Cranberry Orange Overnight Oatmeal Muffins

Cranberry Orange Overnight Oatmeal Muffins are bursting with fresh cranberries, orange zest, chocolate chunks and cinnamon. And with overnight oats as their base, these muffins are an easy addition to your holiday brunch!

This recipe was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated with new text and photos.

If you’re a long-time reader of Crumb Top Baking, you’re no stranger to overnight oatmeal muffins. Using oats soaked in milk has been my go-to muffin base for years, and this cranberry orange version is my all-time favourite. 

I originally shared this recipe last year, but I thought I would give it a little face lift, and remind you that these wholesome holiday muffins are here to fuel your Christmas festivities! 

What are Overnight Oatmeal Muffins?

You’ve probably heard of overnight oats. They’re just oats soaked in milk (usually overnight, or at least for a few hours), and topped with fruit, nuts and/or seeds for a quick and easy oatmeal breakfast.

Overnight oatmeal muffins are just overnight oats with a few extra steps. And if you like oats in your muffins, soaking them in milk (or nut milk) softens them up and is a great way to keep muffins moist.

Just start with some quick cooking rolled oats or steel-cut oats, and soak them overnight with equal parts milk. If you prep a few additional ingredients, in the morning, all you need to do is assemble the muffins and bake. In about 20 minutes, you can have warm oatmeal muffins for breakfast or brunch.

Some tips for making Cranberry Orange Overnight Oatmeal Muffins:

• You can use rolled oats or steel-cut oats, just make sure they’re quick cooking. The steel-cut oats will take longer to absorb the milk, so you will definitely need to soak them overnight.
• For muffins with a nuttier texture, steel-cut oats are a must.
• If you’re short on time, you’ll want to use quick cooking rolled oats, and soak them for 30-60 minutes.
• When fresh cranberries are out of season, you can make these muffins with dried cranberries.
• I usually make these muffins with almond milk, but any nut milk or dairy milk will work fine.
• This recipe calls for whole wheat flour and coconut sugar, but you can easily substitute in white flour and brown sugar.

If you make these Cranberry Orange Overnight Oatmeal Muffins, I would love to hear about it in the comments below. Or take a pic and post to Instagram by tagging @crumbtopbaking.

And if you’re looking for other recipes for overnight oatmeal muffins, you can always check out the following on Crumb Top Baking:

• Blueberry Vanilla Almond Overnight Oatmeal Muffins

• Blackberry Lemon Overnight Oatmeal Muffins

Cranberry Orange Overnight Oatmeal Muffins

★★★★★

5 from 17 reviews

Cranberry Orange Overnight Oatmeal Muffins are bursting with fresh cranberries, orange zest, chocolate chunks and cinnamon. And with overnight oats as their base, these muffins are an easy addition to your holiday brunch!

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus time for the oats to soak)
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x
• Category: Breakfast; Snack

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup steel-cut oats, quick cooking
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Juice and zest from half an orange
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, add the oats and almond milk. Stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow the oats to absorb the milk.
2. Once the oats are soaked, pre-heat the oven to 425F and grease a 12-cup muffin pan. (You can also use cupcake liners).
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg and oil. Add in the orange juice and zest, along with the oat mixture, and stir until combined.
4. In another medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chunks.
5. Using a cookie scoop, add the muffin batter to the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the muffins comes out clean. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Store in an airtight container on the counter and enjoy within 2-3 days, or freeze for later enjoyment.

Notes

If you want to prep these muffins the night before, in addition to soaking the oats, you can also prepare the orange juice and zest and store in a container in the fridge. You can also stir together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt), and leave covered on the counter.

Keywords: muffins, oatmeal, overnight oats, cranberries, breakfast

If you’re craving more cranberries, check out some of the amazing recipes below being shared as part of an Instagram collaboration hosted by What Annie’s Eating and Square Meal Round Table. You can also check out #YESYOUCRANBERRY on Instagram to see all the delicious creations!!

What Annie’s Eating’s Cranberry Gin Fizz

Square Meal Round Table’s Cranberry Orange Streusel Pie

Easy and Delish’s Avocado Cranberry Hummus Dip

The Cooking of Joy’s Cranberry Curd Tart

Jessie Sheehan Bakes’ Cranberry Buckle

Ciao Chow Bambina’s Cranberry Pecan Cracker Spread

Baking The Goods’ Cranberry Apple Brown Butter Crumble Pie

Katiebird Bakes’ Cranberry Sauce Breakfast Rolls

You Can Live Rich On Less’ Cranberry Cherry Tarts

Sift & Simmer’s White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Susannah Chen’s Cranberry Pico de Gallo

Pie Girl Bakes’s Dark Chocolate Chunk Cranberry Cookies

Clean Plate Club’s Glazed Cream Puffs with Cranberry Buttercream

Tiny Kitchen Capers’ White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies 

Le Petit Eats’ Dark Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon Sugared Cranberry

Prickly Fresh’s Cranberry Crostini with Prosciutto & Port Salut

Zestful Kitchen’s Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Curd

Simple and Sweet Food’s Fresh Ricotta and Spiced Cranberry Crostini