These vegan lemon blueberry muffins are fluffy, moist, and bursting with fresh citrus flavor! Easily made in one bowl, taking less than 20 minutes to bake, and topped with a crunchy streusel, they make for the perfect for breakfast, brunch or dessert.
Muffins are so easy to make, but they can be tricky to get just right - to get them to have a nice muffin top while not being overcooked and dry on the inside. Well, guess what? These muffins are BOTH fluffy & moist, while being puffy & tall.
Lemon desserts are always well-loved and for good reason! They're always bright, fresh, and sweet yet tangy, and these muffins are no different. You'll love these fresh-flavored muffins for spring, summer, and beyond!
These muffins are loaded with flavor, vegan, dairy-free, eggless, made without yogurt or sour cream, and can easily be made gluten-free.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick & easy to make: These muffins are made in one bowl and are ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!
- Tart & sweet: they're is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.
- Perfect for any special occasion: aside from being the perfect grab & go breakfast, these muffins are perfect brunch gatherings or spring celebrations like Easter and Mother's Day!
- Allergen-friendly: This cake is vegan, dairy-free, eggless and can easily be made gluten-free!
- Customizable: you can leave the muffins as is or top them with a streusel, a glaze or some lemon zest.
Equipment
You'll need standard baking equipment for these vegan muffins!
- Muffin Pan: a standard 12 cup muffin pan will do!
- Muffin liners: to ensure your muffins don't stick to the pan.
- Whisk & Rubber spatula
- Mixing bowl: since this is a one bowl recipe, you just need one large bowl.
- Kitchen scale: for the most accurate results! A scale is the best when it comes to measuring ingredients for baking.
- Measuring cups & spoons: if you don't want to use or don't have a scale.
Ingredients
- Blueberries: The first star of the show! I prefer to use fresh blueberries here but you can use frozen if you'd prefer. If you're using fresh, make sure you pick through to ensure there's no nasty ones hidden in the bunch and then give them all a good rinse.
- Lemons: We'll need lemon juice AND lemon zest! You can use Meyer lemons or regular lemons, whatever is accessible to you - either produce great results. I do not recommend getting store bought/pre-squeeze lemon juice, it's just not the same as fresh lemons. The lemon juice and zest add so much vibrance and freshness to these muffins. Plus, they balance out the sweetness of the berries, making it these a perfect combination of sweet & tangy.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour, but you can easily use whole wheat flour or 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour instead.
- Sugar: All you need is good old granulated sugar here!
- Baking Powder: To help these muffins rise!
- Coconut Milk: We'll be using canned full fat coconut milk. It adds a ton of richness here and keeps this recipe dairy-free! You could also use almond milk, oat milk or soy milk, just make sure they're unsweetened and plain flavored.
- Coconut Oil: I used refined coconut oil. You can also use vegan butter or any other neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola oil.
- Egg Replacer: I love using flax eggs or Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer for baking muffins!
- Vanilla Extract: I would never leave it out. EVER. If there's a baked good recipe on this site that doesn't have vanilla in it, I'll allow you to fire me.
- Spices: cinnamon and salt to add a touch of flavor and balance.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Variations & Substitutions
- Gluten-free: Make these lemon blueberry muffins gluten-free by using a 1:1 Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour - I recommend Bob's Red Mill. You could also use almond flour, coconut flour, or oat flour! NOTE: be careful with any flours other than all-purpose and 1:1 gluten-free flour, as the others have a tendency to absorb more liquid than regular flour so it's not a simple swap. You may need to add more plant-based milk, another flax egg, or more oil in order to counteract this so the muffins aren't dry.
- Use 100% whole wheat flour. To substitute, use ¾ cup whole wheat flour for every 1 cup of white flour.
- Oil free: Swap out the oil with applesauce to make these oil-free.
- Refined sugar-free: Swap the granulated sugar with either coconut sugar, maple syrup or agave, monk fruit sweetener. All can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio. If you're okay with refined sugar, but just want less - feel free to reduce the sugar by a ¼ cup.
- Instead of coconut milk you can use vegan buttermilk, unflavored vegan greek yogurt, or vegan sour cream. Swap these easily at a 1:1 ratio.
- Change up the berries! These muffins are awesome with raspberries (lemon raspberry muffins?! I mean come on, they even sound great), but you can really use any berry you prefer. Strawberries and blackberries would be delicious too.
- Bake mini lemon blueberry muffins by dividing the batter across a mini muffin pan and baking for 10-13 minutes.
This recipe has not been tested with any other substitutions or variations than the ones listed above. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Instructions
First, pick out your blueberries and rinse them! I tried to make sure I had juicy blueberries that were all of similar size. Also, if you're choosing to make the streusel topping, do so now by combining sugar, flour, lemon zest and melted butter in a small bowl. Combine until you have a nice crumbly mixture. Place it in the fridge until you're ready to top and bake the muffins.
