Vegan, gluten-free blueberry muffins eluded us for some time (don’t ask how long…). But not anymore, friends! After several rounds of testing and troubleshooting, we present you with fluffy, sweet, perfectly tender blueberry muffins that are undetectably gluten-free and vegan.
They’re bursting with blueberries and come together quickly with simple ingredients in just 1 bowl. They’re the perfect companion for coffee or tea and will wow anyone you share them with! Let us show you how it’s done!
How to Make Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Muffins
These 1-bowl blueberry muffins start with making flax eggs for an egg-free, fiber-filled way to prevent the muffins from crumbling. Next we add cane sugar for classic sweetness, vegan butter for richness, and vanilla because always. Vegan “buttermilk” (a.k.a. dairy-free milk + lemon juice) is the acidic liquid that helps activate the baking soda.
If you’d prefer to keep these muffins naturally sweetened, coconut sugar works in place of cane sugar, but it lends a darker color and more wholesome flavor.
Next, we mix in the dry ingredients using a hand mixer, which creates more air in the batter, leading to extra light and fluffy muffins.
The gluten-free flour trio includes almond flour for a crumb texture, potato starch to keep the muffins light and fluffy, and brown rice flour for structure. The baking soda and baking powder create lift and sea salt adds flavor.
We then stir in a generous amount of blueberries (because are they even blueberry muffins if they aren’t bursting with blueberries?! Not around here, friends.). Don’t skip the extra blueberries on top.
Lastly, we bake these beauties until golden brown and fluffy and let them cool fully to allow the flours to soak up any excess moisture (an important step for gluten-free breads and muffins!).
We hope you LOVE these blueberry muffins! They’re:
Classic
Light + fluffy
Moist
Perfectly sweet
Bursting with blueberries
& Undetectably gluten-free & vegan!
Enjoy them as a healthier dessert, on-the-go snack, or sweet morning treat with coffee or tea. Bonus points? Each muffin contains 5 grams of protein, which can help offset the sluggish feeling you might get when your blood sugar crashes after a more classic sweet.
More Vegan + Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes
- 1-Bowl Berry Coconut Muffins (Vegan + GF)
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins (Vegan + GF)
- 1-Bowl Vegan Banana Nut Muffins (GF)
- Vegan Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins for 2
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
1-Bowl Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal (ground flax seeds // to make flax eggs*)
- 5 Tbsp water (to make flax eggs*)
- 3/4 cup plain unsweetened dairy-free milk (we used almond)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup organic cane sugar (or sub coconut sugar, but the muffins will be darker and taste more wholesome)
- 1/4 cup melted vegan butter (we like Miyoko’s or Earth Balance)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups almond flour
- 3/4 cup potato starch (NOT potato flour)
- 1/3 cup brown rice flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 ¼ cups fresh blueberries (DIVIDED)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and line a standard muffin tin with paper baking cups. (We find the unbleached, brown paper liners work best — they don’t stick to the muffins when peeled away).
- In a medium mixing bowl, prepare the flax eggs by combining flaxseed meal and water, and set aside to gel for 5 minutes. Measure out your dairy-free milk, and add the lemon juice to it. Gently stir and set aside to curdle.
- Add the sugar to the flax eggs and use a hand mixer to beat briefly to combine. Then add the melted butter and vanilla and mix again. Add the milk/lemon mixture and mix once more to combine.
- Add the almond flour to the liquid ingredients and mix again using the hand mixer, then add all remaining ingredients except the blueberries, and mix one final time. The mixture should be thick yet fluffy. Before adding the blueberries, place a small amount of plain batter in the bottom of each muffin tin (~2 tsp) and spread it out. This will help prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom and making your muffins soggy!
- Once all your muffin tins have batter on the bottom, add 1 cup (160 g) of the blueberries to the remaining batter, setting 1/4 cup (40 g) of blueberries aside for the tops of the muffins. Gently fold and mix the batter to evenly distribute the blueberries.
- Evenly divide the remaining batter between the muffin tins, and then top the muffins with the remaining 1/4 cup (40 g) of blueberries, pressing them into the top of each muffin so they don’t stick out. Optionally, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with cane or turbinado sugar for a sweet and sparkly topping!
- Bake for 28-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, or with very few crumbs, and the tops are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Then remove from the tin and let cool completely on a cooling rack. The wrappers peel away more easily and the muffin texture is best when completely cooled.
- Once cooled, muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, or in the freezer for 1 month.
Video
Notes
*Loosely adapted from Baked to Perfection by Katarina Cermelj.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with Earth Balance buttery sticks.
