Here comes another amazing vegan recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I can assure you that this is the best eggless/vegan blueberry muffins one can bake.
It's as light as an angel food cake made with only egg whites. You can imagine how light that cake would be.
So these eggless blueberry muffins which use vinegar as an egg substitute are also equally light and airy.
I used apple cider vinegar this time and got no aftertaste or smell from the vinegar. I personally feel that white vinegar has an aftertaste and smell.
I have made this vegan blueberry recipe a couple of times with many variations in using different flavors and ingredients, yet the recipe yields perfect muffins every time. I have used lemon zest, orange zest, orange juice, rice milk, and almond milk for flavorings and the liquid portion. I prefer these eggless blueberry muffins with orange flavoring the most.
I have always loved the combination of blueberry and orange. This orange blueberry bread is another best example of how lovely this combination is.
In my early days of venturing into vegan baking, I have used soy milk as a vegan substitute for dairy milk and have always felt that soy milk tends to give a rubbery texture to the baked treat. I don't know if it's just me or if others have felt it too.
That's the reason I have stopped using soy milk and these days mainly use rice milk and almond milk. Bot these non-dairy kinds of milk don't affect the texture.
I have another version of these muffins which uses whole wheat pastry flour, flax meal, maple syrup - healthy vegan blueberry muffins.
How to make vegan blueberry muffins?
Here is the step-by-step pictorial recipe on how to make fluffy vegan blueberry muffins from scratch:
Top Tip
This vegan blueberry muffin recipe is one of the most tried recipes from the blog and I get a lot of questions asking for substitutions and many other things. I have tried to answer it all either individually or consolidating similar questions and created one below.
So please take some time to go through all the questions and answers before trying the recipe or before repeating the same question in the comments section. Thank you.
Recipe
Vegan Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour (I used bleached)
- 1 and ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Lemon/orange Zest
- ¾ to 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup any non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup any oil with neutral flavor
- 1 teaspoon vanilla/lemon/orange extract (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 and ½ cups Fresh OR Frozen Blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C (see My Notes) for 15 minutes. Lightly grease a muffin tin.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and orange zest.
- Combine the sugar, milk, oil, extract, and vinegar in a large bowl. Mix well.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients to stir until just combined. Don't over-stir.
- Gently fold in the berries using a rubber spatula.
- Fill the muffin tins about ⅔rds full.
- Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375F and bake for another 7-8 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. After that remove the muffins from the tins and cool on a wire rack.
Taste & Texture
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
I know that it's easy to get tempted to replace the oil/fat in a baking recipe with applesauce to make it fat-free, but that would result in dense and dry muffins. It won’t be as airy as using oil alone. So I would suggest just replacing half the quantity of oil with applesauce.
Since the acidic content of lemon juice is less when compared to vinegar you might have to double the quantity of vinegar. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vinegar, use 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
Lemon zest is nothing but grating the skin of the lemon. Care should be taken so that the inner white sheet from the skin does not peel away because it will be bitter. Lemon extract is like vanilla, and almond extract is in liquid form.
I wouldn't say that it's compulsory, but it will give these blueberry muffins a nice flavor without baking powder. You may choose to use orange zest/extract instead of simply vanilla extract will be good too.
Opening the oven door quite too often while it is baking makes cold air enter the oven and might be the reason for the muffins to sink. Another reason is that you used too much batter for each muffin.
No it doesn’t work like that. You would have to use Xanathan gum. I haven't baked this recipe gluten-free and have read that simply substituting the all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour would not work especially in baked goods that have to rise, like muffins, cupcakes, and cakes. Brownies and cookies should not be that much of a problem to bake gluten-free and can be done without xanthan gum.
Gluten-free and egg free is a lot of trial and error methods only. But some of the readers did mention that they tried this recipe gluten-free using rice flour and gluten-free mix (which already has the xantham gum in it). You may try it at your discretion. I will try to bake a gluten-free version shortly and blog about it soon.
Certainly you can. Just use dairy milk and if you prefer butter, melted butter instead of oil. One of the readers suggested that the muffins turn out better if oil is used instead of melted butter though.
Any oil that has a neutral flavor. Peanut oil, sunflower oil, (refined) coconut oil, avocado oil, etc could work on this homemade vegan blueberry muffins recipe.
