These healthy pear oatmeal muffins are an easy make-ahead breakfast or grab and go snack. Packed with juicy pears, cardamom and whole grain oats, this muffin recipe is perfect for meal prep!
Use up overripe pears in this easy muffin recipe! Made with whole oats and less sugar, these pear muffins are a healthy-ish recipe for breakfast, a snack or light dessert!
Ingredients
This list looks long. Ok. It is. But I promise it goes by really fast!
Here’s what you’ll need to make these muffins:
- old fashioned oats
- milk
- white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
- baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- ground cardamom (or cinnamon)
- brown sugar
- an egg
- olive or avocado oil (any neutral tasting oil works)
- vanilla extract
- 2 medium pears (I used Anjou)
You’ll combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.
Once the batter is mixed, add to a prepped muffin tin. I don’t recommend using liners. Instead, use a well-seasoned or non-stick muffin tin to get a nice crust on the muffins.
For a bit more crunch, I added a mixture of butter and brown sugar to the tops of these. That’s completely optional but quite delicious!
What makes these muffins healthy?
I wouldn’t technically call them healthy. But there are some healthy swaps. I’ve cut down the sugar. Most standard muffin recipes call for a cup of sugar. Not needed here.
I swapped half the flour for oats and used white whole wheat which is heartier and higher in fiber. You can use regular all-purpose if that’s what you have on hand.
And I used sweet and ripe pears to punch up the flavor in a major way!
For a recipe without any flour at all, make my Vegan Berry Oatmeal Bars!
What’s a substitute for cardamom?
Cinnamon would be great in these muffins. Cardamom adds a subtle warmth to the recipe and it’s just something different. But cinnamon is in everyone’s pantry and works just as well in these muffins.
Ginger, apple pie spice, or pumpkin spice would also work in about the same 1 teaspoon amount. You can add a sprinkle of nutmeg but not for the full amount.
Which pears are best for baking?
That depends on what you’re making. For a baked pear recipe, go with a firmer variety like Bosc or Bartlett.
For these pear muffins, choose a fragrant, juicy pear that will lend lots of flavor to the mix. I loved using Anjou pears for this recipe.
And no need to peel the pears. The peel blends right into the muffins – adding plenty of flavor and fiber.
Can I use apples instead of pears?
Yes! In fact, I did that for you, in these Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins. That recipe uses buttermilk and oats for a moist and delicious muffin. Make the one that you have the most leftover fruit for. Switch up the spices to suit your own tastes.
How do I know when pears are ripe?
Use your thumb to apply gentle pressure to the stem end (or neck) of the pear. When it yields to pressure, it’s ripe and ready to eat!
Store ripe pears in the refrigerator to extend shelf life. But note that they won’t last as long as most apples. So use them up first.
Got pears past their prime? This muffin recipe is the perfect way to use them up!
Or you can preserve your fresh pears with my Cinnamon Canned Pears.
Do these muffins freeze well?
Yes. These muffins freeze beautifully. I make these ahead of time on purpose. To freeze these pear muffins:
1. Allow the muffins to cool completely at room temperature. This is important to avoid wet or soggy muffins going into the freezer.
2. Place the muffins in a freezer-safe bag or container. Store in a single layer in the freezer for up to 3 months. Probably longer would be fine but I’ve never kept them longer than that.
3. To reheat the muffins, pop them into a toaster oven at 375 for 15-20 minutes. They will be hot before that but something magical happens at the 20-minute mark. The muffins revive with a crisp and delicious crust. It’s a must. Do it. Enjoy!
Hungry for more muffin ideas?
You’ll love these Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins in the spring.
Try these Blackberry Buttermilk Muffins and Healthier Blueberry Blender Muffins in the summer.
And when the weather turns chilly again, make these Flourless Gingerbread Muffins!
Pear Cardamom Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- ¼ cup olive oil (or any neutral-tasting oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cup fresh diced pears (about 1½ medium pears)
Optional Crunchy Topping
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray or grease a muffin tin with oil. Set aside.In a large bowl, combine oats and milk. Let sit 15 minutes.
- In a second mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cardamom.
- Stir the oil, egg, brown sugar and vanilla into the soaked oat mixture. Add dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold pears into the batter.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin. (If using the crunchy topping: Stir the butter and sugar until the brown sugar dissolves. Top the muffin batter evenly with the mixture as shown in the photo.)
- Bake 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let the muffins cool in the pan 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy these muffins warm or freeze for later.
