Healthy Oatmeal Muffins

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5 from 265 votes
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This healthy oatmeal muffin recipe yields light, fluffy muffins with natural sweetness. Made with zero refined sugar, flour, butter, or oil. 100 calories per muffin!

Craving more healthy muffin recipes? Try my low carb muffins, almond flour muffins, healthy breakfast muffins, or flourless muffins.

healthy oatmeal muffins.

Growing up, I always looked forward to the days my mom would bake us her famous oatmeal muffins. She’s since shared the recipe with me now, and let me say, I couldn’t believe how easy they are to make..or how healthy too!

Table of Contents
  1. Why I love this recipe
  2. Ingredients needed
  3. How to make healthy oatmeal muffins
  4. Arman’s recipe tips
  5. Storage instructions
  6. More recipes using oatmeal to try
  7. Healthy Oatmeal Muffins (Recipe Card)

Why I love this recipe

  • Healthier. Sure, store-bought muffins are delicious, but they’re usually packed with excess sugar and fillers. These homemade muffins, on the other hand, are made with healthy ingredients and are naturally gluten-free, high in fiber, and low in calories. 
  • Easy to customize. Although I’m a creature of habit and prefer my oatmeal muffins plain, I included six equally tasty flavor combinations. 
  • No bowls or fancy kitchen equipment. Just a blender and a muffin tin are all you need. If you don’t have a blender, I included tips below on what to use instead.

Ingredients needed

  • Rolled oats– Either gluten-free rolled oats or traditional oats. These will be blended down to a flour-like consistency. Instant oats can also work.
  • Baking powder and baking soda– Both leavening agents are used for some rise and fluffiness. 
  • Salt– Just a pinch to bring out the sweetness. 
  • Banana– Gives the muffins extra sweetness and moisture without the need for butter or oil. If you’d rather not use bananas, use equal portions of unsweetened applesauce.
  • Eggs– Room temperature eggs are best.
  • Yogurt– I used plain Greek yogurt, but vanilla-flavored yogurt also works.
  • Maple syrup– Gives a little sweetness. You can also use agave nectar or honey. 
  • Vanilla extract– A must for any good muffin or baked good! 
  • Mix-ins– I added blueberries, but you can add anything you like or enjoy it as it is! 

How to make healthy oatmeal muffins

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and line a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners.

Step 2- Make the muffin batter. In a high-speed blender or food processor, add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients. Blend until a smooth batter remains.

Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter evenly among the 12 muffin liners. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out mostly clean. 

Step 4- Cool and serve. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

oatmeal muffins.

Arman’s recipe tips

  • If you don’t have a blender, you can use a food processor. Or, if you want to mix by hand, replace the rolled oats with oat flour.
  • Do the ‘press test.’ Baking with mashed bananas can be tricky since the muffins will be really moist. If you’re not sure if they’re done baking, lightly press into the center of one of the muffins. If it springs back, you’re good to go. If it leaves an indentation, let them bake for a few minutes longer. 
  • Don’t overbake the muffins. They’ll continue to cook as they cool in the pan, so I like to remove them from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted comes out, just barely clean.  
  • Make vegan muffins. Use dairy-free yogurt and swap the eggs for flax eggs, which you can make by combining 3 tablespoons of flax seeds with 6 tablespoons of water. 
  • Make mini muffins. Grease a 32-count mini muffin pan and reduce the cooking time to 12 minutes. 
  • Add sweetness. These muffins are not overly sweet. If you prefer sweeter muffins, add 1-2 tablespoons of your favorite granulated sweetener (like coconut sugar or brown sugar). Alternatively, you can just spread a generous amount of homemade Nutella on top.

Flavor variations

As I mentioned, I think these muffins are delicious as is, but you can play around with different mix-ins and tell me which you like best! Here are some suggestions:

  • Banana muffins. Add 1 tablespoon cinnamon to the batter and ¼ cup of walnuts. 
  • Chocolate chip muffins. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
  • Pumpkin spice muffins. Swap out half the banana for equal amounts of pumpkin puree and add 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. 
  • Apple spice muffins. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 cup finely diced apple. 
  • Zucchini muffins. Shred 1 large zucchini and squeeze out the extra moisture. Fold through the shredded zucchini at the very end. 
  • Almond butter muffins. Fold in ¼ cup of creamy almond butter.

Storage instructions

To store: Muffins will keep at room temperature, covered, for up to 1 week. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 

To freeze: Place leftover muffins in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

healthy oat muffins.

