Oat & Berry Muffins Recipe with Frozen Fruit (2024)

FAQs

Can I use frozen fruit to make muffins? ›

But for solid chunks of the year, the fruit we love to turn into tarts and pies and muffins isn't in season, and frozen fruit is the best possible substitute. And that's totally cool, just as long as you know how to use them.

Frozen fruit should work fine in anything baked or cooked. Keep in mind that some recipes may require additional thickener to balance the extra juice. Rinse frozen fruit to prevent colors from bleeding. Thaw frozen fruit first if what you're making has a short baking or cooking time.

Add the frozen fruit to your oatmeal and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes until the berries begin to soften. Serve this oatmeal with frozen fruit in a bowl, topped with a scoop of Greek vanilla yogurt and a sprinkle of cocoa nibs (or mini chocolate chips).

Let's see what happens when we use them in muffins. Specifically, Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffins. Gently and quickly stir the frozen berries into the batter. You'll see a few inevitable streaks of blue, but the entire batter shouldn't turn blue.

Generally, speaking, you can use fresh and frozen berries interchangeably in your baking recipes, but you may need to make a few tweaks to ensure it comes out perfectly.

This means frozen fruit is safe to eat for 8-10 months beyond the printed date on an unopened package. But… the fruit will not stay safe indefinitely. Signs that frozen fruit has gone bad, rotten, or spoiled include discoloration (dull color) and a frostbitten appearance with white colored ice crystals.

Coating berries with flour helps them suspend in the batter and prevents them from all sinking to the bottom. Taking this step also keeps the berries from turning your batter blue.

Frozen fruits and berries are safe to consume raw, cooked or even frozen out of the bag. However, frozen vegetables should always be cooked before consumption to minimize any foodborne illness risk. Luckily for us, there are several ways to make frozen vegetables just as delicious as fresh.

Baking with Frozen Berries vs.

There are some baked goods where frozen fruit just won't cut it. If you're hoping to make a fruit tart topped with fresh berries as a decorative touch, frozen fruit isn't going to work. As a rule of thumb, use fresh berries instead of frozen if the fruit will remain uncooked.

Blueberries

Blueberries are a nutrient-rich fruit packed with antioxidants that support heart health and cognitive function. 10 They're low in calories and high in fiber, which supports satiety while improving gut health.

When should I add frozen fruit to overnight oats? ›

For the best texture, don't mix in your frozen berries until the morning. I find that allowing the fruit to sit on top while the oats are soaking allows for the perfect consistency of overnight oats. If you mix them in the water from the defrosting fruit it will result in a slightly thinner consistency.

Frozen blueberries can be used instead of fresh, just stir them into the oatmeal after you have removed the pot from the heat and let them sit until they have thawed, this will only take a minute or two.

The best part is that there is no need to defrost frozen fruit when adding it to your favorite muffin recipe since the fruit will thaw as the muffin bakes in the oven. You just might need to add a few minutes of baking time when working with frozen fruit.

Can you eat too many blueberries? While blueberries are an amazing fruit, like anything, too much of a good thing is still too much. Eating more than a cup at once may result in some gastrointestinal distress. It may also spike your blood sugar.

Frozen blueberries are best when added to the batter completely frozen. They will cook up perfectly during the baking process. On the flip side, if the berries thaw before being added to the batter, they will release a lot of juice and bleed blue into the entire batter (see the section about the batter turning colors).

You'll find that frozen fruits work best in recipes for baked goods that are baked thoroughly after adding the fruit. However, you may need to make some adjustments to make things work just right.

Most fruit can be added to recipes straight from the freezer, but you might prefer to use fresh fruit to garnish. Now you know how to freeze and defrost fresh fruit, it's time to put your skills to practice and try out one of these delicious fruity recipes.

While there has been some controversy in the past about the food safety of frozen produce, the AFFI assures that frozen produce is highly safe and manufacturing facilities are held to high standards of cleanliness. Frozen fruits and berries are safe to consume raw, cooked or even frozen out of the bag.