Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

40+ Real Food Muffin Recipes

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Muffin lovers, unite! And bring your chocolate chips when you come. Some of the 40+ real food muffin recipes we’re about to share are going to need them.

40 + Real Food Muffin Recipes

For eleven years now, I’ve been posting muffin recipes here to share with you. We decided it would be nice to list them all in one place for you to access! But first, two of my favorite muffin-making tips…

  1. Make Muffin Batter ahead of time!

    Follow this tutorial to easily freeze muffin batter for later. I love this time-saving trick.

  2. Make Muffin Mix!

    Make a big batch of Muffin Mix so you can easily whip up a pan of muffins without getting out all the ingredients!

And now it’s time to share our favorite muffin recipes. These are all either whole grain or grain free!

40+ Real Food Muffin RecipesYum

My boys’ favorite muffins are the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins. Matt’s favorite is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffin. My favorites are any that are topped with cheesecake!

What’s your favorite kind of muffin?

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Simple Whole Grain Lemon Muffins

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With spring right around the corner, these Simple Whole Grain Lemon Muffins are practically perfect. It’s already spring, you say? I know. Technically it is. But it still feels a bit wintery where I live, with only the occasional hint of spring. We’re still inside baking to stay warm most days. :)

Our 5-year old Bonus Boy loves baking with me, and muffins are an easy favorite to put together. I keep a huge container of Homemade Muffin Mix on hand so that he and I can stir together any muffin variety we want. We recently experimented to make Lemon Muffins and the results are super tangy and fun!

Note how simple it is to make muffin variations! I simply subbed out some milk for lemon juice in my basic muffin recipe. Suddenly we went from Plain Muffins to Lemon Muffins, without any trouble at all!

Want to stir in some fresh lemon zest? Go for it! At this point in my life (adding a 5-year old to our home and caring for an infant), I tend to take every shortcut I can while still keeping our food as nourishing as possible. I use bottled 100% lemon juice in this recipe; therefore I have no lemon to zest. :)

Simple Whole Grain Lemon Muffins

Simple Whole Grain Lemon Muffins
 
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Serves: 12-15
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Muffin Mix** or...
  • 1½ cups whole grain flour
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar or sucanat
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Scoop Muffin Mix or measure dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. Add egg, sour cream, milk, lemon juice, and melted coconut oil, stirring until ingredients are combined.
  3. Scoop batter into 12-15 prepared muffin tins.
  4. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-22 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

**Do you have our Simple Mixes to Save the Day eBook yet? Grab it so you can save time and energy by using the Muffin Mix for this recipe!! I LOVE having these mixes on hand!!!

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I love that these muffins are made with whole grain flour, but they are still wonderfully light and fluffy! This is because I use freshly ground soft white wheat (pastry flour). What a difference this makes! You can read more about whole grains and grain mills here.

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Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Burgers

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I’m not sure if you’re keeping track or not, but this is the third variation I’ve shared in two weeks using the exact same recipe. Woohoo for easy versatility! Today we’re taking our Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatball recipe and basically smashing the mixture into Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Burgers. Are we smart or are we smart?

The idea came to me as I was working ahead to make a bunch of Parmesan Meatballs for the freezer. Either I got tired of scooping out meatballs, or I got a brilliant idea. It might have been both. After scooping out about 2 1/2 pounds of meatballs, I decided to abort my meatball endeavor. I took my remaining mixture and formed it into burger patties. I froze them, then we pulled them out to fry another day.

Fantabulous!

Might I recommend that you make these Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Burgers with a side of Sweet Potato Fries or Simple Seasoned Potato Wedges?

Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Burgers

Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Burgers
 
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Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons dried minced onion
  • ½ cup shredded (or grated) parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
  2. Press together burger-sized patties.
  3. Fry in a skillet or on a grill for 8-12 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.
  4. Serve right away, or refrigerate or freeze cooked burgers to easily reheat for a meal later.
  5. OR, freeze the prepared raw burgers, thaw as needed, and fry as directed.

Want Parmesan Meatballs instead? Or would you prefer Saucy Parmesan Meatballs? Nothing like getting 3-meal-varieties from one recipe!

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12 Fun and Wholesome Ways to Cook with Whole Rolled Oats

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Why am I giving you so many fun ways to cook with whole rolled oats? Well…

If I confess to you that I do not enjoy eating a bowl of oatmeal in the morning (or any time of day) – can we still be friends? I’ve tried to like oatmeal. But I simply cannot eat it (Sam I am). I get to the third bite and try as I might, I can’t put one more spoonful into my mouth. I realize that this is because I am a spoiled, privileged person who has a plethora of food options, and in many other life settings I would be grateful to have a bowl of oatmeal.

So it is with gratitude that I share 12 other options for ways to use and cook with this wholesome ingredient!

How fun it is that delicious rolled oats can be stirred into these recipes and transformed into a wonderful breakfast option!

