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 haven’t sampled them yet for flavor, because they’re still in the oven at nearly 30 minutes! My guess is this is due to using frozen berries instead of fresh, so naturally they will take longer to rise in temp and bake. I’ve been using my mom’s standard Betty Crocker recipe for decades and they are a hit, but I have been looking for something a little healthier (no shortening or refined sugar. I’ll let you know the outcome 🙂
These muffins are delicious! They turned out perfectly. I used Coconut Oil and Fresh Blueberries. These won’t last long in my house. I couldn’t wait for them to cool down and had one while it was nice and hot and it was soft and sweet. Will definitely make these again!
What did I do wrong? These were horrible! When I used my second half of batter, I used a 12 hole muffin tin, I added Monk Fruit. I have no idea why these had zero flavor and zero sweetness. I followed the recipe but used white flour instead.
I just made these and they are delicious! Thanks for the recipe! I did a few things slightly differently from the recipe as you give it:
* I went with the butter option that you gave rather than coconut oil.
* I only had regular, non-Greek plain yogurt (Trader Joe’s lowfat plain) but they turned out fine.
* I substituted a 1/4 cup of the whole wheat flour with wheat germ, and used full whole wheat for the rest.
* I added a couple tablespoons of Trader Joe’s “super seed & ancient grain blend” (sprouted grains and seeds).
* I didn’t have as many frozen blueberries left as I thought, so I used what I had (maybe 3/4 cup) plus about 2/3 cup dried berry mix (cranberries, raisins, & blueberries, but heaviest on cranberries; they are sweetened so this did add a little bit more sugar but they still taste pretty low sugar).
I found your recipe when I was searching for a healthy way to use up the yogurt I had, as it was starting to taste old. This definitely hit the mark and I’m glad it worked with non-Greek yogurt since the whole point was to use it up 🙂 Thanks again!
Hi,
Thanks for this recipe, the muffins turned out AMAZING! I will be making these again 😀
A few recipe notes for others; I used regular plain yogurt instead of Greek and used an 1/8 cup whole milk instead of a 1/4 since regular yogurt is more wet than Greek. The batter was probably still wetter (I probably could have skipped the milk all together) so I ended up baking the muffins for about 19 minutes. I used 2 cups of fresh blueberries and melted butter.
What I love most about these muffins is that they aren’t too sweet and sweetened with only honey, the oats add some great texture (and cut down on the use of flour), and are bursting with blueberries – did not have a problem with them sinking to the bottom 😉 Plus the recipe is super simple and fast.
Thanks again!
N
I tweaked it for fall (and what I had around) by subbing maple syrup for honey, pecans for blueberries, and adding cinnamon and nutmeg. Delicious!
This will be my first baking experience that isn’t from a package (eek!) I could not find white whole wheat flour, will all purpose flour work, or does that change things? Excited to make these!
Yes, all purpose will work!
Wow! Ive tried many different blueberry muffin recipes but if youre looking for moist, this is the one! Delicious!
Can I substitute honey for applesauce? Making these for my family and my baby can’t have honey in anything. Thanks!
It would change the texture and taste – but you could experiment!
I accidentally left out the coconut oil and they we’re still delicious!! If you decide to do this on purpose, be sure to let the muffins cool completely before peeling the paper off because it will take half your muffin with it! (Or maybe just spray the pan and don’t use paper liners.) Yum!!!
I made these as written except for the old fashioned oats. I measured 1 cup of TJ’s organic old-fashioned oats and put in the vitamix for a few seconds until it turned into a flour and proceeded with the recipe as is. They came out delicious!!!! Not too sweet either. Thank you for the recipe. It’s a keeper!
Great idea!
So delicious with fresh-picked berries…. great recipe.
PS: Mel, I just bought and read Zemindar at your recommendation, and wow! I can see why you re-read it each summer. I got totally absorbed into the book– after halfway through, I may have read non-stop for 6 hours– and then couldn’t get it out of my head for a couple of days. Thanks for the suggestion; I’ll try anything else you plug since I like fiction but don’t read it much.
