These are moist, delicious vegan blueberry muffins, made with simple pantry ingredients and refreshing blueberries. These muffins are gluten-free, dairy-free, eggless, refined sugar-free, simple to make, and perfect for a summery treat!
Fruity Blueberry Lemon Muffins
Muffins are an easy go-to of mine when the Summer months come rolling around, and I want a treat to satisfy my cravings. They are the perfect portion size, can be customized easily, and are super simple to make.
Plus, these vegan blueberry muffins contain lots of delicious blueberries for a healthier snack. As much as I love my chocolatey muffins – like these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and these Vegan Chocolate Muffins. Sometimes, fruity treats are all I am craving.
With a combination of citrus, blueberries, and oat flour, these eggless blueberry muffins are both light and moreish. Plus, you can choose to eat them ‘as-they-come’ or top with a refined sugar-free icing.
They are also a great recipe for getting the whole family in the kitchen to give a helping hand. I mean, who doesn’t love the simple baking of cupcakes and muffins? (and the smell!)
Foolproof Recipe
When baking gluten-free and/or vegan bakes, it can require a bit of guesswork and keeping fingers crossed. Luckily, I’ve done the recipe testing work in the kitchen, so you can have delicious dairy-free blueberry muffins every single time!
The first time I tried the recipe, I used less flour and more liquid ingredients. The results were muffins that rose wonderfully then sadly deflated when I turned the oven off.
The second time, I used more flour and less liquid ingredients. The result was a thicker batter and muffins that rise and stay risen.
The takeaway? While I’ve included A LOT of versatile ingredient swaps in my recipe notes, it’s important not to mess around with the ratio of wet to dry as this can have catastrophic results.
These Lemon Blueberry Muffins Are:
- Vegan (dairy-free, egg-free)
- Gluten-free
- Refined sugar-free
- Moist & rich
- Healthier than most blueberry muffins
- Delicious
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a snack!
How To Make Vegan Blueberry Muffins
These dairy-free blueberry muffins are super simple to make. In fact, the entire recipe basically just consists of mixing the batter, pouring it in the tray, and baking. What could be simpler?
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 360F/ 180C and either grease or line a muffin pan.
Step 2: Add the plant-based milk and lemon juice to a small bowl. Set aside for a few minutes to curdle into ‘vegan buttermilk.’
Step 3: Meanwhile, combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisking well.
Step 4: Add the wet ingredient to the dry and stir well with either a spatula or whisk. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Then add in the blueberries last, carefully folding them into the batter.
Step 5: Divide the batter between the muffin wells in the pan. I had enough batter for 8 large muffins.
Step 6: Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until you notice cracking on the top of the muffins. Use the toothpick test to check if they are cooked through. Do this by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out clean (crumbly is allowed, but no wetness).
Step 7: Allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
For the full ingredients list, ingredient measurements, and nutritional information, then please read the printable recipe card below.
Storing Instructions
Any leftover blueberry oatmeal muffins can be stored in airtight containers in the fridge for 5-6 days or kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven until warmed through.
How To Serve
These vegan blueberry muffins taste amazing when served warm or cold. Eat plain or serve with a lashing of vegan butter or cream cheese (trust me, it tastes delicious!). Alternatively, almond butter or a vegan chocolate spread!
You could also serve with some whipped coconut cream. Simply whip coconut cream until light and fluffy. You can even sweeten it with some maple syrup if preferred.
Useful Ingredient Tips & Swaps:
- I recommend measuring out all the ingredients using a kitchen scale and grams. As the cup measurements can sometimes vary and affect the final bake.
- Oat Flour: To make your own oat flour for these oat flour blueberry muffins, simply process oats (regular or certified gluten-free) in a blender or grinder, until you achieve a fine meal.
- Gluten-free flour blend: I used Bob’s Red Mill GF All-purpose 1:1 flour for these gluten-free blueberry muffins. However, any GF flour blend should work fine. If you aren’t gluten-free, you can use regular all-purpose flour or spelt flour.