Iasmin says
Baking soda is really not good for digestion, as it dilutes the gastric juices… Would be nice to have a recipe without it…
Cassandra says
These are my favorite GF and plant-based blueberry muffins! I’ve made this recipe twice and it doesn’t miss
Whoop! We’re so glad this recipe is your favorite, Cassandra. Thank you for sharing! xo
Lorelei says
Love these. Made with huckleberries cause I had them. Had to sub tapioca for potato and sorghum for brown rice but I’ve made them twice and am saving this recipe! Next go I’ll make them with blueberries. Thank you, so many of your recipes are in my saved book I really can’t thank you enough.
Thank you so much for your kind words and lovely review, Lorelei! We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes! xoxo
Michaela Catranis says
I have an nut allergy. What would you recommend to replace the almond flour? Would a gf blend work? Thank you!
Hi Michaela, unfortunately the almond flour is pretty essential for the right taste and texture in these muffins. Cashew flour would be a good sub, but we assume you can’t have that with a nut allergy! Oat flour + GF blend might work (starting with less, maybe ~1 1/2 cups because they are more absorbent) but the muffins will probably be more dense and a bit gummy.
ujwal meka says
I loved this recipe. Made for a family friends b-day and they loved it better than their cake:) Definitely a keeper, and I recommend making another blueberry muffin recipe!;)
Whoop! That sounds like a big win :) Thank you for the lovely review! xo
prashanthi atluri says
Hi. Is there a simple way to make this oil free? Thank you!!
Hi Prashanthi, Possibly dairy-free yogurt, but the butter is helpful for best flavor and texture. Fat/oil helps the muffins stay more fluffy, rather than overly dense and moist. Let us know if you do some experimenting!
Sherry says
The muffins rose well. I think a more finely ground almond flour would be better than the course one I used. They were tasty, but required some effort. Thank You. Sherry
Thanks so much for sharing, Sherry!
Randi Steckler says
These muffins are absolutely delicious! I made them exactly as recommended. No one would be able tell that they lack gluten and dairy! Yum.
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoy them, Randi. Thank you for the lovely review! xo
April says
I’m excited to make these! Do you think subbing maple syrup for the cane sugar would work?
Hi April, the cane sugar is important for structure in this recipe, so we wouldn’t recommend subbing maple syrup.
Jennifer Canal says
Made these muffins today. Substituted tapioca starch for potato starch, didn’t have the potato starch. They are delicious. Crunchy on top and so moist throughout.
Blythe says
Great recipe! Easy to make! Texture is a bit crumbly but flavor is spot on. Not very sweet (probably due to my berries) would sprinkle more sugar on top next time for extra crunch too
Thank you for the lovely review, Blythe! Baking for slightly less time should help with the crumbliness :) xoxo
The Vegan Goddess says
These blueberry muffins turned out great and so pretty!
I subbed 1:1 vegan butter for coconut oil and it worked perfectly.
We gave some muffins to an older relative who recently moved to an assisted living home.
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
tiffany says
can your baking mix be used for this recipe ? i just tried your chocolate cake mix and am in love!! thinking about buying your other mixes :)
Hi Tiffany, we’re so glad you enjoyed the chocolate cake! These muffins haven’t been tested with our gluten-free blend, it might work in place of the brown rice flour and potato starch, but we aren’t sure.
Melanie says
Can I make these gluten-full by subbing in all-purpose flour for the potato starch/almond flour/brown rice flour? Love your recipes but not wanting these to be gluten-free. Thanks!
Hi Melanie, we haven’t tried these with all-purpose flour. However, if you give it a go, we suggest keeping the almond flour amount the same and substituting all-purpose for the potato starch and brown rice flour!
Mamta says
I made this recipe, but substituted flaxseed with 2 eggs & used coconut oil instead of vegan butter. The muffins came out tasty but when stored in fridge next day it turned out very dry. Could it be because of the substitutes or these muffins tend to dry out in fridge?
Hi Mamta, yes, eggs will be more drying, so perhaps that was the issue? Coconut oil shouldn’t cause that.
Mamta says
Can I use coconut butter instead of vegan butter?
Hi Mamta, we would suggest using coconut oil over coconut butter if you’re going to try a sub. Hope this helps!
Debra says
I made this wonderful recipe but I added two tablespoons of lemon juice and grated lemon peel. These came out fantastic and I can’t wait to make them again! Thank you so much for your recipes💗
Debra
Yum! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Debra. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
The Hungry Songbird says
Wow! Frequent Minimalist Baker recipe-maker here, so I’m not surprised at how delicious these are, but… drool. I used sorghum flour in place of the brown rice flour, used mostly brown coconut sugar with a little Swerve cane sugar substitute, subbed real butter, and I added a few blackberries. They have the perfect texture, and I’m trying hard not to go eat another one. Thanks for the fantastic recipe! I feel like I could serve these muffins to anyone, regardless of their diet, and they’d love them.
