Jump to Recipe·★★★★★5 from 9 reviews

These yummy vegan chickpea flour muffins with blueberries and chocolate chips are naturally gluten-free and have a light and fluffy texture you’ll love.

Stack of 3 muffins on a cooling rack.
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Features

  • dietary features: vegan and gluten-free
  • easy to make with 10 ingredients
  • 200 calories per muffin
  • great snack or dessert for kids and adults!

Ingredient Notes

Visual of all ingredients needed for making vegan chickpea flour muffins.
  • ground flax or chia seeds – the recipe calls for 2 tbsp chia seeds but they can be substituted with ground flax to make a flax eggs, I do prefer chia in this recipe as flax can be a bit dry
  • brown rice flour – the muffins are made with a combination of chickpea flour and brown rice flour so are naturally gluten-free, I have not tested this recipe with any other flours
  • garbanzo bean flour – otherwise know as chickpea flour, it’s actually a different flour than besan or gram flour so I would recommend sticking to gabanzo (chickpea) flour as that what’s the recipe has been tested with
  • coconut sugar – can be replaced with cane sugar
  • almond milk – can be swapped for unsweetened cashew milk
  • coconut oil – olive oil, melted vegan butter or canola oil all work here
  • vinegar – helps add fluffiness, you can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, this ingredient is optional so if you don’t have any on hand, no big deal
  • blueberries – fresh or frozen blueberries work, if using frozen keep them frozen until right before adding to the batter, gently fold them in then bake the muffins right away
  • chocolate chips – I like dairy-free Enjoy Life or Camino but any chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips work!

Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.

Step by Step Instructions

Before You Start: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix the chia seeds and water in a small dish and set aside for about 5 minutes. It should form a gel with a somewhat egg-like consistency.

Step 1. Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix well. This includes the 2 types of flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Flour in a mixing bowl with a whisk.

Step 2. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients. This includes the chia egg you mixed up, melted coconut oil, vinegar and almond milk. Fold everything together until all of the dry ingredients have been wetted.

Raw muffin batter in a mixing bowl with a whisk.

Step 3. Add the blueberries and chocolate chips and fold together a few times to distribute.

Raw muffin batter in a mixing bowl with blueberries and chocolate chips in it.

Step 4. Scoop the batter into 12 muffins tins. You can use muffin liners for easy removal and clean up or give the pan a light coating of non-stick cooking spay.

Option to sprinkle the muffins with a little coconut sugar or brown sugar! Crushed walnuts would be yummy too!

Scooping muffin batter into a muffin tin using an ice cream scoop.
Sprinkling sugar on top of muffin batter in a muffin tin.

Step 5. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 3 minutes then carefully pop them out with a knife and transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

Overhead view of 9 garbanzo bean flour muffins on a cooling rack.

FAQs

How can I customize these muffins?

You can easily make these into chickpea flour carrot muffins or zucchini muffins by swapping the blueberries for grated veggies. I like keeping the chocolate chips in there but raisins, walnuts, chopped pecans or dates all make great additions too.

What’s the difference between chickpea flour, besan and gram flour?

Chickpea flour is not the same as besan or gram flour. Chickpea flour is made from white chickpeas whereas gram flour is made form split brown chickpeas, or chana dal. They have a similar flavour and consistency but do vary a bit.

Chickpea flour, or garbanzo bean flour, is the most common in stores in my area so I have only tested this recipe with it. You should be able to use besan or gram with some minor adjustments, such as a bit less liquid. Chickpea flour tends to dry out more than besan so besan may actually be a better choice here!

The muffins are nice and moist but they could easily become dry if you use too much flour. For the best results, I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients accurately.

What does chickpea flour taste like?

Raw chickpea flour has quite a strong flavour and is actually quite bitter so the raw batter does not taste great. The flavour cook out as the muffins bake though, so don’t worry!. The final muffins have a yummy, nutty flavour.

Overhead view of a close up of a chickpea flour muffins with blueberries and chocolate chips in it.

Storing

  • Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
  • Room Temperature: 3-4 days.
  • Fridge: Up to 1 week.
  • Freezer: Up to 3 months.
Sliced open chickpea flour chocolate chip muffin showing inside texture of muffin.

More Muffin Recipes

You might also like these blueberry muffin overnight oats and chickpea flour pancakes.

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Sliced open chickpea flour chocolate chip muffin showing inside texture of muffin.

Chickpea Flour Muffins

★★★★★ 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 12
  • Category: Snack
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

These yummy blueberry chickpea muffins are made with brown rice and garbanzo bean flour for a gluten-free alternative to traditional blueberry muffins.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp chia seeds (24 g) + 6 tbsp water
  • 1 cup brown rice flour (120 g)
  • 1 cup chickpea flour (120 g)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar (95 g)
  • 1 cup almond milk (250 mL)
  • 2 tsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar (optional, helps with fluff)
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted (45 g)
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries (120 g)
  • 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (80 g)

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat over to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix the chia seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes. It should form a thick gel after a few minutes.
  3. Mix the 2 flours, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Mix well to make sure everything is distributed and no clumps remain.
  4. Add the milk, vinegar, melted coconut oil and chia seed mixture to the bowl and fold together until all the dry ingredients have been wetted.
  5. Add the blueberries and chocolate chips and fold together a few times to distribute throughout.
  6. Either line a muffin tray with muffin liners or give it a light coating of non-stick cooking spray. Scoop the batter into 12 muffins tins. Option to sprinkle them with a little coconut sugar or brown sugar. Crushed walnuts also make a great topping!
  7. Bake for 30 minutes.
  8. Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan for 2-3 minutes then gently pop each muffin out with a knife and and place on a cooking rack to cool.

Notes

The coconut sugar can be substituted with cane sugar or sucanut. Coconut oil can be substituted with olive oil, canola oil or melted vegan butter.

Storing: Let cool completely then store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 6 days or freezer for up to 3 months.

For best results, use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients. 

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 207
  • Sugar: 14 g
  • Fat: 7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 32 g
  • Fiber: 4 g
  • Protein: 4 g

Keywords: chickpea flour muffins, brown rice flour muffins

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Originally published July 14, 2014.