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.
Video
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.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and 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:
Rachel
Perfect! I will simply double the recipe.
Rachel Reed
DO YOU KNOW OF ANY GLUTEN FREE FOR OPTIONS THAT WOULD WORK WELL FOR THIS RECIPE. I WANT TO GIVE THIS RECIPE TO MY COUSIN BUT SHE STAYS AWAY FROM GLUTEN BECAUSE OF ARTHRITIS
Elizabeth
I know you can buy certified gluten free flour and oats, so maybe using those as a substitution would work! Also, here’s a great article on tips for gluten free baking: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/12/baking-cooking-substitutions-for-gluten.html
Rachel Reed
THANK YOU SOO MUCH! I APPRECIATE YOUR HELP AND YOUR PROMPT RESPONSES :-)
Rachel Reed
OH AND FOR ME THE RECIPE YIELDED 18
Rachel Reed
I MADE THE MUFFINS THIS MORNING. AMAZING! EXTREMELY LIGHT AND FLUFFY. I USED THE GRAPESEED OIL INSTEAD OF COCONUT. AGAVE INSTEAD OF HONEY, PLAIN YOGURT NOT GREEK, WHITE WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, AND 2 CUPS FROZEN BLUEBERRIES. THANK YOU FINALLY A MUFFIN RECIPE THAT IS FLAVORFUL AND NOT DENSE. DEFINETELY MY NEW GO TO!
Elizabeth
That’s great to hear, Rachel! So glad you like them, and thanks so much for coming back and letting me know they came out good for you- it made my day :-)
Rachel Reed
Thank you for such a prompt reply! I have a couple of days until my bananas will be ready but I will let you know how they turn out. I’ve decided to use the grapeseed oil. I use that in everything I bake in place of vegetable oil or butter. Safflower usually for cooking but they both do have such an extremely light flavor
Rachel Reed
Which oil do you think would be a better replacement of coconut oil, grapeseed or safflower? Would it still be a half a cup of oil?
Elizabeth
Hi Rachel! I have never used either of those oils, but I think that either would work- I would go with the most neutral tasting one. I think the best substitute for coconut oil is butter since it has a similar texture (it’s solid at room temperature), but according to this article, it looks like you can substitute any plant oil for coconut. Good luck, and let me know how it turns out! http://paleoleap.com/replace-everything-coconut/
katie
Is there anything I can substitute the yogurt for? Maybe coconut or almond milk? We have a milk allergy.
Elizabeth
Actually, I just made some vegan muffins when I ran out of milk and just used water! Worked just fine. You could also maybe try other kinds of milk as well- I’m almost positive that will work! Here’s the vegan muffin recipe: https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/2015/04/07/maple-banana-oat-and-nut-muffins-vegan/
Shelley Bointy
Can you use substitute pure maple syrup in place of honey? Just wondering because I used up my local honey in the pizza crust I made last night, but I have maple syrup on hand.
Elizabeth
I’ve never done it, but I think it’s definitely worth a shot! I love blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, AND banana pancakes with maple syrup… I bet it would be delicious! Let me know how it comes out :-) And here’s a recipe for blueberry muffins that does use maple syrup, if you need another resource! http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/blueberry_maple_muffins.html
sarah
These look great for my toddler (and me!). My bananas aren’t near ripe yet. Could I sub applesauce, or too liquidy?
Elizabeth
Hi, Sarah! I have never tried subbing applesauce for bananas, so I can’t speak from experience. I did, however, google it and it looks like you can sub 1/2 cup applesauce per banana in most baked goods! Also, you can apparently use canned pumpkin as a substitute as well. I also found this post about ripening bananas in the oven: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/02/how-to-quickly-ripen-bananas-for-making-banana-bread.html Hope this is helpful! Good luck! :-)
Sarah
Thanks for all of the tips!
natasha
Can you use frozen blueberries in this recipe?
Elizabeth
I’ve never done it before, but I absolutely think you can! However, it is likely that the batter will be purple/blue if you use frozen (fresh keep their shape fairly well, while frozen are mushier and tend to incorporate into the batter more). I’m sure they will still be just as tasty! Good luck :-)
natasha
They turned out great- definitely making these again. Thanks!
xkale
Yummy!! I LOVE blueberry muffins, this is GOING to happen :) I’m trying to eat less sugar so yay! Infact I invented healthy jaffacakes if you’re interested, they’re posted on this blog (not mine, guest post) here: http://www.thevegetarianexperience.co.uk/2014/11/healthy-vegetarian-jaffa-cakes.html?m=1
Thanks for the blueberry joy!
Elizabeth
Yum! Those look delicious!! Thanks for sharing :-) Hope you like the muffins!
Tammy
Ok I am baking these muffins again for probably the 10th time now. They are a staple in my house and I can’t go a week without them. Yummy and guilt free. I am trying a batch with chocolate chips for a somewhat sinful treat for my son since he doesn’t like blueberries (can’t imagine why not!!)
Fantastic recipe, so glad I found it!!
Elizabeth
Tammy, this made my day! I am so happy you and your family like them so much! And um, the chocolate chips sound amazing. I will have to try that. Thanks for the comment! :-)
cathy
Could you include weights for ingredients for bakers in the UK please
Elizabeth
Hi, Cathy! There are a few great resources online for this-
Here’s one that will convert basic measurements: http://www.calcul.com/show/calculator/cooking-conversion
Here’s another one that will convert measurements for specific ingredients. Just enter the ingredient, then plug in the measurement you have, and click convert:
http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/cooking/
Hope this helps, and hope you like the recipe! :-)
Elizabeth
That is a good question :-)
I don’t count calories for my recipes (instead, I try and focus on the nutritional punch in foods by following the “real food” rules), but I DID just find this nifty calculator online (http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php) to figure it out! If you copy and paste the ingredients and put the amount of servings at the top (in this case, 12), it will calculate it automatically (with a few adjustments with the wording in my ingredients).
Looks like we are looking at 217 calories per muffin.
Lauren Thomas
Just wondering if you knew how many calories are in each muffin?
John
The baking soda mentioned in the ingredients is not listed in the instructions. Does it just go in at the same time as the baking powder?
Elizabeth
Yes, just put it in at the same time! Thank you for catching this- fixing now :-) Hope you like them!
Susan Chow
The muffins turned out great; they look just like your photo! I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
Elizabeth
Thank you, I’m so glad you liked them!! :-)
Katie Cabe
These are really some of the best muffins ever, and the best part is the lack of guilt eating them! They are a perfectly portable breakfast to bring to work. I think I’m going to make some more this weekend :)
Elizabeth
Thanks Katie!! I stashed some in my freezer when I made them for work days this fall :-)
Cindy McLaughlin
I’m looking for an excuse to make these beautiful devils! http://www.shutterbean.com/2014/peaches-roasted-in-amaretto/ Hope to see these soon on your blog, love this whole-grain muffin recipe!
Lisa Lindemann
Elizabeth served these to us for breakfast the first morning we were in Salem, while visiting with them recently, and I can say, they were “YUMMY!” Add a good cup of coffee, and you now have a breakfast from the heavens. If you make them, and you really should….”slice, butter, and grill,” just as she suggest….you won’t regret it!