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These easy gluten free blueberry muffins bake up with high domes, golden crisp edges, and the perfect tender crumb—just like the kind you'd find at a bakery.
Bursting with juicy blueberries and topped with a sprinkle of coarse sugar for that irresistible crunch, they’re moist, flavorful, and made from simple pantry staples. Whether you use fresh or frozen berries, they hold their shape beautifully and never sink.
This isn’t just a basic gluten free muffin recipe with blueberries tossed in—it's carefully tested to give you muffins that rise tall, stay tender, and taste amazing every time.
Why this recipe works
These muffins bake up with a golden, craggy dome—just like you'd expect from a professional bakery. The thick batter keeps the berries from sinking, whether you use fresh or frozen.
Thanks to buttermilk and a touch of lemon juice, the texture is soft and fluffy, never dry or dense. Melted butter and a sprinkle of coarse sugar on top create an irresistible texture contrast.
And you don't need a mixer, just one bowl for wet ingredients and one for dry, to make these easy, everyday muffins any time.
Recipe ingredients
Here's an explanation of the role each of the ingredients in these muffins play:
- Buttermilk: Adds flavor, creates a soft, tender crumb with less moisture to maintain a tall muffin that doesn't fall as it cools.
- Melted butter: Adds flavor and moisture.
- Fresh lemon juice: Brightens and enhances the blueberry flavor.
- Eggs – Provide structure and lift.
- Gluten free flour blend: Using a well-balanced gluten free flour blend with superfine rice flour like Better Batter's original blend (which already contains xanthan gum) or Nicole's Best with added xanthan gum provides most of the structure to hold these muffins together, and create a nice, even rise into a tall dome.
- Cornstarch: Helps the muffins crisp on the edges by adding some extra lightness to the flour blend.
- Baking powder + baking soda: Ensure a high rise and helps the muffins brown in the oven.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness and tenderness to the crumb, locking in moisture.
- Blueberries: Fresh or frozen (unthawed) berries break open in the oven to add juicy flavor and moisture to keep the batter tender without softening it too much. Be sure not too add more than directed or your muffins will sink as they cool.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
Use half plain dairy-free yogurt and half unsweetened nondairy milk (like almond or soy) in place of buttermilk. Swap the butter for a block-style vegan butter like Miyoko’s or Melt. Avoid tub-style spreads—they’re too soft and oily.
Egg free
Try replacing each egg with a chia egg, Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, or JustEgg refrigerated liquid egg substitute. Expect slightly less lift, but still a good crumb.
Corn free
Use arrowroot starch or potato starch in place of cornstarch—either one works well for tender muffins.
Blueberry alternatives
You can sub in raspberries (fresh or frozen), but if you’re craving strawberries, try my gluten free strawberry muffins instead—they’re formulated specifically for that fruit.
Expert tips
Start hot for a high dome
Begin baking at 400°F for the first 10 minutes, then lower to 350°F to finish. The high heat activates the baking powder quickly, giving you that classic domed top.
Don’t thaw frozen blueberries
Use them straight from the freezer to prevent bleeding or wilting. Thawed berries break down and turn your batter purple.
Coat berries in flour
Tossing fresh or frozen berries in a tablespoon of the dry ingredients helps suspend them in the batter so they don’t sink.
Smooth tops for an even rise
After portioning the batter into the muffin wells, smooth the tops gently with wet fingers. This helps encourage a more even rise and prevents lopsided muffins.
How to make these muffins
Step 1: Prep the oven and pan
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, buttermilk, lemon juice, and eggs until smooth.
Step 3: Whisk the dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine the gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
Step 4: Toss the blueberries
Use 1 tablespoon of the dry mixture to coat your fresh or frozen blueberries so they don't sink to the bottom.
Step 5: Combine wet and dry
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined—the batter will be thick.
Step 6: Fold in the berries
Gently fold in the coated blueberries just until evenly distributed.
Step 7: Fill the muffin tin
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them nearly full. Smooth the tops with wet fingers for an even rise.
Step 8: Add the topping
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using.
