Fluffy Oatmeal Cranberry Muffins With Vanilla Greek Yogurt

It’s cranberry season, which means indulging in these fluffy oatmeal cranberry muffins for a sweet breakfast, which is totally okay. The thick oatmeal batter is made sweeter with vanilla Greek yogurt, and the real tart cranberries are just the tangiest little treat in each fluffy muffin. The best part is all that oatmeal means you can call these a healthier muffin, making them ideal to serve at breakfast or as a grab-and-go morning boost with your coffee. 

​My first love, aside from chocolate, was baking. It remains true to this day, and I prefer to make simple baking that is easy for everyone, including myself. Because, let’s face it, when you’ve got hungry mouths to feed, time can be of the essence. That’s why this easy oatmeal cranberry muffin is such a perfect fall treat. With its flavorful fluffy crumb and the tangy addition of real fruit, you can’t go wrong. Even non-cranberry lovers will admit these are the bomb!

Next time you want a great oatmeal muffin, try my cherry chocolate oatmeal muffins. They are super delicious.

Why You Will Love This Easy Cranberry Yogurt Muffin Recipe

It’s simple. I am not one for overly complicated recipes, and this one is super easy. The hardest part is slicing those little red cranberries in half. 

Fluffy Muffins. Sinking your teeth into the soft muffins is a huge reward for the baking. Fresh from the oven and still steamy, they can’t be beat—except maybe the next day when you have a tasty coffee break treat. 

It’s wholesome. With all that oatmeal and high-protein Greek yogurt, the muffin is a wholesome and nutritious addition to your breakfast lineup. Also, real cranberries have some significant health benefits. Be sure to see the nutrient information in the recipe card for each muffin.

Let’s Start Making These Cranberry Yogurt Muffins

To begin, you will need to gather the needed ingredients and preheat the oven. Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, gather the simple ingredients: oats, yogurt, neutral oil, brown sugar, egg, all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and, of course, cranberries.  Once you’ve gathered the needed ingredients you will need to get the tools of the baking trade ready. That is to say, your mixing bowls, measuring cups, and measuring spoons. You can use a mixer for the batter, but really, most of my baking can be done simply enough by hand. This recipe is one of those recipes that’s easy to whip up. 

I prefer to use a fork for mixing over a wooden spoon. The reason why is that the tines of a fork allow the mixture to pass through and work out any lumps while mixing. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl when combining all the ingredients. 

Take the time now to cut all your cranberries in half. I used frozen cranberries, which made cutting an easy task. Once measured, set them aside.

Now, we are ready to get started. Measure the oats and Greek yogurt into one medium bowl. Stir it together and set aside while you prepare the wet ingredients. In another large bowl, mix the egg, oil, and brown sugar. Give it a good beating to work out any brown sugar lumps. Tiny ones are minor, but be sure to leave no large lumps. 

Next, we will add the dry ingredients. Measure the flour, salt, baking powder, and soda into the bowl with the egg mixture. Start stirring it. Midway through mixing, add in the oats that have been soaking up the moisture from the Greek yogurt. Stir all of it together well. It’s a really thick batter. In fact, you may be concerned it’s too thick. I assure you it isn’t. 

​Lastly, give the cranberries a light dusting of flour to prevent them from sinking into the muffin batter, and incorporate them well into the oat batter. Once mixed, you can prepare the muffin tin.

For best results, I used cooking spray in my non-stick twelve-cup muffin pan. Partly because I don’t trust a non-stick pan to be fully non-stick, I did so because I don’t like using muffin liners. They tend to be too clingy to the muffin for my liking. However, if you’re pro paper liners, go ahead and line the muffin cups with the papers now. You can also make these mini muffins in a mini muffin pan. A recipe that makes twelve full-size muffins generally makes twenty-four bite-sized mini muffins. 

We are filling the muffin cups thoroughly with this thick batter. Spooning it in is the easiest method. Then, bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 20 minutes. The muffin tops will be golden, and because the batter is super thick with whole oats, they will be bumpy. Test the muffins for doneness with a cake tester. If you don’t have a cake tester, insert a knife at a downward angle from the edge of a muffin toward the bottom center. If the butter knife comes out clean, the muffins are finished baking. 

Remove the muffin pan to a wire rack and let cool for a few minutes before attempting to remove the muffins from the pan. The reasoning is simple: with a soft, fluffy muffin that has add-ins, they are too soft and will break apart if you pull them directly after removing them from the oven. Other more dense muffins can be removed from a baking pan right away. 

After allowing them to cool, pop the muffins out of the pan and enjoy! I think this is one of my new favorite muffin recipes. 

Ingredients:

Oats: When baking with oats, I use regular quick oats that you would eat at breakfast. These oats can absorb the moisture from the yogurt well.

Vanilla Greek Yogurt: This yogurt adds moisture and vanilla flavor to the muffin batter.

