Pumpkin baked oatmeal cups are great to make ahead, freeze, and heat up on cool fall mornings!
I was fighting it the last few weeks, but I think I’m ready to embrace the fall season. I’m sad summer is over but I’m ready for the leggings, boots, pumpkin, apples, and all the other quintessential fall things. Go ahead, you can label me basic 😉 –>
As that crisp fall morning air creeps in, you’ll fall in love with today’s recipe – pumpkin baked oatmeal cups. Think hearty oatmeal; warm, earthy pumpkin; sweet bananas and dates; and rich dark chocolate. All these simple ingredients come together to create this lovely morning (or anytime) treat.
One of the best things about this recipes is that these have no added sugar (except for the added sugar in the few chocolate chips on top). Instead, they’re sweetened naturally with bananas and dates. That means you get additional vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals – compared to making baked oatmeal with regular sugar where you lose out on all those benefits.
This recipe is also nice because it checks off boxes for a lot of dietary limitations, which is great for some of my friends and clients. It’s vegan-friendly and gluten free. It’s also top-8 allergen free, as long as you buy allergen-friendly chocolate chips (I recommend Enjoy Life – the red bag of dark chocolate chips is SO good).
As a runner, I’m often looking for things that I can grab quickly on a busy morning. One of these pumpkin baked oatmeal cups plus a hardboiled egg or a string cheese makes a simple, balanced grab-and-go breakfast.
They’re also a great snack choice when you’re looking for some healthy carbs to fuel your body. Let’s say you’ve got an afternoon workout, but you’re feeling that energy dip between lunch and your sweat sesh. You can snack on one of these an hour before your workout to top off those energy stores.
One of the other reasons I love these so much is that they freeze wonderfully. After you bake the oatmeal cups, wait for them to cool, and then store them in a container or zip top bag in the freezer. When you are ready to eat one, just pop it in the microwave it for about 30-40 seconds. I’ll often bake a batch of 12 on Sundays and throw them in the freezer to pull out for me (and the kiddo) throughout the week.
Break out the pumpkin and give these a try – then be sure to stop back over and let me know what you think.
Pumpkin baked oatmeal cups are great to make ahead, freeze, and heat up on cool fall mornings! This recipe is also vegan friendly and allergy free.
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 3/4 cup whole dates (about 13-15 smaller size dates)
- 2 bananas (I recommend very ripe)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cups rolled oats (if gluten free, look for certified gluten free)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice or cinnamon (optional - recipe works fine without spices)
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (if vegan or have allergies, look for allergen-free chocolate chips.)
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Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin.
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Place the ground flax in a small bowl or cup and add 6 tablespoons of hot water (otherwise known as making “flax eggs”). Set aside for a few minutes.
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Meanwhile, add the dates and bananas to a food processor. Pulse several times until well combined. There may be a few small chunks of dates in there; that’s fine.
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In a large bowl, combine the banana-date mixture with the pumpkin, oats, baking soda, and “flax eggs”. You can also add in the optional cinnamon or pumpkin spice (the recipe works fine without it though). Stir until well combined.
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Divide mixture evenly in the muffin tin, then divide chocolate chips evenly to top each one. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool slightly then enjoy!
Notes:
- These have no added sugar, except the sugar that's added to whatever chocolate chip you may purchase. You can make them completely added sugar free by skipping the chocolate chips or using cacao nibs on top.
- You can also make these with just bananas, and mix in frozen blueberries rather than topping with chocolate chips.
- If you find these are not sweet enough for your liking, try adding a few extra dates or stirring in a little maple syrup.
Nutrition analysis (approximate per baked oatmeal cup):
150 calories, 4 g fat, 1.5 g sat fat, 106 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 3 g protein, Vitamin A: 64%, Vitamin C: 4%, Calcium: 2%, Iron: 7%, Potassium: 7%
Oh my…. yes! These look soo good and perfect for breakfast or an afternoon energy boost 🙂
Yes! Glad you think so too Emily 🙂
i will totally devour these cups…and love your shoes 🙂
Haha – I bought those for like $3 a few years ago and they have been the best investment. They just add a fun pop to any outfit!
I have been all about adding dates to my recipes too. Make ahead snacks are the best
They’re the best for adding sweetness in a healthy way, right?!
Always into a delicious healthy snack for my post workout recovery! These look heavenly.
Thanks Abbey! They’re definitely a tasty treat after a workout.
Gimme all the pumpkin recipes! these oatmeal cups (with all the ooey-gooey chocolate chips) look amazing
I’m with you! Bring on the pumpkin! 🙂
Let’s face it, you had me at the picture with the melty chocolate chips… these look AMAZING!!!
Yay! Hope you enjoy them Rachel!
I love these adorable cups. I’m also with you and not afraid to embrace fall!
Of course, as soon as I started embracing fall, we got 85 degree weather up here – lol. But later this week we should have cool temps again.
I’m totally on pumpkin frenzy 😀 These looks so good, so delicious… and now that you’ve said freezer friendly I definitely need to make these. Yum!
Aren’t freezer friendly things the best?! They’re so convenient to pull out anytime you need a little snack, or if you have any kids – they’re great to pull out for lunches.
Pumpkin and chocolate chips. Yes please!
One of the classic fall combos!