I don’t make muffins often, but when I do I want them to be big, fluffy, and totally epic like the ones you get at a bakery. And since these Triple Berry Oatmeal Muffins are apology muffins (to replace my boyfriend’s muffin that my dog ate), I needed to make sure they were on point. The muffin tops are big and delicious, they’re dotted with juicy berries, and even have a little oatmeal goodness mixed right in. These will be my go-to muffins in the future. And hopefully next time I’ll be making them just for fun, not as an apology.
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Bakery Style Muffins with Just a Few Healthy Additions
I wanted to make these oatmeal muffins resemble the big delicious muffins that you buy from a bakery, but try to sneak in at least a little something healthy. I used King Arthur Flour’s basic muffin recipe, but subbed in rolled oats, as per their notes, and some frozen berries that I had stashed in my freezer. I was at the very end of my all-purpose flour, so I used a 1/4 cup whole wheat flour to make up for what I was missing. And hey, that’s more fiber! Lastly, I added a touch of cinnamon to the batter, and made a delicious cinnamon-oat crumble topping. Yaasssss.
What Kind of Oatmeal Can I Use?
I used old-fashioned rolled oats because that’s what I always have on hand and they have the most delicious hearty texture. You can probably get away with using quick oats, which are much thinner and flakier, but your muffins won’t have quite as much texture.
How to Freeze The Leftovers
If you don’t have a friend and a dog to help you eat the whole batch, oatmeal muffins freeze really well. Just make sure they are fully cooled before wrapping them tightly in plastic and then zipping them up in a freezer bag. The frozen muffins thaw fairly quickly at room temperature or can be reheated briefly in the microwave.
Triple Berry Oatmeal Muffins
Servings 8 large muffinsIngredients
MUFFINS
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.19)
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour ($0.10)
- 1 cup rolled oats ($0.26)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 1/4 cup white sugar ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder ($0.11)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 1 cup milk ($0.49)
- 1/4 cup cooking oil ($0.16)
- 2 large eggs ($0.75)
- 1 cup frozen berries ($1.00)
OAT CRUMBLE TOPPING
- 1/2 cup rolled oats ($0.13)
- 2 Tbsp butter, cold ($0.28)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
Instructions
- Prepare the oat crumble topping first, so it’s ready to go on the muffins as soon as they’re mixed. In a small bowl, combine the oats, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use your hands to massage the oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon, into the butter until it’s evenly combined and clumpy. Refrigerate the mixture until you’re ready to top the muffins.
- Preheat the oven to 500ºF. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose and whole wheat flours, oats, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and oil.
- Pour the whisked wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir just until they are combined, it doesn’t need to be perfectly mixed. There may still be clumps and a few dry spots, but it’s important to avoid over mixing.
- Add the frozen berries to the mixture and gently fold in. Again, avoid over mixing because the berry juice will turn the muffins blueish grey.
- Line eight muffin tin cups with paper liners, then fill each one to the top with the muffin batter (use more cups if needed, just make sure to fill to the top). Sprinkle the prepared oat crumble topping onto each muffin.
- Transfer the muffin tin to the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 400ºF. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the muffins have risen into peaks, have cracked slightly, and are deep golden brown on top. Remove the muffins from the oven and the muffin tin (use a knife to loosen any parts that have spilled out over top) and allow them to cool.
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Equipment
- Muffin Pan
- Wire Cooling Racks
- Glass Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
Try These Other Muffin Recipes:
How to Make Berry Oatmeal Muffins – Step by Step Photos
Make the oat crumble topping first so that it’s ready to go later. In a small bow, combine 1/2 cup rolled oats, 2 Tbsp chilled butter, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.
Massage the ingredients into the butter until it forms a well-mixed “crumble” texture. Refrigerate the topping until it’s ready to go on the muffins.
Begin preheating the oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Mix these dry ingredients together really well.
In a separate bow, whisk together 2 large eggs, 1 cup milk, and 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil. Whisk until smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.
Stir the two together JUST until they’re combined. It’s really important not to over-mix here, so it’s okay if it’s lumpy and there are a couple of dry spots left. You’ll stir just a bit more after adding the berries.
