Vegan Lemon Blueberry Muffins

These vegan lemon blueberry muffins are fluffy, moist, and bursting with zesty & fresh flavor! Easily made in one bowl and taking less than 20 minutes to bake, they make for the perfect grab & go breakfast. Take them to the next level by topping them with a streusel crumble topping OR a yummy lemon glaze. Better yet, why not both?!

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• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions & Variations
• Expert Tips
• Storage Tips
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Muffins are so easy to make, but they are tricky to get just right. It's tricky 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.

The best thing about these muffins (other than the flavor) is that they stay super moist. These muffins are loaded with flavor, vegan, dairy-free, eggless, made without yogurt or sour cream, and can easily be made gluten-free.

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. 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! Pssst..refined-sugar free options are in the substitutions & variations section!
• 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!
• Coconut Oil: I used refined coconut oil. You can also use vegan butter or any other mild oil (like vegetable or canola) you like.
• Flax Eggs: I love using flax eggs for baking muffins! Don't like flax eggs? These are my favorite egg substitutes - feel free to use nearly any of these instead.
• 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.

Instructions

I love that this muffin recipe can be easily and quickly made in one bowl!

First, pick our your blueberries and rinse them! I tried to make sure I had blueberries that were small/medium and 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 bowl. Combine until you have a nice crumbly mixture. Place it in the fridge until you're ready to top and bake the muffins.

Start by adding your lemon zest and sugar to the mixing bowl. Using your hands, rub the lemon zest into sugar until combined. This will help release even more of that yummy flavor into the batter.

Now add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the same mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Pour in the blueberries and, using your hands, toss until they are coated with the dry ingredients. This will help prevent your blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Instead, they'll be evenly distributed throughout the muffin.

Pour in the coconut milk*, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and flax eggs. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold until just combined. The second you no longer see any streaks of flour, stop mixing. Over-mixing will lead to a tough muffin. The batter will be a bit thick rather than runny - that's okay!

*Because coconut milk naturally separates in the can, I recommend pouring the entire can into a blender and blending for a few seconds. This will get the milk back into one homogenous liquid that you can then easily measure.

Line a standard muffin tin with baking cups. Using an ice cream scooper, evenly distribute the batter into the liners to bake 12 muffins. If choosing to do so, top each muffin with a hefty amount of the streusel crumble topping.

Bake at 450F for 10 minutes, then lower than temperature to 375F (all while keeping the muffins in the oven) for an additional 10 minutes. This technique allows the muffins to quickly rise, giving you that domed top, while still having a soft, fluffy inside.

Top with a sprinkle of fresh lemon zest or lemon glaze and enjoy!

Substitutions & Variations

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.

Swap out the oil with applesauce to make these oil-free.

Let's talk sugar!! To make these muffins 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 ¼ cup, or as much as you want!

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.

Make these into mini lemon blueberry muffins by dividing the batter across a mini muffin pan and baking for 10-13 minutes.

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 rather than a soft, tender and moist 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, dump the entire contents of the can into a blender and blend for 30 seconds before measuring.

Storage Tips

Refrigerator: Store these 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 lemon blueberry muffins are freezer friendly! Allow the muffins to cool completely first then freeze them in airtight containers 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

Other recipes you might like!

• One Bowl Double Chocolate Muffins
• No Bake Breakfast Fruit Tarts
• Strawberry Pop Tarts

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