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Vibrant lemon flavour and juicy blueberries are the stars of the show in these cakey vegan lemon blueberry muffins. They’re made with vegan buttermilk for an extra moist and fluffy texture, and they’re so easy to prepare. This quick homemade muffin recipe is dairy-free, egg-free, and can easily be made gluten-free if needed.
Perfect for anytime snacks, packing into lunch boxes, or enjoying with a cup of tea when you’re craving something lemony!
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When you think of the perfect lemon blueberry muffin, what comes to mind when you think of how the texture should be? Soft, moist, and fluffy?
And how about the flavour? Light, lemony, not too sweet, with juicy blueberries in every bite?
That’s exactly what these vegan lemon blueberry muffins are like, so if this sounds like your kind of muffin, you’re in the right place!
And something you'll also love: you can make them any time of the year. Fresh or frozen blueberries both work wonderfully, so there’s no need to wait until they're in season.
Keep reading, and I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to make a batch that you and everyone you share with will devour!
A Peek at What You'll Need
Ingredient Tips and Easy Swaps
(NOTE: Only ingredients with special notes are listed below. The full ingredient list can be found in the recipe card.)
Flour - You'll need all-purpose white flour. I haven’t tested with other flours, except for a gluten-free blend (see below).
For vegan gluten-free lemon blueberry muffins: The only swap is the flour. I tested with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour in the BLUE bag (NOT their gf flour in the red bag!), and the results were great. Find the substitution details in the recipe notes.
Dairy-Free Milk - The secret ingredient in these muffins is vegan buttermilk, and you'll need dairy-free milk to make it. Buttermilk makes them soft, fluffy, and moist. Unflavoured, unsweetened soy milk makes the best vegan buttermilk; however, if you don't have soy milk, any dairy-free milk will work.
Oil - Use a neutral-flavoured oil (like safflower, sunflower, etc.), don't use one that has a flavour that will overpower or compete with the muffins' lemon flavour.
Lemon Juice, Zest, and Extract - All three of these ingredients work together to create the best and brightest lemon flavour. Fresh lemon juice (not bottled) and zest are essential and shouldn’t be left out or substituted. I tested the recipe with and without the lemon extract, and the muffins are best with it, so I highly recommend using it, but if you don’t have it, you can leave it out.
Blueberries - I tested this recipe with both fresh and frozen berries. If you’re using frozen berries, keep them frozen until you’re ready to add them, then gently fold them into the batter and don't overmix. This helps prevent the berries from causing blue streaks as they thaw. If the berries do streak, you’ll see blue swirls in the batter and the finished muffins, but it won’t affect the flavour at all.
Here's How to Make Them
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)
Read This Before You Zest
- Always zest the lemon first, it’s much easier than trying to do it after juicing.
- Use a microplane grater to make zesting the lemons quick and to get the finest zest.
- Zest the lemon just before making the muffins to keep the zest from drying out.
- When zesting, only use the yellow part of the lemon. Avoid the white layer underneath, called the pith, because it’s bitter and will affect the flavour of your muffins.
Mix the sugar and lemon zest until it looks like wet sand. This releases the lemon oil from the zest and boosts the lemon flavour.
Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another, and mix them, then gently stir in the blueberries.
Go Easy on the Mixing
Overmixing will develop the gluten in the batter and make your vegan blueberry and lemon muffins tough and dense instead of soft and fluffy. If you are using frozen berries, overmixing will turn the batter blue.
Use a scoop or a spoon to divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
OPTIONAL: Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of each muffin before baking for added crunch and sweetness, then bake them!
Muffin Liner Tip:
I recently started using only parchment paper liners for muffins because they peel away easily and keep the muffins from sticking. Give them a try!
Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes.
Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.
Timing is Everything
Overbaking your muffins will result in a dry, crumbly texture. Set a timer and pull them out as soon as they're done or when a toothpick comes out clean.
The Best Ways to Enjoy Them
The muffins can be served warm or fully cooled, and you can have them on their own or with one of these homemade hot or cold vegan drinks. A few suggestions:
- vegan hot chocolate
- oat milk latte (hot or cold)
- almond milk latte (hot or cold)
More Tips for the Best Results
- Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
- Measure your ingredients correctly. Please read my article about how to measure flour correctly. I highly recommend using a scale and my weight measurements to make this recipe. (See the "Suggested Equipment" section in the recipe card for the scale I use and recommend.)
- Use room temperature ingredients. This will contribute to a softer, fluffier texture.
- Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. If they aren't, your muffins won't rise properly and will end up dense, flat, and gummy.
- Read this post from top to bottom before you start. I’ve shared all my tips gathered during testing so you get everything right. Also, read through the full recipe before getting started.
- Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.
If You Give This a Go...
I’d love to hear how these easy vegan lemon blueberry muffins turned out for you! Share your thoughts with a comment and rating below, and/or post a photo of your muffins on Instagram and tag me so I can see them. (I'm @delightfuladventures on Instagram).
Moist Vegan Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
For Vegan Buttermilk:
- ¾ cup unsweetened dairy-free milk (unflavoured, room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For Muffin Batter:
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour **please see important notes about the gluten-free option below**
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (12g) lemon zest
- ⅓ cup (83ml) oil (plus extra for greasing muffin pan, if liners are not being used)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (152g) fresh blueberries (rinsed, patted dry, see note below if using frozen berries)
- coarse sugar (optional, for sprinkling on top of the unbaked muffins)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C).
- Line a muffin pan with liners or generously grease the inside of each cup with oil.
Make Vegan Buttermilk:
- Pour the dairy-free milk into a measuring cup or bowl.
- Add the lemon juice to the milk and stir. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Make Muffin Batter:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Mix them, occasionally pressing the back of the spoon against the mixture to help release the oil from the lemon zest. Mix until both ingredients have combined well and look like wet sand.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, oil, lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla extract to the sugar mixture and mix together until blended.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Don't overmix.
- Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
- Using a spoon or a large scoop, divide batter into the 12 muffin cups.
- OPTIONAL: Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of each muffin.
Bake & Cool:
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the largest muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes:
- Please read all of the info above and below before making this recipe.
- If you're making the vegan gluten-free version, use 2 cups (296g) of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (Amazon link) in the blue bag, NOT the red bag. Gluten-free flour blends vary by brand, so if a different one is used, your results may differ. This recipe won’t work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour.
- You will need roughly 2 medium-sized lemons to get the amount of zest and juice needed for this recipe.
- If using frozen blueberries, keep them frozen right up until they are to be added to the mixture. Don't thaw them.
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, then refrigerate for 2-3 more days.
- Freezing: Once they've cooled completely, tightly wrap them individually, store them in a container or freezer bag, and freeze for up to two months. Thaw them at room temperature.
- The nutrition info listed below is based on one of 12 muffins made as the recipe is written, no coarse sugar sprinkled on top. The muffins made with the gluten-free flour blend have a rough calorie count of 186 per muffin. Info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
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