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.
Is it ok to replace blueberries with raisins?
That should be fine
Amazing! I substituted almond flour for the wheat flour to add a little more protein and it they still came out delicious. Love this recipe!
So glad you liked it, thank you for reporting back!
I made these this morning. Replaced oil for applesauce and cut down the oatmeal by about 1/4 cup. The batter was liquidity so I was worried but still made them and they came out fine. Might have to add a minute or 2 to the bake time. To decrease the chance of over mixing, I don’t add the blueberry’s in until they are already in the muffin tin, then I drop an even amount in each muffin and press them down a little bit. Will make again.
So glad you enjoyed them!
Made these muffins with homegrown fresh blueberries and were great. Also added a bit of baking soda.
Made these today with homeground whole white wheat flour, home flaked “and milk instead of cows milk. They turned out moist and yummy. This is a definite do over.
Only thing I changed is the oil(canola is not an oil we use in our house because it’s not good for you). We used coconut oil instead and they were amazing!
These are delicious and nice and filling too! My 19 month old loved baking them (and sneaking blueberries out of the batter) and enjoyed eating them even more. As long as you go into making them knowing they are oatmeal muffins, then you will enjoy them, but if you expect them to be like the mix or store-bought muffins, you’ll probably be disappointed. I used olive oil, added a dash of lemon juice, and used sugar sprinkles for the top. We’ll definitely be making them again since my daughter is obsessed with “booberries.”
These are good. Added 2 tablespoons of grounds chia seeds and just did one cup of whole wheat flour. I also used grapeseed oil, but that it’s because that’s what I had! Glad it turned out good with my changes, I am terrible baker and was afraid it wouldn’t work out.
Successful! I used 1/2 cup oat bran and 1 cup rolled oats. I did use sparkling sugar on the tops. The dark steel muffin pan (in squares) by Pampered Chef worked very well. The muffins have a great texture with lots of body to them. So yummy!
I love this muffin recipe! Have had it saved on my “favorite recipes” board on Pinterest for awhile now. Some
Have said these are too dense – I’ve never had that problem. Others have said they aren’t sweet enough – for a breakfast muffin I think gear have the perfect amount of sweetness. I also appreciate the low sugar content so I can feed it to my little one with a clear conscience. ????
When I made them today I was out of vanilla extract and substituted lemon extract & it was delicious! I also only had a 1/2 cup blueberries, so I did a 1/2 cup diced honey crisp apple too, which was also a fun spin on the recipe. I will never use another blueberry muffin recipe. Thanks for a great one!
So glad you like this recipe, I love the idea of adding apple!
Mine were super fluffy and light!
I was a little skeptical to try these given the small amount of fat (oil), i thought it was a typo. Still gave it a shot! These are wonderful! I modified for gluten free flour and worked out wonderfully! I made them to freeeze for post partum easy access snacks, as they are pretty healthy it’s the perfect recipe to help me back in shape afterwards! thanks for sharing!
HOLY! MUFFINS!
SO good. Just the right moisture, got all crispy, ah.
The only change I’ll make next time is I’ll give the oats a quick process before adding them. I have a texture thing with flakes of oats, so a process should be all it needs to blend a bit better. I also used olive oil in place of canola; it worked out perfectly fine.
I’ve been searching for years for a way to eat oats that I like, since I hate oatmeal and baked oats.
You are a genius.
So glad to hear you enjoyed them!!
I also tried this with less sugar (about 1/4) and added lemon juice and zest to the recipe. Really lightened it up. Great hearty recipe. Would definitely make again!
I just made these using frozen blueberries and old fashioned oatmeal. They are delicious! Next time I will try them with fresh blueberries. Thank you for a healthy muffin recipe. 🙂
I have tried so many blueberry muffin recipes that are healthier and by far, this one is the best! I love them and have been eating them all week for breakfast! Can’t wait to put these as a rotation in my meal plans!
The recipe calls for baking powder not baking soda; using baking soda would definitely produce a different result!
These were a huge hit for Mother’s Day brunch and I’m making them for my staff meeting tomorrow. Moist and healthy with the right amount of sweet. I’m going to try it with the lemon zest this time. My favorite breakfast muffins ever!
I substituted 1/2 cup of wheat PT germ for 1/2 cup white flour and added 1/2 cup of flax seeds. Nice additions!
I made these just this morning. Absolutely delicious! I had frozen mixed berries when I thought I had blueberries, but the mixed berries included blueberries and were great. I put a little less sugar (watching sugar for health reasons) and it was delicious. I will definitely be making these again, and they looked like I picked them up at a bakery, they were so nice looking. I feel that you could make them with any fruit you had on hand in a pinch. Perfect for breakfast, and I enjoyed a couple cups of hot tea with them.