Woohoo! Thanks for the great review and for sharing your modifications!
Vijaya Patil says
Can I make these using bob’s red mill gluten-free flour?
Hi Vijaya, we don’t think that would work unfortunately. The different flours in this recipe are key to give the muffins they’re fluffy texture!
Chris says
Excellent recipe, great crumb, even others I let sample my first batch commented on the great crumb. I did find the original recipe rich yet bland in flavor at the same time. For my first batch, I did follow the recipe as written except for subbing an egg and frozen organic blueberries in my original batch. So my second batch had these changes: chicken egg, 1 tsp salt, reduced sugar to 1/4 cup, fresh local blueberries, 1/2 t almond extract, toasted almond slices on the top. They were everything the original batch was missing. Thank you for all your hard work on creating great recipes!
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Chris!
Chris-Ann says
Great texture! These muffins are really good!!! I am loving your recipes!!
We’re so glad you’re enjoying them. Thanks so much for the lovely review Chris-Ann! Xo
C says
Super yummy!
Yay! Thanks, C!
Linda says
I noticed in reading the comments that you suggested crumbliness might be due to super fine ground almond flour. I linked to Wellness to check that almond flour out, but the only one they have is labeled super fine almond flour. Is this a new item that replaced an almond flour that wasn’t super fine? Or, is it that their super fine isn’t as super fine as other brands?
Hi Linda, great question and sorry for the confusion! The Wellbee’s is labeled as superfine, but it’s the correct one – the almond flour should be a crumbly texture vs. a more fine one like all purpose flour. What we were referring to is that lately we’ve seen ones being labeled “superfine” in stores that are more of the texture of all purpose flour, and we think that would contribute to issues. Does that make sense?
Hadley H. says
These are so good! I made them with arrowroot instead of potato starch as potato starch often doesn’t sit well with my stomach. Absolutely delicious! They tasted like a fancy bakery muffin and way less “healthy” than the actually are! I’ve been enjoying one nightly with a cup of herbal tea and even my husband (who is super suspect of any baked good with flax or almond flour) enjoyed them and ate three the first day I baked them!
We’re so glad you both enjoy them, Hadley! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modification! xo
Sarah says
I’m wondering if corn starch would work.
Cortney McMahon says
Do you have another suggestion for brown rice flour? Or can I make my own by just using a food processor with uncooked brown rice?
Hi Cortney, we don’t think a food processor would get it fine enough for a flour, but a powerful blender like a Vitamix should! Otherwise, we think oat flour or sorghum flour might work. Let us know if you try it!
Ashley says
These were delicious… even though mine turned our crumbly! I think it has something to do with the flax eggs, but I don’t know for sure. If I was going to use real eggs next time, think that would work? If so, how many would you use? Thank you!
Hi Ashley, sorry to hear yours turned out a bit crumbly! Is it possible you’re using superfine almond flour? We’ve seen more stores carrying that lately. Our preferred brand of almond flour is Wellbee’s. We think eggs would dry it out more and also make the muffins rise more. If using eggs, you might want to cut back on the baking powder/soda.
emily says
Hi, I made these & used olive oil which was great. The taste is fantastic, but found them a bit too crumbly. Is there something else I can do to ensure that they are still moist, but a bit more firm? My grandson turned them into a pile of sand (which was quite cute). I didn’t make any other substitutions. thanks alot
Hi Emily, sorry to hear that was your experience! Is it possible you were using superfine almond flour? That could cause it to be too crumbly. We get good results with Wellbee’s brand almond flour. If that’s not the issue, we think it could be the olive oil that’s the issue!
Sara Peyton says
Omg! You nailed this recipe! I’m so happy! Genius to put a little batter at the bottom.
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Sara. Thank you for amazing review! xo
Andie says
Another hit! What a great recipe! These muffins have beautiful crumb without the dryness that comes with many gluten free baked goods. No squishy middles or gumminess either. The texture is light and airy, and they have a light sweetness that’s not overpowering (I used coconut sugar). Mine baked for about 26 minutes in our oven. I paired these with iced Dandy lattes and they were gobbled down quickly for a lovely Sunday breakfast.
Valerie Gates says
I loved these muffins. The taste and texture were great. You wouldn’t know they were vegan. I guess I would add a bit more sugar and some lemon zest for a little extra something. Goes great with Irish butter and lemon curd if you’re not vegan! Thank you for another great recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Valerie! Thank you for sharing! xo
Leona says
I made this muffins, I did not have butter so I used coconut oil instead.
They are nice and fluffy with a lot of flavor but I found them to be a little bit dry, maybe because I did not use butter?
Thank you for all your recipes!!!
