These classic gluten free blueberry muffins are crisp on the outside, soft and tender inside. So easy to make, and they taste just like they came from your favorite bakery!
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What makes these gluten free blueberry muffins special?
These buttery gluten-free blueberry muffins are the perfect sweet treat for any occasion. They're light and fluffy, with a burst of moisture and flavor from the blueberries.
For extra texture, each muffin is topped with crunchy sugar that adds just enough sweetness to make them irresistible. The combination of sweet-tart berries and light yet fluffy muffin batter creates an incredible flavor combination. The incredibly tender texture and perfectly craggy top are the best part.
Resist the urge to add more blueberries, or they'll take over the whole muffin, add too much moisture and your muffins may even sink and become dense as they cool. You want to taste that sweet, moist muffin crumb.
Key ingredients
- Buttermilk: For tanginess and tenderness, you need buttermilk here, but you can always substitute half plain yogurt/half milk for buttermilk whenever you run out
- Butter: Butter adds richness and tenderness; it's melted to make it easier to mix the muffin batter
- Lemon juice: Adds a bit more tang and some brightness; lemon flavor goes so well with blueberries
- Eggs: Act as a binder and help the muffins rise
- Gluten free flours: The recipe calls for an all purpose gluten free flour blend plus some cornstarch to lighten it up. But if your flour blend is Cup4Cup, instead of adding cornstarch, add another 1/4 cup of Cup4Cup
- Baking powder & baking soda: Make sure they're fresh, because these chemical leaveners are responsible for your muffins rising in the oven
- Salt: Balances other flavors
- Sugar: For sweetness, but also for a tender crumb.
- Blueberries: The main event, you can use fresh or frozen blueberries. If you use frozen, don't deforst them first or they'll turn your muffins blue!
How to make gluten free blueberry muffins
To make the best blueberry muffins, we want a thick muffin batter that will hold the blueberries in the batter as the muffins bake, but it should never be stiff. The batter should be soft enough to allow you to mix in the blueberries without breaking them.
Combine wet, then dry ingredients
- Whisk together melted & cooled butter, buttermilk, lemon juice, and eggs.
- Whisk the gf flours, baking powder & soda, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Toss the blueberries in some flour, then add the wet ingredients to the dry.
Mix the batter, add the berries, and bake
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients, fold in the berries, and fill the prepared wells of a muffin tin all the way full.
- Brush with melted butter, sprinkle some extra sugar, and bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, then 350°F until done.
Let cool, and enjoy!
- Let your blueberry muffins cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes or less.
- Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy them warm!
Recipe tips & tricks
This recipe for gluten free muffins is simple. Even if you're a total newbie to gluten free recipes. But these tips will help you get perfect, delicious blueberry muffins every time.
Begin baking your muffins at 400°F
Baking your muffins for a few minutes of their baking time at a higher temperature activates the baking powder quickly, and helps your muffins rise into a high dome. Be sure to lower the oven temperature after the first few minutes, or they'll burn on the bottom, though.
Don't defrost frozen blueberries
Adding frozen blueberries to muffin batter is much better than defrosting them first. The cold berries help keep the muffins from becoming over-mixed, which can lead to a dense and gummy texture. Frozen blueberries also retain their natural juices, which helps keep the muffins moist and light.
Plus, your batter will be beautifully flecked with specks of blueberry color. Just add the frozen berries straight from the freezer to the muffin batter when the recipe calls for it for perfectly delicious gluten free blueberry muffins!
Keep frozen berries from bleeding
Keep them in the freezer until right before you're ready to add them to the muffins. Working quickly, toss the still-frozen berries in some of the dry ingredients and add them to the prepared batter as directed.
Finally, fold the frozen berries into the soft gf blueberry muffin batter. Treat them like you would whipped cream or egg whites that get folded in to batter like we do in our gluten free angel food cake.
Stop the berries from sinking
If you toss the blueberries in the dry ingredients before adding them to the batter, the berries are more likely to stay spread evenly throughout the muffins.
Second, be careful about how you scoop your muffin batter into the wells of the tin. The top of the scoop becomes the bottom of the muffin, so avoid having lots of berries down there! You can even try lining the well of each muffin tin with some plain batter before scooping the rest in, berries and all.
Choose the right gluten free flour blend
Admittedly there are a lot of gluten free flour blends to choose from. But they're not all great. This recipe calls for an all-purpose gluten free flour blend, based on superfine rice flour.
I used Better Batter gluten free flour (the classic blend), as it's my preferred choice for this type of baking because of its consistent performance and texture. You can also make your own gluten free flour blend that will work perfectly in this and many other recipes
Replace blueberries with other fruit
If you don't have blueberries, but you do have raspberries, you can make these into gluten free raspberry muffins. If your raspberries are fresh, follow the recipe as written, only substituting that one ingredient.
