Healthy Blueberry Muffins

These healthy blueberry muffins are golden, fluffy, moist and delicious! No one will guess this recipe is made with 100% whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup.

990 Reviews
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healthy blueberry muffins with honey

Would you look at those blueberry-studded beauties? These blueberry muffins are golden on top, and moist and fluffy on the inside.

Best of all, they’re bursting with jammy blueberry flavor. These are my favorite homemade blueberry muffins, and it’s about time you met them.

blueberry muffin ingredients

These healthy blueberry muffins are easy to make, too. Forget those box mixes! You can make these wholesome muffins from scratch with basic grocery store ingredients. No special equipment required.

wet mixture

What makes these blueberry muffins healthy?

These muffins are more healthy than your average blueberry muffins. They’re made with 100 percent whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour, which you can hardly taste). Whole wheat flour offers redeeming whole grain nutrients and extra fiber.

The muffins are also naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup, which lend subtle honey or maple flavor to the muffins. They’re lower in overall sugar content compared to coffee shop muffins.

Last but not least, I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, which lends the same irresistible tang but with more protein and less fat. I don’t think that yogurt passes for sour cream on tacos, but it totally works in muffin recipes.

blueberry muffins batter

how to make blueberry muffins

Blueberry Muffin Recipe Tips

You can make these muffins with fresh or frozen blueberries. Do not defrost frozen blueberries before using; just stir the frozen blueberries into the batter as directed.

Tossing the blueberries with one teaspoon of flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom. This way, you can use a full cup of blueberries without risking the integrity of the muffins.

Sprinkling 1 tablespoon of raw sugar on top of the muffins before baking yields deliciously sweet, crackly muffin tops. You can buy raw sugar in the sugar aisle of most grocery stores these days, or just grab a few extra raw sugar packets from your go-to coffee shop (I won’t tell).

These muffins taste best after they’ve had time to cool completely. Or better yet, let them rest for a couple of hours at room temperature before serving. This is true for most baked goods!

healthy blueberry muffins batter

how to scoop muffins

Recommended Equipment

I love this sturdy, made-in-the-USA muffin pan (affiliate link). I don’t ever have to grease it, thanks to the silicone non-stick coating. Clean-up is a breeze, too. I’ve never had to soak or scrub on this pan.

healthy blueberry muffins in muffin tin

Watch How to Make Blueberry Muffins

healthy blueberry muffins - side angle

healthy blueberry muffins

Love these muffins?

Here are more of my favorite naturally sweetened, whole-wheat muffin recipes!

Please let me know how these muffins turn out for you in the comments! I’m always so eager for your feedback. Be sure to check out my Blueberry Scones as well.

healthy blueberry muffins recipe

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Healthy Blueberry Muffins

  • Author: Cookie and Kate
  • Prep Time: 13 minutes
  • Cook Time: 22 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 12 muffins

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 990 reviews

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These healthy blueberry muffins are golden, fluffy, moist and delicious! No one will guess this recipe is made with 100% whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup. Recipe yields 12 muffins.

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups plus 1 teaspoon white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt*
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (6 ounces) blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter, coconut oil or cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and doesn’t require any grease). Or, use muffin liners if you prefer.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups of the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix them together with a whisk.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil and honey or maple syrup and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the yogurt and vanilla. Mix well. (If the coconut oil solidifies in contact with cold ingredients, gently warm the mixture in the microwave in 30 second bursts.)
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a big spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 teaspoon flour (this helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom). Gently fold the blueberries into the batter. The mixture will be thick, but don’t worry.
  5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups (I used an ice cream scoop with a wire level, which worked perfectly). Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with turbinado sugar. Bake the muffins for 16 to 19 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
  6. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.

