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These easy, moist and tender gluten free muffins with the big bakery dome are perfect for adding mix-ins like chocolate chips or chopped nuts, topping with a simple brown sugar crumble, or both.
There are 45 muffin recipes on this blog, and this special, versatile recipe is what I turn to again and again—especially to make different flavors of muffins at the same time in one tin!
“I make this recipe often. It is the best muffin recipe. I don’t get to eat many as the rest of the family gobbles them up!”
my take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
- Plain but never boring: Truly a classic muffin recipe with the best dense but moist crumb inside and golden brown outside, and endless varieties.
- Super versatile: These muffins will hold any dry mix-ins you can think of. A few of my favorites: chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and chopped dried fruit.
- Bakery-style: There's enough batter to fill the wells of the tin all the way, and enough structure for the muffins to rise into a bakery style dome.
- Always moist & tender: With a combination of melted butter and just enough buttermilk, these muffins bake nice and tall but always with a soft, fluffy crumb.
Recipe ingredients
- Gluten free flour: Any of my recommended all purpose gluten free flour blends will work. Just be sure to add xanthan gum if your blend doesn't contain it so the muffins don't fall apart.
- Sugars: A mixture of white and light brown sugars add just enough sweetness, flavor and keep the muffin crumb nice and soft.
- Buttermilk: Adds flavor, richness, and tenderizes the muffins. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, just use half plain yogurt, half milk (nondairy works, too).
- Butter: Melted butter helps moisten the dry ingredients easily and adds lots of flavor and moisture.
- Eggs: Using 3 whole eggs helps the muffin bake into that tall dome. Egg replacers still should work, though, too, since they've gotten so much better.
- Mix-ins: Add anything that doesn't add moisture, so chocolate chips (or other flavors of chips), chopped nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots all work!
How to make gluten free muffins
Make the (optional) crumble
- Make the crumble mixture first so it has time to chill while you make the muffin batter.
- In a small mixing bowl, place melted unsalted butter, brown sugar, the gluten free flour blend (including xanthan gum), and a dash of salt, and mix to combine. The mixture will be thick and clumpy.
- Place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill until cold while you make the muffin batter.
- Once fully chilled, break the crumble into medium-size clumps with a fork.
Make the muffin batter
- Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla in a 4 cup measuring cup or medium size bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: a good gluten free flour blends (including xanthan gum), baking powder and soda, salt, white sugar and brown sugar.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl, pour in the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- Add any mix-in pieces like chocolate chips now, and mix until they’re the scattered throughout the muffin batter.
- Grease the wells of a light-colored standard 12-cup muffin tin well, and fill the wells completely with batter.
- A handful at a time, scatter the chilled crumble pieces evenly across the tops of all of the wells of the muffin tin, and press down gently to help them stick to the batter.
- Bake at 350°F until the top of the center muffin springs back when pressed gently in the center, about 20 minutes.
My Pro Tip
Expert tips
Use a light-colored muffin tin
I prefer to bake in light colored cast aluminum muffin tins because they bake more evenly. Dark colored metal muffin tins and glass and ceramic pans bake the outside of baked goods faster than neutral-colored ones.
If you only have dark metal or ceramic tins, try baking at 350°F for 8 minutes, then reducing the oven temperature to 325°F for the remaining baking time (about 12 minutes).
Fill the muffin wells all the way
Even if you end up with fewer than 12 muffins, fill the wells all the way or you won't get that big dome on your muffins. Just fill any empty wells with lukewarm water to maintain even baking.
Cool the muffins quickly
As soon as you can handle them safely, transfer the muffins from the tin to a wire rack to cool completely. Otherwise, the outside of the muffins tends to steam and can make them get chewy.
Keep the crumble cold
Make the crumble mixture first, so it has time to chill fully. It has to be cold to hold its shape in the oven, rather than melting all over. After you've broken it up into clumps, keep it in the refrigerator until just before you put the muffins in the oven.
