Coffee cake gets a summer berry makeover with these Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins–a perfect vegan and gluten-free breakfast or streusel-topped snack!
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Oh how I wanted to deliver this streusel-messy blueberry muffin madness to you last week.
Muffins are one of those foods that just scream SHARE ME! Virtually or real life rip-it-in-half-and-take-the-bigger-half sharing.
I will muffins, I will. But I must edit/video/write about you first.
So last week. It was a very kitchen-productive week around here. I was video-ing everything from popsicles to pancakes by day, and editing photos like a crazy lady by night late afternoon. Because while food bloggers may think they work for themselves, it is actually natural light that controls us all.
I was feeling like a hustling little hedgehog up through about Wednesday. And then productivity took a significant down turn. And I realized I had a LOT of video footage to sort through and make into mini recipe movies. And I also realized that I really wanted a nap.
So I did a little bit of both. And not enough of either.
But my brain was not in the mood to write anything at that point, so the muffin-ing was postponed.
My apologies if your weekend was sadly lacking in streusel, but luckily there is another one of those just 4 1/2 days away and the perfect muffin recipe at the end of this post to make up for it.
These muffins taste like the epitome of a bakery. Just all the cinnamon and sweetness and streusel and fluffy-softness.
Yes fluffy-softness is a taste–sweet, salty, fluffy-soft, bitter, and umami. See.
Not a single date was used in the making of these muffins *GASP* It seems like everything I’ve made in the past couple of years months weeks has been filled with dates, so it was time for a break.
Combining the best parts of this blueberry muffin recipe from a loooooong time ago and this coffee cake, I created what just might be my favorite muffin recipe around here yet. Do I say that every time?
They are made with oat flour for that subtle breakfast-y flavor. Coconut sugar + applesauce takes the place of dates for sweetness and moisture. GOBS of fresh or frozen blueberries for a minimum of two jammy purple pockets per bite. And all made with zero bowls or arm strength required–thanks blender! Just like with any blender cake/bread/oat-y baked thing, don’t over-blend unless “make gummy muffins” is one of your life goals.
I am pretty sure my muffin pan wanted to be one of those jumbo muffin pans but someone squashed it’s dreams early on in life so it resigned itself to just making regular sized muffins. But also sorta not regular sized. Regular sized gone greedy.
But who doesn’t finish a blueberry muffin and not want it to be over yet though? So it’s kind of a gift really.
When it starts to feel like less of a gift is when I am scooping out the batter and only end up with 5 muffins. I am all about filling the muffin tins 3/4 of the way or more, which does not help. So you might get 5 muffins. You might get 8 muffins. Maybe you get 12 because you like the short someone-sat-on-them muffin look.
You do you. As long as “you” doesn’t involve skimping on the streusel, because that I am not okay with. Don’t even joke about that.
If I had a dollar for every time I proclaimed my love for streusel then I could build a streusel castle with streusel walls and streusel towers and a streusel dragon to guard it. So much streusel love. If you could make an entire muffin out of nothing but the streusel I would. Hmm maybe I should sell the castle and invest in R&D on that idea…?
Or (most likely scenario) I would use all those dollars to buy almond flour to make more streusel because that stuff ain’t cheap! But it does make for the BEST oil-free streusel my tummy has ever known. A.k.a. worth it.
Proof of my streusel obsession → Here and here and here and in 5 years this list will probably wrap around the earth 3 times with all the streusel-topped goodness my mind can dream up. At least I hope so.
Is it weird that I liked them almost better cold from the fridge three days later?
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Coffee cake gets a summer berry makeover with these Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins–a perfect vegan and gluten-free breakfast or streusel-topped snack!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tsps lemon juice ((or apple cider vinegar))
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsps baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Streusel
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients. Mix with a fork until sticky and clumpy. Set aside.
- In a blender or mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the muffins. (If using a blender, be sure to add the wet ingredients first!)
- Blend/mix until just combined. Do not over mix or it will make the muffins gummy.
- Line or grease a muffin pan. Divide the batter into the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 of the way. You will get anywhere from 6-9 muffins depending on your pan.
- Top each liberally with streusel. Press it in lightly.
