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These healthy blueberry muffins are soft, tender, and bursting with juicy berries. They taste like a treat but are made with simple, nourishing ingredients so they're low in fat, and high in protein and fiber, without any refined sugar.
No mixer, no fuss, just one bowl and pantry staples. Let’s bake!
“These muffins were so moist and chewy. I will be making these over and over. I’m going to try with apples, bananas and other fruits as well!”
Why this recipe works
Here's a quick overview of what makes this recipe special, and why you'll make tender muffins even without much fat:
Hearty & wholesome: Made with Greek yogurt, applesauce, and whole grain oats or oat flour, with no added oils or butter.
Lightly sweet: Naturally sweetened with no refined sugar, and packed with juicy blueberries.
Pantry-friendly: No special gluten free flour blend needed—just oats and basic ingredients.
Freezer-friendly: Enjoy them fresh or freeze for a healthy snack anytime.
Easy to make dairy-free: Just swap in your favorite nondairy Greek-style yogurt or sour cream.
Recipe ingredients
Here's what you will need to make these muffins.
Old fashioned oats or oat flour: Grind rolled oats into flour, or use the same amount, by weight, of store-bought oat flour.
Coconut palm sugar: Adds a mild, caramel-like sweetness. Blend it with the oats so it dissolves well, or use light brown sugar instead.
Baking powder + baking soda: Give the muffins their rise. Make sure they’re fresh!
Salt: Balances sweetness and brings out flavor.
Applesauce: Adds moisture and tenderness. Use smooth, not chunky.
Plain Greek-style yogurt: Helps create a soft crumb. 2% or whole milk yogurt works best, and sour cream is a good swap.
Eggs: Bind the batter and add structure.
Vanilla extract: Enhances the blueberry flavor.
Blueberries: Fresh or frozen both work.
Cornstarch: Toss with the blueberries to keep them from sinking
How to make healthy blueberry muffins (step by step photos)
This is a visual overview of how you'll make these muffins in your own kitchen, plus an explanation of each step. For specific ingredient amounts, please see the recipe card below.
1. Prep the oven and pan. Preheat to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners. Make sure to use greaseproof muffin liners so they don't stick, and spray them lightly with cooking oil spray as some extra insurance against sticking.
2. Blend oats and sugar. Grind the oats into flour, add the coconut sugar, and blend again until fine. Coconut sugar is quite coarsely ground, so it doesn't dissolve as well during baking. This will help it lock in moisture like refined sugars do.
3. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I prefer to do this by hand, rather than in the blender, since when oats are over-processed, the muffins can turn chewy.
4. Add wet ingredients. Add applesauce, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla, and mix just until combined.
5. Toss blueberries in starch. Coat blueberries with cornstarch, then gently fold into the batter so they stay whole and soften individually in the oven. Otherwise, you may have soggy parts of your muffins and drier parts.
6. Fill and top. Divide the thick batter evenly among the muffin cups. They should fill the wells completely. Add a few extra berries on top if you’d like, since the rest of the berries will sink a bit, despite our efforts to keep them suspended in the batter.
7. Bake. Bake at 375°F for 5 minutes to activate the leaveners quickly for taller muffins, then reduce to 325°F and bake 13 to 15 minutes more until fully set and a toothpick not inserted into a blueberry comes out clean. This prevents the muffins from burning before they're baked all the way through.
8. Cool. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes until they're stable enough to transfer to a rack to finish cooling.
Expert tips
Use room temperature ingredients
Cold applesauce or yogurt can cause the batter to clump. Let them sit out first for even mixing.
Don’t defrost frozen blueberries
Use them straight from the freezer to avoid bleeding color into the batter.
Toss berries in starch
A light coating of cornstarch helps keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
Grease the muffin liners
Lowfat muffins tend to stick—spray liners lightly for easy release.
Avoid overmixing
Oat flour can get tough when overworked. Mix just until combined.
For a softer crumb
Swap 25g of the oat flour for cornstarch for fluffier muffins.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy-free
Use a nondairy Greek-style yogurt or dairy-free sour cream. If using regular nondairy yogurt, strain it first so it’s thick like Greek yogurt.
Egg-free
Replace each egg with a chia egg (1 tbsp ground white chia + 1 tbsp warm water, mixed and gelled). Flax eggs will work but may add more flavor.
No applesauce
For a different flavor, try my gluten free English muffins, and banana oatmeal muffins instead—applesauce is key here for moisture and structure.
Oat-free
Sub quinoa flakes (by weight) for the oats. The muffins will be more delicate, but still work well.
No blueberries
Use chopped strawberries, raspberries, or small frozen mixed berries, but don’t defrost them first.