If your raspberries are frozen, follow the instructions above for frozen blueberries. You might be able to make this recipe with fresh strawberries if you slice them into chunks about the size of a blueberry.
You cannot make them with frozen strawberries. They can't be sliced into proper chunks without defrosting them first, and they will add way too much moisture to the raw batter.
Ingredient substitution suggestions
While my recipe for gluten free muffins is perfect and one of my absolute favorites in its current state, there may be times when you need to make additional changes to cater to dietary needs and preferences other than just being gluten free.
Dairy free blueberry muffins
For a dairy-free buttermilk substitute, mix together half plain dairy free yogurt and half unsweetened almond milk. Or, if you don't like almond milk, then use your favorite dairy free milk as long as it's not nonfat and is unsweetened and unflavored.
If you need to replace the butter in the recipe, Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen vegan butter are great options. With these easy swaps, your gluten-free and dairy-free blueberry muffins will be delicious!
Egg free blueberry muffins
To make this gluten free blueberry muffin recipe egg-free, you can use a “chia egg” in place of each of the two eggs called for.
To prepare a chia egg, mix 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water in a small bowl and allow it to sit until it thickens and forms a gel-like consistency.
With these simple substitutions your muffins will be delicious and free from eggs! You may also be able to use pre-packaged egg replacer, usually aquafaba, although I've never tried.
Corn free blueberry muffins
This recipe calls for an all purpose gluten free flour blend, specifically Better Batter, that's lightened by adding cornstarch. If you can't have corn, try using arrowroot or potato starch.
If you're using a high-starch all purpose gluten free flour blend like Cup4Cup, use an extra 36 grams Cup4Cup in place of cornstarch.
Frequently asked questions
No. Real buttermilk is thicker and creamier than milk that's simply had some lemon juice added to it.
If you don't have buttermilk in the house, you can use half unsweetened milk and half sour cream or plain yogurt by volume. You can also use plain kefir in place of buttermilk without any other adjustments.
Lemon juice helps to balance the sweetness of the sugar and berries and enhance the blueberry flavor.
You can replace the lemon juice with pure vanilla extract. Just use half the amount.
Yes! Once the muffins have cooled completely, place them on a baking tray in the freezer until frozen and then move them to an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag.
To refresh a frozen muffin, microwave it for 30 to 45 seconds at 50% power or until even the berries are defrosted. For that just-baked texture, sprinkle lightly with some tap water, and bake at 250°F in a toaster oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
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 (I used Better Batter; click link for details on appropriate blends)
- 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 standard 12-cup muffin tin that is light in color, and set it aside.
- In a medium-size bowl or measuring cup, place buttermilk, melted butter, lemon juice, and eggs, and whisk to combine well. Set the mixture aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Transfer 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients to a small bowl, add the blueberries and toss to coat. Set the berries aside.
- If using frozen berries, set the tablespoon of dry ingredients aside to use after the rest of the batter has been prepared.
- Create well in center of large bowl of dry ingredients and add the wet mixture. Mix until just combined. The batter will be quite thick, but soft.
- Add the blueberries and reserved dry ingredients, and gently fold the berries into the batter just until they are evenly distributed throughout.
- If you’re using frozen berries, remove them from the freezer, rinse them quickly and toss in the reserved dry ingredients. Fold them carefully into the batter, working quickly.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin wells, filling the wells almost completely. Smooth the tops with wet fingers.
Add the optional topping
- Brush the tops lightly with the optional melted butter, and sprinkle the tops lightly with the optional coarse sugar.
Bake the muffins
- Place the muffin tin on the top rack of the preheated 400°F oven, and bake until the muffins are beginning to dome (8 to 10 minutes). Reduce the oven temperature 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).
- Remove the muffins from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutritional information is approximate, and does not include the optional butter and coarse sugar topping.
Nutrition
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Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Lourdes says
Mil gracias, siempre es confiable Shoestring espero me queden muy ricos como mis panes de Shoestring, la gallete, y roles de cena que me encantan
Sophie says
This recipe is great!! Wonderful as is but I used 140 ml of vegetable oil instead of melted butter and it made them even fluffier! I’ve also messed around with different combinations, like raspberry and chocolate chip, which have turned out great as well. Definitely recommend!!
Jo Farabough says
Can you make these in a mini muffin pan?
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t see why not, Jo. Mini muffin tins vary quite dramatically in size from one brand to another, though, so you’ll have to be careful about how much batter you put into each.
Bev Haley says
could I use Almond Flour instead of Gluten free Flour?
Nicole Hunn says
No, you definitely can’t use almond flour as a replacement for an all purpose gluten free flour blend. You’d need a recipe developed for almond flour. I do have an almond flour muffins recipe (please use the search function), but other than that a Paleo blog will be a better bet for your needs.