Fresh picked blueberries are the best! Mel is out of town right now, but she will be happy to know you loved Zemindar :).
I have made these about 4 times in the past week or so! So yummy! The first couple of times I made them as directed and we loved them. However, I made some changes this morning and we loved them even more! First, I added a tablespoon of flax seed (doubt it changed much except making it even healthier!). Second, I used less yogurt. (Only used about 1/2 cup since that was all I had left). I liked it a lot more because the muffins were fluffier! And then my last change, which was a total accident, I left out the chocolate chips! So these are SUPER healthy. But seriously, Mel, you rock! And I plan on keeping this recipe around indefinitely!
That’s awesome that these are still amazing without the chocolate chips! Thanks for the feedback.
I’ve made these muffins at least six times since this recipe was posted! Love it!!! Quick note: sometimes my oats didn’t hydrate super well, so I’ve taken to stirring them in with the yogurt first thing and letting them sit while I assemble everything else. I also LOVE adding the zest and juice of a lemon.
Thanks for the tip Patti! I’m glad you love these.
I didn’t read good enough and just bought whole wheat flour. Is taste different between white whole wheat flour and wheat flour?
It’ll be fine – the muffins might be a bit more hearty-tasting and slightly more dense with red wheat, but I’d say go ahead and use it.
I made these today. The flavor was perfect. I added zest of one lemon. I added 2cups of fresh blueberries but it may have been a bit too much for the recipe. I sprayed my muffin liners but they still stuck really bad. When they came out of the oven hot, they were very soft and moist. I think I would add more oats or oat flour next time.
I love that there is no added sugar in these! I used frozen mixed berries and they worked out so well. Will be keeping this recipe to use again
I like to use fresh ground whole wheat, so I placed my Blendtec blender container on my scale and measured out the 3.75oz white wheat berries and 3.5oz oats. I then blended them together into a fine flour and used that in the recipe. The texture was nice and soft in the muffin, but was in fact loaded with whole grains. Loved this recipe. My kids aren’t big blueberry fans, so I’ll try them with chocolate chips next time.
Awesome, thanks for sharing, Cindy!
These are delicious! But mine stuck to the cupcake wrappers pretty badly. Any recommendations?
A lot depends on the brand/type of muffin liner. You can lightly grease the muffin liners with cooking spray before filling – that should help!
Any idea if these can be made ahead and frozen?
Yes, I’ve frozen the baked and cooled muffins with great success
Do you have any nutrition info for this recipe? Sounds excellent but my clients will want to know calories and other nutrients. Many thanks!
I loved this recipe! I added sweet and shredded coconut since I didn’t have enough maple syrup for sweetener and it really gave the muffins a special taste
Followed the recipe as written, using butter. My son is a blueberry muffin lover….he ate 5. Will try with chocolate chips next time! So simple and so good!
These are delicious and so moist! No added sugar, just honey to sweeten and trust me they taste perfectly sweet. Thanks for sharing!
Very easy delicious and healthy recipe!
Made these this morning—delicious! Realized while stirring that I had low-fat plain yogurt—not Greek….added about 1/3 cup more flour, seemed to work out fine! I did add some lemon zest, it’s such a great complement to blueberries. This is a keeper!
I used this recipe exactly the way it is written. (Actually I added more cinnamon) It is good! I have never baked with Greek yogurt, coconut oil, or wheat flour and my whole family really enjoyed these muffins! I made them in a mini muffin pan and they turned out yummy. I wanted to try a healthy recipe and these are definetely much better than what I usually use (box mix). I will be adding this recipe to my recipe box. Thank you!!
What is the nutritional information for the healthy yogurt oat Muffins with blueberries?
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but would like to know the information first.
I don’t have that information; sorry!
With 1 cup frozen blueberries, white flour and coconut oil each muffin is 131 calories, 5.6 g fat, 4.4 g protein and 16.8 g carbs. However mine came out tasting great but looking terrible and very sticky and undercooked. I had to add 10 minutes and they just got darker not more cooked.