Ingredients and substitutions
Dairy free
I've made these muffins with Miyoko's Creamery brand vegan butter. Since it has more moisture than butter, I found I only needed closer to 2/3 cup of buttermilk, rather than 3/4 cup. But instead of buttermilk, I used a mixture of half unsweetened unflavored nondairy milk (I like almond milk) and half nondairy plain yogurt (I like Forager brand cashew milk-based yogurt).
For the crumble, I recommend using shortening in place of butter, and about 1 tablespoon less gluten free flour. If you're making chocolate chip muffins, just be sure you're using dairy free chocolate chips.
Egg free
Try one “chia egg” per egg (3 in the regular recipe). I make a chia egg by mixing 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds with 1 tablespoon of water. “Flax eggs” would likely provide more binding and support, but they tend to add an unwanted flavor and color. I would also try Bob's Red Mill egg replacer or Just Egg liquid plant-based eggs (in the grocery store refrigerated section).
Sugar-free
You should probably be able to make these with Lankato brand monkfruit alternative brown and white sugars. You may need to add some water to the batter, though, as those sugars tend to absorb moisture. If you're looking to eliminate all the refined sugar, try our recipe for gluten free savory muffins.
Easy Gluten Free Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
For the (optional) crumble topping
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (70 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
For the muffins
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- ¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
- Up to 1 cup of mix-in pieces, chocolate chips, raisins, chopped nuts and/or crumble topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.
If making the (optional) crumble.
- If you’d like to add the crumble to the tops of your muffins, make the crumble now. Place all the (optional) crumble ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine fully.
- Place the crumble mixture in the refrigerator to chill while you make the muffin batter.
Make the muffin batter.
- In a medium-size bowl or large measuring cup, place the eggs, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla, and mix until well-combined. Set the wet ingredients aside briefly.
- In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Whisk to combine and break up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg and buttermilk mixture. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- If adding any simple mix-ins like chocolate chips, add them to the batter now and mix just until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Fill the prepared wells of the muffin tin with batter, and smooth the tops with wet fingers. You should get 12 muffins, but if your wells are deeper than mine you'll get less and more shallow you'll get more.
- If you’re adding the crumble, remove the bowl from the refrigerator and break up the chilled crumble into irregular pieces (none too large) with the tines of a fork.
- Sprinkle the crumble generously on the top of the muffin batter in the wells, and press gently to adhere the mixture to the muffin batter.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the top of the center muffin springs back when pressed gently in the center, about 20 minutes.
- If you’ve added the crumble, those muffins may take another minute or so to bake fully.
- Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
These muffins will stay fresh for at least 2 days in a sealed container at room temperature (just let them cool completely first).
For longer storage, freeze them in a single layer on a small baking sheet or plate until solid. Then, seal tightly in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave for 20 seconds. Sprinkle lightly with water and place in the toaster oven at 300°F for 5 minutes to refresh them to taste just-baked.
FAQs
Yes! Just prepare a mini muffin tin and fill the wells full of batter. Add the optional crumble topping in the same way, and bake at 350°F. The baking time will be less, so start checking for doneness at about 13 minutes.
No, this isn't the right recipe for adding any fresh or frozen berries, since they add more moisture than the batter can support. Instead use our recipe for gluten free blueberry muffins. To add strawberries, try our recipe for gluten free strawberry muffins, which have a lot more moisture than even blueberries do.
When baked goods rise in the oven and then fall as they cool, they're not baked all the way through. That can be due to a too-hot oven that will burn the outside before the inside can support the structure as the steam escapes.
Did you use one of my recommended flour blends with xanthan gum (or did you add it)? Without xanthan gum or an equivalent, your muffins won't bind properly. Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 flour blend works in these muffins, but you need to add 1/2 teaspoon more xanthan gum to the muffin batter or they may look right, but will crumble too much when you try to eat them.
No, making baked goods chocolate flavored is more than just adding cocoa powder to another recipe. If you're craving chocolate, who could blame you, but you'll need our recipe for gluten free chocolate muffins!
