Wholesome Blueberry Muffins

Wholesome blueberry muffins, made with applesauce, yogurt, oats and massive, stunning recent (or frozen!) blueberries, and no added fats or refined sugars. All of the style and texture, not one of the guilt!

pile of light brown muffins with blueberries baked inside in brown muffin liners in dark gray dish with 1 1/2 inch sides sitting on blue cloth, with one muffin missing a single bite

Why I really like these muffins

I love cake, however I do not normally need one thing with that a lot sugar for breakfast. One thing with that a lot sugar does not hold me glad for lengthy sufficient.

These wholesome blueberry muffins are made with applesauce and plain Greek yogurt, not vegetable oil or butter, and the entire grain goodness of oats.

Moist and tender and straightforward to make, these naturally gluten free muffins are solely frivolously candy and positively bursting with the goodness of blueberries. They’re tremendous particular proper out of the oven (heat berries!), however additionally they freeze and defrost completely—plus they’re straightforward to make dairy free, too with a nondairy plain Greek-style yogurt.

The rule in my home is that you just’re by yourself for breakfast on the weekend, however in the course of the college week I’ve acquired you lined. And make-ahead breakfasts like these muffins and our gluten free banana muffins are all the time within the freezer, ready for a fast defrosting within the microwave or toaster oven.

overhead image of ingredients for healthy blueberry muffins in small bowls with names of ingredients in bold black type on blond wood surface

what’s in it

Recipe Elements

Quaint rolled oats/oat flour – We use oats to type the bottom for these wholesome muffins by grinding them into oat flour first, earlier than we add another elements. You possibly can, in fact, additionally simply start with an equal quantity, by weight, finely sifted oat flour.
Coconut palm sugar – This unrefined granulated sugar has an identical taste to brown sugar, however is far grittier, and does not dissolve that effectively in baking. So make sure to mix it with the oats right into a powder. You should use mild brown sugar as an alternative.
Baking powder and baking soda – These chemical leaveners react with the liquid and acid in these muffins to offer our muffins most of their rise. Be sure that yours are recent!
Salt – Salt brings out all of the flavors of those muffins, and balances the candy sugar and blueberries.
Applesauce – Clean, processed applesauce provides moisture to those muffins and a tiny little bit of construction, from the pectin. Be certain to not use chunky applesauce, or your muffins might be dry and uneven.
Plain, Greek-style yogurt – Though you may make these muffins utilizing fats free Greek-style yogurt, you actually need the little bit of fats in 2% lowfat or 4% entire milk yogurt to assist tenderize your muffins. You possibly can change the plain yogurt with an equal quantity of bitter cream.
Eggs – Eggs present construction and assist these muffins rise. The yolks additionally add a little bit of fats, which these muffins are actually low in.
Pure vanilla extract – Vanilla brightens and enhances the gentle, scrumptious taste of those wholesome muffins.
Blueberries – The star of the present right here, blueberries add moisture after they bake within the oven and, in fact, that attractive summery blueberry taste to each chew. For those who use frozen berries, do not defrost them first, or they will flip your muffins blue!
Cornstarch – Coating your blueberries in a tiny little bit of starch helps droop them within the batter so they do not sink to the underside of every muffin because it bakes.

pile of whole light brown muffins with some blueberries peeking out of top of each muffin and on side through brown paper wrapping

How one can make wholesome blueberry muffins

Make the muffin batter

In a blender or meals processor, course of the oats and coconut sugar right into a powder, and place them in a big mixing bowl.
Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and whisk to mix.
Add the applesauce, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla, and blend simply till mixed.
Toss the blueberries with a little bit of cornstarch to forestall them from sinking proper to the underside of the batter.
Add the berries to the batter, and blend gently till simply mixed.

large round metal mixing bowl with light brown powder with large wire whisk

Place in muffin tin & bake

Divide the batter among the many wells of the muffin tin. In my commonplace muffin tin, the wells are virtually fully stuffed with batter.
You possibly can add just a few extra berries to the very prime of the batter in every effectively in order that they’re seen.
Bake at 375°F for five minutes, then scale back the oven temperature to 325°F for about one other quarter-hour. The muffins are performed when the muffin springs again after you press a fingertip gently within the middle.
Enable the muffins to chill first within the tin, then on a wire rack.

same Circulon muffin tin with baked muffins in a haphazard pile on top, with some muffins still in the wells they were baked in

My Professional Tip

Knowledgeable ideas

Use room temperature elements

Guarantee that your eggs, yogurt, and applesauce are at room temperature earlier than you mix them. That method, they will mix evenly and will not create clumps that forestall a clean batter. Your blueberries might be chilly in the event that they’re frozen, however that is the very last thing you are including to the ready batter, so it will not hurt something.

Do not defrost frozen blueberries

As with all blueberry muffin, be happy to make use of both recent or frozen blueberries for scrumptious outcomes. For those who do the latter, do not defrost frozen blueberries, and understand that they may seemingly bleed into the batter and switch it a bit purple.

Utilizing frozen berries received’t have an effect on the style one bit, although. You possibly can have actually nutritious blueberry muffins all yr lengthy!

Coat your blueberries in starch

Coating your blueberries in a little bit of starch earlier than mixing them into the batter helps them cling to the batter a bit, and helps hold them from sinking to the underside of the batter, throughout baking.

Use muffin liners however grease them

Place greaseproof muffin liners in your muffin tin earlier than including the batter to make cleanup very easy—and to assist in giving your muffin batter some assist because it rises up throughout baking. Spray the liners with a lightweight coating of cooking oil spray, too. Lowfat muffins like these have a tendency to stay to their liners.

Do not overmix the batter

Watch out to not overblend the batter. Oat flour tends to get robust should you overmix or overblend it earlier than baking.

