The perfect vegan blueberry muffins! These muffins are soft, sweet, perfectly moist, and filled with fresh blueberries in every bite. Made with a hint of lemon to take these muffins to the next level.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
This post was originally published on March 2, 2015. Last updated on July 13th, 2020
My first baking job was the best job I’ve had to date. Well, with the exception of this job. In my time as a baker, I fell absolutely in love with the process, the environment, and the practice of baking and patisserie.
I originally published this vegan blueberry muffin recipe over 6 years ago. Since then, it has become the most popular recipe on my website, BY FAR. You people LOVE these vegan muffins.
I get it. These vegan muffins are soft, perfectly moist, and flavored with a hint of lemon. Beyond that, they are wildly versatile. Take a look through the comment section of this recipe and you’ll learn how to make these muffins gluten-free, without refined sugar, soy-free, and so many other ways!
With all the love these vegan muffins get, I figured it was time to give them a new look.
Recipe Video
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
I love this recipe and I think you will too! These vegan muffins are moist, rich, and bursting with blueberries and lemon zest in every bite. They are the perfect morning pastry or a midday snack.
Ingredient Notes
- Non-Dairy Milk – I recommend soy milk because it curdles the best. Almond milk will often curdle but not as well. This may affect the overall texture of the muffin.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – This is my vinegar of choice when making vegan buttermilk (vinegar + soymilk) but white vinegar, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice are great alternatives.
- All-Purpose Flour – For healthier flour options, you can use 1:1 gluten-free flour blends, buckwheat, or spelt flour.
- Granulated Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
- Oil – This recipe calls for canola oil because it creates the best texture without added flavor. If you want to avoid hydrogenated oils, try avocado or melted coconut oil. Olive oil also works but adds a slightly savory flavor. If you want to eliminate the oil altogether, swap it out for the same amount of applesauce.
- Fresh Lemon – If you don’t like lemon, this can be omitted.
- Fresh Blueberries – If you don’t have fresh blueberries, check out my Tips & Tricks to find out how to replace them with frozen berries.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One – Combine the Ingredients
To start, we must first make our “buttermilk”. To do this, mix together soymilk with 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and set it aside for 5 minutes to curdle. Once it’s curdled, whisk in the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
Pro Tip: The curdled milk helps give these muffins rise and texture. While other types of non-dairy milk will do, I find that soy milk curdles the best.
In a small bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. That’s the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until it’s well combined and set aside. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until all the flour is evenly hydrated.
Step Two – Fold in the Blueberries
Once the batter is made, we want to gently fold in the blueberries. The goal with folding is to get the blueberries fully incorporated into the batter without overmixing the batter or breaking apart the berries.
To do this, use a wooden spoon or plastic spatula and fold the batter from bottom to top in a “C” shape.
Step Three – Bake the Muffins
Scoop your batter into a greased muffin tin. Fill each muffin mold about 3/4 of the way full and bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Pro Tip: I find that using an ice cream scoop is the cleanest and easiest way to get the batter into the muffin molds. With an ice cream scoop, you can ensure the muffins are equally sized as well.
Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before flipping out to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Serving And Storing
Serving – Serve these vegan muffins immediately. They come out of the oven warm, buttery, and hard to resist!
Storing – Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these muffins for up to 2 months. To thaw, pull the muffins from the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature for several hours.
Tips And Tricks
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you gummy and dense muffins.
- If you are using frozen berries, thaw the berries in a colander by running them under room temperature water. Let the berries sit for 30 minutes for any excess water and juice to run off them. Pat them dry with a paper towel before adding them to your batter.
- Fill muffin tins about 3/4″ of the way full. Any fuller than that and they will overflow.
- Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the tops are golden brown.
- Make sure to let the muffins sit in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before flipping them out to a wire cooling rack. Otherwise, the muffins may fall apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. While I choose soy milk because it curdles so well, many people have had success with almond milk, oat milk, and cashew milk as well.
For sure! For gluten-free muffins, I recommend using a 1:1 Baking Flour Blend. (<<affiliate link)
Sure. If you would like to make this recipe oil-free, simply swap out the oil for additional applesauce at a 1:1 ratio.
If you are using frozen berries, thaw the berries in a colander by running them under room temperature water. Let the berries sit for 30 minutes for any excess water and juice to run off them. Pat them dry with a paper towel before adding them to your batter.
I recommend coconut sugar. Other readers have replaced the sugar with 1/2 cup maple syrup or simply reduced the sugar by 25%-50% with great success. Check out my complete guide to vegan sugar for more ideas.
If you want to make this muffin batter in advance, store the batter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.
To bake the muffins, preheat the oven and bake according to the instructions. However, these muffins may take a few minutes longer to bake since the batter will be chilled. The muffins will also be slightly denser as the baking soda begins to activate once it’s mixed into the batter, causing it to be slightly less potent.
Do you still have a question? If so, make sure to check out the comments below. This recipe has over 500 comments, including answers to frequently asked questions, common substitutions, and more!
More Vegan Muffin Recipes
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Healthy Vegan Banana Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
And make sure to check out all my muffin & pastry recipes.
Vegan Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup + 2tbsp. granulated sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp. canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1½ – 2 cups fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to allow milk to curdle.
