Pecan cardamom pear streusel muffins are loaded with diced pears and crunchy pecans, and topped with a buttery pecan oat streusel. Made healthier with rolled oats, whole grain flour and Greek yogurt, these flavorful, lightly sweetened muffins are the perfect breakfast or snack for fall and winter! (vegetarian)
I have a serious obsession with pears. I love them, especially this time of year. While everyone else is excited about pumpkin and apples at the beginning of fall, I'm all about the pears. One of my favorite ways to use pears is in these healthy pear muffins with pecan streusel topping!
Why You'll Love These Pear Muffins
If you're a pear fan like me, you'll love these muffins! They're a great use for a bushel of pears you need to use up (bonus points if you also use homemade pear butter). Cardamom and nutmeg are a perfect 'pear'-ing (sorry, had to) for pears, and chopped pecans add fun texture to both the body of the muffin and the buttery streusel topping. Which brings me to the topping - is there anything a streusel topping can't fix? This one features not only butter, brown sugar and flour, but also oats and pecans for more texture. A true muffin rather than a cupcake, these lightly sweetened muffins are great make-ahead fall breakfasts and snacks!
What Makes Them Healthy?
Most muffins out there are full of sugar, more like a dessert than breakfast. These are lightly sweetened with just a touch of brown sugar, while whole grain flour and oats add fiber that will help them stick with you longer and steady the rise in blood sugar. Swapping oil or butter for Greek yogurt adds protein while still helping them to retain moisture.
The Ingredients
- Whole wheat flour - Use white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour for a lighter crumb.
- Rolled oats (also called old fashioned oats)
- Brown sugar
- Spices - cardamom and a hint of nutmeg
- Baking powder, baking soda and salt
- Greek yogurt - plain unflavored, whole milk or nonfat both work
- Egg
- Pear butter - I use my homemade vanilla bean pear butter for extra pear goodness! Applesauce also works.
- Vanilla
- Pears - Any variety of pear works here. Use one large or two small pears.
- Pecans
- Butter
How To Make Them
- Whisk the dry ingredients together, breaking up any clumps of brown sugar.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add them to the dry, stirring until just mixed.
- Fold in the pecans and pears.
- Scoop the mixture into a muffin tin lined with paper or silicone liners that have been sprayed with oil, filling each ¾ of the way full.
- Make the streusel topping. Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, pecans and cardamom. Add the melted butter and stir to moisten the dry ingredients.
- Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the muffin batter, pressing down gently to adhere the crumbs.
- Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Tips and Tricks
- Because there isn't a lot of butter or oil in this recipe, the muffins are prone to sticking. Make sure to spray or brush the muffin liners with oil to help them come out clean. I always get good results with them coming away easily from silicone muffin liners.
- These muffins aren't super sweet. If you'd like a sweeter muffin, add an extra ¼ cup of brown sugar to the muffin batter.
- Add a few minutes to the bake time if your oven tends to run cool.
- Store muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for best results. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Pear Recipes You'll Love
- Pear Gruyere Puff Pastry Tart
- Easy Cinnamon Sautéed Pears
- Pan Seared Pork Chops with Pears and Bourbon
- Easy Pear Blue Cheese Crostini
- Maple Poached Pears and Sorghum Porridge
- Pear Collins Cocktail
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintHealthy Pecan Cardamom Pear Streusel Muffins
Pecan cardamom pear streusel muffins are loaded with diced pears and crunchy pecans, and topped with a buttery pecan oat streusel. Made healthier with rolled oats, whole grain flour and Greek yogurt, these flavorful, lightly sweetened muffins are the perfect breakfast or snack for fall and winter! (vegetarian)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: breakfast
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup applesauce or pear butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large pear, cored and diced
- ½ cup chopped pecans
For the streusel topping:
- ¼ cup white whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp cardamom
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a standard-sized muffin tin with paper or silicone liners and spray or brush liners with oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom and nutmeg), making sure to break up any brown sugar clumps.
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg, yogurt, applesauce or pear butter, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined.
- Gently fold in diced pears and pecans.
- Scoop batter into muffin tin, filling cups ¾ of the way full.
- To make the streusel topping, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, cardamom and pecans. Stir in melted butter.
- Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over the top of the muffin batter, gently pressing down to help it stick.
- Bake muffins 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing muffins.
Notes
- Increase to ½ cup if you prefer a sweeter muffin.
- Store muffins in an airtight container for up to 2 days on the counter or up to 5 days in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Keywords: pear pecan muffins, pear streusel muffins, pear muffins with pecans and cardamom
Kristin says
Just made these for the second time. My kids loved them! I just sprayed my silicone muffin pan and had no problem getting them out. Love the spices and that they aren't too sweet. A fun, healthy breakfast for my family - thanks!
★★★★★
Kaleigh says
I'm so glad your family loves them!
Kristan says
I should have read the comments first! Definitely must spray the muffin liners... Wonderful recipe, I really enjoyed it. However, I made double the amount after I accidentally added too much baking soda and just decided to double everything - which would normally be great! But these stick so bad, it was infuriating to try and get the liners off and still have some sort of muffin left to eat - and I had A LOT of them. I have refrigerated the muffins since, as the last commenter did, and it does make it somewhat easier but there are still bits of paper that end up getting eaten, making these unsuitable to serve. On a positive note, I do think I can get through them all without getting tired of them because they are so good. Maybe worth revising the instructions to note greasing the muffin liners to save some frustration?
Kaleigh says
Hi Kristan,
Thanks for the tips! I will update the recipe to include spraying the liners. I'm glad you enjoyed the taste!
adoptedyooper55 says
Very good! I used quick oats because that's what I had on hand. I also used muffin liners. I should have sprayed them but when I refrigerated the muffins the paper came off a little easier.
Kaleigh says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for stopping by!
Abby says
I was very excited about these and followed the recipe exactly. After quite a bit of prep work I was very disappointed with the end result. These muffins are not at all sweet. They also stick to the muffin liners and will not come off...you lose about 1/3 of the muffin. My mom tried one and thought it was awful. I appreciate that the blogger tried to create a healthier muffin, but these are majorly lacking.
Kaleigh says
Hi Abby, I'm sorry you didn't care for these muffins. I explained in the post that these are not very sweet. I hope you'll find another recipe to your liking.
Martha says
I didn't have any applesauce so I shredded a couple apples, heat them in the microwave to soften and pureed them in my blender. My finished muffins didn't rise much so I'm assuming that my apples were a little too warm and the batter inflated/deflated too quickly. They were still yummy, but I think I'll make the applesauce ahead next time, or buy a jar.
Kaleigh says
I'm glad they were still tasty! I hope they turn out a little more fluffy for you next time! Thanks for stopping by!
Farrah says
Ahhh, these look so good and so perfect for fall! I need to go get pears! <3
Kaleigh says
Thanks Farrah! I always have plenty around this time of year!
Lis @ The Fare Sage says
These look amazing, delicious recipe. They'd be a great addition to my daughters lunchbox too - if they make it that far!
Kaleigh says
Thanks, Lis! They are great for lunch boxes! 🙂
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
We are pear muffin twins! I love your version....especially that crumbly topping!
Kaleigh says
Thanks Kathy! I love pear everything!
Tawnie Kroll says
I love that you used applesauce and yogurt! Yum!