Finally, a vegan muffins recipe that's naturally egg-free and dairy-free without sacrificing that dense, moist crumb and beautiful bakery-style muffin dome we all love. Add mix-ins and more flavors, or enjoy these quick and easy muffins as they are!
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
We'll send the recipe to your inbox, so you can come back to it later!
Why this is the best basic vegan muffin recipe
These perfect vegan muffins are light and fluffy inside, with a thin, crispy, bakery-style crust outside. Made simply and easily in one bowl, this small batch recipe can be doubled easily to make an even dozen muffins—or even halved to make just 3!
Every single recipe on this entire blog is reliably, 100% gluten free. But not every recipe is free of dairy and eggs, which is why I proudly provide an “ingredients and substitutions” section in each post.
I often recommend a “chia egg” in place of an actual egg, from a chicken. For dairy, I often recommend using nondairy milk in place of cow's milk, and vegan butter in place of dairy butter.
Now, this vegan recipe is just as full of flavor and all the right textures as our gluten free chocolate chip muffins. But it's developed without the need for eggs in the first place, so it's vegan first and without compromise.
Vegan muffin ingredients and substitutions
Gluten free flour blend
This recipe, like most of our basic gluten free baking recipes, relies on a rice-based all purpose gluten free flour blend. Better Batter is top-8 allergen free, so it's already vegan, making it the perfect choice for this recipe.
Can I make vegan muffins with almond flour? oat flour? coconut flour?
No, you can't make this recipe with any of these other single-ingredient gf flours. I'm sure you can make vegan gluten free muffins with almond flour like our almond flour muffins, or with oat flour like our banana oatmeal muffins—but you'd need a separate recipe.
Coconut flour would be particularly problematic, since coconut flour muffins rely heavily on eggs. Don't ever use coconut flour in a recipe that doesn't call for it specifically; it's a tricky one!
Can I replace the tapioca starch/flour with another starch?
I can only promise results if you use tapioca starch/flour as a complement to the all purpose gluten free flour blend in this recipe. It's a unique starch that helps support the muffins as eggs would.
If you'd like to experiment with replacing the tapioca starch, you can try arrowroot. But I can't promise your muffins won't fall!
Oil and vegan butters
This recipe is made with both neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, peanut, vegetable oils all work fine) and melted vegan butter. You need to use both, since the vegan butter provides flavor and the oil helps lock in moisture.
My favorite brand of vegan butter is Miyoko's Kitchen. Melt brand is also excellent, and Trader Joe's has a vegan butter that's quite good, and even has a yellow cast to it, like dairy butter.
Plant-based milks
Any plant-based milk will work here, but it's best to avoid anything fat free, like rice milk. You want your nondairy milk to add some richness, without added sweeteners.
My favorite nondairy milk for baking (and for drinking!) is unsweetened almond milk. It has enough fat for richness, but still has a very neutral flavor.
Vegan sugars/sweeteners
If you're a very strict vegan, be sure that your sugars are vegan. Refined sugars can be vegan if they're processed without the use of bone char, so look for words like “natural” and “raw.”
I don't recommend using coconut palm sugar in place of the sugars in this recipe, as it's much more coarsely ground and heavier. You should be able to use raw granulated sugar and granulated beet sugar, though.
Delicious mix-ins for vegan muffins
Since this muffin batter is relatively thin, help prevent the mix-ins from sinking all the way to the bottom of the muffins by coating the bottom of each muffin well in the plain batter, before adding any mix-ins.
Chocolate chips
I like full-sized vegan chocolate chips for vegan gluten free chocolate chip muffins (Enjoy Life is the best brand), but you can also use the same amount of miniature chips. Any other sort of chocolate chip works, but it's best to avoid white chocolate chips since a dairy free variety is very hard to find.
Nuts
I like raw nuts best for baking, since they tend to be softer. Try adding some broken pieces of walnuts or pecans. Toasted coconut chips would be great, too.
Spices
Whether you're adding chocolate chips or nuts or not, try enhancing the flavor of these vegan gf muffins by adding 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and/or 1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg.
Fruits
If you'd like to make these into vegan blueberry muffins, start with only 3 ounces of fresh or frozen (undefrosted) blueberries but toss them in some more tapioca starch/flour before carefully mixing them into the muffin batter.
You can also add dried fruit like raisins or dried cranberries. Maybe try half dairy free chocolate chips and half dried blueberries for a more complex flavor.
Tips for making vegan muffins
Measure your muffin ingredients carefully
Some baking ingredients, like baking powder and baking soda, are so light that they really can't be measured by weight. But in a recipe like this, without any eggs for “lift,” these chemical leaveners provide all of the rise in your vegan gf muffins, so be sure your ingredients are fresh—and be sure to measure them carefully!
