These simple vegan blueberry almond muffins are fantastic, with almond flour for richness, lots of in-season blueberries, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. Especially good with fresh berries in late summer, they’re excellent with frozen fruit, too.
These muffins are light, soft, and full of juicy blueberries. Sweetened with a little bit of maple syrup, mostly with fruit, this recipe has become my base recipe for muffins. They’re that good.
For some more good almond flour recipes, try this rhubarb almond cake, easy gluten-free pumpkin muffins, or my favourite strawberry brownies.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Whole grain spelt flour: whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour can be substituted for the spelt flour, as can sifted (light) spelt or all-purpose if you prefer a lighter muffin.
- Maple syrup: as usual, honey can be subbed for maple syrup if the muffins don’t need to be fully vegan.
- Almond flour: hazelnut flour can be used in place of almond.
- Chia seeds: ground flax can replace the chia seeds if you prefer, in an equal amount.
- Coconut oil: the coconut oil is important because it helps to prevent the muffins from crumbling when they cool, so don’t switch it for an oil that’s liquid at room temperature.
- Coconut: if you don’t like coconut, replace it by doubling the almond flour, or use blueberries in place of rhubarb in these rhubarb ginger muffins.
- Spices: the recipe originally called for vanilla extract, but since vanilla is so pricey now, I use cinnamon instead. If you prefer, add a teaspoon into the milk mixture. Use other spices if you prefer – nutmeg and cardamom are nice.
Recipe Notes
The texture of almond muffins, especially vegan ones, is a touch more delicate than a regular banana muffin, for example. While the chia, banana, and coconut oil help with binding, the almond flour and coconut do make them slightly crumbly.
How to Store
Storage: blueberry muffins are best kept in the refrigerator if you don’t plan on eating them within a couple of days as the high fruit content will cause rapid spoiling in warm weather.
Freezing: transfer fully cooled muffins to an airtight container and freeze for up to three months.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Coat the berries: coating the blueberries in the flour mixture helps to disperse them more evenly through the muffin batter and prevents sinkage.
- Don’t over-mix: spelt flour is a bit delicate and if over-mixed, will result in tough and chewy muffins.
- Top with extra berries: this is more for looks than anything, but it’s worth it to add a couple more blueberries to the top of each muffin.
More Blueberry Recipes
Blueberry Peanut Butter Smoothie
Lemon Blueberry Popsicles
Vegan Banana Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry Compote
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Blueberry Almond Muffins
Ingredients
- 150 grams whole grain spelt flour
- 50 grams almond flour
- 45 grams unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 80 grams fresh or frozen blueberries, plus additional for topping
- 1 large ripe banana mashed (about 1/2 cup)
- 180 ml non-dairy milk
- 60 grams coconut oil, melted
- 60 ml maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin.
- Add the spelt flour, almond flour, coconut, chia seeds, baking powder, and cinnamon to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the blueberries with a wooden spoon to coat them in the flour mixture.150 grams whole grain spelt flour, 50 grams almond flour, 45 grams unsweetened shredded coconut, 2 tablespoons chia seeds, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 80 grams fresh or frozen blueberries, plus additional for topping
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, almond milk, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Add the banana mixture to the larger bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until just incorporated into the dry ingredients. Don’t over mix.1 large ripe banana, 180 ml non-dairy milk, 60 grams coconut oil, melted, 60 ml maple syrup
- Measure approximately equal amounts of batter into each muffin cup. Top each muffin with a couple of extra berries, pressing in gently. Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into a muffin.
- Cool for ten minutes in the tin before removing the muffins and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in the refrigerator or freezer unless they’re going to be eaten within a couple of days.
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was originally published in August 2016. It has been updated with improvements to the text and recipe as of July 2020.
Janice says
It's funny how in the moment, we don't see or feel how our skills have changed, but then when you really take the time to look back, we realize just how far we've come. I think it's a really good exercise for us bloggers to take the time to look back at how we've evolved. Some days are hard, but it's nice to see the progress, and these muffins are a perfect example!
Teresa says
I know what you mean about changing styles of cooking – when my partner was diagnosed with celiac disease (and then later became vegan), it was challenging at first. But I'm a much more adaptable cook for it, now. Those muffins look really delicious and your photos are gorgeous. You've come a long way from those first muffins!
In Search Of Yummy-ness says
Your muffins look lovely! I like the blueberry/almond combination – will have to try this soon!
Bridget says
Just brought home a new 5 lb box of fresh wild NB blueberries so have copied this recipe to try on the weekend. Very excited!