Notes

Recipe adapted from my blueberry maple muffins (recipe available in my cookbook) and lemon raspberry muffins.
*Note on Greek yogurt: I’ve used a variety of fat percentages and the muffins have always turned out well. Higher fat yogurt will yield a somewhat more rich muffin. You can also substitute plain (not Greek) yogurt, but your muffins might not rise quite as high.
Make it vegan: You can replace the eggs with flax “eggs.” Replace the yogurt with a smaller amount of vegan buttermilk—just mix ⅔ cup non-dairy milk with 2 teaspoons vinegar. Let it rest for 5 minutes before adding it to the other liquid ingredients. Or, use 1 cup vegan yogurt.
Make it dairy free: See buttermilk option above.
Make it egg free: Substitute flax eggs for the regular eggs.
Make it gluten free: Substitute an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend for the whole wheat flour. Bob’s Red Mill makes a gluten-free blend that works well.
Lemon variation: For lemon blueberry muffins, whisk the zest of 1 medium lemon (about ½ teaspoon), preferably organic, into the liquid ingredients. You could even double that amount for extra-lemony muffins.
Mini muffins: Use a mini muffin tray with mini liners. Use 1 heaping tablespoon per muffin to yield 30 muffins. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes.
Change it up: Substitute 1 cup of any other muffin-worthy fresh fruit for the blueberries. If you’re using strawberries or other large fruit (like peaches), chop them into small pieces first.
2/18/19 note: I’ve changed the baking temperature from 350 degrees Fahrenheit to 400, and reduced the baking time from 22 to 24 minutes to 16 to 19 minutes. These changes improve the muffin texture (less spongy in the center) and produce more irresistibly golden muffin tops.

Nutrition

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Kate and Cookie

HELLO, MY NAME IS

Kathryne Taylor

I'm a vegetable enthusiast, dog lover, mother and bestselling cookbook author. I've been sharing recipes here since 2010, and I'm always cooking something new in my Kansas City kitchen. Cook with me!

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Comments

  1. Hollie

    I just made these and my 21 month old son and I loved them! So moist and delicious and filling as well!

  2. Kelly

    Can you sub almond flour instead?

    1. Kate

      Unfortunately, I don’t typically have good luck with almond flour as a 1:1 replacement.

    2. Jen

      Hi Kelly,

      I successfully made these using 1 cup gluten free flour & 3/4 cup almond flour. An extra egg is usually needed when using almond flour 1:1.

      1. Ola

        I used oat flour and plain yoghurt and they turned out fine!

      2. Summer

        Can I used all purpose or bread flour instead of white wheat?

        1. Kate

          All-purpose flour will work well here!

    3. Matt

      We used 1 cup almond flour, 3/4 cup white flour, with no other changes, and they tasted great!

  3. Liss Miller

    I made these but used one third cup of melted grass fed butter instead of the oil. I used 7 oz of greek yogurt (full fat) and more blueberries instead og 8 oz og yogurt. I also threw in one quarter cup of walnuts and one quarter cup of dark chocolate baking chips and added a quarter cup of brown sugar. The result was 18 beautiful muffins and my girls (ahes 6 and 9) gobbled them up in two days. I dudnt mind them having them for breakfast as their nutritional profile is way better than fruit loops!

    1. Kate

      Thanks for sharing your approach, Liss! I appreciate your review.

  4. Niki

    Hi! Love your recipes. I want to make these muffins for my son’s class, but have to avoid both eggs and flax allergies. Do you think I can use 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce in place of the 2 eggs?

    1. Kate

      Hi Niki, I wish I could help but I wouldn’t know without trying it. Sorry!

  5. Leila

    I made last night 11/17/2019. OMG they were amazing!!!!! I warmed one up for breakfast because I like eating warm muffins and they were Delicious!! They were just right. Not too sweet which I was worried because of the sprinkle of the raw sugar, but they weren’t. Love them. Only comment is that I know they are supposed to be health because of the Wheat Flour? The sugar content is pretty high?

    Leila

    1. Kate

      I’m so happy you loved them! Thanks for sharing, Leila.

    2. Susan S

      To Leila: Its half the sugar of a standard muffin recipe. The only way to get it lower would be to cook with splenda.

    3. Joel

      Leila, don’t get bamboozled by the collective thinking of “diet culture”. Unless you are diabetic, or being advised by a doctor who has legitimate training in nutrition (most don’t,) realize that sugar is not inherently evil or bad for you. All simple carbohydrates turn into glucose. You may be judging the relative sanctity of coconut sugar, cane sugar, or a bowl of grapes, but your body doesn’t. It’s just carbohydrate, which is as important in any balanced diet as protein and fat. Whole wheat flour brings tons of other nutrients (fiber and many important nutrients found in the germ and bran of wheat). Eating healthy portions mindfully of a wide variety of foods and moving your body joyfully gets the job done.