Really happy, this is about the fifth muffin recipe I’ve tried and absolutely the best. I never have milk so I used up some old sour cream with some water. Added a heaping tsp of cinnamon to the dry bowl and lots of raisins . They’re actually soft! No more hockey puck muffins and very easy to put together with just a whisk and spoon.
So glad you enjoyed the muffins, Susan. Never accept hockey pucks of any kind! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Nicole, I’m fairly new here and never comment on blogs in general – but I absolutely MUST. I’ve cruised many of your recipes trying to widen my repertoire of GF recipes and meal ideas (I’ve been blog reading/recipe using for a decade) and I have to say you’ve built such an incredible resource. The specific things I’m most grateful for and impressed by are: 1) you don’t add in fluffy stories/backstory before you get to the recipe. 2) your recipes handle all my questions and your FAQ is extensive – I KNOW how much work this must have all taken over years and years, this is an incredible body of work with so much detail and thought put into everything I’ve read. Ok here’s why #1 is awesome for me personally…I want to learn to cook/bake better – that’s why I’m here. I love a good back story if it’s pertinent – but a backstory just for the sake of it – makes it hard for me to learn what I want to learn. You get right to it, I feel like I walked into a confident baking class where the teacher knows what she’s talking about and is ready to get to it. Thank you for making this fun, and for weaving your personality INTO teaching me this recipe. Your storytelling/teaching is intertwined with the reason I’m here which is to learn the recipe. Thank you for al the work that goes into this! Also, as a small business owner myself – I think it’s BRILLIANT to “unlock the print button” with an email sign up!! I happily signed up and am looking forward to receiving your emails.
Hi, Andrea, wow what a kind comment. It does seem like you’re my ideal reader, since I try very hard to anticipate what questions a reader might have and answer them thoroughly, but without going on and on. I know a lot of people get frustrated with blog posts, especially on food blogs, but I so want you to be successful the first time and every time. Thank you so much for appreciating that, and for signing up for my email list. I will always work hard not to disappoint!
Lovely texture and flavor. Made with Cloud 9 all purpose GF flour. Added dried blueberries – delicious. Thanks, Nicole
I’ve never heard of that flour blend, BJ. So glad you had a good experience with it in this recipe!
Excited for this! What can I use instead of buttermilk? Would regular cows milk work?
Hi, Beina, I’m afraid not, you can’t replace buttermilk with cow’s milk, but it’s easy to make your own substitute for buttermilk by combining half cow’s milk and half plain yogurt or sour cream, by volume. I hope that’s helpful!
Best recipe I’ve ever found for celiac safe stuff, it’s genuinely amazing
So glad you love the muffins, Axele!
I make this recipe often. It is the best muffin recipe. I don’t get to eat many as the rest of the family gobbles them up.
That’s so great to hear, Suzy! It doesn’t seem quite fair that you don’t get to have any, but I know that feeling!
These are so chewy and moist. I’m going on 4 times of baking these, and I only found the recipe a couple weeks ago.
How long do they keep, in a ziploc bag in the pantry?
How do you recommend freezing them for best results?
Hi, Sophia, so glad you love these muffins and that they’ve quickly become part of your regular rotation! Like all baked goods, they should keep in a tightly sealed container on the counter for a day or two, but they’re certainly best the same day. And the refrigerator will dry them out, so don’t store them in there. I freeze these all the time. Just place them in a single layer on a small rimmed baking sheet or rimmed plate. Once they’re frozen, pile them into a freezer-safe ziptop bag, squeeze out all the air, and close. They should stay good for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave for 20 seconds or so. Refresh so they’re like new by sprinkling defrosted muffins with water and toasting or putting in the toaster oven at 300°F for about 5 minutes.
Sounds good, thank you very much. Looking forward to more great recipes from you!
These muffins were the best muffins I had in my life! So soft and the crunchy sugar on the top, just mmmmmmmmmm! Can’t believe these are gluten free. Thank you so much Nicole!
You’re so welcome, Samuel!
Very easy and yummy! I substituted the sugar for coconut sugar to make it healther and it turned out amazing, you can’t even tell they are gluten free! Would recommend.