This recipe stemmed from leftovers. Malt-O-Meal leftovers to be exact. I have fond memories of eating warm chocolate Mal-O-Meal on cold North Dakota winter mornings. I purchased a box of this classic cereal for my three little guys to try. I envisioned them reliving part of my comforting childhood tradition. Of course, they didn’t like it. And while I enjoyed a warming bowl of Malt-O-Meal as a kid, I can’t say I like it the same way now, so ultimately I had an almost full box of cereal. And from that almost full box this recipe was born.
A quick search delivered the brand recipe for magic muffins, using that direction I tweaked the recipe to suit our own tastes. Or rather I added what I happened to have around the house. To be sure these muffins are a sort of hodge podge of sorts. Part healthy with chia seeds, part treat-like with chocolate Malt-O-Meal and dark chocolate covered fruit, my guys gobbled them up. I find with most recipes a mix of sweet along with good-for-you is the best fit.
I purchased this bag of dark chocolate covered cherries, blueberries and cranberries from Costco. I merely grabbed a handful, chopped them, and added them to the muffins. If I had chocolate chips in the house I likely would have used them instead, but this addition was fairly comparable.
These muffins were such a hit! My boys gobbled them down. I’ve officially discovered my new use for Malt-O-Meal!


- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup chocolate Malt-O-Meal® Original hot wheat cereal {dry}
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate covered fruit
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients
- Stir together until ingredients are just moistened.
- Spoon into a greased or paper-lined muffin pan, filling cups ¾ full, either large or small.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes for larger muffins or 15 minutes for smaller muffins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I haven’t seen that Malt-O-Meal before, but I’m always keeping my eye out for tasty healthy ingredients!
I haven’t used chia seeds yet…. but I am up for anything that is covered in dark chocolate! I think I can give these a try and try out the chia seeds!
These look amazing! I love muffins.
Is 2,562 calorie amount for 1 muffin? And 156 grams of sugar per muffin ? I would never feed my kids that. As much as I love malt o meal. Wow. That’s what it says at the top of the recipe
No, that isn’t correct! Uff da, that would be quite the muffin, lol. I’ll take a look at why it’s saying that. Thanks for letting me know!