Healthy Yogurt Oat Blueberry Muffins
Easy and so delicious, these healthy yogurt oat blueberry muffins have no refined sugar and are packed with whole grains – yet they still manage to be fluffy and so tasty (with blueberries OR chocolate chips!).
If you’ve made the crazy popular healthy applesauce oat muffins on my blog (shared over 46,000 times and loved by sooooo many), you’re going to love this new version.
I took inspiration from that humble but delicious applesauce muffin recipe and created these healthy yogurt oat blueberry muffins you see before you.
I made some significant changes from the still-loved applesauce oat muffin recipe:
-all processed sugar is out; honey is in
-protein-rich Greek yogurt takes the place of applesauce
-juicy blueberries are tossed in the batter to further up the good-for-you factor
And yes, it is totally acceptable to replace the blueberries with chocolate chips. 🙂
Quick and Easy Muffin Batter
The muffin batter is very simple. The blueberries are tossed with the dry ingredients (helps prevent the blueberries from sinking!) and then mixed with the wet ingredients.
A word about the blueberries: these muffins can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries, however, if using frozen blueberries, you may need to add time so the muffins bake fully and aren’t doughy/gummy inside.
Muffin Tin Matters
The muffins will bake more evenly in a light-colored muffin tin.
If using a dark-coated or nonstick muffin tin, reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees and increase the baking time by several minutes so the muffins bake all the way through evenly.
Important Note
Make sure to bake the muffins all the way through. Several people have commented that their muffins were gummy after baking.
Adding a few minutes to the baking time will help. If your oven bakes hot, consider dropping the oven temperature to 350 degrees and adding a few minutes of baking time, if needed.
Also, cutting back on the blueberries will help the muffins bake evenly throughout. (The original recipe called for two cups of blueberries, but I’ve since cut that down to one cup.)
100% Whole Grain
Despite the fact that these muffins are 100% whole grain (rolled oats + whole wheat flour), they are so light, and fluffy and moist.
They make a delicious breakfast or snack, and they have become a beloved favorite muffin for so many of you!
Nichole commented: Followed the recipe exactly and my two kiddos inhaled them! (I did manage to get one for myself). It made 15 muffins for me and I had to bake them a few extra minutes, but they’re perfect. Thank you for the delicious and nutritious recipe!
One Year Ago: Yum Yum Bowls with Knockoff Cafe Yumm Sauce
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Three Years Ago: Amazing Romaine Salad with Light Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Four Years Ago: Roasted Maple-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Five Years Ago: Delicious Ground Beef {or Turkey} Stroganoff
Healthy Yogurt Oat Muffins {with Blueberries or Chocolate Chips!}
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 cup (100 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¾ cup (107 g) whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (170 g) blueberries or chocolate chips
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter or coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. If your muffin tin is dark-coated or your oven bakes hot, bake at 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the yogurt, milk, egg, vanilla, and honey.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the blueberries or chocolate chips and toss to combine.
- Add the yogurt mixture and the melted butter or coconut oil to the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined (don’t overmix or the muffins might be dense).
- Portion the batter evenly among the muffin cups (I use a #20 cookie scoop). Bake for 14-17 minutes (update: may need to bake as long as 22-24 minutes for the muffins to bake through) until the tops spring back lightly to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean or with a couple moist crumbs.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the tin and then remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely. These muffins freeze very well or keep at room temperature for a few days (well-covered in a tupperware or bag).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
I made these this morning and my 8 year old said, “do you think those turned out right?” Great confidence booster. She said they looked flat. After she tasted them she thought they were “ok”. One of my sons loved them. So I have 1 out of 5 kids who want me to make them again. My husband and I both thought they were great. Unfortunately my kids don’t love oats in muffins. I have tried several times. They just don’t like the texture. Maybe they will like the chocolate chip version. Chocolate makes everything better…right?
Delicious as always, Mel!! I probably should have waited for my muffins to cool a bit longer before greedily shoving one in my mouth (those blueberries get hot!!), but they really are so very tasty. My family practically riots for the oatmeal applesauce muffins, and these are certain to be just as well-loved. Thank you so much for yet another winner of a recipe.
Is it okay to use frozen blueberries?
Yes, I think so – others have used them with good results.
Can frozen blueberries be used?
Many readers have used frozen berries with great success!
Everyone’s favourite.
Everyone’s new favourite.
Substituted buttermilk for milk, and quick oats for old-fashioned (just what I had on hand!), same ratios, and I liked them. Definitely reminds me of baked oatmeal.
I can’t believe it, but these are even better than the Applesauce Oat Muffins! So, SO good. We’ll be making these often!