  6. Angela

    Made them last night. My new favorite muffin recipe!!!

    1. Kate

      Happy to hear that, Angela!

  7. Priscilla

    Used this recipe for a home economics project in school and it worked great! Very moist and guilt-free. We used frozen blueberries tossed in flour and it worked amazing. My class loved it too!

    1. Kate

      That is great! Thanks for your review.

  8. Jeannie

    Oh, my whole wheat muffins are great!I used low-fat sour cream and red raspberries! I will buy white wheat flour next time.

  9. Cara Truman

    Easy to follow recipe. Great for using up left over yogurt.I used half honey half pure maple syrup as my family aren’t fans of that honey taste in baked goods. I left out the sprinkle of sugar on top. These are cooling as I type, i tasted ine warm and it was yummo. These are going in school lunch boxes for tomorrow. I’m in Australia so cooked at 180c for 20mins.Thanks

    1. Kate

      Thank you for sharing, Cara!

  10. RachelH

    Really very good. This is my first try with baking with bran. I was a little worried that the muffins would taste heavy, but they don’t. They’re quite nice. Thanks!

    1. Kate

      I’m glad you love them, Rachel!

  11. Karla

    Lovely recipe. They are so delicious! Thanks for your accuracy when giving the recipe, really appreciate it

    1. Kate

      I’m glad you love it, Karla!

  12. Sara T Combs

    I made these this morning. They’re awesome!! The recipe is easy to follow. I used blood orange olive oil. It gave the muffins a wonderful orangey flavor. I will sure make this often. I love your recipes! Last week I made your banana bread and it was super delicious too. Thanks!

  13. Deborah Musano

    I have made these amazing blueberry muffins multiple times. My family can’t get enough of them
    Thank you for sharing ❤️

    1. Kate

      You’re welcome, Deborah!

  14. Dee

    Do you think I could freeze these?

    1. Kate

      Sure! You should be able to freeze these just fine.

  15. Bella

    These were incredible!!! My brothers never want to eat anything I make that’s a healthier version because they would prefer the original. But they loved these and want them in their lunch boxes now for a school. They are so easy to make and so moist and just yummy! I just didn’t add the sprinkle of sugar to the top and used a vanilla yogurt instead of Greek but noticed no difference. Thankyou for the amazing recipe!

    1. Kate

      I’m glad your brothers loved them, Bella! I appreciate your review.

  16. Anna

    Yum! I have struggled with whole wheat muffins in the past – too dry or too dense. But these were light, fluffy and delicious. (I didn’t have a full cup of yogurt so added some milk with a drizzle of vinegar to complete the cup.) Thanks for another great recipe!

  17. Regan

    I love this recipe! The muffins are delicious, and I appreciate knowing that they’re healthy and not packed with a ton of sugar. I’d like to add some nuts into the batter—would that be possible? Should I make any modifications to the other ingredients, or just throw in some walnuts and bake as usual?

    1. Kate

      I’m not sure if nuts work with these, but I do know they have worked in some of my other recipes. Make sure they are roughly chopped when adding in. Let me know if you try them!

  18. Mickey

    Made it,need to leave at room temperature for about an hour,it lets the batter homogenize with the yoghurt and baking powder/soda,then bake at 425 F for 5 minutes and reduce to 375 for the remainder

  19. Nidhi Mehra

    Nice!! I only had half a cup of greek yogurt so I substituted 1 avocado. The muffins still turned out delicious with olive oil, honey & avocado!! I was surprised to see the results..thanks!!

    1. Kate

      Thank you for your review!

  20. Alexandra

    I found your website a few days ago. Since I always look for healthy recipes with less sugar and have 2 sugar-junkies at home (son and husband) this looked promising. So I tried these muffins. We loved them. Absolutely delicious. So the next day I tried the Apple Muffins. So good. These are treats I can give my son with no guilt at all.
    I’ve already tried 6 recipes from your website and we loved every single one of them.
    Thank you!
    Greetings from Austria

    1. Kate

      Welcome, Alexandra! I’m happy you came across the blog. Thank you for taking the time to comment and review.

