Blueberry Yogurt Muffins are easy and quick to make. No mixer required and no butter needed. Plain yogurt and a small amount of oil give these simple muffins a light and tender texture.
Greetings from our house here in Kansas City which has become all things - school, office, playground. Late last week our mayor extended our stay-at-home order until May 15 which is not surprising, but just serves as another reminder that this is our new normal. I can’t say it enough, but we are always thankful for those of you who are out there providing essential services during all of this. I hope you are staying safe and staying healthy.
With three young kids in the house, it’s almost impossible to do anything without at least one kid involved. June’s new favorite thing is to “help” with my photo shoots (ie. grab bites of whatever catches her eye). Note the shirt she’s wearing in this photo! That colorful shirt is straight out of our days in Thailand where everyone wears these shirts to celebrate Thai New Year (which was last week).
What I love about Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
About these Blueberry Yogurt Muffins. These are bake-on-a-whim muffins. There’s no butter to soften, no mixer to pull out, no unusual ingredients or techniques. Plain or Greek yogurt and a small amount of oil give these muffins a light, tender texture and keep them moist enough that they’re still great served the next day. If you’ve got the handful of basic ingredients listed below, you can have one of these in about 30 minutes.
These Blueberry Yogurt Muffins are:
- Light and Fluffy
- Sweet (but not too sweet)
- Golden on Top
- Packed with Blueberries
- Easy (no mixer required)
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Baking Soda, Pure Vanilla Extract, Baking Powder, Egg, Salt - No explanation necessary for these. Just regular baking staples.
- Yogurt - Yogurt is the key to the moist / light texture of these muffins. I prefer to use plain low-fat yogurt for the lightest texture. Nonfat Greek yogurt works really well too and yields a thicker batter and slightly more sturdy (but still tender muffin). See the recipe notes if using Greek yogurt - you'll add a bit more milk to the batter. A fun twist is to use flavored yogurt - blueberry, strawberry, or vanilla would be great! Just keep in mind that the color of the muffins will change - blueberry yogurt will give you blue muffins.
- Vegetable Oil - To keep the muffins moist, you’ll also need a small amount of oil. Just about any type of oil will work in these. I use vegetable oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil for a neutral flavor. Olive oil is great too (although the muffins end up with a very subtle olive oil flavor).
- Milk - Use any type of milk. Alternative milks like almond or coconut will work just fine.
- Blueberries - Use frozen berries or fresh. Frozen berries will bleed into the batter a bit, but they work great. These are also fantastic with other berries - raspberries or chopped strawberries are good options. If using other berries, be sure that you use a tester to make sure the batter is cooked all the way through. Strawberries, in particular, can release moisture as they cook so the muffins may need a couple extra minutes in the oven.
- Toppings - Totally unnecessary, but if I’m feeling fancy, I’ll sprinkle the top of the muffins with large grain sugar or rolled oats. It gives them a little extra something in the flavor / texture department, but it does hide that nicely crisp golden top.
How to Make Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
These are so easy!
- Mix dry ingredients in one bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients in another bowl.
- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just until combined. The batter will be very thick. (Important: do not overmix the batter. To keep the muffins tender, just stir until no dry spots remain.)
- Fold blueberries into batter.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 to 24 minutes. (Use a tester to be certain they have cooked all the way through, especially if you used frozen blueberries which can release extra moisture into the batter.)
- Cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!
More Quick and Easy Baking Recipes
- Semolina Yogurt Cake - I've been getting a lot of comments from people who are baking this simple, 8x8 square cake right now. It's light and not-too-sweet. The semolina gives it a nice, light crumbly texture.
- One-Bowl Chocolate Cake - My favorite go-to chocolate cake. So rich while still light and moist. No mixer needed and it's naturally vegan.
- Strawberry Banana Muffins - These muffins are simple and satisfying. These use banana and a bit of oil instead of butter, so they are flavorful and very light.
Favorite Tools
- Anchor 3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowls - I just love these basic mixing bowls. I use them for almost everything, including for baking my No-Knead Everyday Bread.
- Nonstick Muffin Tin - This recipe makes 12 muffins in a regular muffin tin. I also love making 6-8 regular muffins and then using the leftover batter to make mini muffins. (The mini muffins are great for packing in lunches. I take them straight out of the freezer and put them in lunch boxes and they naturally defrost in time for lunch.)
Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
Blueberry Yogurt Muffins are easy and quick to make. No mixer required and no butter needed. Plain yogurt and a small amount of oil give these simple muffins a light and tender texture.
Servings: 12
Calories: 199kcal
Cost: $5.00
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Muffin Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 250g All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ cup / 150g Sugar (use granulated / white sugar)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Plain Yogurt (see note)
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil (see note)
- 1 ½ tablespoon Milk
- 1 cup Blueberries, fresh or frozen
- Optional Topping (feel free to skip this, but I sometimes like to sprinkle rolled oats or large grain sugar, like Turbinado sugar, for a bit of texture on top)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F / 190°C.
- Prepare a 12 muffin tin with paper liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray. (I highly recommend using paper liners with blueberry muffins because blueberries that come in contact with the pan have a tendency to caramelize and stick. They are much easier to remove if baked in paper liners.)
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a second, smaller mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg, vanilla, oil, and milk.
- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just until no dry spots remain. (To keep the muffins light and tender, do not overmix. If using plain yogurt, the batter will be fairly thin; if using Greek yogurt, the batter may be thicker - both are fine.)
- Gently fold in blueberries.
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin.
- Top each muffin with rolled oats or large grain sugar, if using.
