When juicy blueberries meet oatmeal muffins, you get the best of both worlds. These are moist, soft, not-too-sweet, gorgeous muffins that freeze wonderfully and are ready in 45 minutes! A great breakfast on the run or an afternoon snack with your favorite beverage.
Breakfast and snacking muffins
These are great blueberry breakfast muffins, a sibling to the very popular oatmeal muffin recipe and the apple oat muffins.
It became a lifesaver in the morning, as I'm not a breakfast person except for coffee.
So, grabbing a fruit muffin with oats on the go is perfect. I keep them frozen and warm them in the oven while my coffee is getting ready.
- Soft, thanks to the oatmeal and buttermilk.
- Easy to make, they're ready in under an hour.
- Keep well in the freezer or refrigerator.
- Jeanne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one is a keeper! Easy, moist and delicious. And I loved that I had all of the ingredients on hand.
- Barbara ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
These were delicious! The oats really helped with the texture and moistness. I used blueberries I had picked & frozen. I will definitely make these again.
- Gigi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
These were so moist & delicious - I definitely will be making them again! I used brown sugar instead of white and also threw in some chopped pecans as I had some that needed using. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Testing Notes
Don't skip the oatmeal mixture; it's key to get a soft and spongy texture.
Stir the batter by hand. This is not the recipe to use an electric or stand mixer, as it will overmix the batter and make the muffins dense. We don't want that. Use a whisk, two bowls, and then a spatula to fold in the fruit. There might be very small patches of barely mixed batter here and there. That is fine. Don't worry, there will be no dry spots after the blueberry muffins are baked.
Make sure the butter is lukewarm (but still runny) when you add it to the oatmeal, so it integrates better, as the temperatures of both mixtures are similar. If you add hot butter to a colder preparation, it will probably seize here and there and won't fully mix as it should.
Sifting dry ingredients is necessary. It adds air to the batter and dissolves clumps (especially if using baking soda), which helps integrate the ingredients.
Muffins are at their best the day they're baked, and eating them within the first hours makes a difference. That said, I do make and freeze them for hectic mornings or weekends, and these muffins can be revived from a stay in the freezer or from having lost their softness from one day to the next by warming them in a medium oven (350°F/180°C) before eating. Just a few minutes until they're wonderful again.
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed in the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Oats: I always use old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats or traditional) because they have more texture. But you can use quick-cooking oats. The muffins might be a bit chewier and/or wetter.
- Blueberries: Use fresh or frozen blueberries without defrosting; they both work well. If fresh, make sure they are washed and dried.
- Buttermilk is the best option because it adds some tenderness to the batter, but milk works just as well.
- Sugar: I use white granulated or light brown sugar. Both work well.
The oatmeal
This is the part that makes these muffins wonderfully soft, tender, and moist.
Oatmeal is made by mixing oats with a liquid, in this case, buttermilk or milk. When they're left to hydrate together, even if it's for a few minutes, the oats soften and change their texture enough to become tender and wonderfully chewy in the baked muffin. So don't omit this step.
Mix lightly and let it sit aside while preparing the rest of the recipe. The liquid might not cover all of the oats.
Process steps
I strongly believe in muffin recipes that involve a light mixing of ingredients, the old-fashioned way. They're easy to put together, and the results are dense but tender, just the right texture a muffin should have if you ask me.
In this recipe, we start with the oatmeal mixture, and the rest of the ingredients are added to it. So it's a one-bowl situation, something we love around here.
- We start with the oatmeal mixture, and the rest of the ingredients are added to it. So it's a one-bowl situation, something we love around here.
- Pour in the melted butter (lukewarm, not hot) and whisk until it's all integrated. The batter will be shiny.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients and the blueberries and fold until barely combined. Don't be tempted to mix too much so you don't crush the fruit.
- Don't overmix! The final batter is rustic and not fully integrated. It will sort itself out during baking.
Muffin pan
You can use regular or mini pans. Or jumbo individual muffin tins. Adjust the baking times and start checking them 5 minutes earlier for mini ones and 5 minutes later for jumbo.
- I use regular muffin pans with paper liners, but you can either spray them with baking spray or butter and flour and omit the paper cups.
- They're baked when golden brown, springy to the touch, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake them!
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Easy Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup buttermilk or milk, at room temperature
- ¾ cup brown or white sugar, packed + extra for sprinkling before baking
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Turn on the oven to 350°F (180ºC).
- Mix 1 cup rolled oats with ¾ cup buttermilk or milk in a large bowl and leave to hydrate while preparing the rest.
- Line 12 muffin cups with liners. Or butter them.
- Add ¾ cup brown or white sugar to the oatmeal mixture and mix. Then 1 egg and stir to combine. No need to beat.
- Stir in 5 tablespoons butter, melted, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and pinch of ground cinnamon and combine everything well without beating.
- Add the remaining sifted dry ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons baking powder to the oat mixture.
- Fold in 1 ½ cups blueberries with a spatula just until blended. Don’t overmix the batter at this point and try not to crush the berries much.
- Fill the muffin cups ¾ full, dividing the mixture as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the tops with extra sugar, about ½ a teaspoon for each muffin.
- Bake 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out dry.
- Let cool on a wire rack.
- Store in the fridge after one day or freeze for up to a month, always covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
More muffins for busy mornings
One last thing
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Anonymous says
I accidentally put some cayenne pepper in. It's always next to the cinnamon. Guess I better reorganize the spice cabinet. Both warm the throat and they are delicious .
Renee McK says
These are delicious. I used 1/2 c. dark brown sugar and 1/4 c white since that’s what I had on hand. They came out moist, tender, and oh so good.