Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal Cups are a make-ahead breakfast ideal for busy mornings, Sunday brunch, or holiday breakfast. Make when you have time, freeze, and reheat this single-serve breakfast when you’re ready to serve.

What’s your favorite make-ahead breakfast?

I’m a little embarrassed to admit how limited my breakfast repertoire is. Dinner? I have lots of go-to recipes. But for breakfast, let’s just say there are a lot of smoothies and toast on the menu.

That goes for my husband, too. He leaves home early and I often send him on his way with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (his request!) in hand.

When I started thinking of how to change up our menu, I knew oats had to be on the list. We often enjoy oatmeal on weekends, but don’t make the time on weekdays for it. Oats are hearty and filling. We need something that will power us until lunch. I also wanted something portable that I could make ahead to save time on busy mornings.

A single-serve breakfast perfect for busy mornings!

These Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal Cups fit the bill! They’re chock-full of oats, sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup, and sport the addition of dried cranberries and orange zest for a burst of flavor. They can be frozen and easily reheated, making them the perfect make-ahead breakfast for busy mornings, Sunday brunch, or a holiday breakfast.

The oatmeal cups couldn’t be easier to make. You’ll first stir together all of the dry ingredients.

Then whisk together the wet ingredients. I use a large glass measuring cup for this. I melt the butter first, then whisk in the maple syrup, milk, eggs, and vanilla. This way I don’t have to use multiple bowls/cups—everything can be measured and combined in just one!

Then divide the mixture between greased muffin cups.

Finally, bake the cups until the tops are golden brown.

Make-ahead, freeze, and reheat when you’re ready!

The recipe makes 12 oatmeal cups, which you can freeze in zip-top bags until you need them. I found that it takes 1½ minutes on the defrost setting in the microwave to defrost them. They will be slightly warm, which is how I prefer eating them.

Speaking of eating them, I recommend a topping or two! The flavor is perfect already, but I love a smear of nut butter on top to add more staying power.

This recipe is very customizable. You could use almond milk in place of the cow’s milk. The mix-in options are endless. Instead of cranberries and orange zest, how about dried blueberries and lemon zest? Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, raisins, chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, goji berries—mix and match as you wish!