high protein blueberry muffins

My go-to blueberry muffins with a bit of an upgrade. Some of the flour swapped for protein, oats and flaxseed for fibre, less oil and sugar, and a seeded almond crunch on top. Still soft, still full of blueberries, 13g of protein each, and still easy. I promise.

These blueberry muffins have been a favourite of mine for years, so I wanted to see how far I could push them without losing what makes them good. The one thing with protein baking is not to go overboard. Too much powder and you end up with a rubbery muffin, so I've kept it to about a quarter of the flour and added extra Greek yoghurt and milk to keep them soft and moist.

A little ground flaxseed and some blitzed oats bring a bit of fibre, the oil and sugar are cut right back, and instead of a sugary top they get a crunchy mix of flaked almonds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and lemon zest. Double the protein of my originals, and nobody at the table will know.

Two bowls, a few stirs, into the oven. I often say these recipes are easy. Co-founders Sarah and Jayne say prove it, so one of them is going head to head with me in the kitchen soon to find out. Keep an eye on our Instagram and YouTube for that one.

Makes 12 | about 30 minutes, including 10 minutes resting

per muffin = 225 cals / 22g carbs / 9g fat / 13g protein

dry ingredients

• 100g wholemeal flour
• 80g plain flour
• 50g oat flour (just blitz porridge oats in a blender)
• 80g vanilla whey protein (or a whey and casein blend)
• 60g brown sugar
• 8g baking powder
• 5g bicarbonate of soda
• 200g blueberries, fresh or frozen

wet ingredients

• 300g 0% fat Greek yoghurt
• 2 eggs, plus 1 egg white
• 130ml milk
• 60ml oil (sunflower, vegetable or rapeseed)
• 15g ground flaxseed (or chia seeds)
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

for the seeded almond crunch

• 25g flaked almonds
• 15g pumpkin seeds
• 10g hemp seeds
• 1 tsp demerara sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon

method

1. Whisk all the wet ingredients together with the ground flaxseed. Leave to sit for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). The flaxseed soaks up some of the liquid and helps keep the muffins moist.
2. Mix the crunch ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then toss the blueberries through so they're coated. This helps stop them sinking to the bottom.
4. Pour the wet into the dry and fold together quickly in just a few stirs. A few little lumps are completely fine. The batter will be a little thicker than a classic muffin batter. If it's very stiff, add a splash more milk.
5. Spoon into 12 muffin cases and press a good pinch of the seeded almond crunch onto each one.
6. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until risen, golden and a skewer comes out clean. Protein browns faster than flour, so keep an eye on the tops. If they're colouring before the centres are done, lay a sheet of foil loosely over them for the last few minutes.
7. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack. Enjoy!

ways to enjoy

• Warm, with a spoon of Greek yoghurt for breakfast
• Swap the blueberries for raspberries, or chopped apple with a pinch of cinnamon as the seasons change
• Bake them smaller in cupcake cases for lunchboxes (start checking them at 13 minutes)
• Freeze them once they're cool and pop one in the microwave for 20 seconds on a busy morning

kitchen tips

• never beat a muffin batter: overmixing develops the gluten and makes them tough. Fold in a few stirs and stop as soon as there's no dry flour left.
• the protein powder: don't go any heavier than this. About a quarter of the flour is the sweet spot, any more and the texture turns rubbery and dry.
• your powder matters: different protein powders absorb liquid differently. If yours makes a very stiff batter, loosen it with a splash of milk. If it's unflavoured, add an extra teaspoon of vanilla. If it's already well sweetened, you can trim the sugar slightly.
• Frozen blueberries work perfectly. Add them straight from the freezer so they don't bleed into the batter.
• Contains milk, eggs, gluten (wheat, oats) and nuts (almonds in the topping). Check the label on your protein powder for full allergen information.

Let me know how you get on, and tag us if you make them!