For a while during high school, I followed a new afternoon routine. As soon as I arrived home from school and dropped my backpack in my room, I grabbed a snack from the pantry and opened our family’s laptop.
I always visited the same website: one that offered a free online jigsaw puzzle every day. With only 15-20 pieces, I finished those virtual puzzles in less than 2 minutes, yet they still acted as a nice buffer between classes and homework!
After completing the little jigsaw puzzle, I opened my textbooks and started nibbling on my snack. I usually reached for store-bought granola bars because they were easy, perfectly portioned, and always delicious.
Although I would eat just about any kind Mom bought, I loved the soft-baked ones with fruit filling the most… Especially the ones with cinnamon apple filling. Those tasted like miniature apple pies, and “dessert” for snacking was always fine by me!
As an adult, I’ve realized that my “apple pie” soft-baked granola bars weren’t exactly the healthiest snack option with all the refined white flour and sugar they contained… But this Healthy Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Snack Cake has the same flavors, and it’s definitely a much healthier snack option!
This easy snack recipe contains no refined flour or sugar (or preservatives, like those store-bought snacks!), and it only requires a little bit of prep work. Even better, each square has just 100 calories, which is lower than many store-bought snack bars!
So let’s go over how to make this healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal snack cake!
You’ll start with instant oats (this kind—or this for gluten-free!) and whole wheat flour (check the Notes section of the recipe for my favorite gluten-free options!). Instant oats are also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats. They’re smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats, which means your snack cake will turn out really moist and tender!
It’s incredibly important to measure the oats and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of either ingredient will dry out your batter and make your healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal snack cake dry and crumbly, rather than moist and tender. This is especially true for the oats because they act like little sponges and soak up lots of moisture from the batter!
Next come the spices! Cinnamon (obviously!) and nutmeg (like this!). You’ll add both to this healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal snack cake to give it an even cozier flavor. This is my favorite cinnamon because it tastes stronger and sweeter than other varieties, and the nutmeg adds a deeper richness to the spice flavor.
With a mere ½ tablespoon of butter in your healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal snack cake, the rest of its tender texture comes from… Greek yogurt! I love baking with Greek yogurt because it adds the same moisture to your batter as extra butter or oil—but for a fraction of the calories—and it gives your baked goods a protein boost, too!
You’ll skip the refined granulated sugar and sweeten your healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal snack cake with pure maple syrup (like this!). You want the kind that comes directly from maple trees! The only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup,” and it’s generally sold in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this!).
Now it’s time for the best part… The apples! It’s pretty hard to make a healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal snack cake without the fruit, right? ?
I prefer Fuji apples because they have a nice firm texture that holds up while baking, and they’re also naturally very sweet. That’s the best combo for baking in my book! Remember to dice them very small, no larger than the size of chocolate chips, to ensure (a) they fully soften and (b) your snack cake bakes evenly.
Pretty sure I’d be willing to go back to school if it meant I got to eat this as my after school snack! Although maybe I’d just attend classes for a day or two… ?
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal snack cake!
Healthy Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Snack Cake | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (150g) instant oats (gluten-free if needed and measured like this!)
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 6 tbsp (90mL) pure maple syrup
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (187g) finely diced Fuji apple (see Notes!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg whites, and vanilla. Add in Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps of yogurt remain. Stir in the maple syrup. Alternate between adding the oat mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the oat mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the oat mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently stir in the apple.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 24-28 minutes or until the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing and serving.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.
For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: ¾ cup (90g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will also work, if measured like this.
It’s extremely important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will dry out your snack cake and give it a crumbly texture—especially the oats! They act like little sponges and soak up moisture from your cake batter.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Make sure to cut the apple to be no larger than the size of chocolate chips. This ensures that the apple will fully soften while baking and the snack cake will bake evenly. I prefer Fuji apples because they’re naturally sweet and have a nice, firm texture for baking.
For a sweeter flavor, increase the maple syrup by an additional 2 tablespoons (½ cup total), and decrease the milk by 2 tablespoons (6 tablespoons instead).
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Zucchini Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Banana Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Gingerbread Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Hi Amy – I made these for breakfast this morning. I made them gluten free. I was excited to see your gluten free substitution included mostly whole grain flours (and not much rice either). The cake turned out exactly as I wanted it to except it has a very bitter aftertaste. I think it may be the millet flour, which from experience I know can sometimes have a bitter taste. (or maybe it was too much nutmeg, but this is a different taste). Anyway, can I use a different whole grain gluten free flour? Would buckwheat work or would the taste be too strong? How about sorghum or just oat flour? Thanks!
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe, Danielle! I don’t have enough experience with buckwheat flour to know whether its taste would be too strong, but sorghum or oat flour should work in place of the millet flour in my recommended blend. (Just be extra careful when measuring the oat flour if you’re using measuring cups because it’s a bit more absorbent than millet flour!)
If you end up trying this oatmeal cake again with either of those gluten-free flours, I’d love to hear whether you like its flavor any better! 🙂
I tried it again with the sorghum flour and they came out exactly the same except without the bitter taste from the millet! However, both times the cake was VERY moist, not underbaked, but almost similar in texture. Do you think I can leave out a little of the wet ingredients so the end result is a little fluffier?
Hi again! What’s the best substitute for egg whites?
It means a lot that you’d like to try this recipe of mine too, Apurva! My favorite egg replacer is Ener-G. (My brother is actually allergic to eggs, so I have a lot of experience baking with it! 😉 ) Ener-G is a flavorless shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one — and my carrot cake oatmeal muffins too! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this snack cake if you try making it too! 🙂
Looking forward to making these with the apples we picked last weekend! Should they be peeled before chopping?
It means a lot that you’d like to make this recipe, Juliana! I typically leave the peel on… Partially because I like the texture and partially because I’m lazy. 😉 If you’d prefer, you can peel your apples though!
I’m really excited to hear what you think of this snack cake!
Amy, I really appreciate how responsive you are! It’s something I always noticed and liked about your blog. I ended up peeling but I wasn’t thinking about how small the apples need to be chopped – it probably didn’t make a difference.
I used whole wheat pastry flour, almond milk, and an 8×8 pan. Baked for 30 minutes and they came out great – perfect texture in my opinion. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re so sweet — you just put the biggest smile on my face, Juliana!! Thank you so much for your kind words. ♡
I’m really glad you enjoyed this oatmeal cake. That’s a huge compliment if you’d call the texture perfect too. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Just wondering if you used more apples if the recipe would still work? I am looking forward to trying this to help with the daily breakfast dilemma!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Amy! I don’t recommend using much more than called for because the extra can affect the structure of this oatmeal cake and cause it to collapse some while cooling, as well as potentially turn out overly dense. I understand wanting to add more apples though — I often want to do the same thing! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of this oatmeal cake if you end up trying it!