These blueberry oatmeal muffins are simple, wholesome, and satisfying. Made with blueberries, oats, and zero refined sugar, you can feel good eating one or two, or three! Find the easy muffin recipe right here.
Type blueberry muffins into a search engine and within seconds, you’re gifted with millions of results, including my favorite blueberry muffins and lemon blueberry muffins! Does the world really need 1 more recipe? When the results taste this good, my answer is HECK YES! The entire batch was gone in 48 hours and it wasn’t long until I made them again. 🙂
Hearty Texture. Not Flat. Not Squishy.
These blueberry oatmeal muffins have a hearty, wholesome texture because they’re made with oatmeal. Oats in muffins and oatmeal muffins are two completely different things. Oats are a dry ingredient; oatmeal is a wet ingredient. If you want oat muffins instead of oatmeal muffins, you’ll love these applesauce muffins. Today we’re making OATMEAL muffins.
Oatmeal muffins are also different than baked oatmeal (like chocolate chip baked oatmeal cups), which are more like portable oatmeal. Still with me?
These oatmeal muffins are:
- Satisfying
- Simple to make
- Warm + buttery
- Made with oats
- Sweetened with honey
- Bursting with blueberries
Testing this recipe was massively interesting. If you look at this next photo, you can see the difference. The squat muffin on the left was wet and spongey. The tall muffin on the right was hearty, delicious, all the glorious thing I listed above. What’s fascinating is that there is only 1 small difference between the two and that difference is 20 minutes of time!
How to Make Oatmeal Muffins
There are only 2 main steps before baking the muffins.
- Soak the oats in milk for 20 minutes: By doing so, the oats will soak up a lot of the milk. This creates a thicker and creamier muffin batter. The soaked oats won’t actually be the consistency of oatmeal because we aren’t cooking the two together. Rather, the oats will rise to the top of the bowl.
- Mix the batter together: Mix the dry ingredients in 1 bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix together, then add the soaked oats & milk. That’s it, you’re done.
Then it’s time to bake the blueberry oatmeal muffins!
Ingredients for Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Nothing but basics here! Besides oats and milk, you’ll need flour, butter, honey, egg, and a little cinnamon and vanilla extract for flavor. I encourage you to use melted butter instead of oil or a lower fat ingredient. The muffins lost a lot of flavor without butter and when I tested them with applesauce, they tasted rubbery and dry.
If you’re more of a muffins-should-have-chocolate person, go ahead and replace the berries with a cup of chocolate chips. Consider this recipe your oatmeal + honey master muffin recipe and play around with different flavors and add-ins!
Did you know? The thicker the muffin batter, the taller and puffier the muffin will be. A thick batter combined with my initial high temperature trick in the recipe below guarantees tall muffin tops.
More Muffin Recipes
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Banana Muffins
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins & healthier Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Triple Chocolate Muffins
- Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins or Simply Pumpkin Muffins
- Bran Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
They couldn’t be easier and I would love to know if you try them!
Print
Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These blueberry oatmeal muffins are simple, wholesome, and satisfying. Made with blueberries, oats, and zero refined sugar, you can feel good eating one or two, or three!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1 cup (85g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup (170g) honey
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (140g) fresh or frozen blueberries (see note if using frozen)
Instructions
- Combine milk and oats. Set aside for 20 minutes so the oats puff up and soak up some moisture. This is crucial to the recipe! (I usually melt the butter now so it has a few minutes to cool.) Don’t do this the night before as that’s too long for soaking. If you find the oats haven’t soaked up any moisture after 20 minutes, give it a stir and wait 10 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or use cupcake liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. Whisk the melted butter, honey, egg, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir a few times, then add the soaked oats (milk included, do not drain) and blueberries. Fold everything together gently just until combined.
- Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. Top with oats and a light sprinkle of coconut sugar, if desired. Bake for 5 minutes at 425 then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 22-23 minutes, give or take. (For mini muffins, bake 11-13 minutes at 350°F (177°C).) Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, then transfer to the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Cooling Rack
- Milk: I tested the blueberry muffins with unsweetened almond milk, but any milk, dairy or nondairy, can work. If using frozen berries, see note below.
- Oats: I recommend whole oats. Avoid steel cut oats, quick oats, and instant oats. Steel cut oats won’t absorb the milk and quick/instant are too thin and will dissolve in the batter as it cooks.
- Flour: For best taste and texture, I recommend all-purpose flour. If you try whole wheat flour, let me know how they turn out!
- Oil: You can use canola, vegetable, or melted coconut oil instead of the butter, but the flavor will change. I strongly recommend melted butter.
- Sugar: You can use 1/2 cup maple syrup, coconut sugar, or packed light or dark brown sugar instead of honey.
- Berries: If using frozen berries, do not thaw and reduce the milk down to 3/4 cup (180ml). Frozen berries give off so much moisture and the muffins taste a little too wet. Reducing the milk helps. No other changes to the recipe ingredients or instructions.
- Why the Initial High Temperature? The hot burst of air will spring up the top of the muffin quickly, then the inside of the muffin can bake for the remainder of the time. This helps the muffins rise nice and tall.