  21. Dorothy Tingen

    I love the muffins. I’m having another one for breakfast. Thanks so much. Dot

    1. Kate

      You’re welcome, Dorothy!

  22. Michelle

    These were really good! I was worried they’d taste too wheat-y, but I really liked the texture. I ground 3/4 oats into oat flour and used 1 cup white whole wheat flour, and made mini muffins to entice my son. We’re both devouring them right now.

  23. Tricia

    I made these with half whole wheat and half regular flour since I didn’t have the white whole wheat, nor did two stores near me. Turned out great!

  24. Chris

    Just made these and they were absolutely delicious. I had my doubts about how they would turn out since there was so much yogurt. But they were tall and moist with a great texture. Now for the inevitable list of things I changed… I used 3/4 c sugar instead of honey. Did a heaping cup of frozen blueberries, so probably was closer to 1 1/4 c. Split the difference on the temperature and baked at 375 for about 20 min. Used half white and half whole wheat flour but will increase the whole wheat next time as they did not taste wheaty in the slightest. Thanks for the recipe – it’s a keeper.

    1. Kate

      Great to hear, Chris!

  25. Aurelie Knafo

    Hi, can I eliminate the greek yogurt in this recipe ?

    1. Kate

      You can replace the yogurt with a smaller amount of vegan buttermilk—just mix ⅔ cup non-dairy milk with 2 teaspoons vinegar. Let it rest for 5 minutes before adding it to the other liquid ingredients. Or, use 1 cup vegan yogurt.

      1. Aurelie Knafo

        Can I use, cashew milk or coconut milk as a non-dairy milk?

        1. Kate

          Sure!

  26. Carrie

    These are the best blueberry muffins!! I am so happy I found this!! My kids and my husband love them and request them often! I skip the sugar on top and forgot the flour on the blueberries step, but they are still wonderful!! Thank you!!

  27. Janette Schroeder

    Absolutely LOVE these blueberry muffins! They are so good. I love changing the fruit. I’ve made them with both honey and maple syrup (depending on what I have more of), both are delicious

  28. Laney H

    These are SO good. Made these for my kids and ate half the batch before they even got to taste them! I don’t usually like blueberry muffins (or fruit muffins) because they tend to be overly sweet so I didn’t add the extra sweetener. I also subbed 3/4 cup of the flour for 1cup of oats (not oat flour) and they turned out SO perfect.

    1. Kate

      Thank you for sharing, Laney!

    2. Vivian

      Hi Kate,
      My family absolutely loves your banana bread recipe!! And this time, I cannot wait to try to make these blueberry muffins! My question is: if I want to make 24 mini muffins instead of 12, how much cook time do they need?
      Thank you!

      Vivian

      1. Kate

        Hi Vivian! It usually takes half the time for mini muffins at the same temperature. Just keep an eye on them and adjust as necessary!

        1. Vivian

          Hi Kate,
          Thank you very much for the timely reply!
          The blueberry muffins turned out extraordinarily delicious!! My husband and daughter love them so much that they request me make them again right away! I am always on the lookout for no-butter and low-sugar snack recipes, and this one definitely is my favorite!!

  29. B.D.

    This is my second time making this recipe and they came out even better than my first batch. I used white whole wheat flour this time and topped with a few slivered, toasted almonds in addition to the turbinado sugar. Also, I was more careful about not over-mixing and more gentle with the folding, which helped with any airier consistency. Delicious outcome. Thanks!

    1. Kate

      I love hearing that! Thank you for sharing, B.D.

  30. Laurie

    I made this recipe with a few alterations with what I had in the pantry. I used 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of 1/2 cup. 1 cup Almond Flour, 1/4 cup gluten free, 1/2 cup white flour. It’s delicious!

    1. Kate

      Great to hear it worked with your combination, Laurie!

  31. Lara Dyan

    This recipe has become a weekly must-have in my house! We love it! Great for breakfast and in lunchboxes.