- Bake for about 25 minutes at 350F, or until the streusel is golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
- Enjoy! Keep leftovers in the fridge (they are really yummy cold too!)
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I’m with you on the streusel obsession. It is always a good idea. Let’s streusel all the things! I can’t get over that perfect muffin texture and that sexy bite shot. I happen to have all the ingredients for these beauties in my pantry that I need to use up before I move, so I think they’re destined to be a part of my life <3 Excited to see all the goods you whipped up during your very kitchen-y week. Hope you get some good rest and chill time too <3
Now you have me imagining unusual and unexpected thing to streusel…🤔 Oh yes, using up pantry ingredients/items is always tricky, I find myself eating the oddest of meals right before moving hehe! Good luck, and hey maybe even a delicious discovery could come of it for recipe-ing when you get home 🙂
Would almond flour work instead of oat flour?
Would honey work instead of sugar?
Almond flour would not work here without adding eggs here (or doing some testing with maybe aqua faba to make up for the lack of structure) and that defeats the whole point of vegan. Same deal with the honey, if we want to be technical.
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Hi Shannon! I am afraid almond flour just doesn’t have the binding ability in this recipe, they will fall apart. And honey will throw off the moisture balance so you’d have to adjust the other ingredients as well. Sorry! I think you best bet is finding a different cake/muffin recipe and then just adding the blueberries and streusel to that 🙂
Yay blueberry twinning today!!! That bite picture is making me drool so hard! Oh man that fluffiness and that crumbly topping, can’t get any better <3
Only the best kind of twinning! Crumbly toppings will always have my heart <3
These gems look delicious in every way! So true about food bloggers being a slave to the natural light – it’s the worst when it doesn’t want to cooperate!! Also, “fluffy-soft” is now my new favorite flavor – and it should be the official flavor of the streusel castle! Which I’m inviting myself to live in, hope you’re okay with that 🙂 On a real note though, Natalie, these muffins look fantastic! They definitely look good enough to be in a bakery and I”m sure they taste ten times better. Yum!
Lol because all castles have official flavors…hehe love that you join in my silliness 😀 Oh yes please do move in, goodness knows the castle would be way boring all by myself. Although that would mean leaving your gorgeous new house so maybe just nix the castle and we’ll build a streusel bakery instead for showcasing ALL our delicious treats 🙂
“Natural light controls us all.” UM. YES!!! If that light is not in the mood, you are not gonna get anything done!! Now I can’t believe we’re getting not one, two muffins to be!! Well, one muffin here and one muffin on the way!! I’m actually hoping you get to nap more–you know I say this to you all the time, but you work too much!! But I’m not gonna lie, all of your hard work let to these gorgeous, beautifully dome-topped muffins with all the streusel goodness. Why, again, are we not neighbors?? Now I shall be keeping your streusel obsession in mind for future bestie plans. 🙂 Love ya! xoxo
And our boss, good ole natural light, was certainly messing with me today too–behind the clouds, not behind the clouds, making everything that funky shade of yellow/green that I still don’t comprehend…urgh! Ah well, something has to force me to sit down and get computer work done sometimes. “Muffin on the way”–when’s the muffin shower?😂 Oh yes, there will be streusel. Not sure about any other part of the plans yet, but the streusel is for sure! Love ya <333
Just made a batch of these with my own blend of gluten free flours because I can never get my hands on gluten free oats at a fair price and they came out perfectly (albeit a little burnt on top lol)! I’ll cover them with foil halfway through next time rather than just towards the end. Great recipe though. Loved these!
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Whoa you waste no time when it comes to muffins! I am so happy you liked them though and that your GF blend worked. Perhaps we should just call them EXTRA crispy 😀 Thanks for the feedback Anthony, enjoy!
The muffins look so moist and yummy! 🙂
Indeed! Thanks Pamela 🙂
Hi Natalie, i love all your recipes. And no dates? This is a extra point for me 😉 I just have a problem. I’m celiac and in my town we don’t have GF oats, so you think i can replace with brown rice flour? I need your creativity pls!!