More recipes using oatmeal to try

healthy oatmeal muffins

Healthy Oatmeal Muffins

5 from 265 votes
These oatmeal muffins are so moist and fluffy, you won't believe they are healthy! No flour, no butter, and no oil are needed, all you need is one bowl or blender.
Servings: 12 muffins
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients  

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners and set aside.
  • In a high speed blender or food processor, add all your ingredients and blend until a smooth batter remains.
  • Distribute the batter evenly amongst the 12 muffin liners. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean.
  • Let the muffins cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

TO STORE: Muffins will keep at room temperature, covered, for up to 1 week. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 
TO FREEZE: Place leftover muffins in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffinCalories: 102kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 4gFat: 2gSodium: 188mgPotassium: 186mgFiber: 2gVitamin A: 68IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 1mgNET CARBS: 15g
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Arman Liew
Tried this recipe?Give us a shout at @thebigmansworld or tag #thebigmansworld!

Originally published January 2021, updated and republished April 2024

Arman Liew

I’m a two time cookbook author, photographer, and writer, and passionate about creating easy and healthier recipes. I believe you don’t need to be experienced in the kitchen to make good food using simple ingredients that most importantly, taste delicious.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    i made these and it was delicious. i didn’t put any maple syrup and it was still sweet enough from the blueberries in my opinion. will definitely make again

    1. Hi Anne- I think you’d have trouble blending the oats down in that- unless you perhaps made oat flour first.

  2. 5 stars
    Hi.
    Can you please tell me if you can skip the maple syrup if you are using blueberries and super ripe bananas, and also if you can use plain chobani greek yogurt instead of vanilla?
    Thank you so much.

      1. Yes that is fine! Just toss them in some flour first so they don’t sink!

  3. Love this recipe! I do all kinds of tweaks now, I swapped one cup of oats for a 1/2 cup of protein powder, use nonfat plain yogurt, Walden sugar free syrup, add some brown sugar swerve, pumpkin spice, Lily’s milk chocolate chips and blueberries 🤣-it’s so versatile!

  4. 5 stars
    A good solid muffin for someone who needs low cal or low carb. Made with frozen blueberries, made again with mini dark chocolate chips. Didn’t say what kind of Greek yogurt (low-fat or whole milk) I used Greek low fat one time and the high protein no sugar low carb another (both vanilla) and it was great either way. Love this recipe.

    1. 5 stars
      I have been making this recipe for 3 months. I love it!! I double the recipe and whip it up in my Ninja blender. I use nonfat greek yogurt plus some extra vanilla and cinnamon. I usually use honey but have also tried molasses with good results. I’ve experimented with mini and regular size loaf pans but they are too deep and it cooks unevenly. So, I found if I put it on a greased cookie sheet, 350 degree oven for 15 – 20 min. It comes out great! I then cut it, pack in containers and store in the freezer. Great to take for breakfast or a snack on the run. I’ve used defrosted blueberries, strawberries and fresh blueberries all were a success. Can’t wait to keep trying new combinations!

  5. Hi Arman, I just put my oatmeal muffins in the oven, very easy prep! Can this same process be used for cranberry muffin recipe? Thank you!

  6. Hi great recipes always!Do I have to blend it in a blender,or can I just mix it really good?Thank you❤️

  7. 5 stars
    I’ve made these muffins twice now and I’m hooked. It’s great to have a treat that you know is healthy.
    A handful of chopped walnuts adds great texture and a 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries folded in at the end adds a little more healthy sweetness.
    Love it!

  8. 5 stars
    Photos are Awesome !!! Thank You For Sharing this Recipe !!! This Recipe is Look So Fresh, Healthy and Delicious to Prepare. Nice Blog to Follow while Preparing Recipes. I’ll Definitely Try it.

  9. Good day,
    Can you use steel oats? Instead of the regular rolled oats?
    Thank you and have a great day

  10. We are plant based. So we plan to omit the eggs and the yogurt.. Do you foresee any problems if we just make the muffins with just the oatmeal the baking soda powder vanilla and cinnamon and banamas. Thank you

    1. You can use dairy free yogurt (I did) but haven’t tried without eggs, so feel free to try out an egg replacer and see!

  11. These look good, but I’m confused. Do you mix the blueberries in with the batter or do you add them after the batter is made?

    1. 5 stars
      In the oven right now. I did almost break my blender, as the oats and ingredients were too thick for my Oster blender. However, slowly it did finally blend. Dropped blueberries on top. Smells delicious. Taste test coming soon!