Summer Blueberry Muffins in Winter
These healthy blueberry muffins with no added sugar are the perfect everyday treat for little hands and growing bodies. Made with whole foods and sweetened naturally with dates, applesauce, and juicy blueberries, they’re a gluten free, refined sugar free option the whole family will love. Best of all? They come together quickly using simple pantry staples—perfect for busy parents and picky eaters alike.
Have a bag of frozen blueberries from last summer’s harvest hiding in the back of your freezer? Same here! We love tossing frozen berries into oatmeal or Greek yogurt bowls, but for the longest time, every time I baked with them, my muffins turned an unappetizing grayish-blue. Not exactly kid-approved.
Then I learned this game-changing baking trick:
Rinse frozen blueberries under cold water several times, until the water runs noticeably lighter when drained. Pat them completely dry with layers of paper towels—top and bottom. When adding them to your batter, gently fold them in and stop mixing as soon as they’re incorporated. If they start to “bleed,” you’ve gone far enough! This simple step keeps your muffins beautifully golden with perfect pops of blueberry.
Now for the best part—baking! These muffins are naturally gluten free thanks to oat flour and made entirely with healthy food ingredients you can feel good about serving your kids. They’re soft, lightly sweet, and full of cozy flavor, making them a go-to family recipe you’ll come back to again and again.
Crank up your oven and get baking—because wholesome, kid-friendly food should be easy and delicious.
Wild Blueberry & Oat Muffins
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES SERVES: 12 MUFFINS
3/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about 8 large dates)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup melted ghee or coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, whisked
2 1/4 cups oat flour (organic if possible)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon unrefined salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup frozen wild blueberries tossed in 1 tablespoon oat flour to prevent sinking (see tip above in the blog post to prevent discoloring your muffins)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a standard size muffin tin with paper liners
Soak the dates in a bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes to really soften them up. Add the soaked dates to the food processor along with 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid. Blend until a smooth paste forms (adding more liquid if needed)
Add the date paste to a large bowl with the apple sauce, ghee, vanilla and eggs. Mix until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl, mixing well until fully distributed. Gently fold in the blueberries using the trick above to preven them from discoloring your muffins. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin (about 3/4 of the way full) and bake in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin. About 30-40 minutes. Around the 30 minute mark if the muffins still seem under-baked you can move the muffin pan to the bottom rack in the oven to get the bottom heat to cook through faster.
Store muffins in a sealed container at room temperature for one day and then store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Gently reheat in a toaster oven before enjoying!