Add one cup frozen berries and gently fold them into the batter. Don’t stir too much because they’ll turn the batter blue. Also, keeping them frozen until you stir them in helps prevent the juice from spreading and turning the batter blue.
Line about eight cups of a muffin tin with paper, then fill each one to the top with the muffin batter. Usually you only fill the cups of a muffin tin 3/4 full, but if you want a nice big crown on the muffin like they have at the bakeries, fill them to the top. Finally, top the muffins with the oat crumble mixture.
Here’s the side view for reference, so you can see how full they are. Transfer the muffin tin to the oven, turn the heat down to 400, then let them bake for 22-25 minutes.
Or until they’ve risen into nice rounded muffins, the tops have just a couple of cracks, and they’re deeply golden brown. YUM. Remove them from the muffin tin to let them cool. It helps to use a knife to gently loosen the muffins where they’ve spilled over top.
And then once they’re coooool, peel and enjoy!
Mmmmmmm….
“Don’t even think about it, Zoe!”
“You mean you didn’t bake those muffins for me?”
“No.”
Not very sweet
I made these and they came out very good. I did sub the wheat flour for oat flour 22gm equals a 1/4 cup. Also snipped the berries Into smaller pieces with a scissors.
Definitely need to use liners. I made in a 6ct xl muffin pan and max cook time in recipe worked perfectly.
Very good. Not sweet at all which I liked.
I’ve made this recipe several times over the years and it always turns out great. The crumble topping makes them amazing!
If I don’t have a muffin tin could this be made into a coffee cake instead? Would the bake time be the same?
The bake time will likely be different because you have a lot more surface area in contact with the heat when they’re in small muffins. But unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to suggest a cooking time for the loaf without testing it first.
Thank you taking time to answer the question. Your right. I guess I’ll go buy a muffin tin.
This is a wonderful recipe with little sugar (I used a banana to replace some sugar) and little oil (I used avocado oil). I soaked 1 cup of oats with milk first which made my kids did not realize that there are oats in the muffin! Thank you!!
Will these cook right if using only AP flour and no whole wheat flour?
Hi Deb! We haven’t tested it without whole wheat flour, but I don’t see why making it all AP would make a significant difference. XOXO -Monti
Subbed vegan butter for the crumble and oat milk for the muffins, and they turned out great. One thing I didn’t pay attention to was I purchased WHOLE frozen berries – I think this would have turned out better if the berries were chopped or something, but the result was still good. Also, these made 11 muffins in my standard size muffin tin, not 8.
To make these vegan friendly, I subbed 1/2 cup apple sauce for the eggs and used oat milk instead of regular milk. They turned out great! I used vegan butter for the crumble, but another commenter suggested coconut oil which I’m sure also works! Thanks for the recipe. Absolutely delicious!
How do I alter the recipe or baking time for regular muffin?
These muffins are amazing! I like that they are not overly sweet, and they are very filling! I live at high altitude (7200 ft) so I reduced the baking powder to 2 1/2 teaspoons and also made it with almond milk, but followed the rest of the recipe to a T and they turned out nice and tall. I didn’t have muffin liners on hand, so just greased the pan and they came out perfect. Thanks for sharing!
I needed to heat my house up this morning and these muffins looked like the perfect ticket. Nice high heat at the beginning! And they turned out great. They are just the right amount of sweet, like a good quality scone, the berries give an extra punch of flavor, and the oatmeal gives good texture. I doubled the cinnamon in the batter just on a hunch, and it seemed like a good move. I also didn’t have muffin liners, so I just sprayed the pan good and baked them “naked” and that worked fine. Less garbage anyways. Made exactly 9 muffins full to the brim and I ate 2 right out of the oven with some butter. Mmm.
I forgot to mention that I did not have butter for the oat crumble, so I replaced it with coconut oil instead. It’s a good substitute!
I just made these. I followed the recipe exactly as it was written, except I doubled the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp. For me I got 10 large muffins (batter filled to the top) and there was a tiny bit leftover for half a muffin. It’s great!
Like another commenter, my batter was also runny, but the end result was great. I baked it for 25 minutes. The only problem was that the muffin sticks to the paper liner instead of peeling away clean, and I’m not sure why. I used the same paper liners for other recipes and they were fine. Maybe it was because my batter was runny? Next time I’ll try to use a greased muffin pan without liners.
