Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats

These Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats are a simple and delicious single serve breakfast, quicker than the oven! The blended batter (no banana required) bakes into a cake-like treat you can drizzle with PB and enjoy anytime.

What are the ingredients in these Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats?

The ingredients for this recipe are super simple and you probably already have most of them at home! The mix-ins are totally flexible, so feel free to use up you have, instead of buying a whole package just for 2 TB. Here are all the ingredients I used for this recipe and a little info for each:

• rolled oats – The star! You can use rolled oats or quick oats since it will all be blended. I haven’t yet tested swapping with steel cut oats. I’m sure it would taste good, but the texture would change!
• egg – Blending one egg into the batter helps bind everything together and provides a bit of rise.
• unsweetened applesauce – I tested this without adding any fruit and it was a bit dry. The applesauce helps bring some moisture and sweetness to the oats.
• pure maple syrup – To sweeten and add a touch of maple flavor, I like to use pure maple syrup. You could also swap this with honey, or your favorite liquid sweetener.
• vanilla extract – For the baked good flavor, vanilla is essential. I promise it would taste like something was missing if you skip it.
• ground cinnamon – I love adding cinnamon as a background flavor just like you would with vanila. It goes with everything in my opinion!
• baking powder – Adding a small amount of baking powder helps the baked oats puff up and rise a bit.
• fine sea salt – To balance out all the sweetness and really bring out the flavors, add a small pinch of salt!
• mix-ins – Add up to 2 tablespoons of mix-ins like chocolate chips, cut fruit and berries, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, anything you like!

Equipment you’ll need to make this recipe:

You will need an air fryer, a blender (regular or high-speed), and a 4-ounce ramekin to make this recipe. Here are my recommendations:

• air fryer – You can of course use whatever air fryer you have at home, but I personally love Cosori brand. The air fryer pictured in this post is the Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer (affiliate link!). It’s reliable, easy to clean, and almost always quicker than using the oven.
• blender – Blending the oats before baking gives it the cake-like texture we’re looking for. I used a Nutribullet High Speed Blender (affiliate link!) which works great for this small amount of batter. Any high speed blender will do!
• ramekins – You’ll need at least one 4-ounce baking ramekin to cook the oatmeal. These are normally around 3.5-4.5 inches wide and oven safe, which also means they’re air fryer safe!

How do you make Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats?

Start by greasing your ramekin in the same way you would grease a muffin tin. I use a spritz of spray can ghee, but you can use any butter or oil you have. Preheat your air fryer if your model requires it, however I usually don’t!

Next, pull out your blender and add all the ingredients, except the mix-ins. Blend on high for about 20-30 seconds until you reach a smooth consistency. Stop blending and push down the sides if any full oats are stuck or not blending in to the batter.

After the batter is blended, stir in your mix-ins, about 2 tablespoons total, and save a few for topping. I’ve got lots of ideas below! Add any combo you want, just don’t add too many or the baked oats won’t cook through. Pour the batter into the greased ramekin and top with leftover toppings. 

Cover the ramekin with foil to keep the top from cooking too quickly. In all my tests without foil, the top of the oats baked very quickly while the inside was still completely runny. Covering the top gives the rest of the bowl a chance to heat up before the top cooks.

Place the covered ramekin into the air fryer and cook at 300F for 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes is up, remove the foil from the ramekin and cook again at 280F for 7-8 minutes. The oats are done when the top is firm and a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.

Let the oats and ramekin cool for at least 5 minutes before topping with peanut butter, fresh berries, maple syrup, or milk. It’s basically too hot to handle at this point anyway! Then, serve immediately directly in the ramekins and enjoy!

Best tips for making Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats:

Here are my best tips for making these Air Fryer Baked Oats in your own kitchen:

• don’t skip the foil – In all my tests without a foil cover, the oats cooked too quickly on top while the inside was still runny. The foil is necessary to give the bottom and middle a chance to warm up before baking the top!
• don’t overfill – Adding too many mix-ins to the batter will create more volume and make it harder for the baked oats to cook through all the way.
• grease the ramekin – Be sure to grease the ramekin with some kind of butter or oil so the baked oats don’t stick.
• don’t let the batter sit – I accidentally discovered while testing that letting the batter sit (rather than cooking immediately) resulted in less rise. This is probably because of the small amount of baking soda. Either way, it’s best to cook this batter right away.

What should you serve with these Individual Baked Oats?

I think the best way to serve any flavor of these baked oats is to drizzle with your favorite nut butter! This adds flavor, moisture, and protein. I also love to add fresh berries, even to the chocolate version.

Ways to customize this recipe:

Customize this recipe by adding your favorite mix-ins to this base baked oatmeal recipe. Here are some ideas for flavors and toppings:

• peanut butter & chocolate chips
• chopped dates & walnuts (pictured)
• mixed/chopped berry (pictured)
• almond extract and sprinkles
• almond butter & raspberries
• kiwi & coconut flakes
• cocoa powder & white chocolate chips

Where do you get those ramekins?

You can find these standard 4 ounce baking ramekins (affiliate link!) at most home/kitchen stores like Target or World Market, or online at Amazon.

How do you meal prep this recipe?

This is a single serve recipe, meant to make only enough for one person and no leftovers. I would not recommend trying to freeze or make-ahead the entire recipe. However, there’s one option below you could try to save time in the morning:

Ingredient prep: Measure and combine the dry ingredients (oats, cinnamon, baking powder, salt) ahead of time and store in a sealed container or bag. Pour into blender and add egg, maple syrup, vanilla and applesauce, and proceed with recipe as written.

How to store Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats:

Store leftovers in an airtight container with lid and enjoy with 3-4 days. You may need to add a little bit of milk or other moisture as reheating may dry it out a little bit.

How to reheat Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats:

These Individual Air Fryer Baked Oats are meant to be enjoyed right after you make them, but if you need to save leftovers to reheat later, that’s okay too. Reheat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds depending on portion size, and drizzle with milk if it appears dry.