Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
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Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins are sweet and fluffy, made with gluten free flour and fresh blueberries, ready in 30 minutes!
Muffins are my go-to for quick breakfast options! For more ideas, check out these Gluten Free Banana Muffins, and Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins!
This gluten free blueberry muffin recipe has been in my recipe book for years, with small changes over time. They are quick to make using simple ingredients, and taste a lot like what you’d get at a coffee shop with your morning coffee!
That’s why this is my favorite recipe for blueberry muffins. They make the perfect breakfast for busy mornings, and they freeze well so you can make a larger batch for later!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Gluten Free Flour. The type of gluten free flour that you choose to use can make a big impact on the flavor and consistency of your muffins. I like to use 1 to 1 gluten free flour blends, because they usually contain ingredients that help keep baked goods fluffy with moist crumbs, like xanthan gum.
Try to choose a good cup-for-cup flour from a good brand, as these will have the best flavor and texture in baked goods.
Granulated Sugar. For this gluten-free blueberry muffin recipe, I like to use regular granulated sugar, because we’re going for a fluffy white vanilla muffin type texture.
If you want something that has a deeper flavor, you can also substitute half of the sugar with brown sugar or raw sugar. If you’re having an issue with your muffins drying out, brown sugar will help them retain some moisture.
You can also use brown sugar or raw sugar for the topping.
Baking Powder. It’s very important to choose a double-acting baking powder. This is what helps muffins rise. You also want to make sure your baking powder is fresh, and not past the expiration date.
Salt. A pinch of kosher salt helps balance out the sweetness from the fruit and sugar. It also helps bring out other flavors in the muffin, without creating a “salty” taste.
Eggs. These are the binding agent that helps hold everything together. They also help the muffins rise, while adding flavor and some fat to help the muffin maintain moisture.
Half and Half. I like to use half and half because it adds some fat to the recipe, which is needed in gluten free baking for the right texture. But, you could also get away with substituting in 2% or whole milk, or cream.
If you’re dairy free, you can also use a dairy-free milk of choice like unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk.
Vanilla Extract. This is used for flavor. You can also use a combination of 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
Melted Butter. This is the main fat source in these muffins, which helps the texture of the muffins stay light and fluffy, and prevents excessive crumbs. It also adds a lot of richness in the flavor. I prefer unsalted butter, so I can add salt to taste. You can use regular if you don’t have unsalted butter.
You can read more about how butter reacts in baking recipes over here.
For a dairy-free option, you can make a simple swap and use vegetable oil or vegan butter instead of melted butter. Just make sure the vegan butter you choose is gluten free.
Blueberries. This recipe uses fresh blueberries. The trick is to coat the blueberries in a light dusting of flour before adding them to the muffin batter. This will help keep all of the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin. This trick would also work if you were using chocolate chips in a recipe.
You can also use frozen blueberries for this recipe. The trick is to use really frozen blueberries, without thawing them first, for best results.
Cinnamon. I like to dust these muffins with some cinnamon sugar just for flavor. You can leave it off if you want a more traditional blueberry muffin.
How to Make Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside (or use cupcake liners). In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients and sugar. Leave 1 1/2 tablespoons of gluten free flour, cinnamon, and blueberries aside for later. You also want to reserve 2 tablespoons of extra sugar for the topping at the end.
- Gently whisk in the wet ingredients (eggs, half and half, vanilla, and melted butter). Don’t over-mix at this step, you want everything to be just mixed together. If there’s a few little streaks of flour here and there in the batter, that’s fine (but not giant pockets). If you use an electric mixer, use a low speed.
- In a separate bowl, dust the blueberries with the remaining flour until well-coated. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter until they’re about evenly-dispersed. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan evenly. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this part! Fill the muffin cups all the way to the top for the best rise.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and remaining sugar, and evenly sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin. You can transfer them to a wire rack after a few minutes for a faster cooling.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your gluten free muffins turned out dense, check on a few things. The first is to make sure they’re not over-baked. The longer they bake past when they’re done, the more moisture they loose.Â
The second is the oven temperature. Make sure the oven is cooking at the right temperature with an oven thermometer. You also need to adjust the oven temperature and baking time appropriately for different elevations when baking.Â
Check out tips for baking at different elevations over here.Â
The third thing to watch for is that the ingredients were measured properly. Baking requires exact ingredients, so follow the recipe carefully.Â
I prefer to use a good quality cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend to make fluffy gluten free muffins. I usually look for flour blends that contain xanthan gum, so I don’t have to add it separately. I’ve had really good luck with King Arthur Cup-for-Cup gluten free flour, and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour mixtures.Â
Cup-for-cup gluten free flour mixtures are used interchangeably in recipes with regular all-purpose flour, if you’re not making the gluten free version.Â
More Gluten Free Muffin Recipes
- Gluten Free Corn Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Gluten Free Cherry Muffins
- Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins
How to Store Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
Refrigerate leftover muffins in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Add a paper towel on the bottom of the container to help prevent any moisture from building up.
