These healthy blueberry muffins are made with whole wheat flour and oatmeal for added nutrition, but they still taste as good as the original recipe!
Just because you’re eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite baked goods! When I need a lighter breakfast option, I turn to options such as breakfast egg muffins, baked oatmeal cups and healthy blueberry muffins.
Muffins are notorious for being loaded with sugar and fat, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I make some simple swaps in this healthy blueberry muffin recipe to create a lighter end product that you can feel good about feeding to your family.
Healthy blueberry muffins ingredients
- Flour: I use a blend of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour to get the optimal balance of nutrition and texture. For the best results, use a white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Oatmeal: You can use rolled oats or quick oats in this recipe.
- Sugar: These muffins call for less sugar than many other muffin recipes. I use regular granulated sugar for the best texture, but you can use other types of sugar such as raw sugar or coconut sugar.
- Salt: Adding a little salt helps to offset the sweetness of the muffins.
- Baking Powder: A generous amount of baking powder helps to make these muffins bake up light and fluffy.
- Milk: You can use cow’s milk, almond milk, soy milk or coconut milk with good results.
- Egg: Eggs are necessary to make sure everything binds together.
- Oil: Choose a healthier oil such as coconut oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil or safflower oil. You can use butter if you prefer.
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract to add flavor to my muffins.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If you go with frozen, do not thaw them first.
How do you make healthy blueberry muffins?
Place whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl, then stir to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, then stir until just combined. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter. Divide the batter among the cups of the muffin tin, then add a sprinkle of coarse sugar. Bake until the muffins are golden brown, then serve and enjoy.
tips for the perfect muffins
- The coarse sugar on top is optional but it adds a bit of crunch and sparkle. I’ve also sprinkled cinnamon sugar over the tops with great results.
- Blueberry oatmeal muffins will stay fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container. I recommend storing them in the refrigerator.
- You can freeze these muffins for up to 2 months. I recommend wrapping them individually in plastic wrap, then placing them in a large resealable freezer bag.
- Use paper liners in your muffin tins to make clean up easier.
This recipe is designed to be a happy balance between nutrition and flavor. If you want to make your muffins even healthier, you could try using honey or maple syrup instead of the sugar, and replacing some of the all purpose flour with almond flour.
Recipe faqs
Blueberry muffins in general are not typically a healthy choice. Many bakery style muffins are made with all purpose flour which does not contain a lot of nutrients. Bakery style muffins also tend to have a lot of fat such as butter or oil, and a large amount of sugar. This recipe remedies those issues by using a healthier type of fat in smaller quantities, less sugar, oats and whole wheat flour.
The primary considerations for healthy muffins are the levels of sugar, fat and white flour. Muffins that have less fat, are reduced in sugar, and contain whole wheat flour or oats are healthier than muffins made with a lot of oil or butter, high amounts of sugar, and all white flour.
The most important part of dieting is watching portions and making sure that you consume less healthy items in moderation. You can absolutely eat blueberry muffins on a diet, you’ll just want to only eat one, and make sure it’s within your daily calorie allotment.
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flavor variations
While these muffins are delicious as-is, you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Fruit: Feel free to swap out the blueberries for diced apples, raspberries, blackberries, cherries or even mashed banana. Dried fruit will also work, just make sure it doesn’t contain any added sugar.
- Toppings: You can add toppings to your muffins such as a sprinkling of oats, or sliced almonds. Another option it to serve them with a dollop of Greek yogurt or peanut butter on top for added protein.
- Flavorings: Add more flavors your batter such as almond extract, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg or finely diced nuts.
These healthy blueberry muffins are perfect for when you want a more wholesome snack without all the guilt!
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Healthy Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour I prefer white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups oatmeal quick or rolled oats
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup of blueberries fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the milk, egg, oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir just until all of the ingredients are combined.
- Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the coarse sugar if using.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes until muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
- Make Ahead: The batter can be made up to a day in advance. Follow the instructions through step 5. When you’re ready to bake the muffins, add the blueberries and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- Freeze It: The muffins can be frozen for up to 2 months. I freeze them in a resealable bag. When you’re ready to eat them, you can thaw them at room temperature for 30 minutes or microwave them straight from the freezer for about 20 seconds.
I made these yesterday. Followed the recipe exactly, using muffin liners and spraying them just in case. They were amazing – whole family loved them. Husband said they were better than any full fat muffins I’ve made. Thanks so much for a great recipe.
How did you come up with the sodium content in your nutrition breakdown? I wouldn’t think the content would be that high considering you are only using 1/4 t. and dividing it into 12 muffins. I apologize if I am missing something!
