This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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 you'll love these muffins
Bakery-style muffin tops: These muffins bake up with a golden, craggy dome—just like you'd expect from a professional bakery.
Perfect blueberry distribution: The thick batter keeps the berries from sinking, whether you use fresh or frozen.
Moist and tender crumb: Thanks to buttermilk and a touch of lemon juice, the texture is soft and fluffy, never dry or dense.
Crisp edges and sweet crunch: Melted butter and a sprinkle of coarse sugar on top create an irresistible texture contrast.
Easy, reliable recipe: No mixer needed and just one bowl for wet and one for dry—these come together fast with everyday ingredients.
what's in it
Key ingredients for bakery-style gf blueberry muffins
- Buttermilk – Adds flavor and creates a soft, tender crumb. No buttermilk? Use half plain yogurt, half milk by volume as a quick substitute.
- Melted butter – Infuses the muffins with rich flavor and moisture.
- Fresh lemon juice – Brightens and enhances the blueberry flavor.
- Eggs – Provide structure and lift.
- Gluten free flour blend + cornstarch – A blend with superfine rice flour and added cornstarch helps mimic bakery-style texture. (See Notes in the recipe card for flour blend tips.)
- Baking powder + baking soda – Ensure a high rise and golden edges.
- Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness and tenderness to the crumb.
- Blueberries – Use fresh or frozen (unthawed) for juicy pockets of flavor in every bite.
substitutions
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
- Replace each egg with a chia egg, Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, or JustEgg. 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.
Pro tips for perfect muffins
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 heat to 350°F and bake for another 10–12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (avoid testing in a blueberry).
- 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.
make ahead/leftovers
How to store and freeze gluten free blueberry muffins
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.
Can you make these in a mini muffin pan?
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.
could I use Almond Flour instead of Gluten free Flour?
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.
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!
Well, Kyra, I’m glad that you wouldn’t settle for mediocre! “Good, for gluten free” is just not good enough. :)
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.
Nope. Same thing. :)
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.
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. :(
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.
It says 4 tsp baking POWDER in the recipe , not baking soda. Perhaps that’s why they tasted odd?
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.
If you used 4 teaspoons of baking soda instead of baking powder of course they’re going to taste awful
I hadn’t even read that carefully, Karen. Good catch! 4 teaspoons of baking soda is never good, for anything!
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 :)
That sounds amazing, Helen! So glad you enjoyed them.
forgot to read about frozen blueberries, but came out beautiful anyway.
You mentioned substituting raspberries or strawberries. Do you think blackberries would also work? Thanks
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.
So easy and honestly the best blueberry muffins ever! Even my husband who doesn’t always eat gluten free raves about them! Thanks Nicole 😁
That’s the holy grail of gluten free baking, when we prove it to the gluten eaters, Dee! :)