These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Blueberry Muffins are moist and fluffy, perfectly lemony, and filled with jammy blueberries. The recipe is easily customisable and comes together in one bowl, and they are refined sugar free too. Great for dessert, a snack, breakfast or brunch!
- Yes, you can use either fresh or frozen blueberries.
- If using frozen blueberries, be careful when mixing them into the batter. Otherwise, the juice from the blueberries could bleed into the rest of the batter and spoil the colour of your muffins.
Tips for baking with lemons
- For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
- You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
- I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
- For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Tip: Make sure to use a measuring jug to measure out the exact amount of plant-based milk!
- Divide the batter between muffin cases in a muffin/cupcake tin.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- You can also make a lemon syrup to pour over the muffins.
Tips for the lemon syrup
- Mix it together while you're waiting for the muffins to bake in the oven.
- I recommend pouring the syrup over the muffins straight out the oven while they're still hot, so that it gets properly absorbed.
- It's optional, so you can leave it out if you want.
Substitutions you can make to this recipe
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds, and use a nut-free plant-based milk.
- You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
Flavour substitutions you can make
- If you're not into blueberries, you can use raspberries, blackberries, cherries or strawberries instead.
- You can add some poppy seeds.
- You can sprinkle over some flaked almonds or coconut flakes before baking, if desired.
How long do these muffins keep for?
These muffins do taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
More gluten-free vegan muffin recipes
- Carrot Muffins
- Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins
- Chocolate Muffins
- Apple Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Banana Muffins
- Lemon Muffins
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 8 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (use unwaxed lemons)
- 12 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 100 g (1 cup) blueberries (fresh or frozen) **
For the lemon syrup (optional):
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla and ground almonds. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
- Add the blueberries and fold in gently - make sure you don’t crush them.
- Transfer the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tin.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
For the lemon syrup:
- Whilst the muffins are baking, mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup.
- Drizzle it over the muffins as soon as they’re out of the oven – it will soak into the muffins better when they’re hot.
- These muffins taste best eaten on the day they’re made, but keep for a few days.
Notes
- For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you’ve had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
- You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
- I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you’re using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
- For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Anonymous
Love these, so easy and yummy!