- Nutrition: Using SparkRecipes calculator and calculated using unsweetened almond milk these muffins come out to 205 calories, 9g fat, 28g carbs, 2g fiber, and 4g protein each.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these for the 2nd time in a week, but this time used unsweetened coconut milk and (chopped organic) strawberries at the request of my granddaughter. Again, PHENOMENAL muffin! My granddaughters (ages 7 and 9) helped make them and LOVED ‘em! I love that they aren’t “too sweet” (perfect sweetness!) and knowing that there’s no refined sugar in them. Since I sent the majority of them home with my son and granddaughters, I may be whipping up my 3rd batch in a week! Will see how they turn out with frozen blueberries this time.
OMG!!! These are so good. I had another recipe for Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins that has now been discarded. No milk in the house so I used buttermilk…AHHH-mazing.
Can you use water instead of milk?
Hi Linda, for best results, we recommend sticking with milk as written.
Hi! What would the time be if I decided to do them in a 9×9? Thanks! Love all your recipes.
Hi Jen! We haven’t tried it, so we’re unsure of the exact bake time, although a 9-inch square pan should work nicely. Keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Hi! Blueberries are hard to come by here in the tropics. Would canned blueberry pie filling work?
Hi Pauline, blueberry pie filling would be much too wet and sugary for using in these muffins. Are you able to come by frozen blueberries by chance?
Delish! I followed exactly but with a mix of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. 10/10
These are delicious! My daughter and I love them. Thanks for sharing!
I really wish I read the whole thing before I soaked my quick oats in milk for 25 minutes. is this why the milk is not absorbing?
well, let’s see how this goes.
These are delicious! I did make a few modifications. I used 50/50 all purpose/whole wheat flour. I added the zest of one lemon and also added some lemon juice to the milk for mock buttermilk. I’m trying not to go back for seconds!
Can I use maple syrup instead of honey? Thx!
Absolutely!
These were very good, however I would have preferred a slightly drier, less greasy muffin. Next time I plan to experiment with 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 3 tbs butter. The sweetness using the honey worked out well for me.
I just made these, exactly as written. I was going to use unsweetened coconut milk, but had some 2% milk that I wanted to use up, so I used it instead.
These were phenomenal! My inclination was to slather the warn muffins with butter, but since they had a stick of melted butter in the batter, I resisted and instead opted to try them just as they were. They didn’t need any extra butter… I LOVED using the honey as the sweetener as these were just the PERFECT amount of sweetness… not too sweet at all!
These will definitely be a go-to muffin… I can’t wait to try them with raspberries or blackberries! Thank you, Sally, for all of your trial and error that succeeded in making a perfect, healthier blueberry muffin!
Made these this morning, they are sooo good! I used maple syrup and almond extract because that’s what I had on hand. I had to stop myself from eating more! Also, toddler approved!
I used my own whole wheat which I ground myself so the texture was a bit rougher, however they were absolutely amazing!!!!
Sally, Mini Muffins question: I see “For mini muffins, bake 11-13 minutes at 350°F (177°C)”
How long is the “425 burst”? Or do we skip the initial high burst for Mini Muffins?
Hi Marilyn, you can skip the initial high burst for mini muffins. Hope this helps!
Hi, I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour with 3/4 cup all purpose flour. I also did 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup melted butter. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
These were SO delicious! And because of the oatmeal they made me feel less guilty about having two. I was looking for recipe for oatmeal strawberry muffins and stumbled upon this one. I tried it, substituting fresh chopped strawberries for the blueberries. I’m already planning to make a second batch because the kids have eaten most of them this afternoon and they were supposed to be for breakfast.
I found that using the 1/2 cup of honey was much better and less sweet than the amount of sugar called for in other muffin recipes. Certainly a winner!
Can I subsitute the milk for plant nased milk? Such as : Almond milk or Oat milk? Thanks
Sure can!
Hi Sally! I find honey to be sweet, would using less affect these muffins? Also, can I bake them in greased muffin tins with out using cupcake paper? Lastly, what’s the advantage to using coconut sugar sprinkled on top vs sugar? Does the coconut sugar have more flavor?
Hi Chris, you should be able to reduce the honey to your taste and you can certainly grease the muffin tin instead of using cupcake liners if you prefer. Either coconut sugar or granulated sugar are perfect for sprinkling on top – use whichever you have on hand.
Hi, I want to make these for my 10 month old son. The recommendations are for him not to have Honey until he is one, and he is dairy free.
I can substitute the milk fine, but what about the butter and honey. Any ideas? Thanks so much!
Hi Emma, You can use 1/2 cup maple syrup, coconut sugar, or packed light or dark brown sugar instead of honey. The same amount of melted coconut oil or a neutral oil will work in place of the butter. The flavor of the muffins will change, of course. Hope your son enjoys the muffins!
