Healthy Muffins

Here’s how to make the best healthy muffins, in twenty different flavors! Everyone will love this quick and easy recipe.

Homemade healthy muffins recipe

Soft, moist, sweet, and ultra fluffy, these delicious muffins make a great addition to any breakfast table, lunch box, healthy snack, or even dessert.

The muffins come with unlimited creative customization options.

And the recipe includes dairy free, egg free, gluten free, low calorie, nut free, oil free, and vegan options if you so desire.

From blueberry, to chocolate chip, to vanilla, to dark chocolate, what muffin flavor will you choose first?

Also try these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Healthy Muffin Flavors

Chocolate Chip Muffins: Stir half a cup of regular or mini chocolate chips into the dry ingredients in the basic muffin recipe below.

Or press chocolate chips into individual muffins just before baking.

Healthy Strawberry Muffins: Just before portioning the batter into muffin tins, gently stir in one cup of diced strawberries.

You may also try chopped cherries, raspberries, pineapple, or blackberries. For a blueberry option, make these Healthy Blueberry Muffins.

Healthy Banana Muffins: Replace a half cup of the milk in the recipe below with half a cup of mashed banana.

Stir in a handful of chopped walnuts if desired.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Stir the zest of two lemons and one and a half tablespoons of poppy seeds into the batter.

Replace a fourth cup of the milk of choice with lemon juice. These pretty muffins fit right in at a fancy afternoon tea party.

Healthy Chocolate Muffins: Decrease the flour in the recipe below to one and a half cups, and add half a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Or to make just a few double chocolate muffins like the ones in the pictures, follow the exact recipe below, portion batter into nine of the muffin tins, then stir one tablespoon of cocoa powder and a few chocolate chips into the remaining batter.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins: Include the optional half teaspoon of cinnamon listed in the recipe below.

Stir up to one cup of finely diced apples into the batter before baking. You can also add a handful of chopped raisins or dried cranberries.

For low carb almond flour muffins, try these Keto Muffins

Healthy muffin ingredients

Here is what you’ll need: flour, sugar, baking powder, milk of choice, salt, pure vanilla extract, white vinegar, and oil or almond butter, or a low fat substitute.

What type of flour? I have successfully tried the muffins with oat flour, spelt flour, or white or gluten free all purpose flour.

While I cannot recommend any options not listed in the recipe, if you wish to experiment with whole wheat pastry flour, coconut flour, a paleo flour blend, or almond flour, be sure to report back with results.

Can you use nondairy milk? Yes, absolutely. Almond milk, soymilk, coconut milk, cashew milk, or oat milk work instead of skim milk or whole milk.

For best results, do not use rice milk because it often does not contain enough fat to form a good buttermilk substitute.

What are the sweetener options? Try regular sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, or evaporated cane juice.

For sugar free muffins, opt for granulated erythritol, xylitol, or a monk fruit blend.

If you prefer to use maple syrup, honey, or another liquid sweetener, please let me know how the taste and texture turn out, as I have not tried this.

Are the muffins oil free? The recipe calls for three tablespoons of oil, which can be replaced with an equal amount of almond butter, banana, regular or Greek yogurt, or applesauce for fat free muffins.

Or use vegetable, canola, sunflower, or coconut oil.

Trending now: Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe video, step by step

Above, watch the healthy muffin recipe video.

Serving and storage tips

Try spreading the healthy muffins with peanut butter or cashew butter, raspberry jam, basic glaze, Vegan Cream Cheese, mashed banana, or coconut butter.

The recipe is also delicious topped with my favorite Homemade Nutella Recipe.

After baking, I like to let the muffins cool fully before loosely covering them with a cloth or paper towels overnight on the counter. The liners will peel off easily the next day, and taste and texture are better too.

You can reheat the healthy muffins by slicing them in half, adding butter, honey, agave, or toppings of choice, and toasting in a regular or toaster oven.

To store leftover muffins after a day, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate for four to five days or freeze for up to three months.

How to make healthy muffins for breakfast or snack

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lining each cup of a muffin tin with cupcake liners or greasing the tin with oil spray.

Whisk the first four ingredients (the liquid ingredients) in a large bowl. Then stir in the dry ingredients to form a muffin batter. If too dry, add just a little milk of choice.

I like to first stir my dry ingredients in a separate bowl to ensure even mixing, but it can be a one bowl muffin recipe if you prefer.

Time Saving Tip: Combine the dry ingredients days, or even weeks, ahead of time and store the muffin mix in a container or large Ziploc until ready to use.

Scoop batter evenly into each muffin cup of the tin. Now comes the fun part – adding toppings! See above for flavor ideas, or have fun making up some of your own.

Bake for 22 minutes on the oven’s center rack. The healthy pastries should be domed when you take them out, with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin coming out mostly clean.

Allow to sit and cool for ten minutes or so before removing from the tin. If you let them sit very loosely covered overnight, the muffin liners peel off easily the next day. This even works with the no oil version.

Try serving for breakfast alongside a savory recipe, like this Tofu Scramble.

Healthy mini muffins recipe variation

Prefer mini muffins to larger ones? No problem!

You can easily make mini muffins from this basic muffin recipe. Follow the instructions for larger muffins, using a mini muffin pan instead of a standard size muffin pan.

Bake the healthy mini muffin recipe for 15 minutes. The recipe will yield around 11-12 regular sized muffins or 30-34 mini muffins.

Healthy Muffin Recipes

Applesauce Muffins

Kids, toddlers, teens, and adults all enjoy these clean eating muffins that taste like apple pie and are packed with nutrition.

Peanut Butter Muffins

Here’s an easy recipe for a batch of wholesome oil free, dairy free, and vegan chocolate chip peanut butter muffins.

Bran Muffins

Fiber rich bran muffins are a great option for breakfast meal prep. Make a double batch, and freeze leftovers for a rainy day. Tip: Using cooked carrot instead of yogurt turns them into carrot muffins.

Blender Muffins

Flourless blender muffins are nothing like ordinary muffins. Gluten free, grain free, and refined sugar free, they’re like cookie dough in muffin shape.

Pumpkin Muffins

The classic pumpkin muffin recipe is a great portable breakfast or healthy snack, not just in the Fall, but all year long.

Banana Muffins

This muffin recipe is a good choice any time you have unexpected guests, because you can make up a batch quickly and yet they’ll taste like they came straight from the bakery.

Low Fat Chocolate Muffins

You will love the rich, fudgy flavor of these dark chocolate muffins, whether you’re on a weight loss diet or not. (5 Weight Watchers Smart Points each.)

Pineapple Muffins

These buttery tropical pineapple muffins include a full cup of pineapple in the recipe.

Oatmeal Muffins

With whole grain oats and oat flour, these healthy oatmeal muffins are chewy, soft, and fluffy. They taste somewhere between a muffin and an oatmeal cookie.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

If you need to use up a zucchini or want to add more vegetables to your diet, make healthy zucchini bread muffins. For the healthiest choice, choose whole grain flour.

Coffee Cake in a Mug

Want just one single serving muffin with a microwave option? Try this coffee cake muffin with irresistible streusel topping.