You can try it at 350F but bake it a few minutes longer.
Halving the recipe may not work out always. It's again for you to experiment and see. Another option is to bake all the muffins and freeze the remaining and use it later. If you decide to halve the recipe and use a 12-cup pan, then you will have to fill the rest of the cups with little water so that the muffins will bake evenly and doesn’t get dried out.
You can try a flaxseed meal, but I’m pretty sure the muffins won’t be as airy and light as those with lemon and vinegar. You can blend a teaspoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of warm water.
There are a couple of reasons for this:
1) If you try to peel off the wrapper while the muffins are still warm
2) If you make it low-fat or fat-free
3) If you don't lightly grease the liners with non-stick cooking spray.
The temperature does not change, but you need to bake it for a shorter time than you would bake regular-sized muffins. Somewhere between 12-15 minutes.
I have explained it in detail here: Why does fruit sink to bottom of the cake?
Rice milk is derived from cooked white/brown rice. You can use any other non-dairy milk like almond milk, oat milk, hemp milk, etc. I personally don't prefer using soy milk because it gives a sticky texture to the baked goods. For vegan baking, my choice is either rice milk or almond milk.
Yes you can use any other berries or fruits of your choice. Or even add-ons like nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruits, etc.
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Marissa says
How much exactly of lemon zest? 1/3,1/4,1/2cup, etc.?
Madhuram says
As mentioned in the recipe, how much ever it measures from two lemons. You may choose to increase or decrease the quantity to suit your taste.
Linda says
I used the zest from one large lemon, which turned out to be a tiny bit more than 1 teaspoon. The zest really makes the flavor pop.
Madhuram says
That's true. I love orange zest and blueberry combination.
Anu says
Can I use whole wheat flour ( atta) instead?
Madhuram says
You can try Anu. I haven't made this recipe with whole wheat flour.
Sheetal Totloorker says
Tried with whole wheat flour, they were just as good!!
Annie says
I just made these muffins. I added coconut oil instead of canola, baking powder instead of baking soda, vanilla soy milk instead of rice milk and lemon juice instead of vinegar. It came out great
Madhuram says
That's awesome Annie.
Linda says
Thank you for formatting the HTML so that I could print out the recipe and your comments without it being all weird on the page. 🙂
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Linda. Passed on the thanks to my husband who is the techie behind the scenes 🙂
mrs e says
I am surprised no baking powder?
Madhuram says
Yes, just baking soda.
Shannon Jarrell says
I just made these and they are great! I used a cup of freshly squeezed orange in place of rice milk and skipped the zest altogether. They came out lightly orangey, fluffy and moist! I tried both with and without paper and while they came out fine both ways, I prefer those without the paper. They browned nicer and we're slightly fluffier. Next time I will use maybe just one cup of bluberries (they mostly sink to the bottom, but that's okay with me) and no paper liners. Thanks for the recipe!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Shannon. Just orange juice instead of milk sounds like a great idea. To prevent the blueberries from settling down, toss it with some flour lightly and then add it to the batter.
Jeni says
Very good. Used soy milk, ACV and olive oil which is what I always use for my vegan baking. Easy and delicious.
Madhuram says
Thanks Jeni.
Terri Nix says
I used this as an outline for my muffins and they came out great! I needed to make them GF, Vegan and no oil - so I used the Namaste GF flour blend for my flour. Coconut milk for my milk. a little over 1/2 cup Maple Syrup instead of sugar. 1/2 cup apple sauce instead of oil. I also used 1 T of Baking powder rather than the baking soda. I also added 2 T of this ground flax, chia, coconut mix - since I like the taste of it. It made 12 muffins. They were fluffy for using these kinds of flours. I needed another 5 minutes of baking as well. I used the paper liners as I knew that with no oil, there may be sticking. Will definitely bake this again.
Madhuram says
That's awesome Terri. Thank you for the feedback.
Jayanth says
I like it a lot! I made it with my mommy! (Thanks for sharing this simple recipe, Madhuram. My son wanted to bake something badly today and we happened to have all the ingredients. We used coconut milk and mini muffin trays 🙂 )
Madhuram says
That's great.
Tako says
These came out great! Light nd fluffy and browned perfectly. I sprinkled a little sugar on top for a delightful crunch.
