Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Oat banana blueberry muffins are filling, delicious and perfectly sweetened. Easy to make with simple ingredients, these banana blueberry oatmeal muffins are bursting with flavor and great for a healthy breakfast or snack anytime!

Naturally gluten free, dairy free and made with no eggs, these healthy banana blueberry muffins with oats will quickly become a family favorite!

Why you will love this recipe

• Simple ingredients – made with easy to find ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. This recipe is the perfect use for those spotty bananas you have sitting on the kitchen counter!
• Easy to make – all you need to make these muffins is a large bowl and a muffin tin; no special equipment needed. Great recipe to make with your kids!
• Great for meal prep or freezer prep – these hearty, filling banana blueberry oat muffins are the perfect breakfast or a great on the go snack that isn’t too sweet! You can make a double batch and freeze them for later or enjoy them all week long for a quick and easy breakfast prep!
• Great for picky eaters! If you have a picky eater that doesn’t love eating oatmeal, these muffins can be a great way to get them to get the same ingredients in a different, more approachable way. Who doesn’t love muffins?
• Healthy blueberry oat muffin recipe – This recipe is vegan, gluten free, dairy free, egg free and naturally sweetened. You can also make this nut free by substituting sunbutter for the almond butter.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Bananas – the riper the bananas, the sweeter the muffins! This recipe is a great use for those spotty, brown bananas you have on your counter. If you find your bananas aren’t that ripe, add an additional tablespoon of maple syrup to help ensure the muffins are sweet enough!
• Dairy free milk – use whatever your go-to dairy free milk is. I typically use cashew milk or almond milk, but you could also use oat milk, coconut milk (in the carton, not the can) or flax milk.
• Ground flax – ground flax (plus the dairy free milk) replace eggs in this recipe, making it egg free. You can use pre-ground flax (sometimes called flax meal) or you can grind your own flax using a coffee grinder. You could also use chia seeds as a substitution.
• Maple syrup – maple syrup helps to sweeten the muffins (so they are sweet but not overly sweet). You could also use date syrup or honey (not vegan). I have not tried this recipe with a low carb liquid sweetener, but you could try that as well.
• Oat flour – oat flour is a fine flour made from oats. If you don’ have oat flour in your kitchen you can make your own using a high-speed blender! If you need this to be gluten free, be sure your oat flour is labeled gluten free.
• Rolled oats (sometimes called old fashioned oats) – the oats are super filling and really help to make these banana blueberry oatmeal muffins a substantial snack or meal.  You can also use quick oats in a pinch. Note if you need this to be a gluten free recipe, be sure to find certified gluten free oats (this ensures they weren’t processed in a plant with other gluten based grains).
• Baking powder – baking powder helps the muffins rise as they bake.
• Almond butter – almond butter is the fat in the recipe (instead of something like butter or oil). The almond butter also provides flavor and a small amount of protein. You can also use peanut butter, cashew butter or sunbutter in place of the almond butter.
• Blueberries (fresh or frozen) – this muffin recipe is perfect for those times of year when you have an excessive amount of fresh blueberries on hand (or you buy too many bags of blueberries from Costco). You can use fresh or frozen without any changes to the recipe.

Top tips

• Use fresh or frozen blueberries. When using frozen blueberries, wait to pull them from the freezer until right before adding them to the batter. Once the frozen blueberries are added to the batter, stir just to combine, don’t overmix or the batter will start to turn purple from the juice of the blueberries.
• The riper the bananas the sweeter the muffins. As bananas get riper, they get more brown spots on the skin. You want a soft bananas with very spotty skin. If you don’t have super ripe bananas on hand, check out my tips below.
• Let the muffins rest before transferring them to cool. Because these blueberry banana oatmeal muffins are egg free, they are more fragile and need time to rest before they are transferred to cool.
• I recommend using a silicone muffin liner or a parchment paper liner when making muffins. This helps to ensure the muffins don’t stick to the pan and these two options always peel right off the muffins. Paper liners tend to stick to the muffins and are hard to get off.
• If you are using a silicone muffin tin (instead of a metal one), the cooking time may vary. I have not tested this method but from my experience the silicone muffin tins don’t retain heat as well as traditional muffin tins.

Other additions to blueberry banana muffins

• Lemon zest (for a lemon blueberry oatmeal muffin)
• Coconut flakes – you can use regular or toasted coconut flakes. They would add flavor and texture to the muffins
• Cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice to change the flavors
• Chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, pistachios) or seeds (hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds) for taste and texture

Common questions

Can you use frozen blueberries to make muffins?

Yes! Unless it’s the summer and fresh blueberries are inexpensive and easy to find, I almost always bake with frozen blueberries. When using frozen blueberries, the trick is to add them at the very last minute and only stir to incorporate them in. Scoop the muffins immediately once the frozen berries are incorporated.

If you add the frozen blueberries too early, the batter will likely take on a purple hue. The flavor will still be delicious, but the color of the muffins may change slightly.

Can you use other berries instead of blueberries?

Yes! You can make these banana berry oatmeal muffins with any berry you have on hand (fresh or frozen). You can use raspberries just like blueberries (no changes required). If you use strawberries or blackberries, be sure to cut them down into smaller pieces first.

You can also use cherries, peaches or nectarines in place of the blueberries. Be sure to remove the pit of the cherries and the pit and skin of the peaches or nectarines before chopping into small pieces.

What kind of oats can be used?

These banana oat blueberry muffins can be made with rolled oats (old fashioned oats) or quick oats (which are rolled oats that have been cut down into small pieces). Unfortunately you cannot bake with steel cut oats, as the outer coating will not get soft enough in the time it takes to make the muffins.

What is oat flour?

Oat flour is made by grinding oats down into a very fine powder. The oat flour you buy in stores has a similar texture to all purpose flour or gluten free flour blends. I typically have a bag of oat flour on hand but you can also make it yourself using a high speed blender.

How to make oat flour

Add rolled oats to a high speed blender and blend on high until the oats have been transformed into a fine powder. This can take 30 seconds to a minute, and you may need to pause and shake up the blender to ensure all the oats have been blended. Some people like to pass this through a fine mesh sieve to ensure there are no big chunks but that is not necessary for this recipe.

Store leftover oat flour in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid for up to 6 months.

Note: I find that when baking with homemade oat flour, you typically need more than the recipe calls for. Usually it’s about 1.25 cups of homemade oat flour for every 1 cup in a recipe.

What if you don’t have ripe bananas on hand?

The bananas add sweetness to the recipe but also help to add moisture to the muffins. Even if your bananas aren’t super ripe, they are still needed for this recipe.

If you don’t have ripe bananas on hand, add an extra tablespoon of maple syrup to the recipe.

If your bananas are hard to mash, warm them up in the microwave or on the stove. Heat the bananas in the microwave (about 20-25 seconds) or on the stove in a sauce pan with a lid (medium low heat, 4-5 minutes). Heating the bananas helps make them easier to mash.

Storing leftover oatmeal banana blueberry muffins

Fridge: Store leftover muffins in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy leftovers cold from the fridge or you can allow them to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. If you want warm muffins, heat in the microwave (30 seconds) or the air fryer 2 minutes at 350F.

Freezer: Freeze in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months. You can defrost the muffins in the microwave (30 second intervals for 1-2 minutes) or on the counter for 2-4 hours.

If you love muffins, you should try

Healthy Banana Muffins with Almond Flour

Quinoa and Banana Muffins

Gluten Free Blackberry Muffins

High Protein Lemon Blueberry Muffins