Step 1: Start by adding your lemon zest and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, rub the lemon zest into sugar until combined. This will help release even more lemon flavor into the batter.
Step 2: Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the lemon sugar. Whisk until combined.
Step 3: Pour in the blueberries and toss until they are coated in the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Next add all of the wet ingredients: coconut milk, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and flax eggs. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix until just combined.
Step 5: Divide the batter across the prepared muffin tin. Optional: top each muffin with streusel crumble topping.
Step 6: Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes, then lower than temperature to 375°F, all while keeping the muffins in the oven, for an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool then top with a sprinkle of fresh lemon zest or lemon glaze and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Mix the blueberries with the dry ingredients! This coats them in flour and prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Instead, they'll be nicely distributed throughout!
- Do not over-mix! The moment there are no more streaks of flour in the batter, stop mixing! Over-mixing your batter will lead to a tough, dry muffin.
- Start high, then go low: Be sure to follow the instructions of starting your oven temperature high at 450F and then lowering it to 375F! Using two temperatures will give you bakery style muffins that have that signature tall, domed muffin top and a pillowy-soft center. The initial 425°F oven temperature promotes a fast rise, allowing the top to puff up and set. When the temperature is lowered, it allows the center to bake through without burning the outside.
- Use an ice cream scoop to divide your batter across the muffin tin. Not only will this be clean and easy, but it ensures that your muffins will all be the same size and bake evenly.
- For the best and most accurate results, use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients or use the spoon and level method. This means using a spoon to fluff the flour first, then spoon it into your measuring cup.
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature! The melted coconut oil will harden and solidify when if comes into contact with any cold liquids.
- Shake the can of coconut milk WELL so that you don't have the separated cream on top. If that doesn't work, pour the entire contents of the can into a blender and blend for 30 seconds. This will get the milk back into one homogenous liquid that you can then easily measure.
How to Store
Refrigerator: Store these vegan blueberry lemon muffins in an airtight container for up to 1 week. You can eat them chilled or pop them in the microwave or oven to warm them up.
Freezer: These fluffy muffins are freezer friendly! Allow the muffins to cool completely then transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
Room temperature: Because they're chock full of blueberries, making them susceptible to mold, I don't recommend storing them at room temperature. But, if you'd like to and know they'll be eaten quickly, store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
FAQ
Yes! There are just a few things to keep in mind. If you leave them frozen, you'll need to increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes. Also, the blueberries may bleed coloring into the batter, tinting your muffins blue. Make sure you coat the frozen blueberries in the dry ingredients or you can thaw and rinse them well to prevent tinting the batter/muffins.
Yes, you can make the batter for these lemon blueberry muffins up to 1 day ahead of time! Be sure to cover the bowl that your batter is in with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- ¾ cup (160 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (8 g) fresh lemon zest ~1-2 large lemons
- 1 ¾ cups (225 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons (9 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup (50 g) coconut oil melted
- ½ cup (117 mL) canned full fat coconut milk
- 2 flax eggs 2 tablespoons (14g flax seed meal + 6 tablespoons (70mL) water)
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) fresh lemon juice ~1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (250 g) fresh blueberries
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup (110 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (33 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter melted
- 1-2 tablespoons (4-8 g) fresh lemon zest
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons (18 g) lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) lemon zest
Instructions
Streusel Topping (optional but highly recommended)
- Combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest, and melted butter until crumbly. Place in the fridge until you're ready to top and bake the muffins.½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest, 3 tablespoons vegan butter
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 450 F and line a standard 12 well muffin tin with liners.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Using your hands, press the lemon zest into the sugar until fully combined.¾ cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- Add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder to the mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Pour in the blueberries and toss until fully coated.1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- Create a small well in the dry ingredients and pour in the coconut milk* (see notes!), melted coconut oil, lemon juice, flax eggs and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold together all of the ingredients until just combined.¼ cup coconut oil, ½ cup canned full fat coconut milk, 2 flax eggs, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Using an ice cream scoop or a ¼ cup measuring cup, evenly distribute the batter across the lined muffin tin, filling each liner ¾ of the way. Sprinkle a generous amount of the streusel topping on top of each muffin.
- Bake for 10 minutes then, while keeping the muffins in the oven, drop the temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.
- Optional: while they muffins are cooling, feel free to make the lemon glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.1 cup powdered sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- Top with lemon zest or the lemon glaze and serve! Enjoy while warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Jess says
Immediately made these and they were PERFECT. I used vegan butter instead of coconut oil and Bob Red Mills replacement egg instead of flax egg and they were great.
Pinch of Parsley says
JESS!! You are quick! So glad you liked these!
Bianca says
OBSESSED. I had the privilege of taste testing these and they are superb! Will definitely be making these often.
Pinch of Parsley says
Yay!!! So glad you love them 🙂