Take advantage of the strawberry season by making these vegan gluten-free strawberry muffins. It's one of the best ways to bake with fresh strawberries! They turn out moist, light, and fluffy, plus, they're quick and easy to make. They're great to serve at brunch or to enjoy as snacks (or even at breakfast!).
If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen in my stories that my annual strawberry picking outing took place, and, as usual, I came home with A LOT of strawberries.
I always come up with a few new vegan gluten-free strawberry recipes with each year's haul. One year, I made strawberry cheesecake bites, another year, I made 4-ingredient strawberry jam, and this year, I made these gluten-free, dairy-free, eggless strawberry muffins and I think you'll love them.
They're fluffy, moist, and packed with summery strawberry flavours and great to serve as snacks, at breakfast or brunch!
Ingredients You'll Need
The ingredients for this recipe are simple, they're probably ingredients you already have in your cupboards.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes
Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I have only used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (the one in the RED bag) to make this recipe and have not tried any others. With gluten-free baking, it’s extremely important to use the same flour the recipe calls for to get the expected results. Be sure to measure your flour correctly.
Sugar - I use organic cane sugar instead of my regular go-to coconut sugar to keep the colour of the muffins light, but if you only have coconut or brown sugar they'll still work perfectly, your muffins will just turn out darker in colour.
Strawberries - Fresh strawberries work best for this recipe but frozen can be used if fresh aren't available, details on that are below. Be sure to chop the strawberries as described below, you want the berries to be a perfect size, not too big and not too small.
Applesauce - Use plain, unsweetened applesauce for this recipe.
Coconut Oil - Any type of neutral flavoured oil can be used in place of coconut oil, such as avocado or safflower.
Turbinado Sugar - This is the only ingredient you won't see in the picture above. It's an optional ingredient, but I like to sometimes sprinkle a little on the top of each muffin before they bake to give the muffins a sweet crunch with each bite.
Are you new to vegan gluten-free baking? If so, be sure to read all of my vegan gluten-free baking tips!
How to Make Them
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)
Before you start, you'll need to get the strawberries ready. Start by prepping them so they're ready and waiting to be added to the muffin batter when you need them.
Preparing the Strawberries
Wash the berries, remove the stems, and chop them into eighths (a little less for smaller strawberries, a little more for larger strawberries).
See the picture below to get an idea of how large each piece should be. You don't want them to be too large or too small.
Can Frozen Strawberries Be Used?
I know some of you will ask this, so I'll give you my recommendation based on experience.
I highly recommend that you only use fresh strawberries because they will give you the best flavour and texture AND result in better muffins, overall.
However, if it's the middle of winter or another time when you can't find them fresh, and you're craving muffins and this vegan strawberry muffin recipe is the only thing that will fix it, frozen can be used as a substitute.
To get the best possible result, thaw your strawberries completely on paper towels, pat away all extra moisture (this is important because any extra moisture can mess up the recipe!), and then chop as described and shown above.
But again, fresh strawberries are best for this recipe.
How to Make Them
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions for my vegan strawberry muffins at the end of this post.)
I always say how easy my recipes are and this one is no exception! It starts like all of my other muffin recipes, by mixing the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another bowl.
Combine the two and then gently fold in the chopped strawberries you prepared earlier.
Next, you'll divide the muffin batter into 12 equal portions in your muffin pan. I like to use a scoop for dividing the batter, this is the one I have. It's actually an ice cream scoop but it doubles as a great muffin scoop, as well!
The third step you see below, sprinkling each muffin with turbinado sugar, is optional, but it does add a nice crunch and sparkle to the muffins.
After a quick bake, your muffins will be ready. Let them sit in the muffin pan for a few minutes and then remove and place them on a cooling rack.
How to Store Them
Because of the moisture from the strawberries, they will only keep for up to two days at room temperature, in an airtight container.
If you still have leftovers after two days (we never do!), place them in the refrigerator where they will keep for another few days.
They can also be frozen, once they've fully cooled, wrap them up tightly so they're airtight, place them in a container or freezer bag and freeze. They will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
When you're ready to serve, thaw at room temperature. You can even take it a step further and warm them up in a toaster oven or microwave.
FAQ
To keep these vegan strawberry muffins gluten-free, the flour I use (and use for many of my other recipes) is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (the one in the red package, not the blue package). If you want to use a substitute gluten-free flour blend, proceed with caution since I have not personally tested with any others.
