Real Food Blueberry Spelt Muffin Recipe

I love a good blueberry muffin.

Actually, what I really like are the blueberry muffin mixes that don’t even use actual blueberries – just those hard, dried kernels that magically turn soft and kind of blueberry-tasting. Mmmmm… just like Mama used to make.

However, those are not made with real food. 

In fact, when I googled “blueberry muffins,” most of the results talked about how unhealthy normal blueberry muffins are.

Because I’m trying to do better, I make homemade blueberry muffins.

(You know, with actual blueberries.)

Today, I want to show you how I use spelt flour to make blueberry muffins.

Blueberry Spelt Muffins Kids Love

We discovered spelt flour when my kids were gluten-sensitive and we were on a budget. Gluten-free mixes and flours were really expensive for a house of growing boys, so I needed to get creative. We also ate lots of allergy-free baked oatmeal.

Since I had a grain mill for making fresh whole wheat, I started experimenting with spelt flour. While pre-ground spelt flour is pretty expensive at the store, I figured out I could use it in my flour mill and bake my gluten-sensitive kids spelt flour treats for a fraction of the cost.

Healthy Blueberry Muffin Variations

These are not your average blueberry muffins. You know – the kind that are like bald cupcakes (there’s nothing healthier about those except the lack of frosting).

These are truly real food blueberry muffins. And the best part is that besides the spelt flour, there are no other weird ingredients. They are all ingredients you can find at Walmart or any other normal grocery store.

Just simple, real food.

However, because I know everyone is at a different place with their budget and their real food journey, I want to show you how you can substitute ingredients fairly easily so you can use what you have and make it work for you.

Don’t like honey-sweetened baked goods? Use sugar instead (or coconut sugar! Or raw sugar! Or maple syrup!)

Dairy-free? Use almond milk and avocado oil instead of milk and butter.

Vegan or egg-free? Try it with flax or chia eggs!

In the video, I also made some more “normal” blueberry muffins so we could do a side-by-side comparison of what the process looks like and how I substitute conventional ingredients with more real food ingredients.

How Do You Make Healthy Blueberry Muffins?

For me, when I’m making healthier baked goods, I try to keep my ingredients simple and straightforward. Here’s what we use in this recipe.

Milk

We were dairy-free for many years, so I got used to using almond milk, then mixing it with lemon juice or vinegar and letting it curdle. This makes a decent buttermilk substitute in other recipes too. However, if you are not dairy-free, you can use yogurt thinned with milk instead of milk and lemon juice. Buttermilk and kefir work great too. 

Lemon Juice or Vinegar

You can use several kinds of acid here – lemon juice, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, etc. If you use yogurt or any other fermented, acidic dairy, omit this.

Flour

Here, we obviously used Spelt flour. Spelt is a nutty, sweet-tasting flour that is an early (ancient) version of wheat flour. It has less gluten and is often tolerated by people with gluten sensitivities.

You can substitute it 1:1 for all-purpose or whole wheat flour. Because it has less gluten, your baked goods will turn out slightly differently. But altogether it’s really easy to work with compared to gluten-free flour.

For this recipe, you can use freshly ground spelt flour or pre-ground, store-bought. If using freshly ground, add ¼ cup more flour than called for in the recipe.

The goal of Smart Sweets: 30 Desserts to Indulge Your Sweet Tooth is to give you options that are way better for you than you’ll find in the grocery store, usually better for you than another homemade version, and sometimes downright good for you.

You’ll find less sugar, healthier sweeteners, whole grains, soaked and sprouted grains, no grains, probiotics, and even some vegetables in these dessert recipes.

If you always feel guilty when you give into sweet things, this book is definitely for you.

Oats

I’ve made all kinds of muffins, but my favorites include some oats. They add great texture and flavor to this recipe.

Baking Powder

If you have trouble finding aluminum-free or gluten-free baking powder, simply use ½ tsp baking soda and ¼ tsp cream of tartar for every teaspoon of baking powder.