Neutral Oil: When baking, I use vegetable oil like canola or sunflower. These oils are generally more budget-friendly than other neutral oils like avocado.

Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar for this recipe, which added just the right amount of sweetness and caramel flavor to offset the vanilla in the yogurt.

Egg: I always bake with large eggs. This muffin ingredient acts as a binder and leavening agent while adding moisture and color. 

Salt: This simple ingredient enhances the subtle vanilla and brown sugar flavors in the muffin batter.

Baking Powder: This common pantry staple helps muffins rise. Without it, you would have a flat pancake instead of a fluffy baked muffin.

Baking Soda: It reacts with the yogurt to kick off the rising process. It’s not called fast-acting baking soda for nothing.

Cranberries: This tart, tasty fruit is often associated with cranberry sauce but also makes a healthful and tasty baking ingredient. I used frozen cranberries for this recipe, but fresh cranberries are also a good choice.

​Substitutions And Add-Ins For These Healthy Muffins

Oats: If you prefer, you can use old-fashioned rolled oats instead of quick-minute oats. You can also sub in oat flour, which is essentially just ground whole oats. DO NOT use stone-ground or instant oats, as they will not work correctly. 

Vanilla Greek Yogurt: I used Liberte Vanilla Greek Yogurt for this recipe. Any plain Greek yogurt can be used, and then an additional tsp of vanilla can be added to the recipe. If using non-Greek-style yogurt, reduce it by 1/2 cup as it generally has a higher moisture content compared to the thicker Greek. Or switch the yogurt out for full-fat sour cream. 

Neutral Oil: As stated above, I tend to use lower-cost neutral oils when baking. This is because you are using them in a higher quantity than when cooking generally. Also, they never let you down. You can swap out the vegetable oils for coconut oil or a higher-cost neutral oil if preferred.

Brown Sugar: Any brown sugar color level is suitable. You can also switch it out entirely for pure maple syrup or coconut sugar.

Egg: I use large eggs when baking, but as long as there is an egg in the recipe, it will still be okay. (I know this from over 40 years of baking muffins.) However, if you have small eggs and are concerned, simply use two in the recipe to replace the one large egg.

All-Purpose Flour: If you want to use another type of flour, like gluten-free almond flour, you will need to double-check the manufacturer’s recommendation for replacing regular flour. This muffin recipe has only been tested with all-purpose flour.

Salt: Do not omit or alter this ingredient.

Baking Powder: This ingredient is a slower-reacting leavening agent, and if you omit it, your muffins may not rise properly. In a pinch, you can use the old housewife trick of mixing baking soda with cream of tartar. That is, one part baking soda to two parts cream of tartar to equal the same proportion of baking powder.

​Baking Soda: This fast-acting leavening agent kick-starts your baking. However, if you don’t have any on hand, add 1/2 tsp more baking powder and adjust the bake settings. Start the muffins off in a hot 450F oven for ten minutes, then reduce to 350F for the remaining bake. This initial high temperature helps the muffins rise quickly, ensuring a fluffy texture, while the lower temperature ensures they bake evenly and thoroughly without burning. Keep a close eye on them and check for doneness with a toothpick to ensure they come out perfectly.

​Cranberries: You can use other fruits instead of cranberries in the recipe. Other good fruit choices include diced apples or pears, sweet blueberries, dried apricots, and fresh peaches or nectarines.

Looking to make more of a dessert-style muffin? Try adding mini white chocolate chips or cream cheese chips. You could also add orange zest to the muffin batter to enjoy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins. 

​Expert Tips, Serving And Storing Suggestions For This Fluffy Oatmeal Muffin With Cranberries

Tip #1: Use a Fork for Mixing: When combining your muffin batter, use a fork instead of a wooden spoon. The tines of a fork help break up lumps more effectively and ensure a smoother mixture. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all ingredients evenly.

Tip #2: Dust Cranberries with Flour: To prevent your cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin batter, lightly coat them with flour before adding them to the mixture. This simple step helps distribute the cranberries more evenly throughout the batter.

Tip #3: Test Muffins for Doneness: To ensure your muffins are fully baked, use a cake tester or a butter knife that has been inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, their done. For a foolproof test, insert the knife at a downward angle from the edge to the center to check for doneness without disturbing the muffin structure.

This easy oatmeal cranberry muffin recipe is the perfect pick-me-up snack for a coffee break or a wholesome snack for your child’s lunch box. The baked oatmeal muffins are super fluffy, nutritious, and have great flavor. 

​You can store these muffins covered on the counter for up to four days. However, they likely won’t last that long. If you want to freeze them for later simply stick the individual muffins cooled in a freezer bag. They can freeze for up to three months, which is a general rule of thumb for all baked goods. Be sure to label your freezer bag so you remember the best before. 

Have you made this tasty fluffy muffin recipe? If you did please rate and comment as it helps me create more content that you will love.