Madhuram says
That's great Tako.
Andrea says
I made these today and they were absolutely amazing! They were light, fluffy, and moist. They tasted just like muffins that have eggs in them! I love this recipe and will surely use it again.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Andrea.
Sangeeta says
Hello Madhuram
I made the muffins today and loved them. I specially like the fluffy, light texture and the fact that they are not too sweet.
Thank you.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Sangeeta.
Pre says
Can I use whole wheat flour (atta) instead of maida?? Awaiting your response.. would love to make these today
Madhuram says
It depends upon the brand of whole wheat flour you plan to use. Some turn out good some very dense. I would suggest using 50% each of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour the first time and then decide whether to increase or not the next time.
Sasi says
Hi Madhuram, this is a common reply, just not specific to this recipe. I don't know you at all, but only by looking at the picture in your comments. You don't know how many times you cross my mind when I want to make something eggless. I even suggest your site to my friends and families. I had little bit of passion for baking, but not much patience before. Most of the time eggless baking was very disappointing when it comes to ending results. It was waste of time, energy and money. I've been following your site since 2011. At the beginning I used to try a recipe at least once before bringing it to the table. After a while I truly trusted your recipes. They are absolutely no-fail recipes and I directly go to action. I just would like to say thank you for your time and effort on publishing your wonderful recipes. You are blessed!
Madhuram says
Thank you very much for your generous compliments Sasi. You have made my day. I sincerely appreciate your gesture of taking the time to leave such a detailed feedback. 🙂
fan says
I usually love ur recipes. But the batter was more like pastry! Any idea why?
Madhuram says
By pastry do you mean it was crumbly? This is a no-fail recipe. I don't see why it would be like that unless the liquid ingredients were reduced or the flour was increased by oversight.
(stiĺ your) fan says
Not crumbly...not that dry. Perhaps a really wet pastry. But so stiff that i could not mix blueberries without them beconing a paste so i just sprinkled them on top.
I should add the muffin did come out ok, though they didn't stay fresh for more than a couple of days...so I wanted to check ...is this correct consistency/ how stiff to expect the batter to be?
Madhuram says
If I remember the batter was not as stiff as you are telling. I'm wondering maybe some measurement was missed by oversight because I have made this recipe quite a number of times over the years and haven't had any problem at all.
Erika says
Thank you so much for this recipe - I came across this recipe when I realized I had no eggs in my fridge. Luckily, came across this one and they turned out perfect. Very moist and not overly doughy or crumbly. Thank you!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Erika. 🙂
Bambi says
I just used this recipe to make a blueberry bread loaf. Everything the same just using a glass bread pan instead of muffin tin. If the batter is any sign of whats to come, I know this is going to taste delicious because couldn't stop eating it! Ill let you know about cooking time and such with using a bread pan instead. I also used unsweetened vanilla cashew milk as my milk source. Excited to see how things turn out!
Madhuram says
Wow! Your excitement is contagious Bambi! 😀
Lori says
I love your website, thank you! What could have caused mine to be so dry? I must have did something wrong? Thanks. Lori
Madhuram says
Thanks Lori. Did you get the liquid measurements right? Or do you think you baked it a little too long?
Jeanie says
I was skeptical but boy was I amazed with the results!! I did sour the milk with regular white vinegar for at least 5 minutes, and then I mixed in 2 tbsp of coconut oil into the milk before combining with dry ingredients. I added a cup of shredded coconuts and sprinkled the tops with coconut. Delicious!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Jeanie.
suzann saquicela says
Can I use almond or coconut flour instead? I have a wheat allergy. And if so what are the measurements?
Madhuram says
Sorry Suzann, I haven't tried the recipe gluten-free so not sure how it will turn out.
Donna says
I cooked these and my husband who isn't a vegan loved them,and I used a pie pan because I didn't have a muffin pan, I didn't use the lemon stuff either.
Madhuram says
That's great Donna!
CARRIE S. says
Can I make this into a cake& use mixed frozen berries..??
Madhuram says
Yes it should work. But the baking time will vary depending upon the size of the pan you use.