Made these muffins again, I love this recipe as it offers so many options for add ins. For anyone who aren’t getting moist, risen mufins, it’s all about soaking the whole or quick oats for at least 20 minutes. It makes or breaks this recipe (trust me). And I love that these muffins works with 2 egg whites instead of 1 egg, which means less waste when making other recipes that use egg yolks. Anyway this time I fancied blueberry and lemon, so I followed Sally’s advice for lemon muffins (reply to another commenter a long time ago). I used 50/50 flour (don’t have white whole wheat here), 90g/6tbsp melted butter (115g/1/2 cup butter and 50/50 flour came out a touch greasy), no cinnamon, reduced the milk by 2tbsp so I could add 2tbsp lemon juice to the wet ingredients (not the oats!), added 1tbsp packed lemon zest, 3/4tsp lemon extract (I love lemon flavour!), used honey amount as written plus a few tablespoons (at least 3tbsp/50g) of caster sugar so the muffins came out sweet over slightly sweet as written. Oh and I used 150g blueberries as that’s a standard packet here, it was a subtler amount but I still got the blueberry experience. But otherwise I followed the recipe. I got 12 ‘cupcake sized’ muffins this time and baked for 18 minutes as I prefer my muffins cooked a little more. Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s my favourite healthy recipe ever, and I’m very picky <3
Another great recipe from my go-to baking website! I did 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup white. They came out great! Thanks, Sally!
I make these all the time for lunches, they are so good! I wonder, Sally… Do you happen to have something similar for banana chocolate chip oatmeal muffins?
Hi Ashton, so glad to hear you enjoy these muffins! We haven’t tried it but feel free to test the recipe out with mashed banana. You may need to tinker with the other wet/milk ingredients. We do have a recipe for whole wheat banana muffins (with oats and WW flour) if you’re interested. (You can leave out the nuts.)
I made them with 1 cup oat flour and 1/4 coconut flour, also subbed out milk for almond milk. Turned out perfect
Absolutely delicious. I made these with my one year old who has an egg allergy and I used a flax egg instead and turned out great. Thanks for this amazing recipe !
These muffins are to die for!! I’ve made them several times and they are a favorite in my house. They are so moist and not too sweet. I have Celiac Disease and sometimes it can be tough to find recipes that can be successfully swapped to gluten free – this is perfect every time with gluten free flour and oats. Definitely recommend!
I tried it with Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free flour, as well as King Arthur cup for cup. Yes, I love them so much that I’ve done multiple batches. Both worked well but I think Bob’s GF is my favorite.
These muffins were delicious! Not too sweet and the texture was light and fluffy. I baked the muffins for 18 minutes and they passed the toothpick test but the tops weren’t golden enough so I put the oven on broil to get the perfect colour. Will definitely bake these again! Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Sally, I’m new to baking and have just made a batch of these muffins. They are super easy and fabulously delicious!! My muffin pan fit all of the batter in just six muffins when I filled each to the top as the recipe instructs. I ended up baking them for about 25 minutes before the toothpick came out clean. Sorry for the newbie question, but googling didn’t help… Is there a standard size pan I should be looking for instead of the one I have? Do you have thoughts on the options of filling this one halfway (to get 12 muffins) vs getting a smaller pan vs just going with these bigger ones – which would give the tastiest results? I know I can try each way, but I’m curious about your expert baker opinion before I go shopping. Thanks!!
Hi Margaret! It sounds like you have a jumbo muffin pan with six muffin cavities. A standard muffin pan has 12 muffin cavities on the pan. You can certainly continue to use your jumbo muffin pan as you did this time, or try filling it half way for smaller muffins. Glad you enjoyed them!
These muffins have a delightfully tender texture, the oatmeal adds a nice tooth, and perfect amount of sweetness, but lacked flavor! Do you have any ideas why?
I used whole wheat flour (Bob’s Mill, not grocery store brand), a flavorful honey, double the cinnamon, fresh blueberries, light coconut milk (instead of cow’s milk), all other ingredients as per the recipe, and followed all directions.
Thank you for suggestions
Hi Linda, how strange! What kind of salt are you using? Our recipes are written for table salt unless otherwise noted. Other salts (like Kosher) can be less strong tasting which could lead to a lack of balance (and flavor) in baked goods. It’s also possible that letting the muffins sit for a day will let the flavors settle and deepen. Thanks so much for giving these muffins a try!
Totally fabulous! Looks beautiful & tastes even better! So moist & delicious! I used quick oats and oil instead of butter and I just put all of the ingredients in a bowl and stirred it up. I also thawed my frozen blueberries in the microwave and reduced milk as advised. I was nervous because they don’t have sugar! But wow!! Way better than my usual recipe. I’ll be making this one from now on!!
Mine took about 20 minutes to bake. They were perfect though! Nice high crown, delicate buttery crumb, just sweet enough not too sweet. I will make these again and again. Sally can bake!!
I used all the ingredients and followed all the instructions… when I took them out the oven, they sank.
Why could this have happened?
Hi Kerry! These are extra moist muffins and can sink down as they cool. However, they could be under-baked if they’re sinking too much – a couple extra minutes in the oven won’t hurt. Trying baking for an extra 2-3 minutes next time.