Thanks for the review and for sharing your modifications, Leona!
Susan says
Do you have a suggestion to replace potaoto starch and brown rice flour for this recipe? Thank you.
Hi Susan, when we tested these muffins we tried a few different variations of starches and flours and potato + brown rice had the best results in terms of fluffiness and moistness (without being dense). That said, some ideas for potato starch subs could be corn starch, arrowroot starch, tapioca starch, or cassava flour. For brown rice, we think oat flour or sorghum flour would work, but we cannot guarantee results with any of these swaps. Hope this helps!
Maggie says
I have white rice flour – what would happen if I subbed it for the brown rice flour?
Hi Maggie, unfortunately white rice flour acts very differently than brown rice flour and would probably result in more dense/gummy muffins, but we haven’t tried it so we aren’t sure! If you have oat flour or sorghum flour those would be more ideal subs. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Robin says
Can you use coconut oil in place of vegan butter. If so is it the same quantity?
Hi Robin, we haven’t tried that and we suspect that it might make the muffins a bit more crumbly/oily, but we aren’t sure. The same amount would be worth trying!
Jane says
I’m allergic to almonds : (
Does any other flour work??
Hi Jane, unfortunately the almond flour is pretty essential for the right taste and texture in these muffins. We haven’t tried any substitutions so we cannot guarantee results, but in the past readers have had success subbing cashew flour for almond. Oat flour might also work (starting with less, maybe ~1 1/2 cups) but the muffins would probably be more dense/gummy. Let us know how it goes!
Suz says
Do you think coconut butter could work instead of Miyoko’s or Earth Balance?
Hi Suz, we haven’t tried this with coconut butter and aren’t sure if it would work. We think coconut oil might be a better sub texture-wise, but we also haven’t tried that and cannot guarantee results. Hope this helps!
Mary says
What if you want to keep it vegan, but switch to whole wheat pastry flour. We are not gluten free. Would the pastry flour work?
Hi Mary, we haven’t tried this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour so we cannot guarantee results, but we think it might work! We’d suggest starting with ~1 1/2 pastry flour (in place of the almond flour, potato starch, AND brown rice flour) and increasing if needed until you reach a thick cake batter consistency. Let us know how it goes!
Melissa says
Do you know if I Could you swap coconut oil for the vegan butter?
Hi Melissa, we haven’t tried that and we suspect that it might make the muffins a bit more crumbly/oily, but we aren’t sure. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Eva says
Question – can I use coconut oil instead of the vegan butter? I don’t have any vegan butter, but I do have loads of coconut oil… thanks!
Hi Eva, we haven’t tried that and we suspect that it might make the muffins a bit more crumbly/oily, but we aren’t sure. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Lauren says
Do you think oat flour would work in place of brown rice flour? Normally I wouldn’t replace flours but given that it is only 1/3 a cup, maybe it would be okay here?
Hi Lauren, we haven’t tried that so we cannot guarantee results, but it could work. It might make the muffins a bit more dense/gummy, but we aren’t sure. Let us know how it goes!
Valerie says
Any other flour besides almond you think might work? Thanks so much :)
Hi Valerie, unfortunately the almond flour is pretty essential for the right taste and texture in these muffins. We haven’t tried any substitutions so we cannot guarantee results, but in the past readers have had success subbing cashew flour for almond. Oat flour might also work (starting with less, maybe ~1 1/2 cups) but the muffins would probably be more dense/gummy. Let us know how it goes!
Dana says
Could you use GF baking flour as an alternative to all the others? Thanks!
Hi Dana, unfortunately the flour combination in these muffins is pretty important for the best texture. When we tested this with a gluten-free blend the muffins were too moist and dense, but it might be better depending on what kind you use. Hope this helps!
Fuchi Girl says
Can we use apple sauce or a banana for the butter?
Hi there, we haven’t tried that sub and we aren’t sure if it would work. The butter is helpful for the best flavor and texture, since fat/oil helps the texture of muffins stay more fluffy and crumby, rather than overly dense and moist. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Jenn says
Would arrowroot or tapioca work if I don’t have potato starch?
Hi Jenn, potato starch offers a decent amount of fluffiness that arrowroot and tapioca starch typically do not. If you were going to try it, we’d suggest tapioca starch over arrowroot, or even corn starch if you have it. We haven’t tried it, though, so we cannot guarantee results. Let us know how it goes!
Jenn says
I usually have potato starch on hand but I’m out, so I worked with what I have, and that was arrowroot. They turned out great! Definitely making them again, but next time I’ll make sure to have potato starch and see how they differ. Thanks for another great recipe!
Woohoo! Thanks so much for sharing your successful substitution, Jenn. So glad you enjoyed!