These Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins ? they are 100% whole grain, refined sugar free (!!), moist from Greek yogurt so they only need a splash of oil… Just perfectly healthy and delicious with just 15 minutes prep time!
Healthy oatmeal muffin recipe
I already shared a “regular” strawberry oatmeal muffin recipe last year, but so many readers requested an oatmeal muffin without any refined sugar – so here is my favorite recipe! These are an easy breakfast or snack to stash in the freezer, it’s so handy to be able to pull out a few muffins when mornings get busy.
My children are little muffin monsters, and because I don’t want to fill them up with fat and sugar at every snack… I whip up this healthy version a lot now that I’ve discovered how amazing it is!
Ingredients you’ll need
I know this looks like too many ingredients, but they’re mostly straight-forward pantry staples. No need to buy any specialty stuff here!
Ingredient notes
- oats: I prefer quick oats here; if you’re using old-fashioned please soak them for 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe indicates.
- honey: a mild, runny honey works best here. Maple syrup can be used in place, no problem.
- oil: use a neutral oil or your muffins will taste greasy. Any neutral, heat-stable vegetable oil will do; but I really like these with melted coconut oil, too.
- blueberries: frozen is fine and cheaper (do not defrost!), as are raspberries, chopped up strawberries or blackberries.
Step by step photos
1 – combine ingredients separately
The first step to get the muffins just right: Combine the ingredients really well separately. The wet ingredients in a measuring jug, the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, the berries and a touch of flour in a small dish.
★ Cook’s note: For oatmeal muffins, it’s imperial to stir the oats right in with the liquid ingredients. They need to soak, else they bake up flat!
2 – combine batter and bake
If you check the first set of step photos, you’ll notice I used a whisk to combine the ingredients separately. But please do NOT use a whisk when you combine them into a batter! Use a wooden spoon or a spatula, else you’ll over the batter and your muffins will be too dense and gummy.
When you combine the wet and dry ingredients, only fold until they’re just combined. Stir through the floured blueberries 3-4 times, then scoop into lined muffin cups (so easy and mess-free with a cookie scoop!!) and bake.
My favorite muffin liners are from If You Care – I never had a muffin stick to them! You can buy them here on Amazon (this is an affiliate link and I earn a commission for purchases made after clicking through).
Tips and tricks
- Soak the oatmeal: There’s actually just ONE step that’s crucial when baking muffins with oatmeal: You need to soak the oats in the liquid ingredients for about 10 minutes before mixing up the rest of the batter. So easy, but SO important! Without this step, the muffins turn out way too flat and dense.
- Get the best muffin texture: The secret to the perfect muffin texture when baking with whole grains and oats? It’s to fold the wet and dry ingredients together as LITTLE as possible, it’s even more crucial than when baking with white flour. Lumpy and weird looking is totally fine.
- Cookie scoop hack: One simple solution to neatly transfer the muffin batter to the muffin cups: A cookie scoop (affiliate link). A cookie scoop makes this pretty much mess free – my favorite kitchen hack by far!
Blueberry oatmeal muffin FAQs
Always toss blueberries in flour to keep them from sinking! This is really important, even if it’s an extra step. The other important part is to have a sturdy batter – which this one is. Do not be alarmed if it seems a little thick, that’s just perfect to support the weight of the berries.
You can either lightly prod the top with your fingers – a done muffin will spring back. Or you can stick a toothpick in the middle – if it comes out free of liquid batter (crumbs are fine), your muffin is also done. Finally, you can also test the temperature in the center with a kitchen thermometer – it should be around 200°F – 210°F. Read more here.
If you overmix your muffin batter, the muffins may come out dense, gummy and unevenly bake (eg they could look raw in the middle).
Freezer instructions
- let the muffins cool, then place in a freezer-friendly container and label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months)
- to defrost, take them out of the container and place them on a rack on the counter (this keeps them from getting soggy as they thaw) – they’ll be defrosted in a couple of hours; you can also warm them in the microwave
Serving suggestions
If you’re wondering how to have these for breakfast, here are a few ideas:
- As a on-the-go breakfast in a snack box with a hard boiled egg and some fruit on the side
- Slathered in nut butter with a fruit salad
- As a sweet second course after frittata, veggie-laden scrambled eggs or an omelette; and yes, second courses are acceptable for breakfast ?
Watch the recipe video
I would definitely have harder days with the kids without this muffin recipe – from keeping them entertained on a rainy day with a little bit of healthy baking, to always having 3983620 snacks on hand…
This truly is a staple in our house, and I hope it will become one in yours, too!
More healthy blueberry recipes
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback! You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!
Printable recipe
Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Recipe details
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Jug
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup oats
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons buttermilk OR regular milk
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Other
- 1 cup blueberries do not defrost if frozen!
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Combine wet ingredients and oats: In a large measuring jug, combine oats with wet ingredients. Stir well, then set aside and let stand for 5 minutes (if using quick cooking oats) to 10 minutes (for old fashioned oats).
- Prep:While the oats are soaking, preheat the oven to 400°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners.
- Mix dry ingredients:Add dry ingredients to a large bowl. Mix very well.
- Flour blueberries: Toss the berries in 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl.
- Combine batter:Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX!! Add the flour-coated berries to the batter and fold in by stirring 2-3 times. No more!
- Finish and bake:Evenly divide the batter between 12 muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a cooling rack.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- oats: I prefer quick oats here; if you’re using old-fashioned please soak them for 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe indicates.
- honey: a mild, runny honey works best here. Maple syrup can be used in place, no problem.
