Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

By Genevieve Ko

Published March 6, 2025

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
35 minutes, plus cooling
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(161)
Comments
Read comments

Nubby with oats, these tender brown sugar muffins have a hint of cardamom that brings out the richness of chocolate chips. Tiny quick-cooking oats offer a delicate chew in batter that comes together fast enough for weekday mornings. Right out of the oven, they’re crisp around the edges and fluffy. Over time, they become stickier and feel even more wholesome.

Featured in: The Secret to Great Pancakes Has Been in Your Pantry All Along

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Ingredients

Yield:1 dozen
  • 1¼cups/120 grams quick-cooking or plain instant oats (see Tip)
  • 1cup/133 grams all-purpose flour
  • ⅔cup/160 grams packed dark brown sugar
  • 1tablespoon baking powder
  • ½teaspoon fine salt
  • ¼teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1¼cups/300 grams whole milk
  • 4tablespoons/57 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2large eggs, room temperature
  • ⅔cup/128 grams chocolate chips
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

243 calories; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 21 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 196 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom in a large bowl. Whisk the milk, butter and eggs in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently until no traces of flour remain. Gently stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

  3. Step 3

    Use the ⅓-cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into the muffin cups. They’ll be nearly full.

  4. Step 4

    Bake until browned around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Cool in the muffin tin until room temperature. You can eat the muffins warm, but they’ll be a bit gummy before they cool. Muffins will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating in a toaster oven.

Tip
  • Quick-cooking oats are slightly flatter and cut smaller than old-fashioned oats, and instant oats are even smaller and thinner. If you have only old-fashioned (rolled) oats, pulse them into tiny bits to replicate the lighter texture that quick-cooking oats deliver.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
161 user ratings
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Comments

Emily

A little scary to make these with no comments at the time, but they came out well. I didn't have whole milk so used 1 cup oat and 1/4 cup heavy cream. I added cinnamon and used more cardamom than called for. Batter is very liquidy, but they cook well and stay moist even when cooking in tin. I have eaten five.

Lauren

The way to avoid a thin batter and chips that sink to the bottom is to let the oats sit in the milk for 15 minutes. The oats expand and soften, yielding a thick, oatmeal-like mixture. You then combine this with the wet and dry ingredients, resulting in a tender, fluffy, slightly nubby muffin with wonderful cardamom aroma. My muffins needed only 15 minutes in the oven; don't overbake or they'll be dry.

Liz

Made this recipe today and they were pretty good. I did not have any cardamom, so subbed a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. The oats give a wholesome texture but I think some chopped nuts would have given a nice contrast. I liked the tip of using the 1/3 cup measure to scoop the batter - came out exact! They don’t rise a lot, so it’s okay that the tins are quite full. The batter is quite liquid, so don’t be alarmed about that!

A

Lots of great variations in the comments. I made these as a hybrid with the 5-star “Banana Bread” also in NYT- basically made the banana bread batter but added the oats and milk in the same ratios from this recipe, included the choc chips of course, and used the same temperature/baking time from here. Delicious and highly recommended!!

Andrea

These turned out wonderfully! I made them gluten free: Swapped out all purpose flour for half almond flour, half GF multipurpose flour, and added less than 1/8 teaspoon of xantham gum. Used rolled oats (not quick cook) and soaked in milk for 20 minutes, as recommended by @Lauren. Added vanilla extract and a smidge of nutmeg along with cardamom. Will make again! My kids loved them. Somehow I ended up with 11 muffins not 12.

NP123

Made as written with old fashioned oats (pulsed for a few minutes as per tip). I also soaked oats in milk as suggested in comments and chocolate chips didn’t sink to bottom. These came together quickly and very a big hit with the kids. I’d also recommend not subbing something else for the cardamom as it adds a very unique flavor

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