Freeze blueberry muffins in a freezer-safe container for 3-4 months. I usually wrap the container in an extra layer of tinfoil or plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. Defrost frozen muffins in the refrigerator.
Recipe Variations
- For egg-free muffins, use 1/4 cup of applesauce instead per egg.Â
- This gluten-free blueberry muffins recipe also goes really well with a handful of sliced almonds or walnuts for an extra crunch!
- You can use this recipe as a base using other fruit instead of blueberries. Try cherries or raspberries, or any mix of frozen berries.
- Add some extra blueberries on top of the muffin batter right before putting them into the oven.
- Make this gluten-free muffin recipe with some lemon zest on top of the muffins for a bright fresh flavor. You can also add a tablespoon of lemon zest to the blueberry muffin batter.
- If you make larger muffins, increase the cooking time to 25-30 minutes or more. Instead of the standard 12-cup muffin tin, you can find large 6-cup muffin tins for bakery style muffins.
Cooking Tips
- The gluten free all-purpose flour blend that you choose will have a big impact on the flavor and texture of your gluten free blueberry muffins. The balance of protein, starch, and gums makes a difference. Try to choose a good brand that already contains xanthan gum.
- Use paper liners to help keep your delicious blueberry muffins from sticking to the pan. If you’re not using muffin liners, make sure to grease the muffin tin.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool them down faster.
- Be careful not to over-mix your batter! This creates dense muffins. Mix everything together, but only until it’s just mixed together. It helps to use a rubber spatula for this recipe instead of a stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
- Dusting the blueberries with a small amount of flour helps keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin, so don’t skip this step.
- Fill the muffin cups up all the way to the top, to get a really nice rise creating the muffin top and a fluffy muffin.
- I recommend cutting a delicious muffin in half and toasting it in the toaster oven, then adding butter and enjoying with a cup of coffee!
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 1/4 cups gluten free all-purpose flour, 1:1 (reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons to dust blueberries)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, double acting
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup melted butter, unsalted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
Topping (optional)
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Equipment
- 1 12-cup muffin tin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease or line the muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined.
- Add eggs, half and half, vanilla, and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together with a rubber spatula until all ingredients are just combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
- In a separate small bowl, dust the blueberries with 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, mixing until completely coated. Fold the blueberries gently into the muffin batter.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin liners, filling each one all the way to the top. For the topping, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over each muffin.
- Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
- Use an ice cream scoop to help transfer the muffin batter into the cups. This is easier, faster, and helps measure the batter evenly.Â
- Be careful not to over-mix your batter! This creates dense muffins. Mix everything together, but only until it’s just mixed together. It helps to use a rubber spatula for this recipe instead of a stand mixer or electric hand mixer.Â
- Dusting the blueberries with a small amount of gluten free flour helps keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin, so don’t skip this step.Â
- Fill the muffin cups up all the way to the top to get a really nice rise and large muffin top.
Nutrition
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Oooo, these look good and a great rise for gluten free, my son can’t have gluten so I bake a lot of gluten free
Thanks! Getting a great gluten free rise is tricky, you really have to balance the ingredients. I added more acid (using cream instead of milk), and a bit more baking powder. If your son likes corn bread, check out my gluten free corn muffins, they’re one of my favorites!
Gluten free is so common now, it’s rare to go out somewhere and not be able to find at least one gluten free item on the menu. These muffins look delicious.
These look just perfect to satisfy my sweet cravings.
Yum! Thanks so much for sharing at #HomeMattersParty. I hope you will join us again for our next Linky Party. The door is open TONIGHT 9pm PST at http://wp.me/p4hrab-BG
These are REALLY delicious! I followed the recipe exactly, but added a crumb topping of butter, brown sugar, and flour before baking. These will definitely be made over and over again!