- Bake until muffins are light golden on top and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes and serve.
Notes
Yogurt: Use regular plain yogurt for these muffins. Nonfat or low-fat yogurt work well. You can also use flavored nonfat or low-fat yogurt (blueberry, strawberry, vanilla, or banana flavored yogurt would be great!). If you use plain Greek yogurt, it is a bit thicker, so double the amount of milk used in the recipe (to 3 Tbsp).
Oil: Just about any type of oil will work in these. I use vegetable oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil, for a neutral flavor. Olive oil is great too - the muffins do end up with a subtle olive oil flavor.
To Freeze: These muffins are great to have in the freezer. Just freeze them flat on a sheet pan until solid (about 1 hour) and then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. These can be frozen for 4-6 months. To serve, use the defrost setting on the microwave.
Nutrition
Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 199kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 47IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
Eileen
Delicious! These are easy to make and taste wonderfully light (not cakey.) A great use of the fresh blueberries I am seeing at the farmers market.
Jess
Thanks so much for your note Eileen! So glad you liked them!
Dee
Turned out great. I added chopped walnuts on top.
Jess
Love the idea to add chopped walnuts on top, Dee! I'll definitely have to try that.
Christian
These turned out great! The best ones out of the 3 blueberry muffin recipes we tried in the last weeks 🙂
Greetings from Spain!
Lisa Marie
I made these today with my 2 year old son! It was quite the adventure as you can imagine but a lot of fun for both of us, and they’re delicious!
Jess
My almost 2-year-old likes the mess way more than the "baking". 😉 So glad you (and he) liked them!
Barbara Shinkle
Can I use skim milk?
Jess
Absolutely - skim milk will work just fine!
Amber
Quick question - I'm not a huge fan of the taste of yogurt. I see that adding yogurt will affect the consistency of the muffins, but does it affect the taste? Thanks!
Jess Smith
Amber - that's a great question! I think that if you served these to someone that didn't know there was yogurt in them, they would never guess it was there. It does give them just the slightest hint of a sour or tangy flavor, but I really wouldn't say it tastes distinctly of yogurt.
Claire
Could not get muffin papers off the muffins when cooked. So disappointed. What do you think went wrong? Help!
Jess Smith
Hi Claire - I'm so sorry - that is definitely disappointing! I often just find that some muffin papers are worse for sticking than others. Try spraying them with nonstick cooking spray before you add the muffin batter and you shouldn't have any trouble.
Kylie
Hi there!
Can’t wait to see how these turn out! I am confused on one thing, however. At the top of the recipe it says cook time is 10 mins but in the recipe instructions it says bake 20-24 minutes? Hopefully the 20-24 minute one is right since that’s what I did! Lol
Jess Smith
Hi Kylie - thanks so much for catching this for us. We have made that correction in the recipe card. The text of the recipe was correct (20-24 minutes).
Katie
What a fabulous and easy way to utilize the yogurt and blueberries I had sitting in my fridge this weekend!
Jess, these muffins are so delicious! So moist and fluffy... The only adjustments I made were the addition of lemon zest and juice which really made the blueberry flavor pop! Also, was able to cut back on the oil a little with the addition of extra yogurt-it had no effects on the texture of the muffins. Thanks so much for a super yummy recipe..its gonna be a standard quick and easy way for morning muffins 🙂
Jess Smith
I'm so glad you liked them, Katie! Thanks so much for the kind note!
Carmen
Jess, can I make these dairy free with coconut milk yogurt? Do I need to alter anything else?
Jess Smith
I haven't tried it, but I wouldn't change another thing. I think it should work!
Ruby
I loved this recipe! I have to watch fat content so I subbed half the oil with apple sauce and used non-fat Greek Yogurt and they turned out great. I also reduced the sugar to just over 1/2 cup and they were still nicely sweet, but I also topped it with a baby sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar.
Definitely want to make these again.
Cammy
I just made these, and yes, you definitely need a lot more milk if you use Greek Yogurt! Just put them in the oven and looking forward to eating them. One thing I added was some lemon peel (finely grated) and a bit of lemon juice.
Sandy
I'd like to make jumbo size cupcakes. How should I adjust cooking temperature and time?
Jess Smith
Hi Sandy - I haven't made them that way but I'd try lower and longer. So, try reducing the temp by 25 degrees and add 8-10 minutes to the bake time (just a guess though - you'll just have to keep an eye on them and check for doneness in the centers).
Ernie
I'd love to make these tomorrow, but no yogurt. Thinking sour cream will be an effective substitute..? Any suggestions?
Jess Smith
Hi Ernie - yes! You can use sour cream. Because it is so much more thick than nonfat yogurt, I'd increase the milk in the recipe to 3 Tbsp. That should work!
Helen
The blueberry muffins were moist and soft. Thank you for the easy recipe and useful tips. I will definitely bake them again.
Jess Smith
Thanks so much for the note, Helen - so glad you liked them!
Martha F Ledoux
I substitute King Arthur baking sugar alternative (stevia without the stevia aftertaste) and applesauce instead of oil. They look beautiful and taste awesome (my husband says they're the best blueberry muffins he's ever had). 12 muffins at 100 calories each (I did the math). I'd post a picture if I could.
Jess Smith
That's amazing! I'm so glad to know those substitutions work well. Thanks so much for letting us know!
Chandra
These were excellent! Thank you so much. I will have this on repeat in our home. My husband and kids ate them all in one day. Thank you!
Jess Smith
So glad you all enjoyed them!!!