12 Fun and Wholesome Ways to Cook with Whole Rolled Oats

  1. Stir-and-Pour Honey Oat Bread
  2. Baked Oatmeal Cups
  3. Breakfast Cake
  4. Breakfast Cake Muffins
  5. Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal
  6. Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
  7. Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
  8. Giant Breakfast Cookies
  9. Granola
  10. Granola ~ 5-Minute Stop-Top Version
  11. Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
  12. Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

Can you use Quick Oats in any of these recipes? Sure! I just always have Whole Rolled Oats on hand because I like them better. I mean, I like them better for baking. Not in a bowl. How spoiled is this girl? ;)

If you do happen to be an “oatmeal in a bowl” kind of a person, I highly recommend that you make yourself some of these: Instant Oatmeal Packets. It’s a wonderful time and money saver, plus you can include any of the favorite healthy ingredients that you like! I usually make big batches of Instant Oatmeal and put it into jars as pictured above. My family scoops out a “packet” amount and has a quick and easy breakfast!

What are your favorite, wholesome ways to eat oats?

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Is This Better Than Milk?

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On a chilly morning, when we need something filling but easy, when we feel the need for extra comfort: We have found this to be better than milk.

Yum

Our Warm Vanilla Soother recipe has been around for a while. If you’re a Heavenly Homemakers veteran, you’ve likely tried it a time or three. But just in case you’re new, or in case you’ve been around a while but need to be reminded, we wanted to highlight our Warm Vanilla Soother today!

Our 5-year old Bonus Boy is a milk-drinking-machine. He loves his milk, and didn’t bat an eye when he moved in with us and we started serving him our farm-fresh raw milk. He guzzles it down until we tell him “that’s all for now.” So I wondered how he’d like our Warm Vanilla Soother. Oh…he likes it. He likes it very much. And he likes the chocolate variety too. Who wouldn’t?

So what’s better than a milk mustache (worn very often by our 5-year old)? A Warm Vanilla Soother mustache, of course.

Better Than Milk: Warm Vanilla Soother

Is This Better Than Milk?
 
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Serves: 3-5
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup real maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder or corn starch
  • 1 Tablespoon butter (optional, but delicious!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, maple syrup and arrowroot powder.
  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (I use a whisk) until mixture begins to thicken.
  3. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.
  4. Stir until creamy.
  5. Pour into mugs and serve warm.

Here are a couple other fun varieties we’ve created!

If you live in a colder climate as I do, it’s recipes like these that are getting us through these “it’s almost spring but still very chilly” days. We will make it through until warm weather finds us!

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Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs

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If it seems too simple, that’s because it is. Today I am sharing what is so obvious, you probably already thought of it yourself. Still, it is worth taking the time to mention the idea to take the Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs, add sauce, and make the meatballs into a brand new meal of Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs!

Oh how I love food that is versatile like this. When we can make one recipe, but turn it into whatever we need it to be – now THAT is a recipe to keep in our back pockets!

Like literally. Print this out and put it in your back pocket. Later, you’ll reach in and say, “Oh! I have something in my back pocket. Could it be a $5 bill I forgot about? No? It’s a recipe for Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs? Well that’s even better than surprise cash!”

Yes, that is exactly the scenario that will happen when you put this recipe in your back pocket.

Now my friends, watch and see how easy it is to make a delightful (and ridiculously obvious) variation to our newly beloved Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs. We shall now add sauce, serve them with our favorite pasta, and make everyone in our family very happy. But no one will quite be as happy as we are because we are the ones cooking the food and we are the happiest about the ease of this recipe idea!

Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs

Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1-2 pounds of pre-made Parmesan Meatballs*
  • 16-ounces of our favorite pasta sauce (red or white!)
  • 12-ounces cooked pasta
Instructions
  1. Reheat or bake meatballs* as directed.
  2. Pour sauce over meatballs and simmer until heated through.
  3. Serve over your favorite prepared pasta. OR
  4. Serve with rice or potatoes if you like!

* Here’s our recipe for Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs.

Another of our favorite ways to enjoy these Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs? With this 10-Minute Instant Pot Mac and Cheese. Along with a salad and veggie, of course.

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Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs

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Who gets excited about something silly like Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs? This girl. Indeed, I get very, very excited.

I like beef. I like meatballs. I like anything that can be made ahead of time. No. Scratch that. I LOVE anything that can be made ahead of time. And if it’s also made from beef, well, that makes me one happy girl!

You can make this recipe ahead and store the meatballs in the fridge or freezer UNBAKED. Or you can PRE-BAKE up a huge batch and pull out a few as needed to reheat quickly. This recipe is flexible to meet your family’s needs!

Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs

Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs
 
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Serves: 16-20 meatballs
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons dried minced onion
  • ½ cup shredded (or grated) parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
  2. Scoop any size balls out onto a cookie sheet (I use a large scoop).
  3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.
  4. Serve right away, or refrigerate or freeze baked meatballs to easily reheat for a meal later.
  5. OR, freeze the prepared meatballs UNBAKED, thaw as needed, and bake as directed.

