Vegan Blueberry Muffins – (Award Winning Recipe!)

Trust me when I say these are the softest, fluffiest, most delicious vegan blueberry muffins you will ever taste in your life!

The best vegan blueberry muffins

This is the only blueberry muffin recipe I must admit is better than my own.

My parents had been telling me for years that their neighbor makes the best homemade blueberry muffins in existence.

As soon as I got the opportunity to try one for myself, I knew I needed the recipe.

Thankfully, their neighbor was happy to share the secret recipe that’s won multiple awards at local fairs and has taken him over a decade to perfect.

So while I cannot take credit, I will tell you without hesitation that if you want soft, moist, bakery style blueberry muffins, this is the one recipe you should try.

And it just so happens to be completely vegan!

Readers also love these oil free Applesauce Muffins

Why you’ll love these dairy free muffins

More blueberries than other vegan blueberry muffin recipes.
Whole grain, low calorie, dairy free, eggless, and refined sugar free.
Their ultra fluffy texture and soft, tender crumb will absolutely knock your socks off.
Each bite is packed with hearty rolled oats and juicy blueberries.
Easy to bake at home… and even easier to eat them all in a day! I recommend preparing a jumbo batch, because you will be making these muffins again and again.

Step by step recipe video

Vegan Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Ingredients

Key ingredients

Blueberries – I’ve made the recipe with both fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries. Either way, it turns out perfectly every single time.

Oats – Classic rolled oats add a chewy texture that perfectly compliments the softness of the muffins. Quick oats or instant oats will yield a mushy batter and should therefore be avoided.

Milk – Choose almost any plant based milk, including almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or oat milk. The only option I do not recommend here is rice milk.

Oat flour – This is my favorite flour option for the vegan muffins. If you wish to substitute whole wheat flour, almond flour, or any other variety, let me know how the experiment goes.

Flour – The recipe calls for half a cup of additional flour. I normally go with whole grain spelt flour. My neighbor follows a gluten free diet and loves Krusteaz gluten free all purpose flour, with a base of sorghum, quinoa, and brown rice.

Sweetener – Unrefined pure maple syrup or agave sweeten the egg free muffins, with no sugar required. If you want to take them over the top in deliciousness, sprinkle cane sugar on top of each muffin. It will give them an irresistible crunchy streusel crumble topping!

Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon brings out the natural sweetness of the blueberries.

Plant based butter – I’ve used salted Earth Balance or Melt vegan butter, both with great results. Melted coconut oil works well as a butter free option. For best flavor and texture, do not swap any of the butter for applesauce or vegan yogurt.

Flax egg – You can easily make muffins without eggs by whipping up a flax egg in seconds. Combine one tablespoon of ground flax seeds with three tablespoons of water, and let sit ten minutes or until thick. Or use a prepared powdered egg replacer of choice. I have not yet tried chia eggs.

Other ingredients – The super nutritious recipe also requires baking powder, salt, baking soda, unrefined cane sugar, and two teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.

Out of blueberries? Make basic Oatmeal Muffins

Dairy Free Blueberry Muffins With Fresh Blueberries

How to make healthy vegan blueberry muffins

Gather all ingredients, prepare your flax egg, and melt the vegan butter or coconut oil. Set aside to cool.
Combine oats and milk in a large mixing bowl, and let sit 25 minutes to soften.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (about 200 degrees Celsius). Grease a muffin pan, or use a lined or silicone muffin pan.
Stir the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a new large bowl until well combined.
Whisk the maple syrup, butter, flax egg, and vanilla extract into the soaked oats and milk. Then pour this mixture over the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir until just evenly combined.
Fold in the blueberries very gently so they do not break.
Divide the muffin batter among the tins. Sprinkle each top with about a teaspoon of course sugar, such as demerara or turbinado.
Bake on the center rack of the oven for seven minutes. After this time, decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius) without ever opening the door. Continue to bake for twenty two minutes.
Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out mostly clean.
Let cool before removing from the tins.
I like to store the vegan blueberry muffins overnight at room temperature, very loosely covered in a cold closed oven or on the counter. They taste even better the next day!
After a day at room temperature, cover and refrigerate any leftovers for up to five days. Or freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw before serving.

Vegan blueberry mini muffins

For mini muffins instead of the standard muffin size, grease three mini muffin tins.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (The higher heat step is not needed when making smaller muffins.)

Portion the batter evenly into the tins. It should yield about 36 mini muffins.

Bake on the center rack of the oven for fifteen minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Vegan blueberry oatmeal muffin variations

Lemon Blueberry. Stir one tablespoon of fresh lemon zest in with the liquid ingredients. Top with a simple lemon glaze (powdered sugar + lemon juice).

Strawberry. Replace up to half a cup of blueberries with diced strawberries. Or use this same formula to create raspberry, blackberry, peach, cherry, or blueberry apple muffins.

Chocolate Chip. Stir a heaping half cup of dairy free semi sweet or dark chocolate chips into the dry ingredients.

Banana Bread. Decrease the nondairy milk to half a cup. Add half a cup of mashed ripe banana when you add the milk. Optionally, stir a handful of crushed walnuts into the muffin batter.

Want a high protein version? Make Blueberry Protein Muffins

Katie’s baking tips and tricks

Measure better: The number one tip to achieve consistent results every time is to use a food scale instead of cups and tablespoons. This will give you more precise measurements and is especially important when measuring ingredients like flour. If you are serious about baking, invest in a kitchen food scale. Thankfully, they are usually not expensive.

Follow the recipe: When making these muffins, or any baked goods, for the first time. I highly recommend following the recipe to the letter the first time. Once you know how the muffins should turn out, have fun omitting, adding, or playing around with ingredients.

High heat first: I recently learned this trick from a friend who worked in a coffee shop. Initially preheating the oven to a higher temperature will rapidly activate the leavening agents for a quick rise, creating tall domed muffins.

Wait a day: As the vegan blueberry muffins sit overnight, their distinct flavors intensify and the excess moisture evaporates. The taste and texture much more closely resemble bakery blueberry muffins, if you can wait that long!

No need to coat the berries: Some blueberry muffin recipes advise you to layer or toss the blueberries in flour to ensure they do not all sink to the bottom while baking. But the ingredient amounts here are already perfectly balanced to avoid that common problem, allowing you to skip the extra step.

Reheat leftovers: Muffins should be refrigerated after a day for optimal freshness. I recommend reheating on the stove top or for about fifteen seconds in the microwave to get that yummy soft, fluffy texture again.

Easy Vegan Blueberry Muffin Recipe (Egg Free, Gluten Free)

1. Prepare your flax egg, and melt the vegan butter or coconut oil. Set these items aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and nondairy milk. Let sit 25 minutes to soften.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (about 200 degrees Celsius). Grease or line a muffin pan, or use a silicone pan.
4. In a new mixing bowl, stir the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda until well combined.
5. Whisk maple syrup, butter, flax egg, and vanilla extract into the milk oat mixture. Then combine with the dry ingredients and stir until just evenly mixed.
6. Very gently fold in the blueberries.
7. Divide muffin batter evenly into the prepared tins. Sprinkle each top with about a teaspoon of cane sugar.
8. Bake 7 minutes on the center rack of the oven. Then lower the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius), without ever opening the oven door. Continue to cook for another 22 minutes.
9. When time is up, test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. The muffins are done if the toothpick comes out mostly clean.
10. Let cool on the counter before removing from the muffin tins.
11. If you can wait, both the flavor and texture of these vegan blueberry muffins are even better the next day!
12. Store leftovers loosely covered on the counter overnight or covered and refrigerated for up to five days. Or freeze leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to three months.