How to Make the Best Muffins Ever – Revisited

by Aimee

Nine long years ago I posted a customizable basic oatmeal muffin recipe here on Simple Bites and declared it the ‘best muffin ever’.

It was a bold claim, but one that I was prepared to stand behind. You, my readers, preheated your ovens, gathered ingredients and started baking. Now, nearly a decade later, the post has over 300 positive comments, millions of views, and hundreds of believers.

Today’s post answers the question: is my simple one-bowl muffin recipe still the best? I’ll also share a few small tweaks I’ve made to the recipe over the years, plus my favourite flavour combinations.

The Best Muffin Recipe – EVER

The short answer is YES, this is still the BEST muffin recipe ever. Not only is this claim substantiated by the comments section of the original post, but this comforting baked good is still our No 1 muffin recipe in the Simple Bites kitchen.

The kids and I are seldom tempted to try anything new, because muffin-baking can be fraught with problems. Who wants to risk dry, flat hockey pucks when we know my recipe never fails to deliver moist, flavourful muffins? I love that my little ones still get terribly excited when they smell these muffins baking – and I do to!

And just what makes them so good? Oatmeal gives them a wonderful texture that isn’t cakey and buttermilk makes them light as air. They have a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg and are just sweet enough without straying into cupcake territory. They boast a slightly crunchy top and a moist interior that doesn’t fall apart to bits.

However, the real appeal of this recipe is its versatility.

I gave you a base oatmeal muffin recipe that can happily accommodate almost any add-in you like, and believe me, with three selective eaters around my table, I’ve tried quite a few variations. At the end of the post I’m sharing our two favourite flavour combinations: Carrot, Date & Pecan Spice, and Zucchini Chocolate Chunk with Ginger.

I love that you all went wild with your muffin add-ins, and that you also took the substitutions to the next level…Dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, Paleo, whole-grain, sugar-free – the substitutions made have been endless over the years and each time a reader has come back to enthusiastically report on their success.

Reader Jegi says it best:

“Best muffins ever! I make 3 or 4 batches a week. I use olive or coconut oil in place of butter and half whole wheat flour. Dried fruit works perfectly, as well as apples or carrots. Breakfast is often shredded carrot or zucchini with shredded apples, nuts and wheat germ, but my favorite is dried cherry, walnut and semi sweet chocolate chips. I generally use powdered or almond milk since I don’t use cow milk but Greek yogurt is the best. You simply can’t fail with this absolutely marvellous recipe. I’ve had countless hours of fun “messing it up” to see where it could go wrong and I win every time with deliciousness!”

10 Tips for the Perfect Muffins

1. Read through the recipe completely before beginning and gather your ingredients to bring them to room temperature, eggs, milk, etc.
2. Take care not to over mix the batter; use a flexible spatula to gently fold ingredients together.
3. Batter should be stiff enough to hold a spoon upright; if it seems runny, gently fold in an extra tablespoon of flour.
4. Use the freshest spices as possible when they are required.
5. Grease the entire muffin tin, not just the holes. More often than not, the muffins expand over the sides, and if those sides have not been properly greased, you’re going to run into trouble when you try to remove the muffins.
6. Fill muffin tins three-quarters full; the tops are the best part, so don’t be shy with the batter.
7. Give them a special topping (for texture and taste) before they go in the oven: rolled oats, coarse sugar or a decadent streusel.
8. Take care not to over-bake the muffins. The tops should spring back lightly when pressed.
9. Allow muffins to cool in the pan at least 5 minutes before removing them, especially if they contain soft fresh fruit.
10. Enjoy them on the same day they are made. If you must, freeze them, and reheat them in the oven for that freshly-baked taste.

One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins (base recipe)

Here is your base recipe, printable for the first time. It is slightly adapted from my original recipe. I now make 9 or 10 slightly larger muffins instead of 12, but if you are baking for a toddler and want a smaller muffin, go ahead and make 12.

One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins: Flavour Combinations and Add-ins

Here’s a list of add-ins that I have tested with this base oatmeal reacipe – all with fantastic results.

• 1 cup Raspberries, fresh or frozen & ½ cup Dark Chocolate Chunks or Chips
• ¾ cup Diced Apple (Granny Smith or Russet) and ½ cup toasted Walnuts, roughly chopped
• ¾ cup Dried Cranberries & ½ cup toasted Pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 cup Blueberries, fresh or frozen and 1/2 cup White Chocolate, chopped or chips
• ½ cup toasted unsweetened Coconut & ¾ cup chopped Dates
• 1 cup diced Rhubarb, fresh or frozen & ½ teaspoon freshly ground Green Cardamom
• ¾ cup Dates, pitted and chopped & ½ cup Pistachios
• ¾ cup Golden Raisins & ¾ cup grated Carrot
• 3/4 cup grated Zucchini and 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips

Feel free to make the recipe your own and use add ins you have on hand. Below are two variations that I stick to most of the time. The carrot muffins are for wintertime and the zucchini is our go-to for the summer months.

Zucchini Chocolate Chunk with Ginger

Happy Baking! Let’s bring fabulous muffins back, one batch at a time.

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