If you read my blog, you know that sometimes, when Trader Joe’s has produce in bulk for a really good price, I buy it. Then, I am stuck with tons of produce wondering, “what in tarnation am I going to do with all this?”
This is the burden I have to bear as a girl who loves both food and bargains.
So now I find myself with a surplus of blueberries and peaches. So I made these DELICIOUS Banana Blueberry Oat Muffins, made with 100% whole grains and absolutely no refined sugar!
It’s a good thing I bought blueberries in bulk because it took me several attempts to get this right. Baking with whole grains is much different than baking with all-purpose flour.
For one thing, whole grain baked goods can come out fairly dense. I have found that the biggest thing that helps avoid this is to not over-mix the batter.
When you hear cooks on TV saying “stir until just combined,” they mean it. The more you mix, the denser it will be.
So when you add the flour and oats to the wet ingredients, make sure you only just combine it, and then gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
A note about over-ripe bananas: please, please, whenever you have bananas about to go bad, don’t throw them out! Put them in your freezer until you want to use them for muffins, bread, or banana chia seed pancakes.
Freeze them whole, and when you need to use them, microwave for 45 seconds and remove the fruit from the peel. The peel will turn black and look unappetizing, but the inside is soft, sweet, and perfect for baking.
While we are on the subject of freezers, these muffins can be frozen for up to 6 months in an airtight container or bag. When you want one, simply remove from the freezer and microwave for 30 seconds to one minute for a quick and easy breakfast.
To serve, I recommend cutting the muffin in half, spreading butter on it, and grilling cut-side down for a couple of minutes in a cast iron skillet.
Hey, there has to be butter somewhere, right?
The result will be a toasty, buttery, crunchy outside with a soft, warm inside. Yum, I think I will go make one right now!
Of course, they are delicious on their own as well :-)
Now I have to think of something to do with those peaches… peach cobbler?
Any other ideas?
Banana Blueberry Oat Muffins (made with whole wheat flour and honey)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 ripened mashed bananas
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour pastry flour is best
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1.5 cups fresh blueberries or other berry, see notes about using frozen
- turbinado sugar if desired, for topping muffins
Instructions
- Add coconut oil (1/2 cup) and honey (1/4 cup) to large mixing bowl. If coconut oil is solid, microwave for 15 seconds, until honey and oil are softened.
- Cream together with a mixer on high speed.
- Add eggs (2) and Greek yogurt (1/2 cup). Mix together until very well combined.
- Add the 2 mashed bananas, vanilla (1 teaspoon), cinnamon (1 teaspoon), pinch of nutmeg, baking powder (1 teaspoon), baking soda (1 teaspoon), and salt (1/2 teaspoon). Mix until well combined.
- Add flour and oats- stir until just combined.
- Fold berries (1.5 cups) in to mixture.
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners; fill each cup evenly with mixture.
- Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with turbinado sugar (optional).
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Notes
- Storage: These muffins can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for 5 days. They can be frozen in an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months.
- Not a fan of coconut oil? Extra-virgin olive oil can be used instead. Substitute the same amount.
- Honey Substitute: You can also use brown or white sugar, or maple syrup, instead of honey.
- You can use frozen berries for this, but keep in mind, it's likely that the muffins will be more colored blue/purple.
- To make them gluten-free: you can use a gluten-free flour mix substituted with a 1:1 ratio (I have not tried this personally, but I have readers who have substituted with no problem).
- For a dairy-free version, use your favorite dairy-free yogurt.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Tabi
Tried it, came out soft, moist and delicious. A definite winner!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them!
Amanda Faulkner
These muffins are absolutely amazing! So delicious!!! Thank you!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Ravi
Has anyone used dates instead of honey?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I haven’t, but I might recommend a date syrup rather than chopped up dates so the sweet flavor disperses throughout the muffins!
Carmela
These muffins are absolutely delicious! The only deviations I made were: maple syrup instead of honey. 2 full cups of blueberries + 1/4 cup of chopped pecans. I added 2 tbsp granulated monkfruit sweetener to the batter so I skipped step 8 and I was out of cinnamon so I used pumpkin pie spice instead. These turned out 10 / 10 delicious. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your substitutions and changes!
Rose
Such a delicious recipe! I put coconut flakes on top and was a great addition.
Any advice how to add (substitute for) a serving of vanilla protein powder?
Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I don’t bake with protein powder, but this might be a good place to start: https://www.asweetpeachef.com/protein-powder-as-a-flour-substitute/
Craig
Fantastic, also tried with Strawberries!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I love making it with strawberries, too!
Dawn O.
Easy and delicious! Exactly what I was looking for to use up items around the kitchen. I did use 1/2 cup bread flour as I ran out of whole wheat. As a culinary arts teacher I appreciate a well written recipe. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kelsey
Very yummy! I made a few modifications: half olive oil, half Coco oil, replaced one egg with Flax egg, used 1 cup whole wheat flour and half cup cake flour. Didn’t sprinkle the sugar on top and it still came out sweet enough for me. Love the texture and nutrition of these :) The recipe made 15 muffins which I baked for 18 minutes.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jennifer Lugones
i dont know what happened, one min they were looking good , then all of a sudden they sank in the middle while in the oven …what did i do ?
i did substitue eggs for egg whites ,almond flour for whole wheat flour and , coconut oil for butter .
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks so much for explaining your ingredient substitutions you used – it’s so much easier to troubleshoot with lots of information! I’m afraid the almond flour was your likely culprit. As a general rule, you can’t use almond flour interchangeably with wheat flours. It’s very heavy and dense, has a lot of fat comparatively, and doesn’t absorb liquids as readily (the latter part being important, as it needs a chance to absorb the liquids from the eggs, oil, honey, and yogurt). If you want to use almond flour for baking, your best bet is to find a recipe that specifically uses that ingredient. As for an alternative to the wheat flour here, while I haven’t tried it myself, you may be able to get away with oat flour or a gluten-free 1:1 flour. Hope that helps!
Jennifer Lugones
Thanks so much ,I think it was the almond flour as it did not absorb anything ,it was a sloppy mess .but the taste was delicious lol I’m going to try again with wheat flour Thankyou
Sheila Shediac
Great recipe. I added a little more sweetener and also about a half cup shredded coconut. I used soft whole wheat pastry flour.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Love your addition of coconut.
Thara
A nice healthy muffin. I used white whole wheat flour. I’d have preferred it to be slightly sweeter, but you have it with some jam. Since I used non pastry flour it may have been slightly denser, but that’s ok. Thanks for the recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! These muffins aren’t very sweet, so next time (or for anyone else reading this), feel free to add a little more honey or some sugar to the mix to sweeten it up a bit.
Evelyn Pajaron
Very good and delicious recipe! For keeps!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!