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:
M
I made these muffins this morning and was pleased with the taste and the fact that they weren’t overly sweet. After doing more (up to date) research on coconut oil I think I will try to find a substitution the next time I make these. 1/2 cup seems like a lot of coconut oil considering 1 tablespoon is the recommended daily allowance, even if it is divided among all the muffins. Definitely a great tasting muffin and would probably be just as good with a substitution.
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/wellness/should-you-really-be-putting-coconut-oil-everything-n748526
Elizabeth
I think you could use olive oil in these and it would be delicious! I’ve used olive oil in baked goods before and it gives it a nice flavor, and it’s healthy. Since this makes 12 muffins, and there are 8 tablespoons in 1/2 cup, there is less than the daily recommended allowance in each (but then again, it’s hard to eat just one) :-) Butter would also work just fine. Glad you liked them!
Image Enhancement
Could be a tad sweeter but that’s just me! Great banana & blue berry combo! Pretty tasty! Thanks for share such a amazing ,:)
Elizabeth
Glad you liked it! Sometimes if I’m in a “sweet” mood I use more honey or throw some brown sugar in the mix :-)
Kathleen
Great recipe, just what I was looking for, a muffin recipe with less sugar than my current recipe. My two year old son loves his muffins. I toasted the oats prior to adding to the mix and reduced the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon with very good results.
Elizabeth
Thanks so much- glad you and your son liked them! Love the idea of toasting the oats beforehand.
Aditi Dixit
I was worried about them being “too healthy” to love but wow these are incredibly delicious! :D Loved the Oats and Yogurt in them as I make my own fresh yogurt every week! Thank you! Looking forward to trying some more of your recipes.
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them! I’m always afraid to try “healthy” recipes for fear they will taste too healthy too :-)
Alexandra
Hi, these look great. Do you have a recommendation for converting into a cake? I would like to make a healthy cake for my son’s birthday.
Elizabeth
Hm, I’ve never converted a muffin recipe into cake! If it were me, I would jut put the batter in a cake pan and see what happened :-) But if you don’t feel like experimenting, have you considered making them muffins but treating them as cupcakes? Maybe a cream cheese frosting made with honey for the topping… yum! I have a feeling it will be fine if you make it in a cake pan, though. Good luck, and happy birthday to your son!
MILANKA RAKIC
Great recipe. Made them today and they turned out awesome and delicious. THANK YOU
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them! Thanks! :-)
Ruth
Made them today and they turned out awesome and delicious! Hubby and toddler splurged with a dash of ice cream! Yum ?
Elizabeth
So glad you and your family liked them- and GREAT idea with the ice cream! :-)
Emily
Great recipe thank you! I double this recipe and the family gobbles them up! I do find them a bit dry after a day so best eaten fresh. I am going to try reducing the whole wheat by a half cup next time and reducing cook time. I am also learning to bake with my convection oven (when using multiple racks) It says I don’t have to adjust cooking temp or time but I find it definitely cooks a bit faster.
Elizabeth
So glad you like them! I usually freeze them right away (after I’ve eaten about 5 straight out of the oven, of course)- this helps keep them from drying out.
Penni
Fantastic recipe Elizabeth!! Perfect first time. I made these for my husband and he loved them!! Will definently be making these again. Thank you for creating a muffin recipe with whole wheat flour and honey :-)
Elizabeth
So glad you and your husband loved them! That reminds me… I need to restock my freezer with a batch or two… :-)
Catherine St.Pierre
I love your Blog! One question-I am allergic to coconut so what would be the best oil substitute for these muffins?
Elizabeth
Thanks Catherine! I usually just use olive oil in muffins if I don’t use coconut oil. That said, for a richer version you could also use melted butter! Hope that helps :-)
Alicia
Oh my goodness ! I made these for a friend and they were spectacular!!! I’ve now passed the recipe on because they were so delicious and moist. Thank you thank you thank you!
Elizabeth
I’m SO happy you liked them!!! You are very welcome, and thank you for coming back and leaving the lovely comment :-)
Sherrie
I used 2 cups of big plump blueberries and my recipe made 16 beautiful muffins. I reduced my cooking time to 15 minutes and they came out perfectly. Extremely moist and tender and melting in my mouth. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes!
Elizabeth
So glad you liked the recipe! :-)
Michelle
These were amazing! Made them tonight, had to adjust cooking time (15 min. With no paper liners) boyfriend and I both loved them.
Elizabeth
Thanks, Michelle! Glad you both enjoyed them!
Mareike
Made these today, even with frozen blueberries they came out great, just a little longer to bake. Thank you so much for publishing the recipe!
Elizabeth
Yay! Glad you liked them :-)
Mandy
These were excellent! I used glutenfree flour and omitted the baking soda. I also added a 1/3 cup of ground flax and 1 cup unsweetened applesauce. These might have been the best muffins I have ever made!
Elizabeth
Yay! So glad you liked them! Love your substitutions and additions.
Delina
I love the coconut oil and that there is no refined sugar, with a bonus of all whole grains. Just how I like to bake. I only added 3/4 c oats to lighten them up a little. They came out perfect. Thanks for a recipe that was just what I was looking for!
Elizabeth
so glad you liked them!! :-)
Jessica
I made this recipe as loaf instead of muffins (according to what I had on hand) and it turned out really great. My substitutions: maple syrup in place of honey, psyllium husks (per egg: 1T psyllium husks, allowed to thicken a 30 seconds with 2T water) in place of eggs, water in place of the yogurt/sour cream, 1/2tsp extra baking soda in place of baking powder, and white whole wheat all purpose flour in place of the whole wheat pastry flour. Thanks for the recipe!
Elizabeth
So glad you liked it, and thank you for sharing your substitutions :-) I’ve never thought to make a loaf from this recipe… I know what I’m trying next!
Cj
Wanted to say that I have made this about 5 times and each time a double batch! Lol. I’ve got 5 kiddos and make most of their stuff for lunches from scratch all while limiting sugars. The kiddos and mommy… absolutely love these! They’re so easy to make, healthy, moist and shoot… nothing bad to say at all! We freeze them too and they always thaw out great! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Elizabeth
Thanks so much!! So glad you liked them. Comments like these make my day- thanks for coming back and letting me know! :-)
Cathie
Hi! These look amazing! Can you sub quick oats?
Elizabeth
Yes you can!
vanessa
What a beautiful recipe. They just came out of the oven and smell devine. Thanks kindly
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them, Vanessa! I’m jealous- I wish I had some that just came out of the oven, too :-)