Go Back

Masala Chai Oat Muffins

These masala chai-flavored oat muffins are the perfect way to start your morning! They are full of fiber, are gluten-free, and contain no refined sugar!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings: 9 muffins
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, Indian Fusion
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Masala Chai Concentrate (should be ½ cup total liquid after it's boiled)
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup oat milk
  • 6 tsp chai (black tea) I use the Wagh Bakri brand, but you can use any other brand of Indian black tea.
  • 16 green cardamom
  • 9 cloves
  • 5 black pepper
  • 2 inches cinnamon sticks
  • ¼ whole anise star
  • 2 tsp ginger powder
  • 2 pinches nutmeg powder
Batter
  • 150 g oat flour (you can make this by blending 1 ½ cups of oats)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 1 egg

Equipment

  • Muffin Tray
  • Muffin Liners (I use 3-inch size)

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 375° F.
Making the Masala Chai concentrate
  1. Roughly grind all of the whole spices in a mortar pestle or a spice grinder.
  2. Start boiling ½ cup of water in a pot. Add in the chai and all of the ground spices.
  3. After the chai brews for 2-3 minutes, add in ½ cup of oat milk and continue to brew it until roughly ½ cup of liquid is left. The chai will be a very dark hot chocolate-like color.
  4. Strain the chai into a cup and set it aside to cool.
Making the batter
  1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl: the oat flour, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl: the cooled down chai, the egg, the oil, and the maple syrup.
  3. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is fully incorporated. It's okay if lumps remain in the batter!
  4. Line the muffin tray with liners and pour the batter until the liners are about ¾ of the way full. I generally make 9 muffins with this recipe, though you can increase the amount of batter in each muffin and make 8 slightly larger muffins.
  5. Bake the muffins at 375° for 13-15 minutes. Check if the muffins are done by poking them with a toothpick and ensuring it comes out dry.
  6. Set the muffins aside to cool for an hour or so and then enjoy!
  7. You can dust them with some extra chai masala powder or powdered sugar, or just leave them plain! 

Notes

  • If you don't want to make the spice blend, you can buy chai masala powder from your local Indian store and use 6 tsp of that instead in the concentrate.
  • If you want to make them completely vegan you can omit the egg and they will still turn out fine! 
  • You can also replace the oil with 118g of butter for a slightly creamier muffin.