Rachel says
Omg, your recipes are so good and definitely a must for vegetarians who are not eating eggs. I rarely leave comments but I've been looking for eggless cake/muffin recipes for ages but most disappointed me as they often too dry/bitter/tasteless, but your one is just right and my mum likes it very much. Thank you, Madhuram!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Rachel and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Natalie says
Thank you for the great recipe! I'm definitely going to be trying this one again. Most vegan recipes I've used so far for baking muffins and cakes have turned out somewhat soggy or flat, but these are light, airy, and not overly sweet. I hope to try some of your other recipes in the near future.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Natalie. Hope you like the other recipes too. 🙂
SunshineNYC says
Hi,
I'd like to try this with maple syrup. Any suggestions? I think I would have to reduce the milk to 1/2 cup. What do you think?
Thanks!
Madhuram says
This is a similar recipe with whole wheat flour and maple syrup version: http://www.egglesscooking.com/vegan-blueberry-muffins-2/
Alannah says
Can I not use lemon? Or is it necessary?
Madhuram says
It's not necessary Alannah.
Claire says
I expected these to be really good. All of the reviews clearly made them sound delicious. I followed the directions exactly, and regarded the notes. When I took the good looking, golden muffins out of the oven, I couldn't wait to try them! But when I took a bite... It tasted really weird. Almost as if it had fish in it. I have no idea what I missed but the whole family was disappointed. Next time, I will change it up a little and hope for the best.
Madhuram says
Did you by any chance use baking powder instead of baking soda?
Shannon West says
I found this recipe about 3 weeks ago and have made several batches and variations using this as a base. The first I time I followed it exactly (which is SO hard for me!) And it was fabulous! 5 stars!!! The next few times I used different milks, blackberries, lime juice with added spices like cinnamon, allspice, ginger, etc. Pretty much whatever was in my pantry. Still amazing! I LOVE how simple and cost effective this recipe is and how EASY it is to whip together. I make quadruple batches at a time and it works wonderfully. Thank you. This one is a keeper! <3
Madhuram says
Wow Shannon! Thank you so much for the feedback. I don't understand why some people don't get it right. So really happy to know that it works for you.
Dovile says
What is the size of your cup?
Madhuram says
It is the US standard measurement.
Dovile says
I am not from US, can you share it in ml? Thanks
Madhuram says
Kindly check the baking measurement page for conversion chart.
Donna says
I agree , using only one lemon and almond milk , the recipe was a success. Also, I made a bread loaf instead of muffins! Really delicious , just needs longer amount of time in oven.
Madhuram says
That's a great idea Donna.
Renee says
I've made this recipe twice now. This time I didn't have any lemon so I used almond extract. Still delicious. Great recipe!
Madhuram says
Thanks Renee.
Pavi says
hi, Can I omit lemon zest? Do i have an substitute?
Madhuram says
Yes you can. You can add orange zest if you want.
Aarti says
Hi, can I use gluten free flour mix instead of all purpose flour? Thanks for your response !!
Madhuram says
Maybe a gluten free baking mix would work. Not sure though.
Katrina says
These were GREAT!!!!! My husband came home with a ton of blueberries. What else do you do with too many blueberries? Make muffins! My daughter is allergic to eggs, dairy and peanuts so I'm always looking for new recipes to try. This one is a keeper!! I only had 1 lemon in the house and I used almond milk. I also went with the cider vinegar and didn't use the lemon extract. These are the best muffins I've had since living the egg and dairy free life. We made 36 plump mini muffins. Thank you so much for sharing this. I look forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Katrina. Thank you very much for the lovely feedback.
Anna says
Oh my goodness! I just scoffed one of these down warm and was in heaven! I have never, ever made muffins this light, this fluffy and this more-ish! I used 1 cup mixed frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries), and 1 cup apple (peeled and cut into 1 cm approx. pieces). As the frozen berries were whole, I cut them to match the size of the apple pieces.
I halved the salt to 1/4 tsp and used 3/4 cup raw caster sugar. I used Hi-Lo milk and the zest of 1& 1/2 large lemons. I followed your recipe for the rest, including the ingredients you used or omitted. Only I did fill the muffin tins right to the tops - I find I get a higher dome that way. Thank you for this scrumptious recipe!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Anna.
Sam says
Best eggless recipe ever! Used unsweetened oat milk and apple cider vinegar. Turned out perfect and rose really well.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much Sam.