Yay!
I typically avoid blueberry muffins as many are overly sugary and kind of dry. That has all changed with this recipe! The yogurt adds such a decadent element and 1 cup of frozen blueberries was perfect. I also adore your honey peanut butter muffins but these may be my #1 now. Thank you for another delicious and healthier muffin recipe!
I make a very similar recipe to this only it’s all oats (a second cup replaces the 3/4 cup of flour from yours I guess) an extra egg and in place of the honey I use 2 whole bananas which gives the sweetness. Super yum!
I also have made these a zillion times and find any add in can be used but choc chips are preferred in this house. Also any flavour Greek yogurt works just fine, even times when I’ve questioned my sanity (rhubarb & ginger yogurt in a banana batter, with choc chips, anyone?!) the end result is always delicious, it’s like some kind of hocus pocus. The other bonus of my recipe is that they get made in the blender, all ingredients in & blitz so you can literally whip the batter up in 30 seconds flat.
Super excited to try your version which I think will be more of a treat in my kids eyes than mine which are definitely erring on the healthy side of the muffin spectrum.
Super easy and had all the ingredients on hand. Extremely guilt free dessert! Yum.
These were great and not too sweet! I loved the baked oatmeal texture. Delicious!
Made these a second time and forgot the oil…oops. They were a little spongy due to my error but my boys didn’t seem to notice. Their favorite muffin is your pumpkin chocolate chip, but I feel better about these for breakfast since they have more protein and less sugar. Now if I could just combine the two so they’d get the pumpkin goodness too…
I made your yogurt chocolate chip cake for company last night. Always a hit!
Thanks again for being my most reliable source for virtuous and not-so-virtuous recipes!
🙂 Thanks, Laurie!
I was crossing my fingers and toes that the kids would like these! I did chocolate chips instead of blueberries to enhance their appeal. It worked! I actually had to tell them to stop eating them 🙂 will be adding these to my breakfast line up! Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Haha, glad the crossed fingers and toes worked!
These were so yummy! Didn’t have blueberries so I subbed in frozen cranberries and added a teeny bit of sugar to compensate for the sour (husband doesn’t like not-sweet muffins lol!) Can’t wait to make them with blueberries!!
Several people have mentioned adding cranberries – sounds yummy!
Another awesome recipe! Thanks, Mel! I made these this morning with blueberries. They are nearly gone now, by 4pm. The flavors were even tastier as they cooled and blended. I’m betting they’ll be even better tomorrow, if any last that long! I’m eager to try them with chocolate chips now, too. Obviously not so healthy, but I’m imagining they might taste somewhat like chocolate chip cookies, with those fat, rolled oats and butter. Yum!
Glad you loved them, Kamber!
Ahhhh-mazing and nearly guilt free, I made them in mini muffin size so I can pop em right in my mouth for some yummy blueberries goodness!
I like to make breads instead of muffins… could I do 8×8 or 9×5? What temperature and how lone?
That’s a great question, but I’m not sure, Suzanne. I think the amount of batter might be on the low end for a 9X5 pan but you could try in an 8X4-inch pan and see how it goes?
I always love your muffin recipes and make them over and over. These are so good. I love all the oatmeal in them! I used dried blueberries and non-fat greek yogurt/milk and it worked out perfectly. And I doubled the cinnamon because we love it. Thanks so much. Very yummy.
Thanks for your report, Teresa!
Made these last night with dinner. Loved them!! I used the triple berry frozen mix from Costco! Thanks for another great recipe Mel!!
Good to know it worked with that mix!
Sounds like a yummy fruit blend to use in these muffins, Anne! Thanks for the idea. 🙂
These are delicious! I made them yesterday with dried cranberries because I didn’t have blueberries and added a little bit of orange zest. So yummy!
That orange/cranberry combo sounds amazing!
Yum! Made these yesterday and brought them to Bible study this morning. We all agreed that even with dark chocolate chips instead of blueberries, these were entirely virtuous because: antioxidants! Thanks for another winner. I can always count on your recipes. 🙂
Haha, I don’t know why the “virtuous” comment made me giggle. 🙂
We made these and loved them! Nutrition info??
Glad you loved them! I don’t have the nutrition info, but you could plug in the recipe to an online nutrition calculator for details.
We plugged the ingredients into myfitnesspal- with 2 cups blueberries it’s 168 calories per muffin.
These look great! One question though… do you melt the coconut oil? And if so, what texture should it be? (I don’t bake very often with coconut oil, if you can’t tell.) Can’t wait to make these!