No coconut sugar
Use light brown sugar instead. A brown sugar replacement like Truvia or Splenda brown sugar also works.
If you want more blueberry themed pastry, try my gluten free breakfast bars recipe.
Healthy Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (225 g) old fashioned rolled oats, (gluten free if necessary) (or 225 grams store-bought oat flour)
- ½ cup (80 g) granulated coconut palm sugar, (or light brown sugar)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 g) smooth applesauce, at room temperature
- ½ cup (114 g) plain Greek-style yogurt, (preferably 2% or whole milk) at room temperature
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries, plus more for on top (optional)
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) cornstarch, for tossing with blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners and spray lightly with oil.
- In a blender or food processor, grind oats into a fine flour. Add coconut sugar and blend again.
- In a large bowl, whisk together oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add applesauce, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Stir just until combined.
- Toss blueberries with cornstarch, then fold into the batter gently.
- Let the batter sit briefly to thicken. Divide evenly among muffin cups and top with extra berries, if desired.
- Bake at 375°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325°F and bake 13–15 minutes more. The muffins are done when the tops are nicely domed, and they spring back when pressed gently with a finger.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage Instructions
Short term:
Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped individually. They stay fresh for about 2 days. Avoid the refrigerator, which dries out baked goods.
Freezing:
Place cooled muffins in a single layer on a baking sheet to freeze. Once solid, transfer to a zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
To defrost and refresh:
Let thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes, or microwave for 25 seconds. For a warm muffin with a soft top, sprinkle lightly with water and heat in a toaster oven at 300°F for 5 minutes.
FAQs
Yes—just use 225g by weight. I like Gold Medal brand for consistency.
Yes! Use mini muffin liners, grease them, and bake at 375°F for 3 minutes, then 325°F for about 10 minutes more.
Definitely. Don’t defrost them first—they’ll hold their shape better and won’t discolor the batter as much.
Yes—click “2X” in the recipe card or double the ingredients manually. Bake in two muffin tins as directed.
Use an equal amount of sour cream, dairy or nondairy. If using plain yogurt, strain it first until thick like Greek yogurt.
I make these regularly, and they are a perfect breakfast item. Freeze well, and versatile—I’ve used cranberries (both whole for one batch, chopped for another) in place of the blueberries for a fall/winter version.
Nicole, I am grateful for you more than you’ll know! Being gluten free isn’t a burden because of you. Thanks for all you do.
That’s really so wonderful to hear, Judy, and I’m so glad you love these muffins! Thank you so much for the kind note. The trust you’ve placed in me means so much, and I will always work hard to continue to earn it!
I’ve been making these for my celiac and Type I diabetic husband for a while. I’ve substituted 1/4 c. Brown Sugar Splenda for the sugar and frozen saskatoons for the blueberries. They have turned out great and my husband loves them.
Hi, Wendy, I’m so glad he enjoys them so much, and thrilled to know that they work well with brown sugar Splenda. I had to look up “saskatoons” and they sound delicious. Thank you for sharing all of that!
These sound great but can you use the muffin tops baking sheet?
I’ve never tried this recipe in a muffin tops pan, Lynn, so I really can’t say for sure, but I assume it would work?
Hi I have a question. I already have good quality fine Oat Flour. Assume I can use 1 7/8 Cups of that ?
thanks,
Diane
Absolutely, Diane! Just like it says in the recipe notes. Your best bet is to measure by weight, though, at 225 grams.
These muffins were so moist and chewy. I will be making these over and over. I’m will try with apples, bananas and other fruits as well.
Can I use mashed RIPE bananas instead of applesauce, and omit the sugar?
Please let me know, thank you so much!!
No, you can’t omit the sugar and have the recipe turn out.
I substituted fresh cranberries for the blueberries and added orange zest and substituted orange juice for the vanilla they are very tasty.
In the written instructions, you do not mention adding the baking powder, baking soda and salt… Most of us know to add them into the dry ingredients before the wet ingredients but you might want to add that between steps 2 and 3 (would you put them in the blender or in the bowl? I added mine to the bowl before the applesauce. [By the way, I substituted banana for applesauce and they came out great].
Oh my gosh, Connie, thank you so much for pointing that out! I’ve added those ingredients to the instructions just where you said. Thank you again!
I made these for the second time–only this time i lost my mind and forgot to add yogurt. Surprisingly, they were still amazing!! Thank heavens as I just made a double batch!
Now that’s surprising, Karen! I mean, I like my recipes to be solid enough as to be relatively flexible, but that’s quite a difference!
Oh how I want some of these muffins! One question first, though: did you use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce, or does it matter?
I always use unsweetened smooth applesauce, Naomi! You can of course use sweetened, but there’s no need. :)