A bowl of oatmeal is a good way to start the day. A muffin is a convenient way to start the day. Putting oatmeal into a muffin is bringing together the best of both worlds – or, at least, that is a very convenient way to justify having two of these tasty Coconut Oatmeal Muffins for breakfast before finishing that first cup of coffee. They’re inspired by oatmeal cookies, and you’ll find toasty oats, sweet coconut, butter, vanilla and cinnamon in every bite.
The muffins are slightly dense, since they are packed with so much good stuff, but they’re still fluffy and very tender, not heavy. They have a lot of shredded coconut in them. Fortunately, coconut is not an aggressive flavor, so it blends easily with the cinnamon, vanilla and other ingredients without overpowering them. You can use sweetened or unsweetened coconut in these muffins, depending on your personal preference (I prefer sweetened) and what you have on hand. Toasted coconut will work, but I actually prefer untoasted coconut because it brings a little bit of additional moisture to the muffins and helps keep them soft and fresh, even a day or so after baking.
These muffins are delicious on their own and they are also very good when served, slightly warm, with butter. They are best on the day they are made, but they can be stored in an airtight container for two or three days if necessary. If you are not planning to eat the whole batch at once, wrap them individually and freeze them, so you will have some on hand to snack on at a later date.
Coconut Oatmeal Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 cups packed shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (any kind)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Stir in shredded coconut.
In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in egg mixture. Stir until the wet ingredients are almost fully combined and only a few streaks of flour remain.
Pour in the melted butter and stir until butter is completely incorporated and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Divide evenly into prepared muffin pan (muffin cups will be very full).
Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12.
Cathy Pollak ~ Noble Pig
January 4, 2014Love these! Oatmeal in baked goods is one of my all time faves, as well as coconut. Winner here!
Debbie M
January 4, 2014I think you meant “They are best on they day they are *made*,” but I can’t help agreeing that they are really best on the day they are eaten.
cate
January 4, 2014This recipe is a keeper. I used buttermilk and they turned out perfect. Thank you so much for sharing!
Nicole
January 4, 2014Haha, Debbie. You’re right about both!
Katy
January 5, 2014These look absolutely delicious! I am always looking for a new muffin to make and these have a chance of becoming a new personal favorite. 🙂 Thanks!
Avra-Sha Faohla
January 5, 2014Just made these this morning! They were definitely full of coconuty deliciousness, and my tops came out so wonderfully toasted! Thank you for sharing.
Labanca
January 5, 2014Muffins is the best food to start a day… Thanks for sharing it…
Shikha @ Shikha la mode
January 6, 2014Mmmmm. I have a jar of mango jam that would go great with these!
Linda
January 6, 2014Made these for my favorite garden pals and ran them over still warm from the oven. They confessed that they’d never had coconut muffins before but thought them delicious and perfect with just enough sweetness but not too much. I tossed in some real chocolate sprinkles for interest and they looked pretty all speckled like vanilla beans on top. I ended up with 18 muffins. I thought they were a perfect size at that size and more to share. They did look sturdy from the oatmeal but the interior looked soft and tender. A KEEPER, I think! Thanks Nicole!
Tegan
January 11, 2014Made these last night and they came out AMAZING. Thank you!
Anita
January 13, 2014Is the batter very thick? I just made these – they are in the oven now. The batter was very thick – almost dough like. They are baking and look quite worrisome 🙁 Hoping they turn out tasty.
Anita
January 13, 2014The muffins are tasty, but quite dense and not really muffin like. Just wondering if the batter is really meant to be sticky and thick? It’s not pourable at all. Thanks for your great recipes. I’ve tried many of them successfully. Your blog is my reliable recipe source. Thank you!
Nicole
January 13, 2014Anita – Yes, the batter should be very thick and as I mentioned in the post, the finished muffins should be fairly dense because they have so much oatmeal and coconut packed into them. Muffins are generally much denser than cupcakes, particularly those that include a whole grain, like oatmeal. If they turned out to be a little dry, they may have been overbaked by a few minutes because, although they are dense, these muffins should still be very moist and tender inside. I hope you enjoyed them!
Erin
February 3, 2014Made these during our snow day today and they were delicious!!! We have already eaten half! :-p Wouldn’t change a thing.
Housewife
February 21, 2014Muffins are always my favorite. I look forward to your recipe, especially because I love coconut.
Sue
March 23, 2014Thanks for the recipe. I made these yesterday using a fresh coconut and less sugar and it was delicious.
Joy
May 28, 2014Hi, thanks for the recipe. Do you think it works to use rolled oats instead of quick cooking?
Nicole
May 28, 2014Joy – Yes, you can make that substitution. Quick cooking oats give the muffins a slightly finer crumb.
Corina
July 22, 2014Made a batch this evening. Substituted all purpose flour with coconut flour and used coconut sugar. I also used almond milk. Followed all the directions correctly and once the batter was mixed it was really dry so I added about 3/4 more of milk and it seemed to help a little. Packed the batter into the baking tin and baked them at 350 for 22 minutes. They looked dry and cracked but I just assumed maybe I cooked too long. I tried one and it was very dry. Not one bit moist. Did I use something I shouldn’t have?
Nicole
July 23, 2014Corina – Yes, unfortunately you did! Coconut flour cannot be substituted for all purpose flour. It absorbs so much moisture that recipes that use it many times the amount of liquid as a non-coconut flour recipe (it varies widely by recipe), and many more eggs. The coconut flour definitely dried your muffins out, even though you added some additional liquid. When substituting with coconut flour, it is best to work in very small increments, or to start with a recipe designed for coconut flour where you won’t have to make as many alterations to the structure of the recipe. Sorry they didn’t turn out this time around!
Kate
December 21, 2014How could you make this into a bread? I’ve made these muffins many times and LOVE them! I was asked to make bread for Christmas morning and thought this would be perfect.. Increase the baking time? Or could I still follow the same directions?
Nicole
December 21, 2014Kate – Yes, you can make this as a bread in a 9×5-inch loaf pan. The batter will be made the same way, but it will have a much longer baking time. It will probably need about 60 minutes. Be sure to check it for doneness with a toothpick to ensure that it is not underbaked in the center!
Heather
May 8, 2016I made with coconut oil, coconut milk, half sugar/half splenda, and dark chocolate chips–wonderful!