Oatmeal Pear Muffins

These tender oatmeal and pear muffins are made with bananas and whole wheat flour for a perfectly sweet, healthy muffin! Make a batch of these delicious muffins and enjoy breakfast all week long!

I’ve made quite a few types of muffins, but I realized I didn’t have a pear muffin recipe on the blog. I’ve been loving pears lately and I think they add a lovely sweetness and texture to these muffins. The oatmeal makes these muffins taste hearty and the bananas add sweetness and moisture without requiring any oil or butter.

Muffin Ingredients

• Bananas– Ripe bananas are softer and easier to mash, and they also add more sweetness to these muffins. You’ll need a little less than 1 cup mashed.
• Brown sugar– You can use light or dark brown sugar. Be sure to pack it into the cup when measuring.
• Unsweetened applesauce– This helps add more moisture to the muffins without butter or oil.
• Egg– This helps bind the muffins together so they’re not too crumbly.
• Vanilla extract– This enhances the flavor and adds sweetness.
• Whole wheat flour– Feel free to substitute all purpose flour, if needed.
• Oats– Rolled oats add more texture and chewiness but quick oats are fine too.
• Baking powder & baking soda– This is necessary to add lift and browning to the muffins.
• Salt– A pinch of salt brings out the other flavors of the muffin.
• Cinnamon– This adds a warm, spiced flavor to the muffins.
• Pears– You can use a Bartlett, Red Bartlett, or Green Anjou pear.

Rolled Oats Vs. Quick Oats

I used rolled oats, which are sometimes called “old-fashioned oats”, in this muffin recipe. This type of oatmeal gives the muffins a hearty texture. Quick oats are much thinner and smaller than rolled oats, but you can use them in this recipe if that’s what you have on hand.

Types of Pears

Just like with apples, pears come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, flavors, and textures. For this recipe, I recommend using a Bartlett, Red Bartlett, or Green Anjou pear. These pears are soft, juicy, and sweet. You can substitute other pears, but be mindful of the sweetness. I recommend using pears that are on the sweeter side for this recipe.

How to Tell if a Pear is Ripe

Unlike apples, pears should be ripe before eating. Unripe pears are very firm and not very sweet or flavorful. You can tell when a pear is ripe because it will have a slight “give” when squeezed, similar to a ripe avocado. Using ripe pears will give you the sweetest flavor.

How to Make Oatmeal Pear Muffins

Start by mashing the bananas in a large bowl. It’s easiest to do this with a fork. Ripe bananas are softer and easier to mash, and they also add more sweetness to these muffins.

Then stir in the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and applesauce. Stir until there are no large banana lumps.

Add the whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

Gently combine until no large streaks of flour remain. But try not to over mix. Then gently fold in the diced pear by stirring with a large wooden spoon, 2-3 times.

Scoop the batter into a muffin tin, filling each cup nearly to the top. It should make 12 muffins.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden brown. Insert a toothpick into the center of one of the muffins and check to see if it comes out clean. If it doesn’t, bake for an additional 2-3 minutes.

How to Store Leftover Muffins

Store leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to 4 days. These muffins can also be frozen. Store in a freezer bag and microwave for 15-20 seconds to thaw when ready to enjoy!

Tips for Perfect Muffins

• Once the muffins are done let cool for 1 minute in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. This helps prevent soggy muffins.
• Do NOT over mix the batter. When mixing in the dry ingredients, mix until just combined. It’s ok if there are a few streaks of flour. This helps the muffins rise and stay fluffy.
• Be sure to use paper liners or bake these muffins in a silicone pan, as oatmeal muffins have a tendency to stick to the pan.
• If you want to make vegan muffins try my Vegan Pecan Cranberry Muffins, Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins or these Vegan Cinnamon Walnut muffins!

More Muffin Recipes

• Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins
• Vegan Blueberry Muffins
• Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

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