Elizabeth
Made a double batch of these muffins, with the following changes: used whole wheat (instead of white whole wheat) flour; I soaked the oats an hour because all I had were large flake oats and I was worried they wouldn’t be soft enough; and I used cinnamon as suggested because I didn’t have any cardamon. They turned out really delicious!! The level of sweetness is just perfect for a muffin you would want to serve your kids for breakfast and the pear flavor shines through. The cinnamon tasted wonderful with the pear but I will definitely try the cardamon next time for a different twist! Thanks!
Marisa
So happy to hear! I often push the limits on lowering the sugar in recipes, so I’m glad your family enjoyed this level of sweet !
Jenn
These are delicious! I used nectarines and cinnamon instead of pears and cardamom, since that’s what I had on hand. I also forgot to add the crunchy topping (guess I was too excited to get them into the oven haha), but they are sweet and tasty enough without it. Can’t wait to make these again with pears – thanks for a great recipe!
Sarah
Made a double batch this afternoon to use up some mushy pears. The only change I made was to use ginger instead of cardamom – and the texture of these is phenomenal! Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Marisa
So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Gene B
My 10 yr old granddaughter & I made these this afternoon once her online school finished. She said she really needed to do something fun & happy because online school was neither! I have a huge bag of just picked pears from a friends farm so while I cut pears, she mixed ingredients. We elected to use apple pie spice this 1st time & it was a great “behind the scenes” taste which let the pears really shine! We also used oat milk because of allergies. We found the allotted time to be just right to soak the oats. The muffin is perfect in sweetness, so good idea to cut extra white sugar! They did not rise high, but we agreed the size was great for snacking. We also baked some in a donut pan which worked great as well! Fun to make & very good! Will freeze some tonight just to see how they taste thawed & will definitely make them again trying other spices for the fun of it.
Marisa
Thanks so much for sharing this story and that you used oat milk successfully! So glad you and your granddaughter enjoyed the muffins and so much quality time together. I love it! And now I also want to put some in a donut pan!
Cat
Coming out of my oven as I type! Can’t wait to try one, and share with my m-I-l, who loves right up the road.
Marisa
Lucky you and her!! Enjoy them!
Francia
Amazing recipie! How long while they last in the pantry? Or should I keep them in the fridge?
Marisa
Thanks, Francia! Great question. Because of the high moisture content, I wouldn’t leave them out for too long – 1-2 days max. I usually keep mine in the fridge or freeezer!
Melissa
Just made these for the first time and they are delicious! I used whole wheat flour because that’s what I had and followed the rest as is. I doubled it and while baking one batch according to the directions, I put the other ones in muffin papers and froze the dough to bake later. Once frozen, I’ll keep them in a Ziploc bag in freezer until ready to bake. Hope those ones come out just as yummy!
Marisa
Let us know how the frozen unbaked ones turn out as I haven’t tried that. I freeze the fully baked ones and love how they turn out!
Natasha
Excellent recipe! I followed the ingredients exactly except for subbing cinnamon for the cardamom. I didn’t follow the directions and just mixed everything together. Ended up with a pretty runny batter so I let it sit for 15 minutes for the oats to absorb some of the moisture. Then portioned and baked. Very happy with the result! Great texture and just the right sweetness. I did not do the extra sugar on top. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Marisa
Thanks for the note, Natasha! So happy you appreciate the lower sugar recipe 🙂 It’s also one of my faves!
Jen
These were great! I used whole wheat pastry flour and overripe pears. This made for a wetter batter, so just needed to bake for a few more minutes.
Marisa
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Have a great week!
Jeannine
I have overripe Bartlett pears will they work in this recipe? Could you make this in loaf form or springform pan?
Marisa
Hi Jeannine! Overripe Bartlett pears will work great! And yes, I’m pretty sure you can make these in loaf form. You will need to increase the baking time and sorry I don’t have that number as I haven’t tried it yet.
Julie
An excellent muffin. Perfect sweetness level.
Bob
Excellent recipe… to remain on the side of health i topped with shaved pear
Kelly Collins
I did not follow the directions. I just made two bowls from the ingredient list, one wet…one dry. Then I mixed them together and folded in the pears. I was mad at myself when I THEN looked at the directions and figured they were not going to turn out. Baked mine about 6 minutes longer (old oven). They are DELICIOUS!
Marisa
I’m so glad this recipe worked for you! Thanks for sharing your review!
Carol
Very happy with these. I made the recipe exactly as written, but without the topping. I was worried that the batter was too liquid but they baked up nicely, albeit with a few extra minutes in the oven. I really appreciate the low sweetness level, which lets me enjoy them as-is or with some honey-butter if I want some sweet. I’ll definitely make again and perhaps try some different flavors. Also think they’d be good with a bit of almond meal.
Sandra A Nelson
So delicious! My husband loved it and we ate 6 of them the same day. Just right amount of sugar.