Watch your ratio of dry and wet ingredients
Measure all of your ingredients carefully and by weight wherever possible, since these muffins have a really specific ratio of wet (sugars, melted butter, oil, and milk) and dry ingredients (gf flours, chemical leaveners). If you have too much liquid, and not enough flour, your muffins may rise, but they'll collapse as they cool. Protect those beautiful muffin domes!
How to store vegan muffins
We'd all like to enjoy a fresh, beautiful muffin that's just set and still even a little warm from the oven. That's why this is a small batch recipe!
But since it's just not always realistic to serve piping hot muffins, we need to know how to store them for maximum freshness. If you plan to enjoy them within a few hours of baking them, these muffins will stay fresh as they are.
For slightly longer storage, wrap each muffin tightly in a cling wrap, or pile them into a sealed container. They'll stay fresh for at least 2 days at room temperature that way.
Freezing your muffins
For longer storage, these muffins freeze beautifully. I like to freeze them in a single layer on a flat surface, then pile them into a sealed, freezer-safe container. They'll last at least 2 months that way, and can be defrosted in the microwave and refreshed in the toaster oven.
Serving suggestions
These muffins are perfect any time of day, still warm from the oven or at room temperature. You can slice them in half and toast them and a pat of vegan butter on each half.
If you've added mix-ins, try a spread that complements the mix-in, like vegan hazelnut chocolate spread for a chocolate chip muffin, or whipped coconut cream with a bit of cocoa powder or cinnamon dusted on top.
FAQs
No, you would need a different recipe for that. A quickbread loaf requires a lot more structure, which is why our gluten free chocolate chip quick bread calls for so many eggs.
My favorite allergen-free chocolate chips are Enjoy Life brand. They're top-8 allergen free, so they're gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free, and they taste amazing!
These muffins are ready when the tops are domed and lightly golden brown all over, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. The only danger in overbaking them is if the outside burns, so watch the color on the bottom, and avoid using dark colored muffin tins, which encourage overbaking on the bottom.
Always check the freshness of your baking powder and baking soda, as they're the only source of rise in this egg-free, vegan recipe. Make sure you didn't omit the vinegar, which activates the baking soda, and measure all of your dry ingredients by weight.
Vegan Muffins | Basic Recipe + Mix-In Options
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons (88 g) granulated sugar (vegans, be sure it's appropriate)
- 5 tablespoons (68 g) packed light brown sugar (vegans, be sure it's appropriate)
- ¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) nondairy milk at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) vegan butter melted and cooled
- 1 ½ tablespoons (21 g) neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, vegetable oils are all fine)
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 5 tablespoons (38 g) tapioca starch/flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces mix-in pieces dairy free chocolate chips, raisins, or chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Grease 6 standard-sized muffin wells and set the pan aside. (See Recipe Notes about muffin tin.)
- In a large bowl, place the granulated sugar and light brown sugar and mix them together, breaking up the lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the milk, vinegar, vanilla, melted vegan butter, and oil to the bowl, and whisk to combine well. The mixture will be thin.
- Scatter the dry ingredients, first the flour blend and xanthan gum, then the tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, on top of the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine until very smooth. The batter will be sticky and runny.
- Add just enough of the plain muffin batter to each prepared well of the muffin tin to cover the bottom (about 1.5 tablespoons of batter in each well).
- To the remaining batter in the mixing bowl, add the mix-in pieces, and mix until evenly distributed throughout. Fill the wells the rest of the way full. Wipe up any spilled batter with a towel, as needed.
- Place the baking tin in the top third of the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking until a tester comes out mostly clean and the muffins are nicely domed (about another 12 minutes).
- Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
If you don't have a 6-well muffin tin, use a standard 12-well muffin tin. To ensure even baking, fill the 6 empty wells about 2/3 of the way with lukewarm water. To make 12 muffins
This recipe doubles really easily to make a full dozen (12) vegan gluten free muffins. Just double all the ingredients. To make 3 muffins
If you'd like to halve the recipe and make just 3 muffins, cut all the ingredients in half and fill the empty wells 2/3 of the way with lukewarm water, as above.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
We'll send the recipe to your inbox, so you can come back to it later!
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!
Barb says
I made these with frozen blueberries but was in a hurry and didn’t coat the berries with tapioca starch. Oops!The sweet crust that formed on top was delightful but the inside was kinda soggy. I’ll have to try again a correct my mistake cuz I think we thought they had good flavor and crusty top was definitely a hit.
Nicole Hunn says
Be careful not to use more than the 3 ounces of blueberries I recommend, too, Barb, as it’s tricky to add fresh or frozen berries to a recipe like this that wasn’t specifically made for wet mix-ins. And be sure you’re measuring everything possible by weight, since the moisture balance is delicate!
Stephanie Aston says
Ooooo, these look so good! I may be making these tomorrow!
Nicole Hunn says
I think you’ll love them, Stephanie!