I’ve made these muffins 5+ times now and here’s what I’ve found:
– if you’re using blueberries, zesting half a lemon is an excellent addition!
– anything over half a cup of chocolate chips is VERY CHOCOLATEY. And so delicious. So, I stick to a half a cup or less if I want to be good and go closer to a cup/cup in a half if I want my boyfriend to eat them all in less than a day.
– anything over a half a cup of blueberries will take quite awhile to cool. I stopped mixing the blueberries in with my batter so I could distribute them evenly (~10 small frozen blueberries per muffin).
– these muffins are so insanely moist and delicious! I’ve played around with a ton of muffin recipes and I always come back to this one. Using chocolate chips is pretty foolproof but there’s a delicate balance using blueberries because of the added water.
– today I forgot to add the melted coconut oil and milk (I usually use almond). I added an additional egg (I do for most muffin recipes) and didn’t realize I forgot the other ingredients until it was too late so I figured they’d be a mess but they were AMAZING! I used brown parchment muffin liners and they didn’t stick at all (they usually do). I also baked them at 450 for 10 minutes first and then at 375 for 7 minutes.
Sorry for the long post! Thanks again for the amazing recipe 🙂
Thanks so much for your detailed variations, Samantha!
How do you think dried blueberries would do? I have a bunch to use.
I think they’d work fine!
These were so delicious, but they stuck to the paper liners like crazy. Next time, I will just spray the tin and skip the liners or use silicone liners like the other person.
I used silicone muffin cups. The muffins slid right out. If you toss blueberries in the flour mixture first, the will distribute evenly.
These were pretty good. I used agave nectar instead of honey since I was out, and I used homemade plain yogurt and they turned out really yummy. They were a little dense (my 3 year old was helping and tends to over-mix) but rather yummy.
They are Great! Only like 3-4 left now and only been done a few hours.. thanks for the recipe!!
Everyone loved them! Greased the muffin pans extra good with coconut oil, after reading comments, and I was able to get them out. Making more now!
Made these with organic blueberry yogurt (since it was all I had) and my 3 year old was literally dancing around while eating them because she loved them so much. Haha thanks for a nice, fun, new reciepe.
Ha! So cute!
Absolutely delicious! So moist & yummy. This will be my go-to muffin receipe from now on!
Just made these and they are delicious! I used sugar instead of honey, I love honey but went the “unhealthy” route instead. Thank you for the delicious recipe 🙂
We LOVE this recipe! I make it every week with choc chips. 🙂 I want to try making with blueberries. Can I use frozen blueberries or do they have to be fresh?
Yes, you can use frozen – don’t thaw first (and don’t overstir once they are added). They might bleed a little more as the muffins bakes, but the taste should still be delish.
amazing i ate 4 muffins in one night!
These are great! So easy and both my toddler and super picky husband LOVE them! They will be on permanent rotation.
These are great, Mel!! I just made them this morning. I’m a homeschooled 8th-grader, and these are so easy and quick that if I get up early enough, I may even be able to make them before a school morning! The only slight problem I encountered was that the muffins stuck s bit to the paper liners, so I may bake them for a little longer than called for next time. But they were delicious! Thank you!!
Nice work, Eden!
I’ve made these three times so far, twice with blueberries and once with chocolate chips. So good both ways! Love this recipe. The blueberry ones did stick quite a bit. Made them one time with liners and the other time with just a greased pan, muffins stuck to the pan and then to liners when used those.
Amazing! I only had greek vanilla yogurt on hand and it turned out great! Will definitely be my new go to muffin mix.
Very healthy. My boys added sugar and cinnamon on top.
Followed the recipe exactly, used fresh blueberries, and I can’t believe how great these turned out! Another home run, Mel, how do you do it! We are turning these into a Friday morning tradition!
Thanks!
These are amazing!! I make the applesauce oatmeal version all of the time and these are even better! I can’t stop thinking about them.
If you coat the blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter, they will not sink to the bottom.
Turned out great! Thank you, Mel!
I just made these and used raspberries (freeze dried). So delicious!