Laurel
Oh my! These are wonderful! I just made them gluten and dairy free. I think they could easily be made vegan with a flax or chia seed egg and I’ll try that next time. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gf flour and Earth Balance df butter. I used 1/2 cardamom and 1/2 cinnamon. I might add some ginger next time as well. I put some lemon juice on my pears and added a bit of that liquid since gf flour tends to dry out baked goods and I like the tart addition. I doubled the recipe and I hope to freeze part of them for Thanksgiving. I’ll definitely make these again! I’ve never cooked with pear. Thanks for posting!
Madhuri
I had one overripe pear and felt guilty throwing it away. This recipe just transformed it into a delicious dessert! I could make a small batch of 4 muffins, and they were amazing. I especially loved the crispy crunch on top. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Emily
These are phenomenal! I love how the pear and cardamom go together.
Janis
I have leftover poached pears – do you think it would be okay to use cooked pears instead of raw in this recipe?
Marisa
I wouldn’t recommend it as the pears will probably become mushy/overcooked and won’t caramelize (which is key for the flavor). You could just drizzle the poached pears with honey and nuts for a similar effect but I hope you get to try the recipe with fresh pears soon.
Nancy Voge
Just made these and they are excellent!
Darlene
I made the muffins absolutely love them. The only problem I’m having is they’re falling a part. I’m not over beating. What do you think it could be.
Marisa
Hi Darlene, So glad you enjoyed the flavor! I haven’t had that problem. But I can see that happening if the pears are cut a little too large? Or maybe if the batter didn’t sit long enough to hydrate the oats?
Christa
I made these twice — once with the extra topping; once without. Both were equally delicious and my family did not miss the topping. I did notice that without the topping the muffins rose much higher and were fluffier.
Talia
Hi, this recipe looks great! Do you think I can use quick oats? That is all I have
Marisa
I have not tested these but they will likely work. You’ll probably need to adjust the amount. Instant oats are cut smaller so might cook a bit faster too.
joyce
I bought some beautiful anjou pears from Costco. So, I went on the search for recipes. This recipe stood out. I wanted a recipe where I could use the whole nutritious unpeeled pear. The recipe also called for wonderful cardamon. I made the recipe twice. The muffins are soft with a delicate, lovely flavor. I love cinnamon. However, I highly recommend using the cardamon. I did the recipe once without the top crust, and once without. I prefer the crusty version because it complemented the soft muffin very well. Thank you for the recipe!
Julie
Really good! I wasn’t too concerned about the healthy part, more about getting rid of my overripe pears in a good way, so I added chunks of dark chocolate. Yum
Catherine, RDN
Just made these muffins on this snowy Jersey morning. They are delicious…. very flavorful! The cardamon takes it to the next level. I substituted white flour but added in a few raisins.
Kathy
I love cardamom and am always looking for recipes that include it. Pears are on the shopping list and I’ll make these as soon as they get a bit overripe.
Sara
I just made these muffins, and they turned out very well. I didn’t believe they would bake in 12 minutes, but they did! I used very ripe bosc pears, and although the texture was nice the flavour wasn’t there. I think next time I would try tart apples. Thank you for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Marliss
Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I used a Bosc pear, which is my favorite. I replaced the milk with buttermilk, reduced the brown sugar to 1/3 cup, and omitted the vanilla, as I want the pears and the spices to be the main flavor (and vanilla has gotten very expensive). I intended to use freshly ground cardamom and planned to use half the amount, since fresh is strong, but I forgot to add it until the muffins were in the pan! I settled for sprinkling the top with Cinnamon sugar. I did not include the crunchy topping, since I restrict saturated fat in my diet. I baked these as six large muffins, so I increased the baking time to 15 minutes.
Due to high cholesterol, I have had to keep saturated fat in my diet to a low level. Recipes like this one are greatly appreciated!
Marisa
So happy to hear these worked well for you, Marliss! These muffins are one of my faves. And using the buttermilk is a great idea. I have an older similar recipe using strawberries, buttermilk and oats. I think you’ll enjoy it too. It’s basically the same just swapping in the berries. https://marisamoore.com/strawberry-oatmeal-breakfast-muffins/
Marliss
Thank you for calling my attention to the strawberry oatmeal muffin recipe. Strawberry season is coming, so I will definitely bake these.
Lisa
Sooo good, we all enjoyed them very much, perfect taste and texture
Stephanie
I can’t wait to make these for a kids picnic tomorrow and wanted to know if I could use jarred pear halves?
Marisa
That’s a great question. I think they will be fine but be sure to drain the pears very well (maybe even pat dry after chopping) to avoid adding too much extra moisture to the batter. Hope you enjoy the muffins. They are a fave!