- oil: use a neutral oil or your muffins will taste greasy. Any neutral, heat-stable vegetable oil will do; but I really like these with melted coconut oil, too.
- blueberries: frozen is fine, as are raspberries, chopped up strawberries or blackberries.
- Fresh: They will stay more intact and there’s less issues with the batter turning grey, but they’re also less melt-in-your mouth jammy after baking.
- Frozen: This is a much more economical choice when blueberries are out of season. They will be deliciously jammy after baking, but you also have to be VERY careful when folding them into the batter, as they tend to turn everything grey. Also, do not defrost.
Baking tips
- do not skip soaking the oats, otherwise your muffins will come out flat.
- do not overmix the batter – please use a spatula or wooden spoon and NOT a whisk when you combine the wet and dry ingredients!
- using a cookie scoop to transfer the batter to the muffin cups makes this an easy and mess-free task!
Kira says
I’m new to baking. Could I use an almond flour or all purpose flour instead of a whole wheat flour? I can’t wait to try it. Looking so good. Thanks!
Nora says
Kira, I would rather use all purpose flour, not almond flour. You may need to use an extra tablespoon of flour if the batter seems thin. Hope this helps!
Jane says
Added the zest of a lemon and ground nutmeg to the batter. Topped each muffin with a sprinkling of raw sugar mixed with nutmeg before baking. Wonderful recipe!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Jane!
Linds says
Very dry. Tasteless. Very disappointing. Needs cinnamon
Nora says
Don’t think cinnamon will make it less dry… Measuring out the correct amount of flour, however, helps tremendously.
Many people say these are delicious and tender, and some people say they are way too dry. Please make sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup loosely, then level it off with the back of a knife. There is nothing more detrimental to a baking recipe than measuring out flour by scooping/packing into the cup. You can end up adding twice as much flour than the recipe calls for! Flour must be loose and fluffy in the cup, else, yes, your muffins will end up dry and tasteless.
Dorie Soriano says
Will dried blueberries work, too? If yes, would appreciate additional instructions. Thank you.
Nora says
Dorie, yes, I guess they would work. You can plump them up by soaking them in hot water, or maybe even in hot apple juice for 15 minutes before adding them. Or just add them dried, whatever you like best!
Maria says
This recipe is a great balance. I wanted to let you know about some subs I made in case it is helpful for other GF people. I swapped the whole wheat flour for 1/2 c millet flour and 1/2 cup sorghum flour and added about 1 tsp of xantham gum. I also used coconut yogurt, and a non dairy “buttery stick” because I had run out of coconut oil. Tossed the blueberries in rice flour. They are fantastic and I am sure we will have these as part of our rotation.
Nora says
Thank you so much for sharing your tips, Maria! This is so helpful for others, I appreciate your time.
J Foulds says
Made them as written but had to use buckwheat honey because that’s all we had. These are fantastic muffins. I feel good about giving these to my kids for a healthy snack. Thanks!
Holly says
Are these supposed to be very dry and dense? They looked the same going into the oven as they came out? It’s like the ingredients got hot and that was the only difference after cooking them. Very strange
Nora says
Holly, that’s definitely not what they should be like. Maybe you accidentally added too much flour and/or oats. You have to spoon the flour into your measuring cup (it should be loose and fluffy), then level it with the back of a knife to get the accurate amount. Otherwise, you may end up with way too much flour in the batter, yielding dense and dry muffins.
Mel says
Holly, I just tried the recipe as well, using coconut flour and I had the same result. It wasn’t “batter” … I followed the recipe step by step. That being the only ingredient I replaced. They are in the oven now and I’m pretty sure they will end up the same :/ idk… but now I feel like I wasted all my good ingredients.
Nora says
Mel, with all due respect – coconut flour is not a simple swap for whole wheat flour. It soaks up a lot more liquid, and it contains zero gluten to help the muffins’ structure. If you simply used coconut flour in place of the wheat flour, it’s absolutely no surprise the muffins didn’t turn out. If you want a coconut flour muffin recipe, I recommend searching for a recipe specifically using coconut flour.
Jordan says
Would it be okay to replace the whole wheat flour with Oat Flour? Would I need to add extra or less or would it be equal amount?
Nora says
Jordan, I have never tried these with oat flour instead of wholewheat flour. My guess is that the muffins would turn out more dense. Maybe look into my Baked Oats recipe (there is a blueberry variation mentioned in the recipe) if you want something made from oats with a texture similar to muffins! Hope this helps!
Michele says
We love this muffin recipe!!! I always double or triple it since they disappear so quickly in my home of 4 children. Who am I kidding…I make them with chocolate chips so I’m the biggest culprit of all! ?? Thank you for this staple recipe! Makes my days easier too!
Quick question….Since they have yogurt in them, are they alright stored in an airtight container on the counter?
Nora says
Michele, I’m glad you enjoy the muffins! Love the idea with chocolate chips – sounds delicious.
As far as storage goes, this is my personal understanding from researching the topic: The yogurt cultures are destroyed when baked at this high temperature, so they should not make the muffins go bad (the same is said for eggs, milk etc in baked goods). I myself never had an issue with leaving them on the counter for around 2 days. If I want to store them for 3-4 days, I keep them in the fridge to keep them fresh. You can store them on the counter or in the fridge, whatever you are personally comfortable with. Hope this helps!
Audra says
How should I adjust cooking time for jumbo muffins?
Nora says
Audra, I usually bake jumbo muffins for 30-35 minutes. Make sure to start checking yours after about 25 minutes, since these bake at a little higher heat. You can reduce the heat to 360°F if they get too dark on top. Hope this helps!