Yep! You want to melt the coconut oil. 🙂
Hi Mel, so excited to try these. If I subbed kefir for the Greek yogurt, would I adjust the amount at all?
I think a lot depends on how thick your kefir is. If it’s runny like buttermilk it might affect the texture of the muffins – so maybe cut the amount down a little or add a little bit more flour?
Hi Mel,
Honey is quite expensive in New Zealand at the moment so could you recommend a substitute in lieu of this? Maybe a homemade sugar syrup?
Thanks, love your recipes 🙂
Do you have pure maple syrup? Maybe that, or you could try subbing in sugar (not sugar syrup)
Yum!!! Made these tonight and already had two eek!!! But so good. I didn’t have Greek yogurt but had plain nonfat yogurt and it worked great!! These are going in the rotation with your sour cream banana bread ( which I always make in muffin form!).
Nice!!
Cannot wait to try these out! I’ve been on the hunt for an oatmeal muffin recipe to replace a Quaker muffin mix my kids love (I’m from Canada, not sure if they have similar mixes in the US). These look and sound like a perfect substitute for the mix. They seem like they would freeze well also. My family has enjoyed so many of your recipes, many on our dinner rotation. Thanks for another!
I made these for an after school snack today. I used whole milk yogurt since that’s what I had. My boys ate three each and were begging for more! Looks like I’ll be doubling it next time.
Oh Mel! We just made these. The applesauce oatmeal muffins are out very favorites. . . Nothing else we try comes close. But! These just tied for first place (the chocolate chip version, of course ) . Thank you thank you thank you!!! (I used full day plain Greek yogurt. I’ll be interested to try the non fat kind to see if it makes a difference on tenderness.)
Thanks, Meg! That’s high praise if these babies are equally as delicious as the applesauce version in your view! Mostly, I’m just so happy we aren’t the only ones who can’t get enough of them!
I’m making a second batch now, but doubling it
I saw this recipe and made it immediately. It did not disappoint. I didn’t make any changes to the original. It was fantastic. I’ve already had two! (Someone stop me now!) Thanks for a great recipe, Mel! I can always count on you. Still waiting on your cookbook!
Haha, if you knew how many times I said that same phrase: SOMEONE STOP ME NOW! when I’m home alone with these muffins and a thousand other cooking experiments.
I kind of agree with that…these are pretty darn adaptable. Glad your variation worked out!
Gotta love an endlessly adaptable recipe! I, too, wanted to make this without having to make an extra store trip. I used a combo of blueberry Greek yogurt and sour cream, and at the last minute decided to throw in raisins. Delicious! I would have thrown in some kind of nuts if I had any at the ready, because I love a raisin nut muffin. Next time. I have a feeling you could throw pretty much any complementary flavors in this recipe and it would be golden.
My husband is vegetarian, so even though the rest of us are not we usually have our meat with lunch and then stick to vegetarian dinners for the sake of ease. I bet this would be delish with mushrooms subbed for the chicken to veggie it up! Going to give this a try next week with the parmesan of course 🙂
Mel,
I haven’t made these yet, but I always like scrolling through the comments because there often is great advice there as well. As I finished scrolling through those comments, I noticed your weekly menu at the bottom. Is that a new feature or maybe looking at your site on my desktop rather than my phone allowed me to see that? I think it’s a great tool and wondered if its visible elsewhere on your site. Gonna go check now that I’m done typing. Thanks for all you share!
Hey Stacy – that’s not a new feature, it’s been there for maybe 8 months or so? I wish it was more visible on mobile – it’s there but you have to do a lot of scrolling to get to it. I change it out every week so there’s lots of good menu planning inspiration.
I used quick oats, same ratio, and they turned out great!
Sweet!
I saw this recipe and wanted to make it immediately! Blueberry muffins sounded soooo good! I had some Greek yogurt I made in my IP in the fridge, and so I immediately got to work. Failure #1: I only had 1/4 cup of honey. Used what I had and continued on. Failure #2: I didn’t have any rolled oats. UGH. I could have swore I had some yesterday….. So, I did it. I had no other choice…I was already well into the recipe. I subbed in steel cut oats (I know, I know). Failure #3: I didn’t have the blueberries. What?!! They were in my freezer last time I made smoothies…. SO so sad. So, I did what any Mel loving gal does. I filled that muffin batter with chocolate chips. I am now munching on my not-quite-sweet-enough, a-little-bit-too-chewy, chocolatey “blueberry muffin”. Honestly, it’s pretty good. I just pretend the steel cut oats that I keep grinding with my teeth are walnuts. If I would have made the recipe the way you wrote it, I know it would have been super delish. Next time, I will double-check my pantry before I rely on my mom-brain to make a recipe 🙂
Haha, I’m sorry, Melanie, I’m not laughing at your “disaster” but your comment DID make me chuckle. I’m glad they turned out *ok* – you are funny. And honestly, I probably would have made every one of those subs in the name of NOT going to the store. I feel ya.
