Banana Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins

Banana Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins are packed with juicy blackberries and mashed sweet banana. They’re made with whole wheat flour and rolled oats that are soaked in milk, so these muffins are not only wholesome and hearty, they’re soft and tender too!

These banana berry muffins have been on repeat in our house lately. While I’ve been making them with blackberries, they easily work with blueberries or raspberries too.

This recipe is actually a mash up of two other oatmeal muffin recipes that are already on the blog – healthy banana nut muffins and blackberry lemon muffins.

For both of these recipes, along with most of my oatmeal muffin recipes, I use the trick of soaking the oats in milk (usually plant-based milk) to create oatmeal, which ensures the muffins turn out tender and moist.

It’s a game changer for making soft and fluffy oat muffins!

Reasons to love these banana blackberry muffins

• They use plant-based milk so they’re completely dairy-free.
• As mentioned above, soaking the oats in milk helps keep these muffins tender and soft.
• They freeze well and can be prepped in advance for a hearty snack or quick breakfast.
• They’re not loaded with refined sugar, just sweetened with banana, honey and a little cane sugar.
• There are lots of ways to change up this recipe with variations and substitutions included in the post below.

Details on the ingredients

Below is just an overview of the ingredients used. Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities used.

Bananas – You’ll need 3/4 cup of mashed banana. This adds moisture, flavor and helps sweeten the muffins. Make sure your bananas are overly ripe (with plenty of brown spots) which will add extra sweetness to the muffins and a more pronounced banana flavor.

Blackberries – You’ll need 3/4 cup of fresh blackberries for these muffins. If your blackberries are large, you may want to cut them in half so there are more pieces to evenly disperse throughout the muffins.

Rolled oats – The recipe calls for large flake rolled oats. I prefer them for their texture, but you can also use quick cooking rolled oats if you prefer.

Almond milk – The oats are soaked in almond milk or the plant-based milk of your choice. Just make sure it is unsweetened and unflavored.

Egg – One large room temperature egg helps add structure, moisture and leavening to the muffins.

Oil – This also helps add moisture. I used avocado oil but extra virgin olive oil would also work nicely.

Honey – This works to sweeten the muffins but also reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise. You can substitute with maple syrup but the muffins may not rise as well.

Cane sugar – For just a little extra sweetness, the recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of cane sugar. This has a similar texture to granulated sugar and can usually be found in the organic section of most grocery stores.

Vanilla – For the best flavor, be sure to use real vanilla extract as opposed to artificial.

Flour – Like most of my muffin recipes, this one is made with whole wheat flour. I just like how it pairs with oats to create a hearty and wholesome muffin.

Baking powder and baking soda – Used together for leavening.

Salt – I used fine sea salt but table salt or kosher salt work too.

How to make banana blackberry oatmeal muffins

Soak your oats in almond milk for 30-60 minutes, or until the milk is absorbed and the oats have softened.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate large bowl, add the oat mixture and whisk in the mashed banana, egg, oil, honey, cane sugar and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix the batter.

Gently fold in the blackberries.

Divide the batter into a 12-cavity muffin pan that has been greased or lined with paper liners. Sprinkle some extra oat flakes on top of the muffins (optional).

Bake at 425F for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe variations and substitutions

• Use other berries in place of the blackberries such as blueberries or raspberries.
• For a heartier muffin with a nutty texture, use steel cut oats instead of rolled oats. (You’ll just need to soak the steel cut oats for 5-6 hours or overnight).
• Substitute the cane sugar with granulated sugar or coconut sugar.
• Use another type of milk. Cashew or oat milk are great plant-based options, and for a dairy version, cow’s milk works too.
• Replace the whole wheat flour with an equal amount of all purpose white flour.

Measuring ingredients

For convenience, US cup measurements are included in the recipe card for this recipe. To ensure greater accuracy, however, weight and volume measurements are also provided. So, if you see grams (g), you’ll want to use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, and if you see milliliters (ml), you’ll want to use a liquid measuring cup. Smaller quantities of ingredients are provided in teaspoons and tablespoons.

Storage and freezing

FAQs

Measuring ingredients

For convenience, US cup measurements are included in the recipe card for this recipe. To ensure greater accuracy, however, weight and volume measurements are also provided. So, if you see grams (g), you’ll want to use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, and if you see milliliters (ml), you’ll want to use a liquid measuring cup. Smaller quantities of ingredients are provided in teaspoons and tablespoons.

Key recipe tips

• Measuring flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale to measure your flour, be sure to use the spoon and level method with a dry measuring cup.
• Don’t over mix the batter. This can lead to dense or tough muffins instead of soft and fluffy. Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until just incorporated and then fold in the blackberries.
• Bakeware. Darker colored bakeware tends to brown baked goods more quickly than lighter colored bakeware. These muffins were baked in a lighter colored pan. If your pan is dark, the muffins may brown and bake a little quicker.
• Liners. I like to use parchment paper cupcake liners as they don’t stick to the bottom of muffins like other liners tend to do. If you don’t have liners, be sure to grease your muffin pan well with non-stick cooking spray.
• Blackberries. After washing the blackberries make sure to dry them well with a paper towel. If your blackberries are large, I suggest cutting them in half so they disperse more evenly throughout the muffin batter.
• Optional topping. Adding oat flakes to the tops of the muffins before baking is optional but I like how it adds to the presentation.

More oatmeal muffin recipes

• Air Fryer Muffins
• Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins
• Apple Spice Muffins
• Coconut Mango Muffins

More banana recipes

• Almond Flour Banana Muffins
• Banana Cake with Oil
• Spelt Banana Muffins
• Almond Flour Banana Cake
• Pumpkin Banana Muffins
• Banana Cake with Milk

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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