I think this recipe, without the berries, makes a good basic muffin recipe.
If you spray your liners with cooking spray the muffins won’t stick.
I made these earlier in the week. They were delicious. Much more filling that othrr muffins without being overly sweet. These will become a regular option around here.
Quarantine shopping left me with an enormous can of rolled oats, so I tried this recipe as a way to help use them up. OMG! The oats and whole wheat flour give these muffins a very satisfying texture, and the cruncy topping is to die for! They were a hit with the whole family, and a new addition to the morning lineup for sure.
Follow the recipe exactly made them twice already. Perfect thanks!
I’ve made these in the past exactly as prescribed in the recipe and they are delicious! But since then, my family has become whole food, plant based so today, I made some adjustments. I used almond based vegan cream cheese instead of butter in the crumble. I used flax egg instead of eggs, apple sauce instead of oil and oat milk. They are still delicious! Could not be happier with this recipe. It’s a go to for me and now I know I can make them for anyone in my family!
I’ve made these in the past, I wanted an easy recipe to make with my 3 year old that didn’t have butter in it because we’d ran out and I remembered this recipe.
Because we had no butter I didn’t add the crumble topping so upped the cinnamon and added a tsp of vanilla.
They turned out great and a
Have gone down well with my 3 year old and 15 month olds. Not a crumb was left.
My daughter did all the stirring and we measured the ingredients together and spooned it into the muffin pan together. A great recipe for making with wee ones x
Awesome recipe, turbed out great. Thank you!
Why do we preheat the oven to 500 and bring it down to 400? Is it to prevent loss of heat?
That way you get a sudden burst of really hot air that helps them expand quickly, but then lowering the heat slows down the cooking a bit so the inside has time to heat up and cook through before the outside burns.
These were quite good! I added a berry mix with sweet cherries and chopped them up and that was definitely a win.
This is my first time making muffins from scratch, so long as you don’t count banana bread muffins. I’m so pleased with how easy it all came together :) I used white sugar instead of brown and used only blueberries because I love blueberry muffins. Oh and i also forgoed the crumble on top. I just found that after eating them, I felt like it was missing something. Would the white sugar make that much of a difference? Could I add vanilla instead of cinnamon, would that add a little something? I’m at a loss with my lack of baking experience. Any advise would be greatly appreciated :)
Yep, brown sugar has a lot more flavor than white sugar, so that could have been part of it. :) Brown sugar has molasses in it, which adds both moisture and flavor to the muffin batter.
I would put a little1 Teaspoon of vanilla in not instead of cinnamon. By not putting the crumble on top you are missing out on a little flavor
Yum! I made and and they are delicious! I had some blueberries and blackberries that were really sour so I thought the best way to make sure I don’t waste them is to bake berry muffins! The berries taste much better baked into these oat muffins
Mmmmm muffins. I usually eat chocolate chip and coffee cake muffins but this seems like a slightly healthier alternative. Thanks!
I made these this morning and they were perfect! I loved that they weren’t extremely sweet. They would be so good with some coffee! I had just about everything on hand except a few things and they still came out delicious: I didn’t have the whole wheat flour so I used all-purpose flour (so a total of 1 and 1/4 all purpose flour.) I only had almond milk so I used that for the “1 cup milk” and I only had avocado oil, so I used that l for the ” 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil.” Again, I LOVE how delicious they turned out and I especially love the crumble on top. Also, my husband loved them ;)
Can I use buttermilk instead of regular milk?
Potentially, but buttermilk is much more acidic than regular milk, so that may change the flavor and texture. I’d have to test it out to know exactly what effect it would have on the muffins.
Can you make this recipe with rice flour or gluten free?
Unfortunately I haven’t experimented with other flour types, so I’m not sure. :(
Try cup4cup GF flour blend plus a little flax to mimic the texture and earthiness of whole wheat flour. And sub a GF rolled oat for the regular oats. If it feels gritty or heavy, add another egg and/or let the batter sit for a few minutes so the GF flour can absorb more liquid.
I’d re-proportion the ingredients to get 12 muffins (who wants just 2/3 of the muffins you could be having for the same effort?).
