.
Jim Morton says
LOVED this. Trying to lose some weight & this fits RIGHT in with my eating habits & new goals. Thanks!
Charles Connel says
Made the muffins this morning and came out very good. I substituted gluten free flour as a family member has a gluten intolerance. Easy to make and definitely will make them again. Thanks for the recipe.