Air Fryer Muffins

Did you know you can bake muffins in the air fryer? These Air Fryer Muffins turn out soft and fluffy with loads of chocolate chips and the most irresistible sugar topping!

This recipe is based on my go-to oatmeal muffin recipe. It’s a pretty basic recipe with oats, whole wheat flour and zero dairy. I like to use a trick of soaking the oats for at least 30 minutes to help keep the muffins moist and tender.

I use this base recipe in my healthy blueberry oatmeal muffins, healthy banana nut muffins and cranberry oatmeal muffins.

When I decided to add an oatmeal chocolate chip muffin recipe to the blog, I thought it would be a great idea to bake them in the air fryer. After all, I’ve been baking in the air fryer quite a bit lately, so a batch of muffins was bound to happen.

In case you’ve missed some of my air fryer sweets, be sure to check out this air fryer cake, these air fryer chocolate chip cookies and these air fryer cinnamon rolls!

Why you’ll love these air fryer chocolate chip muffins

• They’re made without butter or cow’s milk and we’re using plant-based chocolate chips, so these muffins are completely dairy-free.
• Soaking the oats in nut milk helps keep these muffins tender and soft in the middle.
• Adding some coarse sugar to the tops before they bake in the air fryer creates a sweet and crispy muffin top.
• While this is a chocolate chip muffin recipe, you can totally swap in your favourite nuts or berries!

Details on the ingredients

Oats – They add texture and heartiness to the muffins. I used large flake rolled oats, but quick cooking rolled oats work too.

Almond milk – Unsweetened nut milk is used to soak the oats and add moisture to the muffins. You can use another type of non-dairy milk or even dairy milk, if you don’t need these muffins to be dairy-free.

Egg – One large egg is used to provide structure, moisture and leavening.

Oil – A quarter cup of oil also adds moisture to these muffins and helps produce a tender crumb. I used extra virgin olive oil, but you can use canola oil if you prefer.

Flour – I almost always use whole wheat flour for muffins. While I haven’t tested it in this particular recipe, you should be able to substitute an equal amount of all-purpose white flour.

Coconut sugar – This is my preferred sugar for most muffin recipes. You can also use cane sugar, granulated sugar or brown sugar. (Just note that changing the sugar will change the taste slightly).

Coarse sugar – This is optional but I sprinkled a little bit of turbinado sugar on top of each muffin before baking to create a crispy muffin top.

Baking powder – For leavening.

Vanilla – You can use pure vanilla extract or artificial vanilla. Pure vanilla will add the best flavour.

Salt – A little kosher salt or fine sea salt enhances the flavour of the other ingredients.

Chocolate chips – I used plant-based chocolate chips to keep these muffins dairy-free. You can use any kind of chocolate chips you prefer.

How to bake muffins in the air fryer

Soak your oats in almond milk for 30-60 minutes, or until the milk is absorbed and the oats have softened.

Add the oat mixture to a large bowl and whisk in the oil, egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix the batter.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter into 9 silicone muffin cups, filling them to the top.

Sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top of each muffin and poke a few additional chocolate chips into the tops (optional).

Place the cups in the air fryer basket and air fry on 300F for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.

Let the muffins rest in the air fryer basket for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Remove from the silicone cups and let the muffins cool fully on a wire rack.

Recipe variations

• Add berries or chopped nuts in place of the chocolate chips.
• Replace the rolled oats with steel cut oats. (You’ll just need to soak them overnight as they take longer to soften).
• Substitute the coconut sugar, with granulated, cane or brown sugar.
• Use another type of milk. Cashew or oat milk are great options, and for a dairy version, whole milk works well too.

Storage

Store these oatmeal muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay fresh for 2-3 days. Just note that the crispy sugar topping will soften after a day or two at room temperature.

You can also store the muffins in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just place them in a freezer safe container or sealable bag.

Frequently asked questions

Key recipe tips

• I tested this recipe in a Cosori 5.8 quart air fryer, which fits 9 muffin cups perfectly. If you have a smaller air fryer, you may need to bake the muffins in batches.
• I recommend using silicone muffin cups for this recipe. They’re non-stick, easy to clean and reusable.
• My silicone muffin cups are 2.75 inches in diameter and a little over 1.25 inches high. If your cups are larger, you will need to air fry the muffins a little longer.
• To get domed muffin tops, make sure you fill the silicone muffin cups to the top.
• As air fryers differ, you may need to adjust the temperature and air frying time slightly for your brand or model. Check the muffins with a toothpick to ensure they’re done.
• Let the muffins rest in the air fryer basket for at least 10 minutes. This not only gives the muffins time to cool enough to handle, but they’ll firm up too.

More muffin recipes

• Spelt Banana Muffins
• Raspberry Lemon Muffins
• Blackberry Lemon Muffins
• Apple Spice Muffins
• Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
• Coconut Mango Muffins
• Partridgeberry Muffins
• Banana Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins

More air fryer recipes

• Air Fryer Snap Peas
• Air Fryer Beets
• Air Fryer Chicken Bites
• Air Fryer Pork Schnitzel
• Air Fryer Peppers and Onions
• Air Fryer Carrots

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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