These fluffy vegan blueberry lemon muffins are made in one bowl with simple ingredients and no fancy steps! They’re loaded with citrus flavor and not overly sweet so you can fully enjoy the lemon and blueberries.
This easy recipe is quick to come together and perfect to pack for lunches. You can even freeze some for later!
Skill: Easy | Time: 40 min | Servings: 12 muffins
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Are Blueberry Lemon Muffins Vegan?
Most muffin recipes, including those for blueberry lemon muffins, include some type of dairy product and/ or eggs meaning they’re not vegan.
Luckily, it’s incredibly easy to replace dairy and eggs in most baking recipes like muffins! This recipe uses a plant-based milk instead of dairy and ground flaxseed as an “egg”. These easy swaps ensure your muffins are eggless and dairy free while still tasting absolutely amazing!
Ingredients and Substitutions for Lemon and Blueberry Muffins
This recipe uses simple ingredients to create delicious muffins. Before you start making these blueberry lemon muffins, make sure you have:
- Ground flaxseed: While it’s not strictly necessary to replace eggs, I love how easy it is to make a flax egg for baking recipes. Ground flaxseed forms a gel when soaked in liquid, creating a great binding agent for the muffin batter!
- Lemon juice (and zest): For loads of lemon flavor, this recipe soaks ground flaxseed in lemon juice instead of water. We’ll also add zest for even more citrusy muffins. Pack as much or as little zest as you like into the 1 tbsp lemon zest measurement. Feel free to experiment with other citrus flavors like orange or even grapefruit!
- Plant-based milk: To add liquid to the muffin batter, you’ll need some plant-based milk. I typically use soy milk, but any type of plant-based milk should work. Use an unsweetened and unflavored option (unless you want sweeter or flavored muffins).
- Granulated sugar: Basic granulated sugar offers a nice amount of sweetness in these muffins and balance the tart lemon flavor. These muffins aren’t overly sweet, in my opinion.
- Vegetable oil: For moisture and to create soft and tender muffins, use vegetable oil. Select a mild-tasting oil for best results. This recipe won’t work well with coconut oil; olive oil is possible, but its flavor may come through in the muffins.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla is a great addition to baking recipes since it enhances all the other flavors!
- Whole wheat and all-purpose flour: I like a blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flours for this recipe, but you could just use all-purpose flour. The combo of flours allows for a soft muffin that still has a denser texture. I wouldn’t recommend all whole wheat flour unless you want a very dense muffin.
- Baking powder and soda: To create fluffy and delicious muffins, you’ll need a combo of baking powder and baking soda.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, but frozen blueberries will dye the muffin batter and create very purple-blue muffins. I love the look of blue muffins but it’s not everyone’s favorite.
How to Make Dairy Free Muffins: Instructions, Video Tutorial and Tips
This is a simple recipe to make in one bowl! There are no fancy steps required, other than making a flaxseed “egg” which is a standard vegan baking technique.
Read the detailed directions below or watch the short video to learn how to make these delicious, fluffy muffins.
Step 1: Zest and Juice Lemons
Start by zesting two large lemons, or until you have 2 tbsp of lemon zest. Use the small grating edge of a box grater, a microplane or another zesting tool. Zest is the bright yellow outer layer of the lemon peel and not the white pith underneath (avoid grating into the pith as it can be quite bitter, and all the flavor is in the colorful zest).
You can pack as much zest as you like into the tablespoon when measuring. The more you pack in, the more potent the lemon flavor will be (I like a lightly packed 2 tbsp of zest). A loose packed spoon of zest creates a mild lemon flavor so do what you like!
Once you have your zest, juice the lemons, removing any seeds. You need 6 tbsp of lemon juice which should only take 2 large lemons, but you may need a third if they aren’t as juicy.
Step 2: Prep Flaxseed “Egg”
Next, to make delicious vegan muffins, you’ll need to prepare a flaxseed “egg”. Stir lemon juice into the ground flaxseed and set aside.
This mixture forms a gel after a couple minutes and is a great vegan egg replacement in many baking recipes.
Step 3: Whisk Wet Ingredients
When your flax egg has set, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the other liquid ingredients including plant-based milk, sugar, oil and vanilla extract.
Whisk this mixture together until well combined. Then, whisk in the lemon zest.
