Healthy Vegan Blueberry Muffins
These delicious, healthy vegan blueberry muffins are oil-free, refined sugar-free and easy to make in one bowl, with simple, everyday ingredients.
These vegan blueberry lemon muffins are easy to make in one bowl and have the most amazing flavour and texture! This recipe is oil-free, refined sugar-free and made without eggs or dairy.
Ingredient Notes
- Whole wheat flour. The base of these muffins is whole wheat flour. It can be substituted with all-purpose flour but I have not tested any gluten-free flours such as almond flour or oat flour or tried a gluten-free flour blend.
- Almond butter. To keep this recipe oil-free, I used almond butter and banana. You’ll need 1/4 cup of drippy almond butter. You can use another nut butter if you prefer, as long as it’s not too dry.
- Coconut sugar. The recipe is naturally sweetened with unrefined sugar. The coconut sugar adds a hint of caramel to the recipe that is just delicious!
- Banana. You’ll need 1 ripe medium-sized banana in this recipe. Not over ripe, just ripe. If it’s perfect for eating as a snack, it’s perfect to use in this recipe. The banana stands in for both eggs and oil.
- Blueberries. You’ll need 1 cup of blueberries and you can use fresh or frozen.
- Lemon. The recipe calls for fresh lemon juice which serves two purposes. The lemon flavour goes wonderfully with the blueberries and the acidity helps puff these muffins right up!
- Plant-based milk. You’ll need unsweetened plant-based milk such as almond or cashew.
- Baking basics. Aside from the main ingredients, you’ll need baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt.
Step by Step Instructions
Before You Start: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the Wet Ingredients
First, mash the banana into a smooth paste using either a fork or immersion blender. Then mix in the almond butter and coconut sugar, stir that up, then stir in the vanilla, milk and lemon.
Add the Dry Ingredients
Next, add the dry ingredients starting with the flour, then the baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Quick Tip: Give the dry ingredients a little stir while they’re sitting on top of the mixed wet ingredients. This helps to distribute the baking powder.
Bake the Muffins
Time to bake! Scoop the batter into 12 muffins cups and bake for 26 minutes.
Optional Topping: Did you know blueberries and walnuts are both great for brain health? Before baking, try adding a little sprinkle of walnut pieces to each muffin.
Do I need to use muffin liners?
Nope. No need unless you want to! I didn’t for my muffins but I did give the pan a little spritz of non-stick coconut oil cooking spray to help them pop out easier after baking.
Topping Ideas
These muffins are perfect for a healthy snack or dessert. They’re great as a grab-n-go snack but for a treat, try them topped with:
- chia seed jam
- apple butter
- date paste
- vegan butter, coconut butter or any nut or seed butter
Related Recipes
Here are some delicious vegan baking recipes you’ll love:
- Easy Vegan Banana Bread
- Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Applesauce Muffins
- Vegan Carrot Muffins
- Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
You might also like these blueberry coconut pancakes and blueberry muffin overnight oats!
Did you try this recipe?
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I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review and be sure to tag me @runningonrealfood if you post it on social media.
Healthy Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 26 mins
- Total Time: 36 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: Snack
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These delicious, healthy blueberry lemon muffins have the most amazing texture and flavour they’re sure to be a hit! Serve warm topped with chia seed jam, vegan butter, apple butter or coconut butter. Perfect for a healthy snack or dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 medium (115 g) ripe banana
- 1/4 cup (60 g) almond butter
- 2/3 cup (100 g) coconut sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2.5 cups (300 g) whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup (130 g) fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the banana to a large mixing bowl and mash into a paste using a fork or immersion blender.
- Add the almond butter and coconut sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add the lemon juice and milk and stir to combine.
- Add the whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. While the dry ingredients are sitting on top of the wet, gently mix to help distribute the baking powder, then start folding the dry ingredients into the wet.
- Gently mix until no dry bits remain, then stop mixing. Do not over mix.
- Add the blueberries and gently fold in, just a few stirs should do it.
- Give a muffin tin a lightly spritz of non-stick cooking spray and then evenly distribute the batter between 12 cups. Sprinkle each with a few walnuts and a little coconut sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 26 minutes.
