Just like my vegan raspberry muffins, these muffins are completely loaded with fruit!
What makes these lemon blueberry muffins healthy?
- These muffins are oil free, using applesauce instead of oil.
- Rather than using refined white flour, these are made with wholesome oat flour. As an added bonus, making them gluten free.
- Being free from eggs, dairy (and oil) keeps these muffins very low in saturated fat. Plus, the elimination of dairy and eggs has the added benefit of making these vegan friendly too!
- They’re naturally sweetened with blueberries and small amount of unrefined sugar.
- And finally, if you skip the optional glaze, they’re completely refined sugar free, if you’re avoiding refined sugars.
How to make vegan lemon blueberry muffins
There are substitutes to almost anything, and the trick is finding the right combination of the healthier options that will give the same or similar results.
So for these muffins I’m using:
- soy milk + apple cider vinegar. Letting this mixture sit for 5-10 minutes enhances the dairy flavour, without actually using dairy! Plus it interacts with the baking soda, and will result in a fluffier muffin once baked.
- oat flour, great alternative for a gluten free option
- unrefined coconut sugar. Yes, it’s still sugar, but some studies say it’s a better alternative to white sugar, so hey, I can get on board with that.
- apple sauce, instead of oil
- pure vanilla (not the artificial flavouring)
- lemon zest
- and blueberries of course
To prepare your muffins, first mix together the soy milk and vinegar and set aside while you prepare the rest of the batter. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Then add the wet ingredients, plus your now curdled milk and combine.
You don’t want to over mix this batter, just until incorporated. A few lumps are perfectly fine and then finally, fold in the blueberries.
Divide the batter among your 12 muffin cups, which will be almost full, and then bake.
The muffins are ready when a toothpick comes out clean, which will take approx 18-22 minutes. (If you prick through a blueberry, try again. :))
While your muffins are cooling, you can prepare the glaze, if using.
I tried these muffins both with, and without the glaze, and they are truly phenomenal either way.
The glaze adds an extra oomph of lemony flavour which I did love, but to avoid the extra sugar, you can definitely skip it with great results.
How long do they keep?
These lemon blueberry muffins will keep at room temperature, covered or in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Or refrigerate to keep longer.
You may also freeze a batch of muffins before glazing, and if you wish to glaze, thaw the muffins and glaze before serving.
If you enjoy these lemon blueberry muffins, you might also like these:
- Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
- Quinoa Mini Muffins with Sweet Potato
- Healthy Pumpkin Spice Muffins
- Lemon Cranberry Muffins
- Vegan Zucchini Muffins
- Banana Spinach Muffin Bites
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito,
Rosa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour gluten free if preferred
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup unrefined coconut sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 pint fresh blueberries approx 2 cups
For the Glaze (Optional)
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a muffin tray with 12 liners. (Or grease if not avoiding oil.)
- Combine the soy milk and vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside to let curdle. Then, in a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix well.
- To the bowl with the now curdled soy milk, add remaining wet ingredients, except the blueberries, mix well and then pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated without over mixing the batter. Then fold in the blueberries.
- Divide the mixture among the 12 muffin cups and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 10 minutes before removing muffins from the tray and transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Optional Glaze
- While the muffins are cooling, combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl, if using. Start with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and add more, only if you want to thin out the glaze. Once muffins are cooled, drop teaspoon amounts of glaze on the center of each muffin and let the glaze drip down the edges. Enjoy!
I loved the taste, anything with lemon. The fresh blueberries did become very liquidy, especially the ones at the bottom. Should i have used frozen maybe or more firm? Or do you another solution? Thanks!
Hi Lorraine, glad you enjoyed the muffins! Frozen likely won’t prevent the blueberries from sinking. What you could do instead (with any muffin recipe that has a fill in) is place a spoonful of the plain batter into each muffin cup before folding the blueberries into the mix. Then mix in the blueberries and evenly distribute the rest of the batter.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us 🙂 These were the best blueberry muffins I ever made! I don’t have coconut sugar at home right now, so I used brown sugar instead. Is there any way I could sub the coconut sugar for date syrup in this recipe? I’m trying to be WFPB 😉
Ps. I also tried your zucchini meatballs and they were delicious. I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes!
Thanks very much for the review Marie. I’m thrilled you enjoyed these muffins and the zucchini meatballs!
Subbing a dry ingredient for a wet one can be a little tricky in baking and I haven’t tested these with a liquid sweetener, so I’m not sure. I’d suggest giving date sugar a try instead of syrup.
Let me know what you try next. 🙂
Hi Rosa, I don’t have any soy milk on hand. Can I use almond or rice to get the same curdled effect? Thanks!
Hi Rachel, I haven’t personally tried with almond or rice milk but I’ve heard that it does work with almond. Even if it doesn’t curdle, but it thickens the milk, that will work fine. Also, it may help if the almond milk is not too cold when you add the apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Let me know how you like the muffins, enjoy! 🙂
im new to being vegan…what is the issue against oil ?
Hi Pauline, some vegans also choose to avoid oil for health reasons, but this is an individual choice. Hope you enjoy the muffins!
Such a delicious way to start the day! 🙂 This is a lovely recipe for my favourite blueberry muffins.
Aw thanks so much for the lovely compliment Alexandra. 🙂 I so appreciate you stopping by!