For fluffier muffins, add starch

Strive changing about 25 grams of the oat flour with 25 grams of cornstarch for a extra steady muffin with a extra tender crumb.

Raw batter for healthy blueberry muffins in a bowl

substitutions

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free

Rather than common Greek-style yogurt, you may undoubtedly use a nondairy plain yogurt or bitter cream substitute. For those who use plain yogurt, make sure to drain it till it’s of an identical consistency to Greek-style yogurt, after which measure the ingredient by weight.

Egg free

Since this recipe incorporates 2 eggs, it is best to be capable of change them with some success utilizing your favourite egg substitute. My favourite is one “chia egg” (1 tablespoon floor white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, combined and allowed to gel) per commonplace egg. Flax eggs ought to work, however they may add extra undesirable taste.

Applesauce

The applesauce on this recipe offers construction, sweetness, and tenderness to the muffins. The muffins don’t style in any respect like applesauce. For those who’d choose to make use of bananas, strive my recipe for banana oatmeal muffins.

Oat free

Since they’re floor right into a fantastic powder to be used on this recipe, you may substitute for oats with quinoa flakes. I’ve tried this recipe with that substitution, by weight, and though the muffins had been a tiny bit extra fragile, the recipe labored nice.

Blueberries

Rather than blueberries, I feel these muffins can be nice with an equal quantity, by weight, of chopped strawberries or raspberries. You can even strive frozen combined berries so long as they’re all comparatively small in dimension (nothing bigger than a raspberry). And bear in mind to not defrost frozen berries first!

Sugar free

For those who choose to make use of unrefined sugars, go along with the coconut palm sugar. It does have a rough grain, although, so make sure to mix it together with the oats right into a fantastic powder.

You should use an equal quantity by weight of sunshine brown sugar (which is what I take advantage of within the video). You could possibly most likely additionally use a brown sugar different, like Truvia brown sugar alternative.

I haven’t tried that, although, so that you’ll must experiment and please remark beneath and tell us the way it went.

FAQs

Can I take advantage of store-bought oat flour as an alternative of grinding my very own oats?

Sure! If you have already got oat flour readily available, measure out 225 grams by weight of packaged oat flour. I like Gold Medal model oat flour for its high quality and availability.

How do I ensure my muffins aren’t dry?

If you wish to ensure your muffins are moist, do not reduce on the sugar (sugar is a tenderizer and moisturizer in baking) and use Greek yogurt with at the least 2% fats (not fats free) or bitter cream. Fats is a tenderizer, too.

How do I do know when my muffins are performed baking?

The “doneness” take a look at on this recipe requires you to bake the muffins till their tops are properly domed, they usually spring again when pressed gently with a finger.

Have you ever tried making them as mini muffins?

I have not tried that, however I feel it could work effectively. You’ll want to use mini muffin liners and grease them for finest outcomes and scale back the baking time. I might bake at 375°F for 3 minutes, then scale back to 325°F till performed (about one other 10 minutes).

What if I wished to make this as a loaf as an alternative of muffins?

I do not suggest making an attempt to make this identical batter as a loaf as an alternative of muffins. It does not have the correct construction to assist baking in a single commonplace loaf pan. Mini loaf pans would possibly work, although!

Can I change the eggs with extra applesauce?

No, extra applesauce will make the batter too moist and never present the construction and binding of eggs. For making these muffins egg-free, please see the substitutions part above.

Can sorghum flour be used as an alternative of oat flour?

I have not tried that substitution, so I do not know! You possibly can change the oat flour with quinoa flakes. I feel the recipe may also work with finely floor blanched almond flour rather than oat flour, too.

Can I add bananas to this recipe?

You might be able to change all or a part of the applesauce with an equal quantity, by weight, of mashed ripe bananas. These substitutes usually work effectively, so it is value a strive!

Are you able to make this recipe with out the yogurt?

You possibly can change the Greek fashion plain yogurt with an equal quantity, by weight, of bitter cream (dairy or nondairy). For those who solely have plain yogurt that is not Greek-style, pressure it of liquid till it reaches the consistency of bitter cream or Greek yogurt.

Are you able to double the recipe?

Sure! Simply change the yield within the recipe beneath to make 24 muffins, or click on the “2X” button to double all of the elements. Bake in 2 commonplace 12-cup muffin tins as directed.

Can I make these with wheat flour?

You would possibly be capable of change the oat flour with standard entire wheat flour or entire wheat pastry flour. In contrast to our basic gluten free blueberry muffins that are made with an all goal gluten free flour, these are made with a single entire grain (oat flour) and a daily all goal flour most likely wouldn’t work.

pile of light brown muffins with blueberries in a dark gray round dish with fluted edges with some fresh whole blueberries around the muffins, and one muffin with a bite taken revealing baked bright berries inside

Make forward/leftovers

Storage Directions

For brief time period storage, these muffins will keep recent for about 2 days on the kitchen counter in the event that they’re wrapped individually with plastic wrap or in a sealed container.

Freezing

For longer storage, place them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet till frozen, then pile them into a big ziptop bag till you are able to get pleasure from them.

Defrosting/refreshing

You possibly can enable these muffins to defrost at room temperature on the counter for about half-hour or microwave for about 25 seconds. To refresh and serve heat, sprinkle the defrosted muffin frivolously with lukewarm water and place within the toaster oven on toast, or at 300°F for about 5 minutes.

A close up of a healthy blueberry muffin broken in half

Image of a muffin tin with healthy blueberry muffins.

Healthy blueberry muffin ingredients, batter raw in muffin tin, baked in tin and baked on a plate

Closeup image of broken blueberry muffin and overhead image of broken blueberry muffin with more blueberries

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