- Remove from the oven then let the muffins sit in the tin for a few minutes before carefully lifting out and placing on a cooling rack.
- Once they’re completely cool, store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Notes
To Freeze these Muffins: Store in an airtight container or bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 178
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 121 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 5 g
Keywords: vegan blueberry muffins, healthy vegan blueberry muffins
Update Note: Originally published August 27, 2013. Updated October 2019 with new photos and text.
Could I use a frozen banana in place of a regular one?
I think you could but I would thaw it first and drain off any excess liquid from the bowl before adding to the recipe. I haven’t tried it though!
I made these muffins once and my husband kept requesting them. I made them again and they are just as good the second time! Looks like these muffins will become a staple in our house.
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So glad to hear that, Sandy!! Thanks for letting me know!
These turned out great! I subbed whole spelt flour and a mix of brown sugar and date sugar in place of the coconut sugar, and that worked just fine. My 13 year old ate 4 in a row straight out of the oven. We could not stop eating these! Will definitely makes again. Thanks!
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My new go-to blueberry muffin recipe! Instead of the whole wheat flour I used almond flour and buckwheat flour (mostly buckwheat). It is a little more dense than a regular refined muffin but still great tasting. My dad said it tastes like a blueberry bran muffin and I agreed. We both had two with some vegan butter😏
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Just made this recipe and the only modification/experiment I did was instead of whole wheat flour, I ground organic rolled oats into a flour. So 2 1/2 cups of ground rolled oats instead of AP or whole wheat flour. Absolutely amazing. I’m extremely happy and this is my new go to recipe for blueberry muffins!! Thank you so much!!
These are simple to make and delicious. The only revisions I made to the recipe was cutting the coconut sugar in half and using pecans vs walnuts on top. Initially I was concerned that the batter was too thick but they came out fluffy and light which is sometimes hard to do w whole wheat flour. I think the fresh made cashew milk was the trick.
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So glad you enjoyed these! Good to know reducing the sugar so much still worked out! Thanks for letting me know.
Can I make these without lemon juice?
If ommiting, I’d suggest adding 1 tbsp of white or apple cider vinegar to replace. I haven’t tested it though so I can’t guarantee the result! Enjoy!
I absolutely LOVE these muffins. Have made then so many times since you posted this recipe and I’m always sure to have a few in the freezer for when I need a snack or dessert. They are so easy and quick to make.
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Awesome! I’m so happy you enjoy them. Thanks for letting me know!
Thinking of making these, but need them to be gluten free. Have you done hem gluten free?
I haven’t tested this recipe gluten-free but you should be able to use a GF blend like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour.
Can I use an egg instead of a banana?
I haven’t tested that and I’m not really familiar with baking with eggs. It should work but I can’t guarantee it! Let me know if try.
These are tasty and quite hearty. Lovely texture and flavor. Walnuts make a nice addition!
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Glad you enjoyed them! I love them with walnuts too.
I love how easy these were to make, and the muffins were delicious! Perfect afternoon snack.
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So happy you enjoyed these, Sarah! Agreed – perfect afternoon snack! Thanks for the comment and rating, much appreciated.
This recipe was very easy and quick to make. Most importantly the muffins are moist and delicious! I used 1 cup of frozen mixed berries and reduced the coconut sugar by half. These are sweet enough with the very ripe banana. I love Deryn’s vegan blog.
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Amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Good to know reducing the sugar worked out ok. Thank you for the rating and comment!
Hi! This is one of several recipes I’ve tried from Deryn’s site, and I’ve loved every one. Not only have the recipes ben reliable – and delicious – but they’ve inspired me to try variations and apply new techniques in other dishes. Using the site is also very pleasant, no obtrusive ads or pop-ups to get in the way.
Thank you, Deryn, for producing such a wonderful, helpful, beautiful site!
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Thanks for such a kind message! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the site and recipes.
Can you recommend an alternative to almond butter? We have a nut allergy and when I’ve used Sunbutter the baked item cools and turns green. Thanks.
Yep, you can use tahini…or continue using Sunbutter. Sunflower seeds react with baking soda but this recipe doesn’t contain baking soda, so they won’t turn green.
Just made them! Used mini muffin tins. Didn’t have almond butter so used crunchy peanut butter and added walnuts. They turned out really well.
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