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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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!
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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.”
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. :)