Laurie says
I used frozen mix berries (blue, black and raspberries) and the muffins turned out very well.
Madhuram says
Thanks Laurie.
Liza Miles says
Shared on. Fb. Fabulous...everyone loved them
Madhuram says
Thanks Liza.
Heather says
These turned out really nicely, thank you. I reduced the sugar further (used less than 3/4 cup) and upped the fresh blueberries to about 2 cups (just b/c I had them to use up) and everyone seemed to enjoy; I didn't quite have enough lemon zest so used about 1/2 of the zest content from an orange instead and it was a nice flavor as well. My daughter's non-vegan brother and friends were surprised to hear they were vegan. Excellent.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Heather.
Crystal says
This is my favorite Vegan muffin Recipe. I use it for different types of muffins by tweaking the ingredients. My favorite is to use it for lemon poppy seed muffins./
Thank you!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Crystal.
Purvi says
We tried this and it really came out good. Test really nice but top became really hard but it's still spongy inside. What should I do differently next time?
Thanks
Madhuram says
Maybe try reducing the temperature half way through.
Beth says
This was my first attempt at vegan baking. Who knew you didn't need eggs?! These are so good and very easy. They are light and fluffy. I made mini loaves and just cooked a little longer. Delicious
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Beth.
Goldy says
Just made it. Used almond milk and coconut oil. But the coconut oil solidify when I added to liquid mixture. So it's gonna be interesting to see the result. Will let you know.
Madhuram says
Yes that's what happens with coconut oil. That's why started using avocado oil instead.
J Mohr says
Best vegan muffin recipe we've tried! Thanks!
Madhuram says
Thanks 🙂
Yannis says
Hello from Greece. I did your blueberry muffin recipe with strawberries, a banana and some leftover dark chocolate which I broke into bits. The result was amazing! Then I decided to try a risky wheat-free version: I put one cup of buckwheat flour (high protein content) and corn flour (not corn starch) and it was superb, with a slightly nutty taste. I stuck to the 3/4 cup sugar in one batch, and replaced with half sugar and half honey in the other, and it was fabulous. No chocolate in this one, but threw in a handful of sunflower seeds for a little crunchiness. Divine! I even used half olive oil and half corn oil, and it was really good (tip: use only virgin cold-pressed olive oil because once we used a cheaper version in a cake and it had a slightly odd smell, where as the good one didn't at all). So your muffin recipe is really super versatile. Next stop: will try half chickpea flour from the health food store for even more protein. And just so you know, white balsamic vinegar worked like magic as well. Interestingly, the buckwheat ones were more satisfying. I didn't have to resist eating the others as much. Low sugar, low fat, even no wheat, these muffins have made me muffin king in my vegetarian-friendly circles. Thank you!
Madhuram says
Wow Yannis! You have tried the recipe with lot of variations! Amazing! Thanks for trying the recipe and for the detailed feedback. I would love to try the gluten-free version of these muffins too.
Shivani says
Wow! Thanx for being so generous I sharing. I love Madura's this recipe and it'll be fantastic to enjoy them , more healthy. Thanx a ton.
Charlene Thompson says
Hi
Could I make banana and chocolate muffin instead of blueberries? How much chocolate and banana would suggest? Thank you!
Madhuram says
Charlene, why don't you check the muffin page, I have a couple of banana muffins.
saree ke fall sa says
Can I use chocochip instead of blueberries
Madhuram says
Yes you can.
Loretta says
Perfect! I also used 3/4 cup sugar, the muffins are sweet enough. I also switched the milk to natural kefir and used whole wheat flour.
Madhuram says
That's great!
Shivani says
Simply awesome and perfect recipe. My daughter is in love with these. I've baked them number of times and they come out perfect! Can we use anything else than blueberries? Can banana be used in this recipe? My mom can't get blueberries where she lives and she is looking forward to bake these.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much for the feedback. You can use strawberries, chopped mangoes. Banana should work too.
Komal says
Hi..
LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT.... I always wanted to bake but being an vegetarian, Egg is banned inside the kitchen. Have tried many eggless baking recipes and successfully failed each and every time, But this is my first successful baking.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much Komal. I'm glad that it turned out well.