- Other Flour Note: Almond flour tastes lovely when combined with the flavors of blueberry and lemon. However, it is too dense to replace the oat flour completely. You can try replacing 30-40% of the oat flour with almond flour and see how that works. I haven’t tried this, so I can’t guarantee the results.
- The sweetener: I used maple syrup, but feel free to swap this for your favorite liquid sweetener of choice—I.e. agave syrup, rice malt syrup, etc.
- Oil: I used coconut oil, but canola oil should work too. For an oil-free version, you could use 3-4 tablespoons of cashew butter. Alternatively, for a low-fat version, then applesauce or mashed banana may work (although I haven’t tested this, so can’t guarantee the outcome).
- Icing: You can drizzle the muffins with a refined sugar-free glaze made by combining powdered Erythritol, plant-based milk, and a little lemon juice.
Other Recipe Tips:
- If using frozen blueberries, allow them to thaw slightly before use. The extra liquid in the berries can affect the texture of the muffins otherwise. You can do this by leaving them on the counter or running under lukewarm water and patting dry.
- You can make these into Blueberry ‘crumble’ muffins by adding a crumble topping as I used for these Apple Crumble Muffins. Or sprinkle with some lightly toasted almond flakes.
- Swap out a few tablespoons of the plant-based milk with orange juice or lemon juice for a more flavorful batter. OR add the zest of ½ a lemon. Be aware of how this may affect the sweetness and color, though.
- This recipe can be used to make gluten-free mini blueberry muffins or even a blueberry loaf. However, the baking time will vary.
- For additional nutrients, you could add ½ a tablespoon of ground flaxseed or chia seeds.
If you give this tasty vegan blueberry muffins recipe a try, I’d really appreciate a comment and rating below. Also, don’t forget to tag me in re-creations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan and #elavegan.
If you love muffins, don’t miss to also check out my healthy vegan Sweet Potato Muffins and my other Vegan Muffin Recipes.
Vegan Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 heaped cup (100 g) oat flour (gluten-free if needed - see notes)
- 1 cup (140 g) gluten-free flour blend or regular flour (see notes)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) plant-based milk of choice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
- 1/3 cup (105 g) maple syrup (see notes)
- 2 1/2 tbsp (30 g) oil (see notes)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) blueberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams on a kitchen scale. Preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease the pan.
- Add plant-based milk and lemon juice to a small/medium bowl. Stir to combine and set aside for a few minutes to make "vegan buttermilk".
- Meanwhile, add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk.
- Now add the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula or whisk to combine. Do not overmix the batter. Finally, fold in the blueberries.
- Divide the batter among the wells of the muffin pan. I had enough batter to make 8 muffins.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until you spot cracks on top of the muffins. You can also make a toothpick test. Insert the toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out fairly clean (it's ok if the toothpick is crumbly but it shouldn't come out wet).
- Let the muffins cool and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days or freeze for up to 3 months. They won't stay soft if stored in the fridge, however, you can reheat them in the oven until warmed through to make them softer again.
Notes
- Oat flour: To make your own oat flour, simply process oats (regular or certified gluten-free oats) in a blender or electric spice/coffee grinder until it's a fine flour.
- Gluten-free flour blend: I used Bob's Red Mill GF All-purpose 1:1 flour. Any GF flour blend should work fine. Please do not use coconut flour. Read the blog post to find out how you can replace a part of the oat flour with almond flour.
- Regular flour: If you aren't gluten-free, you can use regular all-purpose flour or spelt flour.
- Maple syrup: Any other liquid sweetener can be used.
- Oil: I used coconut oil but canola oil should work fine too. If you don't want to use oil, you could add 3-4 tablespoons of cashew butter. For an oil-free version, 3-4 tablespoons applesauce or mashed banana might work too but I haven't tried it.
- Icing: Drizzle the muffins with a refined sugar-free icing made from powdered Erythritol and a little plant-based milk + lemon juice.
