
Are you looking for the perfect muffin? Prefermenting oatmeal results in a deliciously chewy and rich tasting muffin that is certain to become a new favourite! Best of all buttermilk oatmeal muffins can easily be adapted to be gluten free and vegan.
Oatmeal Muffin Flavours
Really… there are endless ways to flavour muffins. It is such an easy and delicious muffin. Here are some suggested flavour options to tempt you. If you are looking for something savoury, then I recommend my cheese and onion muffins.
- Peanut butter and berries: Stir 1/4 cup of fresh or frozen berries into the muffin batter, then dollop 1 tbsp of peanut butter into the centre of each muffin. (See the photo below for my peanut butter and blueberry muffins.)
- Apple pie: Add 1/4 cup of grated apples, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp ground ginger to the batter.
- Chocolate cranberry: Stir in 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of fresh cranberries for a sweet and sour combination.
- Blueberry cream cheese: Mix a 1/4 cup of blueberries into the batter, then add 1 tbsp of cream cheese into the centre of each muffin.
- Lemon poppy seed: Add the zest of 2 lemons with 2 tbsp of poppy seed for this classic muffin flavour.
- Orangesicle: Add in the zest of 1 orange along with 2 tsp of vanilla extract. This is also nice with 1 tbsp of yogurt cheese placed in the centre of each muffin.
- Nutty squirrel: Stir in 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts and almonds for a crunchy muffin.
- Plain Jane: I love this muffin fresh and hot with a smear of cultured butter.

Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins

These buttermilk oatmeal muffins can easily be adapted for vegan and gluten free diets. They are perfect for all sorts of muffin flavours: peanut butter & berry, chocolate & cranberry, blueberry & cream cheese and more! See section above for eight delicious options.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Fermented
Ingredients
Preferment
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 cup flour (wholewheat or GF oat flour)
- 1 cup buttermilk
Remaining Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (or ground date sugar)
- 2 eggs (or flax eggs)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix the flour, oats and buttermilk in a glass container. The oats need at least 1 hour to hydrate, otherwise you can leave them to preferment for up to 24 hours.
- When you are ready to bake the muffin, start by preheating the oven to 400 F.
- When the oven is preheated mix the remaining ingredients into the fermented batter. If you use wheat flour it will have developed gluten, so you will need to cut the ingredients into the dough to get it to mix thoroughly.
- Stir in any extra flavours (see above for some ideas.)
- Spoon batter into a muffin tin and bake for 18-20 min (until a skewer comes out clean.)
Notes
- For a vegan muffin, replace the eggs with flax eggs by combining 2 tbsp of flax with 1/4 cup of water and allowing it to gel for 10 minutes before mixing into the batter.
- The muffin batter can be cultured with any cultured dairy or dairy alternative. Yogurt, milk kefir, soy yogurt, nut milk yogurt are all great options.
- I always use silicone muffin liners or paper muffin liners
(affiliate links.) It’s easier to clean than the muffin tin, and it really helps with the stability of my gluten free & vegan baking.
Keywords: breakfast, dessert, cultured, soaked, prefermented, peanut butter, berries, chocolate, nuts, cream cheese, yogurt, spring, summer, gluten free
Hi there! What would happen if you added the sugar to the preferment? I suppose some of the sugar would get eaten away… and then…? What does that mean for the final product? Just curious!
I think it would depend on the culture. I think yogurt probably wouldn’t ferment sucrose, but kefir might? -Because of the lactic bacteria versus yeast/bacteria combo. Either way, it shouldn’t cause a problem. Let me know what happens if you try it!
Does it have to be quick oats? Or can I use regular oats? Thanks!
I usually use regular oats, however, quick oats will “disappear” a bit more into the batter. 🙂