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.
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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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
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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.”
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!! :-)