- Recipe makes 8 large muffins. Nutrition facts are for one muffin.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Selma
So so moist and yummy!! I used whole wheat flour instead of the gf flour blend and it was perfect. Thank you!
Ela
That is perfect, Selma! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
Vicky
Can I omit the lemon juice and just use the plant based milk as is?
Ela
You can, but the lemon juice will make the muffins rise a bit more and add a great taste. 🙂
Samina
Hi Ela,
These blueberry muffins look very tempting.want to try but need to know what can be used in place of 1 cup(140gm) GF flour blend?
Any combination of rice flour, almond flour, tapioca?
Ela
Hi Samina, that’s a good question. I think I would use 60% rice flour (84 g), 25% almond flour (35 g), and 15% tapioca (21 g). I hope they turn out well! 🙂
Samina
Thank you so much. I will try the measurements of the flours as you mentioned along with the oat flour and let you know how they turn out.
Ela
You are very welcome, Samina! 🙂
Magy
Sensational! As with all of your recipes, this is easy and incredible. I made them with blueberries and strawberries, both exceeded all possible expectations! Thank you Ela!!!
Ela
That’s awesome, Magy! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
Nivah
For small muffins,do I just reduced the baking time?
Ela
Hi Nivah, yes, I would definitely reduce the baking time. 🙂
Anastasia
Super tasty muffins. Amazing texture. Chewy, but still fluffy. Super tasty! And a very easy recipe with accessible products. Loved it.
Ela
Thanks for your amazing feedback, Anastasia. I am glad you love them. 🙂
Andrea
Hi !!
Your recipe is fantastic! My family loves it. I’ve been following your recipe exactly (I use 1-1 gluten free flour amd unsweetened almond milk). I cannot, for the life of me, get the muffins to rise. Not even slightly. I tested my baking powder and it’s working fine. Any ideas ?
Ela
Hi Andrea, I am glad you and your family love the muffins. Was your batter thick or rather thin? If it was thin, then add less milk next time (I used canned coconut milk). I noticed that a thin GF batter might rise in the oven, but then later the muffins will shrink again. But, if the batter is thicker, then the result is much better. I hope this helps. 🙂
Danielle
Newbie here and these were amazing, the whole family loved them!!!
Ela
I am so glad the whole family loved them. 🙂
Vanessa
The only change I made was using canola oil because I did not have coconut oil. I used a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients. The batter did not look like yours. I also made the mistake of not reading the information provided with the instructions and just threw frozen blueberries into the batter. They are in the oven now. Fingers crossed for success! This is mainly for my 10 month old who vomits and gets eczema when he eats dairy, eggs, and gluten. He is having trouble gaining weight so I am trying to add more foods to his diet that are free of all of his intolerance.
Ela
I hope they turned out delicious. 🙂
Alice
Hi Ela, these muffins seem delicious, I’ll give them a try!!! I can’t find a GF mix here, I usually create my own according to the recipe. Do you thing I can just use rice flour, chickpeas flour and tapioca flour as substitute (a part from the oat flour) or do you suggest to add psyllium/goma xanthana as well? I was also going to use a flaxegg to glue the batter.
Ela
I think it should work fine, also without psyllium, however, every GF flour mix will yield a different result. 🙂
Sam
Hi Ela,
These muffins were delicious and easy to make. I appreciated not having to bake using sugar for a change – thank you! The only down side was they stuck to the muffin cases and I’m not sure why? I did have to use sunflower oil as ran out of coconut but I don’t think it would’ve been an issue unless I had to use more?
Ela
Hi Sam, it happened to mine too (see 3rd photo from above). Not sure if there is a solution for this, maybe using cooking spray in the muffin liners. 🙂
Denise
First, my daughter and I love these muffins. Easy to make and DELICIOUS! We have found that once they come out of the oven , as soon as you can take them out of the muffin tin, place them on a cooling rack. If they stay too long in the tin they stick to the cups. I’ve also found they need to completely cool and dry on the rack before covering. Hope this helps anyone with the problem. Also, we’ll eat them no matter how they come out of the oven ????