Kyra says
I never comment on recipes but these were fabulous! After a recently discovered gluten sensitivity for my daughter I’ve been attempting gluten free recipes and they have usually turned out mediocre at best (soggy, dry, etc.). These are definitely a keeper! I ran out of sugar so I used a little less and I topped with the melted butter with a bit of brown sugar. Yum!
Nicole Hunn says
Well, Kyra, I’m glad that you wouldn’t settle for mediocre! “Good, for gluten free” is just not good enough. :)
Gina D from Texas says
This may be a dumb question but is there a difference between a muffin tin and a cupcake pan? Are they shaped differently or are they different sizes? The reason I ask is I made a different muffin recipe using a cupcake pan and I had extra batter leftover. So I thought I’d ask before making this recipe.
Nicole Hunn says
Nope. Same thing. :)
Melissa says
Perfect!! I used the vanilla instead of lemon because my kids don’t like lemon and they were delicious!! I used Kind Arthur 1:1 gluten free flour.
Cara says
I don’t know what I did wrong but it tasted….grainy or chalky. Like, the 4 teaspoons of baking soda plus a 1/4 cup of cornstarch just made it taste so odd. I’m trying to eat gluten free in solidarity for my grandson who has a wheat allergy but I don’t think I can do this. Fortunately, he doesn’t like blueberry muffins so if I make them with regular flour he won’t mind. I think I need to give up on gluten free muffins. :(
Nicole Hunn says
If your gluten free baked goods taste grainy, you’re using an inferior flour blend, Cara. I’d take a look at the blend you’re using, and click on the link in the recipe associated with the “all purpose gluten free flour blend” for details on appropriate blends.
Sharlana says
It says 4 tsp baking POWDER in the recipe , not baking soda. Perhaps that’s why they tasted odd?
Nicole Hunn says
Good point, Sharlana! I didn’t catch that. Thank you for pointing that out! If you do use 4 teaspoons of baking soda, these (and any other muffins) would taste like metal, soap, or a combination of the two—and the lack of a double-acting leavening agent would lead to flat muffins.
Karen says
If you used 4 teaspoons of baking soda instead of baking powder of course they’re going to taste awful
Nicole Hunn says
I hadn’t even read that carefully, Karen. Good catch! 4 teaspoons of baking soda is never good, for anything!
Helen says
Made these this morning for Mother’s Day and they turned out so so amazing! I used fresh raspberries, and did 1 tablespoon of almond extract instead of the lemon juice, and they were delicious! Thank you Nicole :)
Nicole Hunn says
That sounds amazing, Helen! So glad you enjoyed them.
Bert stauff says
forgot to read about frozen blueberries, but came out beautiful anyway.
Simone says
You mentioned substituting raspberries or strawberries. Do you think blackberries would also work? Thanks
Nicole Hunn says
That’s a good question, Simone. I find that blackberries aren’t great for baking until they’re cooked and strained of seeds. But if you like blackberries in muffins, despite the prominent seeds, I don’t see why not. I’d try to select smaller blackberries, though.
Dee Simpson says
So easy and honestly the best blueberry muffins ever! Even my husband who doesn’t always eat gluten free raves about them! Thanks Nicole 😁
Nicole Hunn says
That’s the holy grail of gluten free baking, when we prove it to the gluten eaters, Dee! :)
Kim says
These Blueberry Muffins are the best!
Thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Kim!
Crystal says
My frozen wild blueberries tend to get ice on them. Should I rinse the ice off before tossing them in the batter? Or should I get the ice off another way?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Crystal, that’s a great question. I wouldn’t suggest rinsing them, no, since they’ll defrost even when you rinse them with cold water. First, try to buy bags of larger blueberries, not the tiny ones. Then, this is my usual tactic: take the bag of berries, still closed, and drop it a few times flat on the counter. That will help separate the berries from the larger clumps of ice. If there’s still more ice than seems like a good idea, you can select the best berries and place them in another closed bag and shake it around. You should be okay after that!
Christine says
What could be substituted for the 1/4 cup corn startch?
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the section of the post titled “Gluten free corn free blueberry muffins”
Diane Pollock says
I love your recipes. Instructions are so, so clear. But I need to go on a pre-diabetes plan. So are any sugar substitutes okay? Are there any specific ones that I should use?
Nicole Hunn says
Thank you for the kind words, Diane. Sugar substitutes are tricky, since they tend to be drying in baked goods, so you’ll often have to add additional moisture. Watch the how-to videos carefully and look carefully at the photos and try to mimic the raw texture of the batter you see. I like Lankato brand monkfruit alternative sugars, and Truvia is pretty good, too. I hope that helps!
Diane Pollock says
Thank you. I’ll start to experiment.