Made these this morning too and so delicious! I didn’t have blueberries, so I threw in some frozen raspberries instead, used quick oats (same amount) and all purpose white flour because I didn’t have old fashioned oats or whole wheat flour. So those who asked about either of those at substitutions, they work well! I also used the vanilla Greek yogurt brocade, again, I didn’t have plain and I really wanted to try these as soon as I read the recipe! I omitted the vanilla because the yogurt was flavoured. So good!
Love the report! I swear I have the best readers. Not only do you guys make the recipes so fast when I post them but you report back, which is SO helpful for other readers!
These sound AMAZING!
I just popped these in the oven and realized I forgot the butter (facepalm). Hopefully since I used full-fat yogurt it will make up for it!
Report back, Carmen! I bet they’ll turn out pretty good still.
They turned out good (better the first day), but not the best–my daughter still gobbled them up! Since I usually use salted butter, I think that bit of salty fat is exactly what they were missing.
I just did the exact same thing!! My kids ate them just fine, but I was thinking, “hmm, not quite as good as the applesauce version” and then I realized I forgot the oil. The fact that they’re still good just goes to show how wonderful both recipes are!
🙂 Glad they still turned out ok!
These sound yummy….I bake gf a lot since my hubby is gluten intolerant. Could I use a gf all purpose flour instead of the whole wheat?
Hi Char – unfortunately I don’t know since I haven’t tried that, but you could definitely experiment!
Hi there! I make the applesauce muffins all the time using a gf all purpose blend instead of the whole wheat the recipe calls for. Depending on the blend they almost always turn out well! I’ve had a few that were too gummy but you will probably be ok!
I’m excited to try these. I will be trying it with homemade instant pot yogurt and dried blueberries.
Let the baking begin!!
HI Mel! So I know it won’t be as healthy but can sour cream be substituted for the greek yogurt? Really want to make these but don’t want to have to run to the grocery store today 🙂
I haven’t tried that, but I think it stands a pretty good chance of working!
I’m looking forward to making these beautiful muffins but I have a few questions. One can I use white wheat flour and are frozen blueberries ok to use. Thanks for posting a great and healthy recipe.
Hi Patty – yes, I use white wheat flour, and I think frozen blueberries would work just fine (they might “bleed” a bit more in the muffins while baking, but that’s ok – don’t thaw them first).
Hi Mel, can non fat Greek yogurt be used??
Yes!
Hi Mel, do you think it would be ok to put the oats in the blender to make them finer? My kids (and husband) do not like the texture of oats in baked goods, but I really want to try these muffins. (Also, I’ve heard, but never tried personally, that if you toss the blueberries in a little flour before adding them to your batter they won’t sink to the bottom when baking. Ever tried it?)
Hi Stephanie – I think you could do that, but it could make the muffin batter thicker and/or more dense. Are you wanting the texture like oat flour? Or more like quick oats? If you are grinding up the flour like quick oats or finer, I’d reduce the amount by 1/4 cup (and measure after grinding). And yes, tossing in flour definitely helps (although less with chocolate chips)! 🙂
Hi Mel! I love Blueberry muffins! Can I substitute dried Blueberries? (I always have them as my back up in case of snow, pestilence, famine, tempest or even worse, pure laziness!
Hey Chris – I definitely think that’s worth a try!
Can I use regular flour if I do not have whole wheat? Any difference?
Yes, you definitely could use all-purpose (same amount as in the recipe)
We decided to make blueberry muffins today so I opened your website to find a recipe and low and behold, here was a new one! We made them and loved them! Thank you!
I LOVE that you made them so fast, Moriah! And so happy you loved them!
Fresh or frozen blueberries?
I use fresh, but I’m guessing frozen would work (the muffins might carry a darker “blue” hue from the frozen, but usually they sub fine in muffins – don’t thaw first)
How would I sub steel cut for rolled oats?
I haven’t tried subbing steel cut oats…they have a completely different texture than rolled oats and don’t *behave* the same in baked goods. You could try grinding them down a bit.
These look so yummy!! Question- can you use quick oats? That is what I have at home so just checking. Thanks!
Hey Susan, I’ve only ever used old-fashioned oats, but I’m guess quick oats will work, too. I’d probably decrease the amount by 1/4 cup if using quick oats.
I used quick oats and they worked great!