I love serving these Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs with:

Meals like this are truly satisfying, extremely delicious, and still very simple to put together!

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Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos

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Here’s an idea for you. Make extra Popcorn Chicken to serve in tacos for a super simple meal! Popcorn Chicken Tacos are surprisingly good and of course, super fun.

Here’s our very easy, very delicious Popcorn Chicken Recipe. I love making a double, or triple, or quadruple batch of this chicken and then freezing it to reheat at another time for a super easy meal. As an extra fun variation, I reheat it and we use it to build tacos any way we like!

Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos

Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 pound pre-made popcorn chicken*
  • 8 whole grain flour or corn tortillas
  • Fresh taco fixins like tomatoes, lettuce, black beans, sweet peppers, corn, cilantro, onions, salsa, olives, etc
  • Shredded cheese
Instructions
  1. Rewarm popcorn chicken.
  2. Prepare taco fixins and set out a buffet for each person to build Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos per their preference!

*Find our Simple Popcorn Chicken recipe here.

Want toasted tortillas? Simply warm them in a skillet over low heat for about 1 minute on each side until they turn lightly brown and barely crispy!

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Simple Popcorn Chicken

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There is no popcorn involved in the making of this Popcorn Chicken. You can simply pop it into your mouth as if it is popcorn, and it is definitely coated in butter. But otherwise, it is nothing like popcorn. So sorry for any confusion.

This Popcorn Chicken recipe was one of the very first I shared here back in 2009. I’m sharing it again today and adding it to our Simple Recipes list because this is one of those recipes we all need in our hip pocket!

You can make these ahead and freeze them. You can eat them in a variety of ways. They are super kid-friendly, which is a plus whether you have kids or not. (What? Some grown-ups really like kid-friendly recipes, am I right?)

This Simple Popcorn Chicken tastes good hot or cold. I do prefer it hot, but made ahead and packed cold in a lunch box? Still great!

We love eating this Popcorn Chicken as-is with a few fruits and veggies on the side. But it’s also amazing in a tossed salad!

Simple Popcorn Chicken

Simple Popcorn Chicken
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3-6 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
  • ¾ cup whole grain flour (I use freshly ground white wheat, but you can use any flour you like!)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • butter
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized bowl stir together flour, salt, and garlic powder.
  2. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into tiny bite-sized pieces.
  3. Toss chicken in flour mixture to coat well.
  4. Smear a thick layer of butter on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  5. Pour coated chicken into the dish, spreading so that they are in a single layer.
  6. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Stir chicken and bake another 10 minutes.

Need some dipping sauce to go with your Simple Popcorn Chicken? Here are our favorites:

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Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken

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Just in case you have forgotten this truth, here it is again: Cooking meals for our families does not have to be a difficult job. This Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken is going to drop-kick the “cooking is hard” lie straight out the window.

Even if you don’t enjoy cooking, you can make this. Even if you don’t have time to cook, you can make this. Even if you can’t afford to spend much on groceries, you can make this. Even if you forgot to thaw meat, you can make this. Even if the idea of making a homemade meal brings tears to your eyes – wipe your tears, find 5-minutes, and make this. Even if you’re allergic to poultry…oh wait. That one is for real. If that is the case, please don’t make this.

To sum up, unless you are allergic to birds, there is no reason you should not make this (overuse of negatives, anyone?). Just make the chicken.

Let’s take a moment to get excited together about why making this Simple 5-Minute Chicken is a fabulous idea:

  • It takes 5-minutes of “work.” This was obvious, but worth shouting about because no one can even go through a drive-thru in 5-minutes.
  • You can make several meals worth of this chicken at the same time, storing it in the fridge or freezer, then pulling it out to add to meals as needed. This means that if you make 3-meals worth of this chicken at once, your 5-minutes of effort turns out 1.6666-Minute Chicken. #mathintherealworld
  • If you have made this chicken ahead of time and you are storing it in your fridge, you now have ready-made chicken which has now become 0-Minute Chicken.
  • Simple 5-Minute Chicken tastes really good and it is real food. We can’t say that about all convenience food, now can we?

Please note that the following recipe is barely a recipe. I am here to make your real food cooking life EASY. Simply get out chicken and get out spices. Place in crock pot, sprinkle, plug in, walk away, enjoy.

Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken

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Simple 5-Minute Chicken
 
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Serves: 2-3 meals
Ingredients
  • 3-pounds boneless chicken thighs or breasts
  • Any seasonings you like (I use garlic powder, sea salt, paprika, and parsley flakes)
Instructions
  1. Place chicken in a crock pot and sprinkle with any herbs or spices you like.
  2. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
  3. Shred chicken to use in any of your favorite recipes or to serve in tacos, or even as a main dish as-is!

How to use your 5-Minute Chicken

Add it to:

Or eat it plain with veggies on the side. So easy and delicious!

Having Alfredo? Just add Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken…

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