The sodium is from the baking powder, most baking powder has 488 mg per teaspoon. Hope that helps!
Just made these muffins and they are delicious! This will be my go to recipe for blueberry muffins. Thanks for sharing!
Made these and everyone loved them!
These were so delicious. My husband loved these. Already made about 4 times. So good.
Love a healthier version of a muffin! Added lemon and it was so good! Definitely going to be making these again!
I just made these and they are fabulous! I can’t wait to try them again with all whole wheat flour. I figure if they taste this amazing as is, making them even healthier can’t hurt. Great recipe!
This recipe is not only the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever had but possibly the best muffin! Do you think it is possible to change the fruit component? I’d love to try this with banana or apple. Thanks again for the recipe.
I think apples would work great, as would peaches or other berries. I’m not sure about the banana, unless you mashed it up and added it to the batter!
These look amazing. I love blueberries so much. I like the idea of using half frozen blueberries & half frozen cherries. I happen to have both in my freezer. Think I will use almond or coconut milk, coconut oil & coconut sugar to make them a little healthier. I might add some drops of lavender essential oil to the batch & the 2nd batch do what someone else did & leave out the vanilla & add the zest & juice of a half lemon. Blueberry & lemon goes so well together. Might add a drop or 2 of lemon essential oil to give it more of a citrus flavor , but I don’t want to add to much lemon essential oil that would take to much away from the blueberry or blueberry/cherry flavor. Can’t wait to make these in my new stand mixer. I will mix wet ingredients first in a bowl then add to the flour/oatmeal mixture. So excited to make these. Hope they taste as good as they look. I have frozen raspberries in my freezer to. May have to make a third batch &. & give a mixture of the muffins to friends in a pretty package. Thanks so much for this healthier muffin recipe
Can you substitute butter back in? I know they are supposed to be healthier because of the oil, but we’re on an Atkins diet plan and we want the butter. If so, how much should be substituted, the same amount as the oil, do you think?
You can use butter, I’ve never tried it before but here’s a butter to oil conversion chart! http://www.goodcooking.com/conversions/butt_oil.htm
Is this supposed to be a teaspoon or a tablespoon of baking powder? Thanks
The tablespoon is correct!
I made these as per the recipe (minus the sugar on top) and they turned out great. These muffins are hearty and flavorful – and the recipe works well at high altitude.
This recipe has become a staple in our household. We LOVE them! I always freeze half of them for later and was surprised how well they heated from frozen to toasty in 30 seconds in the microwave. Our family thanks you!
Can you use honey instead of sugar? If so, how much should be substituted? Thanks so much for this recipe!
I have never tried it with honey before, so I can’t give you an exact measurement substitution, but this article has a lot of great information about using honey instead of sugar for baking: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/how-to-use-raw-honey-in-place-of-sugar-in-baking/. You could also use coconut sugar in place of the white sugar if you’re looking for a healthier substitute!
Wow! These are so great. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfect. I will be adding this recipe to my current list of favorites. Thank you!!
What a wonderful recipe! I made these yesterday with the following substitutions:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
omitted all-purpose flour
substituted coconut sugar for granulated
substituted coconut oil for canola oil
added 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
And they came out amazing! 1 day later and already half gone 🙂
Thanks so much for posting this!
Just made these today! I’ve been looking for a healthy breakfast I can take with me on the way to work. I did make some changes to make them a bit healthier; I used all white whole wheat flour, coconut oil instead of canola, almond milk instead of regular milk, and then I added a teaspoon of cinnamon (cause I love adding cinnamon to everything!) and raspberries. They turned out perfect! Very hearty and filling, but healthy and delicious! Everything I need to start my day! Thanks so much for the recipe!
So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Hi, I want to make these tomorrow. Do I need to thaw the frozen blue berries? Should I mix them with flour so they don’t sink? Thank you for the recipe.
You should not thaw the blueberries, otherwise the juices will turn the muffins purple! You can toss them in 1-2 tsp of flour if you like to prevent sinking.
I made these muffins for breakfast this morning, and everyone loved them. I used coconut oil instead of canola, and added about 2 tbs ground flax seed for extra protein. Any suggestions for how to make them a little more moist? Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Did you use quick or rolled oats? The rolled oats make for a heartier texture so you may want to try the quick oats next time. My other suggestion would be to increase the oil by 1 tablespoon to increase the moistness. Hope that helps!
Can you make this as a bread instead of muffins? Like a single loaf in a bread pan?
I have never tried it that way, I think you’d need to try either making 1.5x or 2x the batter because one batch would produce a pretty small loaf. Hope that helps!