Step 9: Bake
Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 10–12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step 10: Cool
Let the muffins cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
For the muffin batter
- ¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (350 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ¼ cup (36 g) cornstarch, See Recipe Notes
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) fresh or frozen blueberries, (See Recipe Notes)
For the optional topping
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
Make the muffin batter
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, lemon juice, and eggs until well combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum (if using), cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Set aside 1 tablespoon of the dry mixture. Toss the blueberries in that flour to coat.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet mixture and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick.
- Gently fold in the floured blueberries until evenly distributed.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Smooth the tops with wet fingers.
- Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using.
Bake the muffins
- Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350°F.
- Finish baking the muffins at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in the center (and not in a blueberry) comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs attached (10 to 12 minutes more).
- Let muffins cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Video
Notes
These muffins work best with a well-balanced gluten free flour blend like Better Batter or Nicole’s Best. If using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, add ½ teaspoon extra xanthan gum to avoid a crumbly texture. Avoid Cup4Cup—its updated formula doesn’t perform well here. For DIY blend instructions, visit my all purpose GF flour blends guide. Using frozen blueberries
Don’t thaw them! Use straight from the freezer and toss in dry ingredients before folding into the batter. Dairy free version
Use half plain dairy-free yogurt and half unsweetened non-dairy milk instead of buttermilk. Swap butter for block-style vegan butter (like Miyoko’s, Melt, or Earth Balance sticks).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
Room temperature:
Store fully cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Wrap individually in plastic wrap for best texture.
Freezer-friendly:
These muffins freeze beautifully. Place completely cooled muffins on a baking sheet to flash-freeze, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag.
To reheat:
- Toaster oven: For a crisp edge and warm center, sprinkle lightly with water and bake at 250°F for 5 minutes or until warmed through.
- Microwave: Heat a frozen muffin for 30 to 45 seconds at 50% power.
FAQs
Not quite. Buttermilk is thicker and more acidic than milk, which helps create a tender crumb. For the best results, use half plain yogurt or sour cream and half milk as a substitute.
It adds brightness and balances the sweetness. It also enhances the blueberry flavor. You can substitute ½ teaspoon vanilla extract if you don’t have lemon juice.
No—this batter is formulated for muffins. For a gluten free blueberry loaf, try my gluten free blueberry bread.
Yes! Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F and bake for about 9 more minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
You can refrigerate it in the muffin tin, covered. Let it sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes before baking for the best rise.
How much lemon juice, zest, could I add to make them Lemon Blueberry Muffins? Thanks, Kathy
BTW, I have several of your recipes that are my “go to” for GF baking.
Hi, Kathleen, these already have lemon juice in them, and if you add more than is already called for, there will be too much moisture. You can add about 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest if you like, though.
Have made these twice subing raspberry for the blueberries. They taste fine but are so dense in the center. I use a scale for measuring and your flour blend. What am I doing wrong? Am careful not to over mix the batter. Love all your recipes and appreciate your hard work to develop them.
Hi, Jane, that sounds like a moisture issue, which could be created by the raspberries. Are you using firm raspberries, and swapping them in by weight, not volume?
I bet I over filled the liners getting 12 muffins that were WAY to big. The raspberries were huge so cut them in half so moisture shouldn’t be a problem. Needless to say they were gone in a day!! Thanks for your response. Also the peanut butter brownies barely had time to set before they disappeared by nonGF family.
Hi, Jane, of course. If the raspberries were soft, even cut in half they might have contributed more moisture than blueberries. That could be part of the reason. And yes, every muffin tin has differently sized wells, so that can contribute somewhat as well. So glad you enjoyed them, and the brownies! Thanks for sharing your experience.
These are absolutely the best gluten free blueberry muffins. I froze them wrapped individually, let them thaw out and they were as fresh as the day that I baked them. Wonderful recipe. Thank you Nicole for your wonderful recipes.
Kindest Regards
Francisca
So happy to hear it, Francisca! We always have these blueberry muffins in our freezer. 20 seconds in the microwave, and they’re good as new! Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Excellent!
Absolutely the most amazing gluten-free blueberry muffins hands down. They turned out exactly as described. Soft and fluffy inside with a lovely crisp edges, delicious. Thank you so very much for this recipe. My hubby is in blue berry muffin paradise. :D 1
That’s so great to hear, Cisca! For some reason, these muffins don’t get the kind of love that I think they so richly deserve, and I’m so happy to hear that you love them! Thank you so much for sharing your experience.