Oil/Melted Butter

If you’re dairy-free, use avocado oil or some other neutral-tasting oil in your muffins (not olive oil!). Otherwise, butter is delicious, and (at least in my case) more budget-friendly!

Applesauce

To help reduce the cost of healthy fats, I use applesauce in my muffins too. It’s inexpensive and real food! If you want a richer muffin, substitute the applesauce for more butter.

Eggs

Technically, you can make these egg-free muffins with a flax egg or a chia egg (find instructions for those on this post). It won’t be a perfect substitute. The egg-free muffins won’t rise as high and they will be denser. But if you’re egg-free, this is a delicious and simple way to enjoy blueberry muffins!

If we’re running low on eggs or we’re on a really tight budget, I use flax and chia eggs in my baked goods. This helps me save money and stretch our good farm eggs a little further!

Sweetener

These muffins call for honey, but you can substitute your favorite sweeteners. If you use maple syrup, keep in mind that it’s about half as sweet as honey, so your muffins won’t be as sweet.

If you use turbinado, coconut sugar, or plain old sugar, use 1 cup sugar (instead of ½ cup honey) and add 1 tbsp more milk to the recipe. Since honey is a liquid, you’ll have better results if you add that extra tablespoon of liquid to the recipe.

Baking Soda

This is pretty straightforward 🙂

Salt

Of course, we’re gonna recommend real salt!

More Healthy Muffin Recipes:

• Whole Wheat Muffins (No Sugar)
• Mookies
• Spelt Banana Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
• Sourdough Muffins
• Peanut Butter Applesauce Muffins
• Grain-Free Coconut Muffins

Easy Blueberry Spelt Muffin Recipe

There are a million blueberry muffin recipes out there. I like this one because I like using low-gluten spelt flour as much as I can in non-sourdough recipes. This simple recipe is loaded with real food and so flexible the results are always delicious.

In the video, I even demonstrated how you can substitute ingredients to use what you have! Here’s how we make our easy spelt blueberry muffins.

Blueberry Spelt Muffin Recipe

★★★★★5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Stephani Jenkins
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

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Description

I love blueberry muffins, but they’re typically pretty unhealthy, just a bald cupcake. These are made with real food ingredients and REAL blueberries.

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Ingredients

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• 1 c. milk (dairy-free works great!)
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice or vinegar
• 2 c. spelt flour
• 1/3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 tsp. salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase) (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 c. oil or melted butter
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 c. frozen or fresh blueberries
• 1 Tbs. flour (optional)

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Instructions

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1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and lemon juice. Set it aside to curdle.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
4. Add the liquids, including the milk mixture, and stir just until mixed.
5. Optional step: In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 tbsp flour. This step helps prevent the blueberries from bleeding into the batter and sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
6. Fold in the blueberries.
7. For the best results, let the batter sit for 10-30 minutes. This allows the whole grain to absorb the liquid a little more.
8. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes.
9. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan. Muffins taste best served fresh, but these keep well for 2-3 days on the counter, one week in the fridge, or wrap them up and freeze them for easy breakfasts later.

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Notes

1. Dairy-Free: For dairy-free muffins, use dairy-free milk and then use avocado oil or coconut oil instead of butter.
2. Egg-Free: For egg-free muffins, use a flax or chia egg from this recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 muffin
• Calories: 174
• Sugar: 14g
• Sodium: 342mg
• Fat: 5g
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 30g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 25mg

Keywords: healthy breakfast, healthy dessert, fruit recipe

Tips to Make Light & Fluffy Whole Grain Muffins:

• Do not overmix the batter (impossible when your toddler is helping you bake)
• All ingredients should be at room temperature
• When you add the blueberries, fold them in gently with a spatula
• Use freshly ground spelt flour (it’s the best! But not for everyone)
• Whole grain does better when you let it soak for 10-30 minutes before baking (I do this more often than any other tip because it makes a big difference in my opinion)