This vegan blueberry muffin recipe uses basic ingredients to create delicious, blueberry-loaded muffins. These soft, tender and fluffy treats are perfect for a snack or dessert.
You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, depending on what’s in season, what you have on hand, or how you want the muffin to look like when baked! Frozen blueberries create an ultra-colorful muffin while fresh ones tend to dye the batter less.
Skill: Easy | Time: 40 min | Servings: 12 muffins
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Are Blueberry Muffins Vegan?
Blueberry muffin recipes are almost never vegan, unless specified, and typically call for dairy and eggs.
Luckily, it’s easy to avoid dairy and eggs in most baking recipes. This recipe replaces dairy with plant-based milk and skips eggs. The final muffins are soft, tender and fluffy, and loaded with blueberries!
Ingredients and Substitutions for Plant-based Blueberry Muffins
The ingredient list for these muffins is very basic and you should easily find everything in an average grocery store. There are 10 ingredients, and while some substitutions are possible, it’s best to follow the recipe as-is.
- Plant-based milk: These tasty muffins start with plant-based milk. Select an unsweetened and unflavored option. I use soy milk. If needed, keep the recipe soy-free by selecting a non-soy milk option (almond, cashew, oat).
- Apple cider vinegar: Adding vinegar to soy milk creates a quick and simple buttermilk replacement. Buttermilk is thicker, creamier and tangier compared to regular milk and this creates richer muffins. Soy milk is best for creating thick buttermilk. You can use white vinegar instead of apple cider if easier.
- Granulated sugar: Regular granulated sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness to these muffins.
- Vegetable oil: Select a neutral-tasting oil for this recipe as you’ll want that delicious blueberry flavor to come through!
- Vanilla extract: A touch of vanilla is essential for great flavor in this recipe.
- All-purpose flour: Basic all-purpose flour is perfect to create soft, tender muffins. Use up to half whole wheat flour if you want a slightly nuttier, denser muffin. Don’t use more than half whole wheat otherwise the muffins will become dense and chewy.
- Baking powder and soda: Together, these ingredients help the muffins rise and create perfectly tender, fluffy blueberry muffins!
- Blueberries: Use fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe! Frozen blueberries turn the batter purple and the muffins blue, like in my photos. It also takes longer to cook the muffins when using frozen berries, but I love the look of them when they’re super blue!
How to Make This Recipe: Instructions and Tips
This is a very simple recipe to make, and it comes together in just a few easy steps. Watch my short video or read the detailed directions below to learn how to make the best blueberry-loaded vegan muffins!
Step 1: Whisk Wet Ingredients
The first step of this recipe is to create a quick and easy vegan buttermilk. Whisk plant-based milk and apple cider vinegar together in a large bowl and let it sit for a minute.
It should thicken and become slightly clumpy. Soy milk creates the thickest buttermilk alternative, but you can use another plant-based milk if you like.
Next, whisk in the remaining wet ingredients, including granulated sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Mix until everything is well combined.
Step 2: Stir in Dry Ingredients
I mix almost all my baking recipes in one bowl lately. While you may get a better result by whisking dry ingredients together before stirring into the wet, I haven’t found much of a difference with this extra step (and it creates extra dishes).
So, measure out the dry ingredients directly into the mixing bowl with the wet. This includes all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt.
Carefully stir this mixture together until it’s almost mixed, then add blueberries. Stir until the batter is just combined. This means there are no obvious clumps of dry ingredients left, but the batter may still be somewhat chunky looking.
If you use frozen blueberries, like I do, your batter will turn purple!
Step 3: Bake
Preheat your oven to 350 °F, then prepare a 12-slot muffin tray by lining it with paper or silicone muffin liners.
Evenly scoop the muffin batter into all 12 muffin slots. Once that’s done, bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin will come out clean when they’re fully cooked.
Using frozen blueberries can increase the cook time by 10-15 minutes because they make the batter extra cold.
Once out of your oven, let the muffins sit for a minute or two. Then, carefully remove the muffins from your pan onto a wire cooling rack.
If you use silicone muffin liners like I do, carefully remove them now. The silicone doesn’t breathe and often makes the muffin edges soggy.
You can serve these hot or cool to room temperature before serving.
Blueberry Muffin Variations
There are lots of fun ways to make blueberry muffins. I love making lemon blueberry muffins and bet you’d love them too!
You could also add a sprinkle of coarse sugar on the muffins before baking. This creates a slightly crunchy and sweetened top for the muffins; like what you may get in a bakery!
If you like streusel, you can also top the muffins with some type of crumble before baking for a decadent muffin top!
Lastly, try this recipe with fresh and frozen blueberries. I find the muffins taste different depending on which type of berry you use!
How to Store Leftovers: Refrigerating and Freezing this Recipe
Let your muffins come to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. These muffins can be stored out on a counter for one day. After that, refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze these muffins in any freezer safe container or bag. They should be fine frozen for 4-5 months, just let frozen muffins thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
If you want to serve the muffins warm, heat in a microwave for 5-15 seconds first.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, please rate and comment below so others benefit from your experience.
More Delicious Vegan Baking Recipes
Vegan Blueberry Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tin (12-slots)
- Muffin liners (paper or silicone)
Ingredients
- 1 cup plant-based milk (I use soy milk)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (145 g)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cup all-purpose flour (260 g)
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ½ cup blueberries (200 g fresh or frozen)
Instructions
Step 1: Whisk Wet Ingredients
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F.
- Add the plant-based milk and apple cider vinegar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and let this mixture sit for a minute.1 cup plant-based milk, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Next, whisk in the granulated sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.¾ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Step 2: Stir in Dry Ingredients
- Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda to your mixing bowl along with a pinch of salt.2 cup all-purpose flour, 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 pinch salt
- Stir this mixture with a large spoon until it’s mostly combined, but there’s still some clumps left.
- Add blueberries to the batter and mix until just combined. This means until there are no large or dry clumps in the batter (small clumps that don’t easily break apart are fine). Don’t over-mix.1 ½ cup blueberries
Step 3: Bake
- Prepare a 12-slot muffin tray by lining it with silicone or paper muffin liners.
- Evenly scoop the batter into all 12 slots.
- Bake the muffins in an oven preheated to 350 °F for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean.
- If using frozen berries, bake time can increase by up to 10-15 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from your oven and let sit for a few minutes. Carefully remove the muffins and place onto a wire cooling rack. If using silicone muffin liners, it’s best to remove these now, otherwise the edges of the muffin tend to become soggy.
- Fully cool your muffins before storing in an airtight container and refrigerating for up to 5 days.
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