Yes, you'll need to bake them for less time, though. They will finish in about 9-11 minutes.
I have not tested this recipe without oil, so I am not sure what the texture will be like if a substitute for the oil is used.
What's the Texture Like?
Soft, fluffy, moist, and perfect!
Did You Make These Muffins?
If you did, let me know! Leave me a comment and rating below or you can post a pic to Instagram and tag me (I'm @delightfuladventures).
If You Like This Recipe
Check out all of my other muffin recipes, and here are some other recipes you may also like:
- Blueberry Muffins
- Raspberry Muffins
- Strawberry Baked Oatmeal
- Blackberry Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Bars
- Blueberry Crisp
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
You can also help me to help others find this recipe by pinning it to your food / recipes board on Pinterest! CLICK HERE TO PIN IT NOW!
Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 ¾ cups (245g) gluten free flour blend **see important note about flour below**
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup (123g) plain unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup (80ml) melted coconut oil (plus extra for greasing muffin tin)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup (190g) fresh strawberries, chopped (frozen can be used, see note below)
- turbinado sugar (for sprinkling on top, optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C).
- Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
- Line a muffin tin with liners or generously grease the inside of each cup with coconut oil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, applesauce, coconut oil, vanilla, and flax eggs together until blended.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the strawberries.
- Using a spoon or a large scoop, divide batter into the 12 muffin cups.
- If using, sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of each muffin.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the largest muffin comes out clean.
- Let muffins cool in muffin pan for a few minutes and then remove and place them on a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes:
- Please read all of the info above and below before making this recipe.
- It's important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will always vary if you substitute. I have never used any other brand of flour to make this recipe (other than Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour (Amazon link) with the red label, NOT the blue label), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if substitute with another gluten-free flour blend.
- This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour, it must be a blend, preferably the one mentioned above for the best results.
- Make sure to measure your flour correctly.
- The strawberry weight listed above is for the strawberries AFTER they have been chopped.
- Frozen strawberries can be used for this recipe, but fresh is preferred. If using frozen, thaw them fully and pat them dry, then chop them before folding them into the batter. See above for more info.
- Any type of neutral flavoured oil can be used in place of coconut oil, such as sunflower or safflower.
- Because of the moisture from the strawberries, they will only keep for up to two days, in an airtight container, at room temperature. If you still have leftovers after two days, place them in the refrigerator where they will keep for another few days.
- To freeze, once they have fully cooled, wrap them up tightly so they're airtight, place them in a container or freezer bag, and freeze. They will keep in the freezer for up to three months. When you're ready to serve, thaw at room temperature.
- Nutrition info is based on one muffin. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
Sara says
These look so good. I have to avoid apple for my son. Do you have any suggestions for what to replace applesauce with? He was recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy plus apple and others so new to all of this! Thanks so much.
Gwen Leron says
Hi Sara! The applesauce could be replaced with another fruit puree such as banana, pear, or peach. The applesauce does not add any flavour to the muffins, and I don't think pear would either, but the banana will add a slight banana flavour, which would actually be nice with the strawberries! The peach may also add a slight peach flavour, but again, it would work well with the berries. If you give it a try, please come back and let me know how things go. Best of luck with everything and if you have any questions as you get used to everything, please feel free to ask! This article may be helpful to you: Gluten Free Vegan Baking Tips
Avee says
I made this muffin with my own gluten free flour blend and it's amazing! I also tried it with blueberries and it's just as good. I will give this recipe 5 stars (not sure why I can't click on the star ratings above). I'm wondering if this can be made sugar free...? 🙂
Gwen Leron says
Hi Avee! I can see your star rating, thank you! There was a glitch happening with my star ratings but it's fixed now, thanks for the five stars! I'm glad to hear that it worked well with your homemade flour blend. I have not tried making them sugar free, you would have to compensate and sweeten it in some other way, unless your strawberries are extremely sweet. If you are looking to make them with a less refined sugar, you can use coconut sugar, just keep in mind that the muffins will turn out slightly darker, but they'll still be just as delicious 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your note and rating!
Nicole says
Made them with a mashed banana instead of the applesauce and they turned out great! In half I used chocolate chips instead of strawberries and they cooked faster probably because of less moisture. But both were delicious! Will probably make them again
Gwen Leron says
Wonderful, Nicole! I'm glad to hear that your liked them and that they turned out well with your substitutions! Thanks very much for your note 🙂