Sabina Sliwinska
they turned out amazing! yummy. i love the cardamon flavour
Nicole
I generally don’t leave comments, but had to with these muffins..
They are delicious!! The best muffins I have ever tasted. My only recommendation would be to make double batches… (They were well and truly gone before they had cooled).
Thanks for a great recipe.
Martha
These are delicious! Not too sweet and was able to use up some of my many fresh pears! The only addition I will add next time is some walnuts! Will be making again!
John
The flavour was fine, but they were very crumbly and difficult to extract from the muffin tray. If I had to do it again, I would use butter to grease the tray rather than oil.
Holly
These are delicious! I did not have any whole wheat flour in the pantry, so I subbed regular all purpose flour and they still came out amazing! Not too sweet and the cardamom was subtle. Will try with ginger next time. Thank you for this wonderful recipe, it will be in my regular rotation from now on.
Steve Koziol
I question the 12 minute bake time, even at 400 I have had to do them at least 5 minutes longer.
Love the recipe but feel that needs to be edited
Marisa
Thanks for the feedback, Steve. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. I make these all the time as written, but of course actual oven temperatures can vary. I can definitely look at adding a time range.
Coco
Really yummy! Made a double batch and only change was using oat milk. Thank you!
Lisa A.
I made these with a few substitutions to fit our lifestyle. I swapped milk for almond milk, used whole wheat flour (because I can’t get the white whole wheat anywhere locally), and the brown sugar was replaced with 1/4 cup golden monkfruit sweetener and 2 tbsp. of date paste. The oil was swapped for 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (one lunch sized cup) and 1 tbsp of avacado oil. I also didn’t really measure the pears and likely had too many in the batter, but they were going to go in the garbage if not used. I believe I used 4 mushy pears. I didn’t have cardamom so I used cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg combo. The muffins needed to cook longer than noted (likely due to the extra pear), but it made 14 large muffins. I did make the topping but added 1 tbsp of oat flour and 1 tbsp quick oats to it, reducing the butter to 1tbsp. I was looking for a way to use up my pears and still fit as a healthier snack. This muffin fit the bill. When I run these changes thru a nutrition calculator I end up with 118 calories per muffin and only 7g of sugar and 5 g of fiber. A win-win!
Ayla riley
Do i have to add oats or can i leave them out?
Marisa
The recipe wouldn’t work without the oats. It’s possible that you could swap in an equal weight of flour but I haven’t tested that and wouldn’t recommend it.
AnaG
So I usually bake banana muffins for the kids and today I decided to search for a different recipe. Let me tell you, I’m so glad I did! These came out amazing. The only thing I did different I set the oven at 375 f because I tend to dry my baking goods so I left them for 15 minutes(checked them) still needed about 2-3 more minutes (because like I mentioned before I tend to over cook them ) I literally stood in front of the oven for another 3 minutes at that temperature and they came out perfect! Also I grind my oats in my ninja because my kids don’t really like the whole oats texture, this how I get them to eat oatmeal for breakfast! And because I did that it was not necessary to pre soak the oats. Thank you for this delicious recipe! I will forever follow your recipes! Can’t wait to try other things/foods!
Teresa Brown
I used really ripe pears, cored, and left skin on. I added 1/3 c. chopped walnuts, 1/3 c. brown sugar and no strusel topping. Why I was afraid the cardamom would stand out too much, it actually worked so well with the pear flavor. They are my new favorites as they are so deep in flavor and satisfying. Next time I will try 1/4 c. brown sugar.
Michelle
Yum, yum, YUMMMM!! I veganized this recipe using almond milk and flax seed meal. I added a tsp of apple cider vinegar to the milk/oat bowl. I used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and spelt, a little less cardamom, added 1/2 tsp ground ginger, a shake of cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. I cut the oil to 3 tbsp; for sugar, I used a 1/3 cup in the batter, and for the topping I used 1.5 tbsp vegan butter and brown sugar/turbinado sugar mix (for extra crunch). I only had 1 pear on hand so I added dried cranberry and 2 dried figs, chopped, plus walnuts.
They needed a few extra minutes of cooking but man, they are delicious!! I could even use less sugar next time. These feel like the perfect thing to bring to Christmas brunch. Or just to snack on. 🙂
Marisa
So glad you enjoyed these. Thanks so much for sharing! And I agree these are perfect for a holiday brunch!
Crystal
I used cashew almond milk and pumpkin spice w dash of ginger and nutmeg spice I didn’t have cardamom on hand. Also let them sit a minute since seemed little thin. Turned out perfect- yummy!