Healthy Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins made with wholesome ingredients for a lower sugar healthier muffin recipe made with whole grains. These tasty oatmeal muffins are a great grab and go quick breakfast or snack.
When I’m craving a fluffy baked good but want to keep it lower in sugar and calories, oatmeal muffins never disappoint!
In fact, they have become one of my go-tos for quenching the sweet tooth and refueling the system with slow-burning carbohydrates.
Similar to my Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins, this strawberry oatmeal muffin recipe is made using oats instead of flour. It’s the easiest thing!
I also make this recipe without bananas, instead using applesauce for my followers who have a banana allergy (or those who simply don’t like bananas).
I love that oats bring a great source of whole grains and complex carbohydrates to these muffins, as they make for an awesome post-workout carb re-fuel.
Unless otherwise specified, most of the baked goods on my site aren’t overly sweet and the same is true for these muffins.
While we are accustomed to muffins that taste like cupcakes in their sugar and fat content, I try to keep muffins as a healthier sweet treat with less fat and added sugar.
For this reason, these muffins aren’t cakey or very sweet, but you can make some easy adjustments to the recipe for sweeter, moisture muffins (see recipe adaptations section below).
Let’s discuss the healthy ingredients for these strawberry oatmeal muffins! All grocery stores carry all of these common ingredients.
Ingredients for Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins:
Rolled Oats: Whole old fashioned rolled oats are blended into a flour using a high-speed blender to take the place of all-purpose flour.
Quick oats, old-fashioned oats, and instant oats all work. For gluten-free muffins, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats. I use gluten-free sprouted oats.
Unsweetened Applesauce: Used to give the muffins subtle natural sweetness and serve as the majority of the liquid, unsweetened applesauce is a key ingredient here.
The applesauce also takes the place of some oil so that we can use less oil in the recipe.
Eggs: A couple eggs do a fabulous job of making the bread nice and fluffy with light texture.
I haven’t tested the recipe using an egg replacer yet for a vegan option, although I’m betting two flax eggs would work out nicely so long as you’re alright with a denser (less fluffy) texture.
Avocado Oil: A little avocado oil brings moisture to the muffins without making them overly greasy. Use melted coconut oil, vegetable oil or 4 tablespoons of melted butter in place of the avocado oil.
Pure Maple Syrup: A touch of pure maple syrup brings just the right amount of sweetness to the muffins so that they help quench the sweet tooth without sending you into sugar overdrive.
Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla extract brings warm flavor to the muffins. Skip it if you don’t have it on hand.
Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Apple Cider Vinegar: Use both baking powder and baking soda as the leavening agents for these muffins. Both help give rise to the muffins and help them fluff up.
The apple cider vinegar creates a chemical reaction with the baking soda to help activate it for the best results. You can replace the vinegar with lemon juice if you’d like.
Sea Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the flavors in the muffins to make them taste more flavorful and sweeter without the need for more sweetener.
Fresh Strawberries: Chopped juicy strawberries are mixed into the muffin batter for a berry infusion everyone loves. If possible, use fresh ripe strawberries rather than frozen for the best result.
If you’re using frozen strawberries, be sure to thaw the berries completely and remove any excess liquid before chopping them and adding them to the batter.
Recipe Adaptations:
- For sweeter muffins, add 1 to 4 tablespoons of any granulated sweetener you like, such as regular cane sugar, brown sugar, sugar-free sweetener, or coconut sugar.
- Add 2 additional tablespoons of avocado oil for more moisture, more cake-like muffins.
- If you love the combination of berries and chocolate, add up to 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter.
- Replace the whole grain oats with 2 cups of oat flour or 1 2/3 cups of a gluten-free flour blend.
- If you’re allergic to apples and you enjoy the taste of bananas, you can replace the applesauce with 1 cup of mashed ripe bananas. This will also add more sweetness to the muffins.
- You can replace the avocado oil with melted coconut oil, olive oil, or melted butter. If using melted butter, use 4 tablespoons instead of 3.
- Add the zest of 1 lemon plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for a little subtle lemon flavor.
- Use 1 cup of ripe mashed bananas instead of the applesauce for strawberry banana oatmeal muffins.
- For grain-free strawberry muffins, make my Almond Flour Strawberry Muffins.
Now that we’re familiar with the simple ingredients for this oatmeal muffin recipe, let’s make it!
How to Make Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tray with paper liners.
Transfer the oats to a high-powered blender or a food processor and blend until a flour forms. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt and blend for another 10 seconds or so to combine the dry ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, eggs, avocado oil, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and cider vinegar until the wet ingredients are well-combined.
Transfer the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until a smooth batter forms.
Stir in the chopped strawberries until they are well distributed throughout the batter.
Pour the muffin batter into the prepared muffin holes of the muffin pan, filling the holes ⅔ to all the way up. I fill the holes all the way up and I end up with 9 muffins.
You can sprinkle extra strawberries on top of the muffins along with some oats if you’d like.
Transfer the muffin tin to the preheated oven and bake muffins on the center rack for 38 to 35 minutes, or until they test clean. I bake mine for 30 minutes.
You’ll know the muffins are cooked through when they are golden brown on top and test clean when poked with a toothpick or a butter knife.
If you have a digital thermometer, you can use it to verify the muffins are done. To do so, insert the thermometer into the center of one of the muffins.
Baked goods are fully cooked when they have reached an internal temperature of 190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The exact baking time depends on how much batter is in the muffin cups.
Store muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also store the muffins in a sealed container at room temperature for up to three days if you don’t live in a very humid area. Freeze muffins in a large freezer bag or zip lock bag for up to 3 months.
These healthy strawberry muffins are an amazing go-to to keep on constant rotation. Easy to make and fun to take with you to work or on road trips, these tasty gluten-free muffins can be a real lifesaver!
If you love healthy muffin recipes, also check out these reader favorites:
More Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes:
- Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
- Oatmeal Banana Zucchini Muffins
- Healthy Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal Muffins
- Chickpea Banana Muffins
- Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
The best way to enjoy strawberry season right here! Make these healthy breakfast muffins using any fresh fruit any time of year!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tray with paper liners.
- Transfer the oats to a high-powered blender or a food processor and blend until a flour forms. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt and blend for another 10 seconds or so to combine the dry ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, eggs, avocado oil, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and cider vinegar until the wet ingredients are well-combined.
- Transfer the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until a smooth batter forms.
- Stir in the chopped strawberries until they are well distributed throughout the batter.
- Pour the muffin batter into the prepared muffin holes of the muffin pan, filling the holes ⅔ to all the way up. I fill the holes all the way up and I end up with 9 muffins.
- You can sprinkle extra strawberries on top of the muffins along with some oats if you’d like.
- Transfer the muffin tin to the preheated oven and bake muffins on the center rack for 38 to 35 minutes, or until they test clean. I bake mine for 30 minutes.
- You’ll know the muffins are cooked through when they are golden brown on top and test clean when poked with a toothpick or a butter knife. If you have a digital thermometer, you can use it to verify the muffins are done. To do so, insert the thermometer into the center of one of the muffins. Baked goods are fully cooked when they have reached an internal temperature of 190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The exact baking time depends on how much batter is in the muffin cups.
Notes
Nutrition
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Marianne McKenna
Saturday 17th of June 2023
How long to bake these muffins if I use a mini muffin tray. I'm excited to try this yummy recipe. Thank you.
Julia
Friday 23rd of June 2023
Hi Marianne! Mini muffins should take about 11 minutes. Hope you enjoy! xo