  32. Charlene Kane

    Healthy and delicious! Nice treat!
    Thank you for this recipe

    1. Kate

      You’re welcome, Charlene! I’m happy you enjoyed it.

  33. Robin Rhoades

    These have become my go to muffin. I have used raspberry, but decided I prefer blues. I use regular WW flour and, I always add the lemon zest. Next time I will try a higher fat yogurt for comparison. I like muffins to eat, of course, but also enjoy giving some away. People tell me they enjoy them. Thanks Kate. Hello to Cookie.

  34. Peter Williams

    I found these too sticky – not the right texture for a muffin.

    1. Peter Williams

      My comment came too early – I ate one while it was still warm and it had the wrong texture. When I ate one the next morning, when they had cooled, they were delicious! Just don’t eat them straight out the oven.

    2. Kate

      I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love these, Peter. I appreciate your feedback.

  35. Lainey

    I used spelt flour, maple syrup and lemon yogurt (not greek, regular yogurt) and I just ate one right now after cooling for 10 minutes. YUMM! I might need to eat another one before the kids get home from school!

  36. Arielle Harrison

    Hi! If I want to make mini muffins do I need to adjust the cooking temp/time?

    1. Kate

      Hi Arielle! Typically for mini, as a rule of thumb, temperature stays the same you just decrease the time by half and add more as needed. Let me know how it works for you!

  37. Hannah

    Just made these with gluten free flour as I’m coeliac. Delicious!

  38. Marisa

    Delicious, just the right amount of sweet! I tried the lemon variation since I didn’t have the ingredients for the other blueberry lemon muffins on your website, and these were great. Perfect weekend morning breakfast.

  39. Kristie Wagstaff

    Made these today! Delicious. Used vegan buttermilk and flax seed eggs! Thank you love your recipes

    1. Kate

      You’re welcome, Kristie! I appreciate your review.

  40. Lara Cohen

    These muffins have become a staple in my house! LOVE them. I recommend using greek yogurt – it makes a huge difference. And after using frozen wild blueberries for weeks, I switched to organic (plumper, juicier). SO much more blueberry flavor, I was floored. I also skip the sugar sprinkles. Thanks for this yummy recipe!

    1. Kate

      Thank you for sharing, Lara!

  41. Kasia

    Making these right now because we ran out of sugar in the house! The batter is DELISH! Kids are licking the mixing bowl! We did it with honey, but will mix another batch with maple and do a taste test because we are a large family.

  42. Nadine

    Hey Kate, tried this recipe and loved it!! will certainly be making it again.

    Just wondering if you’d have the breakdown of the macros for it?

    thank you!

    1. Kate

      Hi Nadine, so glad to hear it! If you click on “nutrition information” under the recipe, you’ll see a full breakdown.

  43. Jen

    Thanks for sharing this…I made these with what I had: almond flour/ground flax and half c of flour…halves of maple syrup and raw honey with the palm sugar on top…very nice

  44. sue

    can I use applesauce instead of oil in the recipe?

    1. Kate

      Hi Sue, yes, I believe other commenters have had success with applesauce.

  45. RJ

    Another awesome recipe from your site, perfect muffins, best whole wheat recipe I’ve found thus far. Thanks.

  46. bec

    i love your recipes but would love them in metric measurements!! do you ever weigh?

    1. Kate

      Hey Bec, I hear you and hope to come up with a solution for metric measurements in the future!

  47. Kathryn

    This is my new favorite muffin recipe.

  48. Samantha Bollinger

    Thank you for this recipe, I made a few.changes, subbed some protein powder for flour, added 1/4 almond flour (2 cup total “flour”) and used 3 eggs. Made with just the protein powder first time, much better texture with almond flour. And used cardamom and ginger instead of cinnamon. I baked in mini muffin cups for 15min at 400°.
    They make a great morning snack at work…and healthier than sweet coffee shop muffins and I dont feel guilty eating them.

  49. Joanne Smith

    Hi do you know how many kcals in one muffin

  50. bonnie

    I was so nervous about how thick the mixture was before baking (even with a warning) but these turned out so great. Thanks for such a delicious and healthy morning treat!