- In a larger bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, canola oil, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Add soy milk/vinegar mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix – a few lumps are okay. Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Spoon into muffin tins, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from heat and allow muffins to cool before removing from pan.
Video
Notes
- Can I use something other than soy milk? Yes. While I choose soy milk because it curdles so well, many people have had success with almond milk, oat milk, and cashew milk as well.
- Can I make this recipe gluten-free? For sure! For gluten-free muffins, I recommend using a 1:1 Baking Flour Blend.
- Can I make these muffins oil free? Sure. If you would like to make this recipe oil-free, simply swap out the oil for additional applesauce at a 1:1 ratio.
- Can I use frozen berries? If you are using frozen berries, thaw the berries in a colander by running them under room temperature water. Let the berries sit for 30 minutes for any excess water and juice to run off them. Pat them dry with a paper towel before adding them to your batter.
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- If you are using frozen berries, thaw the berries in a colander by running them under room temperature water. Let the berries sit for 30 minutes for any excess water and juice to run off them. Pat them dry with a paper towel before adding them to your batter.
- Make sure to let the muffins sit in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before flipping them out to a wire cooling rack. Otherwise, the muffins may fall apart.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Laura says
I bake these muffins 2 times per week, the dough is the best one. Instead of blueberries I also use chocolate chips, raspberries, I use matcha powder, apple and cinnamon. Thank you very much, this is really the best!
Carter says
What can I use to sub the sugar? I have applesauce, coconut sugar, date sugar, agave and date nectar(lol)… how much would i use if I sub with one of these and which one is best?
Also has anyone made this gluten free? Which flour? I have gluten free all purpose , thinking it would be 1 for 1.
Thank you!
B says
Since this recipe calls for a dry sugar, I would sub the coconut sugar you have. Same amount. Not sure about gluten-free flour – maybe try oat flour? Cheers!
Rachel says
Hi! Ive made this recipe, it’s amazing and I used Bobs Gluten Free 1:1 Flour (best stuff, I always have on hand). Also substituted Almond Milk for Soy 1:1.
Elizabeth says
Thank you for this recipe! It was easy to follow and I actually had everything I needed on hand. Of course there were a few substitutions, like almond instead of soy milk and frozen instead of fresh blueberries. I’ve never used frozen blueberries before so I didn’t bother to drain the juice. This caused my muffins to have bright blueish green swirls in them – they’re silly to look at but the taste is stellar. ⭐️
Jannah says
I followed your recipe step by step and the end result was absolutely perfect. The blueberry muffin was soft, moist, and very flavorful. Now instead of adding blueberries and lemon zest I wanted to add cocoa powder and vegan chocolate chips to make a chocolate chip muffin, but I’m not exactly sure how much to add into the batter.
Gilia says
Add cocoa powder to the flower mix and fold in the chocolate chips instead of the blueberries
Darrian says
This recipe is great! Me and my non-vegan boyfriend can’t get enough of them. A win win.
Sarah says
So glad to hear!
Priya says
I’m so keen to try these, will make some on the weekend with raspberries instead. Just wondering – can I use white wine vinegar instead of apple cider as that’s all I have at home? Thank you will update how they turned out after I bake them 🙂
Sarah says
Yes, that should be fine.
Karen says
This is one of my favourite recipes! I’ve made these cupcakes so many times and everyone that tried them loved them!
I was in the mood for apple cake today and I subbed the sugar in the original recipe for 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce and 2 tbsp coconut sugar and added apple chunks instead of blueberries… They’re still cooling down but they look just perfect!
Xienna says
Can I use lemon juice instead of lemon zest?
Sarah says
I recommend sticking with zest or omitting it all together.
Brieann says
These are amazing!!! How long do you think they keep for? Assuming I don’t eat them all at once. ?
Sarah says
They should keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Mouse says
These are AMAZING!!! I used almond milk (I let it curdle for 5 more mins than what the recipe called) and I also use frozen blue berries instead because that’s what I had. I defrosted them first and the muffins came out perfect. Thank you for such a lovely recipe.
Vanessa says
These look so good! Do they keep long?
Sarah says
They would keep about 3-4 days. You could also freeze them if you want to keep them longer.
Helen says
Yummmmmmmmmmmm. I’ve made 2 batches of these muffins in the last 5 days. Quick and easy to make and far too easy to eat! I used almond milk instead of soy and was really pleased with the result. Thank you so much for proving yet again that plant based food is the very best!
Dorit Coish says
I’ve made these twice this week because they don’t last long around my house. I used almond milk the first time and cashew milk the second time and they turned out great. I also used cane sugar and unbleached flour. These are so moist and delicious and I will definitely be making them again and again and again. Thanks for the great recipe!
rachel says
YUM! These were SO GOOD! Finally, a vegan muffin that is fluffy and not super dense!
I subbed Ripple Milk (made from peas) and it worked perfectly in case anyone is wondering. I also made them GF and they were great! I will take some other’s suggestions and use part oat flour next time.
Thank you for a great recipe!
Barbara says
Has anyone tried using buttermilk.
Regina says
How do you store these? I made them with strawberries… holy yum. I’m taking them on a road trip tomorrow…
Sarah says
They should be good for 4-5 days if stored in an airtight container.