An easy recipe for buttery muffins full of big juicy berries. They have the same texture as cupcakes—but none of the guilt! These truly are INCREDIBLE!
My sophom*ore year of high school, our marching band flew to Hawaii to spend Spring Break in Honolulu. Our director organized a parade performance one morning in Waikiki, as well as a symphony concert at a school located just a few blocks from our hotel, but he scheduled plenty of free time and fun activities for the rest of our week-long vacation.
We attended a comedy show just a few hours after our planes landed at the airport; toured some of the most historic spots in the city by bus, including Iolani Palace, the home of the final monarchs before Hawaii became the 50th state; walked around Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial for almost an entire day; and dined at two different luaus, complete with flaming-baton-twirling hula dancers.
Since our hotel lacked a large dining facility that would fit all 250+ band members along with the nearly 50 parent chaperones, our director arranged for us to eat breakfast at a separate buffet-style restaurant a quick two-block walk away. The owner opened the doors for us from 7-9 am each day of our stay, and we could wander over whenever we woke up and felt hungry.
Most of the food fell under the traditional “Continental Breakfast” category, with plenty of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and hash browns served in hot chafing dishes; bagels and bread for toasting; and lots of fresh fruit. I always looked forward to the big, juicy spears of fresh pineapple!
The restaurant also offered a wide selection of pastries, in addition to the bread and bagels, that they set out in large linen-lined wicker baskets. We found croissants (both plain and chocolate-filled!), glazed donuts, sticky buns, and multiple flavors of mini muffins, including double chocolate, lemon poppy seed, and blueberry.
On our first morning there, I grabbed a blueberry muffin to go along with my pile of pineapple. Upon biting into it, my first thought was, “This is heavenly—it’s the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever eaten!” It was supremely moist, probably due to ample amounts of sour cream, and incredibly buttery. I felt like I was nibbling on a cupcake—and I quickly dashed back to the buffet line to grab two more!
I ate a lot of blueberry muffins on that trip…
Although I’m much more health-conscious now, I still enjoy blueberry muffins just as much as I did back then, so I’ve been working on perfecting a healthier version of those treats I fell in love with on Hawaii. And I finally did it… These are the most incredible Healthy Blueberry Muffins! They’re supremely tender, full of juicy berries, and come with none of the guilt of traditional recipes!
Yum. ♥
This easy muffin recipe begins with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, closer to that of all-purpose flour, but with the same health benefits as regular whole wheat. Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great option, as well.
Note: I included my favorite gluten-free flour blend in the Notes section beneath the recipe!
Unlike traditional recipes that call for large amounts of butter or oil, this healthier one only uses 1 tablespoon. Yes, that’s it! The rest of their tender cupcake-like texture comes from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you probably know what it is already…
Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture to the muffin batter as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories. Greek yogurt also gives them a protein boost too… One cup of Greek yogurt contains 20g+ of protein! (Regular yogurt contains closer to 8-10g of protein instead.) I like to buy a big tub of plain Greek yogurt and simply scoop out whatever I need because it’s much cheaper than purchasing the single-serving cups.
These muffins are sweetened with a combination of honey and vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly. It’s really concentrated, so a little goes a long way! I like this brand, which comes in a small bottle with an eyedropper, and you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores and online. (You’ll also use vanilla crème stevia in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Some of my recipe testers found that the muffins sweetened with only vanilla crème stevia had an very tiny, ever-so-slightly bitter aftertaste, which is why you’ll also use a couple tablespoons of honey. Agave would be a good substitute, but I’d caution against pure maple syrup since that has a fairly iconic flavor of its own.
And finally, the best part… The blueberries! I highly recommend fresh blueberries for these muffins. You just can’t beat their sweet, juicy flavor! Additionally, fresh blueberries will not bleed when folding them in or turn the batter a murky gray color. Frozen will work in a pinch, as long as you don’t mind the batter’s discoloration, and I’d recommend tossing them in a little bit of flour first to minimize that.
Now who’s ready for breakfast??
| Healthy Blueberry Muffins | 4.5 from 15 reviews |
Yields: 12 muffins
These healthy muffins are full of warm, buttery flavor and big juicy berries. They’re perfect for quick on-the-go breakfasts and snacks! Leftovers will stay fresh for at least four days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured liked this)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
- ¾ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ¼ cups (175g) fresh blueberries, divided (about 1 pint)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Mix in the honey and stevia. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.) Gently fold in 1 cup of blueberries.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and gently press the remaining blueberries into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 19-22 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought blends will work as well, if they're measured like this.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Agave or pure maple syrup may be substituted for the honey.
If you prefer to substitute additional honey for the vanilla crème stevia, you'll need to add 6 more tablespoons of honey and reduce the milk by approximately the same amount, or slightly less.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Fresh blueberries work best because they have better flavor and don’t bleed when incorporating them into the batter. However, if you only have frozen, then reserve 1 tablespoon of flour, and toss the frozen blueberries with that just before folding into the batter. They will still bleed some and turn the batter grayish in color.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
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