I just stuck these in the oven and am crossing my fingers! I followed the recipe exactly (I’m no novice – I can actually bake muffins without a recipe for the most part), but this batter seems awfully runny!
It seemed runny to me too. Mine didn’t come out all that great, and I’m not a novice baker either. Not sure what went wrong.
They look so beautiful! I can’t believe I made them myself. I hope they taste as good as they look. I’ll be surprising my coworkers with homemade muffins tomorrow. :)
Delicious!!
I was thinking the other day on how to make a Lemon berry muffin with rolled Oats . I want to try and make some w lemon blueberries blackberries/raspberry and cranberry . Dizzled with honey and small amount of powdered sugar dashed over the top . Will this recipe hold up for that many ingredients?
Hmm, I’m not sure! Sometimes it’s hard to say without actually testing it out. :)
I have made these about four times now for my toddler and husband, they are always a hit! Thank you for this simple, delicious, and semi healthy recipe!!
Instead of using the wheat flour can I use all-purpose flour? I don’t have any wheat flour but I do have tons of all-purpose flour!
Usually you can’t do a direct sub with ww vs. ap flour because ww flour absorbs so much more moisture. So, the recipe might have to be adjusted some to accommodate. It’s just hard to say what the adjustments would be without testing the recipe.
These were a huge hit with my boyfriend who doesn’t like oats or chunks of fruit in things. He’s a super picky eater and we both loved them.
I don’t know what happened, I followed the recipe and directions with the exception of using muffin liners, and
somehow these muffins burned (I used a greased muffin tin instead, which is usually how I bake muffins.)
The interiors didn’t seem to cook all the way through with the time we baked them (22minutes). I think maybe 400 was too high with my oven…or maybe I used too many berries. In any case, it didn’t turn out. Sadness :( My one consolation is that my son ate the least burnt one and said he loved it…especially the topping :p
Easy to make and so yummy! I used blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries and they were seewww delicious. I ate them when they were fresh out of the over, at room temperature, and from the fridge and they were good each time. Thank you!
I make these very often but still need to look at the recipe every time! Love these! I use only blueberries and these get eaten quickly at my house and very filling. Thanks for this great recipe!
I subbed homemade applesauce for the oil, honey for the sugar, and used only whole wheat flour to make them a little more “healthy.” They turned out great. Thanks for the inspiration!
These are delicious! By chance do you have the nutritional information?
I am trying these tonight! In the future can i use fresh berries instead of frozen? Or would anything change?
Yep, you can use fresh berries in place of the frozen without any other alterations. :)
GREAT Recipe! Just a few comments that may help not so skilled cooks like me. The cook time is actually 20-22+ minutes, not 40+ as indicated at the top of the recipe card. If using a normal cupcake mold, you’ll probably end up making an extra muffin. If you really like a lot of crumble topping, consider doubling the recipe.
All in all, this was a GREAT tasting recipe that was easy to make with items right out of the pantry. I plan to use cranberries next time. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for finding that typo for me! :D
Hi Beth, I love your sight! I am a fairly accomplished cook, but in my senior years I strive to make great food at a decent cost. I have tried & loved many of your recipes. Thank you for the triple berry muffins, my friends think I am a “Rock Star”, but it is you who is the real star here. I’m going to make the triple berry muffins with raspberries & I am hopeful that they will still impress my foodie fans…any thoughts about spices I could use other than what is called for. Many thanks again, you’re the best💋
I think I’d still make it as written. :) My berry mix was raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries, so using all raspberries won’t be that far off.
Haha, I love your opening line about muffins being ‘fakers’. Ain’t that the truth! These still look delicious! I just made your white bean soup and loved it! I’m looking forward to trying and reading more from your site. :-)
Thank you for posting a picture of Zoe. When I read the opening comments, I thought, “I want to see a picture of the doggie!” So, I scrolled down to add just that comment, but there she is! Smiles.
Very tempting… wondering though if KA flour is just 20 cents a cup… ours here in KS might be higher priced.
I didn’t use King Arthur flour, I just used their recipe. :)
Just made these exactly as the recipe stated and they are delicious. Your site is a favorite of mine and just wanted to say how much I appreciate your thoughts and ideas about food and related topics.