Step 4: Stir in Dry Ingredients and Blueberries
Switch from a whisk to a large mixing spoon before adding in the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt.
Measure flour by gently scooping it into the measuring cup until there’s heaping amount. Then, use a flat edge (like the back of a knife) to scrape along the edge of the measuring cup, scraping off all excess flour and getting a perfectly measured cup.
Stir your dry ingredients into the liquid, until it’s partly combined, then add blueberries. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, but frozen blueberries will dye the batter and your muffins turn purple!
When the blueberries are in, continue gently stirring until the batter is just mixed. Stop stirring as soon as there are no large clumps of dry or wet ingredients and the blueberries are evenly distributed.
Step 5: Bake and Serve
Preheat your oven to 350 °F and prep a muffin tin by lining it with paper or silicone muffin liners. This recipe makes 12 muffins, so you’ll need a 12-slot muffin tray.
Scoop batter evenly into each muffin liner. The liners should be about ¾ full.
Place your muffin tray into the preheated oven and bake for 24-26 minutes. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (assuming you don’t poke through a blueberry!).
Once baked, carefully remove the muffins from your baking tray and onto a wire cooling rack. Serve the muffins hot or at room temperature; they’ll need to be at room temperature before storing (see below for storage directions).
If using silicone muffin liners, you may want to carefully pop the muffins out of each liner and allow to cool without them. The silicone can create condensation and may leave the muffins somewhat soggy on the edges.
How to Store Leftovers: Refrigerating and Freezing this Recipe
Cool leftover muffins to room temperature before transferring into an airtight container. These muffins are quite moist and keep best if stored in the fridge and not on the counter. They should last in the fridge for up to a week.
This recipe also freezes well in either an airtight container or freezer bag. To thaw, allow your muffins to sit in the fridge overnight or use a microwave on a defrost setting. Muffins are best enjoyed warm, so microwave them for a few seconds (5-10 seconds) just before eating to take off the chill.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, please rate and comment below so others benefit from your experience.
More Deliciously Vegan Snack Recipes
Vegan Blueberry Lemon Muffins
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Large spoon
- Muffin tin
- Muffin liners (paper or silicone)
- Zesting tool (ex. box grater or microplane)
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 6 tbsp lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
- ¾ C plant-based milk
- ⅔ C granulated sugar
- ⅓ C vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 C whole wheat flour
- 1 C all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ½ C blueberries (fresh or frozen *)
Instructions
Step 1: Zest and Juice Lemons
- Begin by zesting 2 large lemons, until you have 1 tbsp of zest. Use a microplane, the small side of a box grater or other zesting tool.
- Juice the 2 lemons or until you have 6 tbsp lemon juice (if the lemons are smaller or not releasing a lot of juice, you may need 3).
Step 2: Prep Flaxseed “Egg”
- Add 2 tbsp ground flaxseed to a small bowl and stir in 6 tbsp lemon juice. Set aside for a few minutes to allow the flaxseed to absorb the liquid and for a gel.
Step 3: Whisk Wet Ingredients
- Once the flaxseed has sat for a few minutes, add it to a large bowl along with ¾ C plant-based milk, ⅔ C granulated sugar, ⅓ C vegetable oil and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Whisk until the ingredients are well combined.
- Next, whisk in 1 tbsp lemon zest.
- Switch from using a whisk to a large stirring spoon.
Step 4: Stir in Dry Ingredients and Blueberries
- Add 1 C all-purpose flour, 1 C whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda and a pinch of salt to the liquid ingredients. Stir until the batter is mostly mixed then add in 1 ½ C blueberries.
- Continue stirring until blueberries are evenly mixed throughout the batter and there are no large clumps of dry ingredients remaining. Stop stirring at this point to avoid overmixing the batter.
Step 5: Bake and Serve
- Prep a 12-slot muffin tin by lining it with paper or silicone muffin liners.
- Scoop the muffin batter evenly into each muffin liner.
- Place muffins into an oven preheated at 350 °F for 24-26 minutes.
- The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (assuming you don’t poke through a blueberry!).
- Once out of the oven, allow muffins a couple minutes to cool before removing from your muffin tin and onto a wire cooling rack.
- Cool completely before transferring to an airtight container and store in the fridge.
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This is a great recipe!! The muffins are delicious!
Thanks Kim, so happy you enjoyed these!