Agave Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins is a small batch recipe for some very uniue muffins made with agave syrup (aka agave nectar), ricotta cheese, chocolate chips and oats. The ricotta and the agave work together to keep the muffins moist even though they are lower in fat.
I need to update the photo of this recipe, but it's a pretty good one if you like lower fat muffins.
Small Batch Agave Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
½ cup all purpose flour or white whole wheat flour (2 25 oz)
¾ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg or egg substitute
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
½ cup ricotta cheese
6 tablespoons agave nectar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons quick cooking oats, divided**
⅓ cup miniature chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 6 muffin tins with flour-added cooking spray or line them with paper liners.
Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Using a fork, lightly beat the oil and egg together in a medium bowl. Beat in the vanilla, ricotta cheese and agave nectar. Mix in the oats, then slowly add the flour mixture. When flour mixture is almost but not quite mixed in, add the chocolate chips and stir until flour disappears.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes.
Cool on a rack and remove from pan.
**If you don’t have quick oats, you can pulse old fashioned oats in the blender and sue those instead. Also, if you are short on agave or don’t want to use it sparingly, you could try using 3 tablespoons agave & 3 tablespoons of maple syrup. It would change the flavor of the muffins, but I think it would still be good.
***I had to use whole fat ricotta, but next time I’d use low fat or part skim.
Fallon says
I finally made these muffins today. I barely had 1/2 cup of ricotta and no eggs! I had everything else and with my barely 1/2 cup ricotta, they still came out amazing. Really delicious, I couldn't wait for the muffins to cool and had one few minutes after I pulled them out of the oven.
I love the small recipes, It only took me 15 minutes to mix everything and get it in the oven and I can easily freeze them whenever I want a muffin!
Anna says
LC, thanks for going to the trouble of testing with cottage cheese. I am glad to hear it worked! I am going to have to try your version at some point.
LC says
Hi Anna,
I finally had time to try the muffins with cottage cheese (fat free!) and they turned out beautifully. At the risk of sounding too much like allrecipes, I also substituted 2 tablespoons of applesauce for the 2 tablespoons of oil and only used 2 teaspoons of oil. I also used whole wheat flour. Thanks so much for the recipe!
LC says
Thanks! I'm going to try it...
Anna says
I'm not sure, LC. Cottage cheese does work in some muffin recipes, but it's different than ricotta so it's hard to say. It's worth trying, though. I might try it.
LC says
Do you think it would work to substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta?
Love the blog, by the way.
Anna says
Randi, sorry. I didn't put this recipe into Mastercook.
Randi says
Do you have the nutritional info for these?
Anna says
Hi Michelle,
Sorry I'm so late to answer this question. I think the muffins might be too dry without the agave. Since you've got the ricotta and egg substitute, you might want to try a different recipe.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/CherryRicottaMuffins.html
Michelle says
Hi: These sound great. I have some ricotta cheese and egg substitute I'd like to use up, but no agave nectar. Anyone know how to substitute sugar? I do have raw sugar, but don't think I want to splurge on the agave just now.
Deb Schiff says
What a great way to use up leftover ricotta cheese. I always enjoy your creations. Thanks for showing the insides of the muffins. They look marvelous!
sharon says
I happen to have all these ingredients! I just might try them out tonight.
RecipeGirl says
Yay! These look great. I might like to try these out for my little guy's breakfasts too 🙂
Louise says
What a wonderful recipe for National Oatmeal Month. Thanks for sharing, Anna:)