More Zoe posts please! She’s a star! :)
I am literary in love with this site. I love your recipes, I love your approach to cooking, I love your sense of humour :)
Awww, thanks :)
Can this batter be made the night before and stored in the fridge ?
With batter that uses baking powder or baking soda as a leavener you really want to mix it up just before baking. The baking powder will begin to react as soon as it is mixed, so you don’t want to lose any of that while it’s sitting in the fridge. Heat makes it happen much faster, but it will still react as it sits in the refrigerator.
This recipe and photos look delicious!
I always made the blueberry muffins from the package as a kid. They are too sweet for me today. You are right. Muffins are just another form of cupcakes. That won’t stop me from making these and having them with a nice cup of coffee though. We should treat ourselves from time to time.
By the way, Zoe is adorable!
Just wanted to make sure that wasn’t a typo… It says to preheat oven to 500 degrees. Am I really baking these at 500 degrees?
Nope, you just preheat to 500, then turn it down to 400 when you put the muffins in. It’s an interesting technique that works really well because baked goods that are leavened with baking powder or soda need an intense burst of hot air to really maximize the leavening action. :)
Faux health food or not, these muffins look delicious! Too bad Zoe couldn’t enjoy any. :)
Is there a way to substitute the whole wheat flour for just using all purpose flour instead because I don’t have any whole wheat flor on hand? If so is there a amount of all purpose flour that I should use instead of the whole wheat flour?
Yep, absolutely. I only used it because I was out of all-purpose. Because it’s such a small amount, you can just replace it 1:1. So, 1.25 cups all-purpose flour, total.
What about avoiding any wheat flour at all? I avoid stuff with gluten and was wondering whether I could simply use oat flour instead of the all purpose and whole-wheat flours, but was afraid about the outcome with regard to texture; will it become rubbery or sticky?
Unfortunately, I’m completely inexperienced in baking with other types of flours, so I can’t really advise you on that one. :(
I totally agree with you about the muffins-are-cupcakes-for-breakfast thing — some muffins that you buy in the store are literally covered in sugar and frosting! But these look like they could be a nice afternoon snack for me, heated up with some butter. I also have to admit that I had never thought of freezing muffins before, but this is a fantastic idea.
I think the whole pastries for breakfast thing in general is pretty american tbh – in my country I never see it at least! Things like that are more of a treat/dessert here. I loved it when I went to canada for the first time and could eat cinnamon rolls, muffins, donuts, pancakes or waffles for breakfast lol!
Haha here in Brazil people eat cake for breakfast. Just straight up cake and people don’t even bat an eye because it is normal.
Cute dog! My dog ate 6 berry muffins last time I made them, they were on the edge of the counter in the tin and he somehow picked out and ate 6 without throwing them all on the floor. Now I make sure to leave the muffin pan on the back of the counter until I can put them in tupperware. I’ll try these muffins this week! I’m always on the lookout for new muffin recipes.
Ha! Dogs are so sneaky. ;)
Scrolling through this recipe, I kept thinking, “There better be a dog picture at the end.” I am pleased. :)
I was thinking the same thing…Zoe is a very cute dog, too.
Is there a suitable replacement for eggs in the recipe? Thx
I’m sorry, I’m not experienced with using egg replacers, so I’m not sure what would be best to use.
My go-to egg replacer is flax eggs. Mix one tablespoon of ground flax seed with three tablespoons of warm water and set it aside for a few minutes. Voilà! One flax egg! Make one for each egg required and you’re all set. Liana’s suggestions would be really tastey with this recipe too!
I used to do vegan baking, and you can sub one tablespoon applesauce or one mashed banana for each egg. I think those would work well in this recipe.
1 tbsp soy flour and 1 tbsp water can also be substitued
I would try ener-g egg replacer, it is what I’ve had the most success with in muffin recipes and one box will last you a very long time.
I use flax seeds or chia seeds as an egg replacement. 1 Tbsp ground flax or chia mixed with 3 Tbsp water = 1 egg.
You’ve done it again – a simple and tasty recipe I can use! And Zoe deserves another muffin!
Mmmmm!! Yummy!! Zoe’s a cutie pie!! :-)