Ela
Thanks for your helpful feedback, Denise! 🙂
Hayley
These are literally the best muffins I’ve ever had! My daughter is allergic to eggs and gluten (among other things) and these are such a special and delicious treat for her. LOVE this recipe, thank you!! We drizzle ours with a bit of icing sugar for a special treat 🙂
Ela
Hi Hayley! I am so glad you both liked these muffins. Thanks for your lovely feedback. 🙂
Yuliya
Hi. The muffins are delicious. I have 2 little kids so I added 1/4 cup each chia seeds, hemp hearts and ground flax For some added nutrition. Turned out great. Good recipe to sneak in some seeds
Ela
Sounds wonderful, Yuliya! Thanks for your lovely comment. 🙂
Pleadian Starseed
Please soak your chia or flax in a probiotic or acidic liquid b4 adding to recipes (they need to be predigested to get nutrition.. I make a probiotic porridge with kraut juice or whey.. they are full of phytic acid and will cause nutrient deficiencies..gray stains on teeth are a sign of nutrient deficiencies… Pumpkin and sunflower are easier to soak.. my son is vegan healing from extreme eczema as a 98% clear now. Read about hemp seeds on the Weston a price website they are loaded with polorysaturated fats that our bodies don’t need… https://eatbeautiful.net/overnight-chia-porridge-soaked/
Ciicii
Made this a couple of times using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free blend one time and whole wheat another. Usually I use 1-to-1 Bob’s Red Mill, but only had the non-xantham gum one on hand, so I added it myself. I’ve also not had plant milk on hand and subbed the equal amount of water with a little bit of flaxseed, which worked well. I also used turbinado sugar because that’s what I had on hand, and have been using different mix-ins. These aren’t too sweet- lovely!
Ela
Thanks for your thorough feedback, Ciicii! 🙂
Katie
I used regular flour but otherwise followed the recipe directly… batter was very thick and dry, more a dough than a batter. Added more than double the plant-based milk called for, and this loosened it up to more of a gummy dough-like consistency. They were a tad dense, and a bit of a gummy mouth-feel but the flavour is incredible and will eat them all anyway 🙂 Sugar-free icing glaze on top is the best finishing touch!
Ela
Hi Katie, did you measure the flour in grams or cups? Oat flour is lighter than AP flour, so if you measured it in cups, you might have used too much flour. 🙂
John
My wife and I love these! Not dense at all!
Ela
That’s awesome, John! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Michele
Delicious! I am currently unable to consume anything with oats or vanilla. So I used 1-2/3 cup gluten- free flour and 1/3 cup almond flour. Instead of vanilla I used almond extract. I had some beautiful Meyer lemons, so I used these instead of regular lemons, and added some zest as well. These were moist, tender, and tasty. Thank you!
Ela
That’s awesome, Michele! I am so glad you loved them. 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Andrea
Amazing blueberries muffins!! The batter was a little bit runny but it came out great , very soft and yummy ????, I made all your muffins ,absolutely delicious!!
Ela
So glad you liked them! 🙂
Thalia
Hello, i tried doing this recipe last night though it was really liquidy im trying it again, do i use two different types of flour for this recipe?
Ela
Hello, which flour did you use? The recipe calls for oat flour and a gluten-free flour blend (or regular flour). The batter is quite thick, not runny.
Thalia
Oh my i totally missed it i thought we only had to do one of the two>.< thank you so much for replying im actually gonna try it again today! 🙂
Ela
No worries! 🙂
Jayla
These did not work out for me at all. Very dry batter. Maybe the milk i used but couldn’t get them to drop into a pan without over mixing them causing some tunneling.
Ela
Hi Jayla! I am sorry, they didn’t work out for you! I wonder which milk you used.