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Hi Kay! Aww bummer about the lack of GF oats. Hmm I do not think just brown rice flour will work here unfortunately, it is too dry/crumbly. You will need some sort of starch in combination with it like tapioca or arrowroot, and it’s hard for me to say exactly how much of each since I haven’t tried it personally. I would recommend finding a GF blend that is pre-blended or a GF blend recipe online (like this one perhaps: https://minimalistbaker.com/diy-gluten-free-flour-blend/) Sorry, but I hope that helps!
Might be a silly question but can you just blend the oats ina blender to produce oat flour?
Yep! But re-measure after blending 🙂
Ahh, yes, I remember these blueberry muffins from before!! What a great idea to spruce them up with a streusel topping, because hey, streusel makes everything better! Almond flour is my go-to streusel muffin topping as well because it just can’t be beat. And the blueberry kick, omg, I’ve made SO many blueberry muffins lately! I made some last week that I posed on IG for a future project and I just bought more yesterday, so it’s been raining blueberries around here!!! And with a streusel topping that just makes me want to run back to the kitchen to make some more! It sounds like you’ve been crazy busy as a bee just like I’ve been. It’s so hectic, that I haven’t even posted on my blog in 2 weeks. Sometimes there is just TOO much to do and not enough time to do it! Grrrr! These look fabulous Natalie!!
Raining blueberries–that sounds like my kind of weather forecast! I’ve been eating tons of them too, both fresh and frozen and picked from the yard and in muffins. Oh and there were some blueberry pancakes in there too somewhere 🙂 Yes I can absolutely relate to the AHHHHH so many things to make/do feeling right now. It certainly beats being bored and I am excited about all these ideas, but a balance between bored and crazy would be nice. Well I hope this future project comes to life soon, because if there are blueberry muffins involved then I am definitely interested 🙂
My goodness – your pictures are just breath-taking! Makes me want these blueberry beauties even more than I already do. Blueberry muffins have always been my favorite!
Can’t wait to try. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Always my muffin of choice too! Although anything with streusel is a close second 🙂 Thank you Haley!
Ok i’m drooling catching up with your blog right now. Blueberry muffins are one of our FAVORITE weekend treats to make for breakfast…of course i have mine with coffee, but both together sounds incredible!! I have no idea how you create so much and manage to get out amazing videos (to the point where even opening up a can looks magical haha)! I’m on a slump lately…well i shouldn’t call it a slump, more of a -kids-are-keeping-me-too-busy but i need to plan for the summer before things are really crazy! Ha! Until then i’m living off of your baked goods. I love that your pantry is so similar to mine when it comes to baking. Super easy for me to try out your recipes…hopefully we will be doing a lot of that this summer! Oh and i’m with you on the strussel castle!
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Ha that is totally an acceptable reason for the “slump” though, kiddos come first. I honestly can’t imagine being responsible for any one else’s well being and running a blog. Idk how you manage to get anything photographed and posted, I swear I am the most single-minded person when I am working lol. Are your kids officially out of school yet, or still a little longer until the true fun and craziness begins? Well I do hope there is some time for summer recipe development though, bright and fresh summer foods are my faves 🙂 Summer vacay week at the streusel castle, you in? Hehe!
Tried this recipe, absolutely yummy! I don’t have a sweet tooth, so I’ll reduce the sugar by 30% next time I make it again. Thanks Natalie for your great recipes!! Keep posting your beautiful creations!!
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Yippee! I am so happy you liked them Pat! Good to know on the sweetness level, sometimes I even can go for a subtly sweet baked good too 🙂
My kids and I just made these and they are delicious! We are all on number 2!
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Yay I am so happy everyone liked them!! A repeat batch of a within days of finishing the first is always a good sign 🙂 Thanks for the feedback Anne!
For the streusel can we use a different flour other than almond. I don’t have almond flour.
Any nut meal/flour will work! Or you can make it with oat flour or AP but it will be much drier after baking due to the lower fat content. If you do go with oat flour you will need quite a bit more maple syrup as well, probably 1/3-1/2 cup. Hope that helps!
Would it work if I made this as a whole cake instead?
Also could I sub the coconut sugar with stevia?
Thanks
Yep you can make it into a whole cake! Like this one: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-coffee-cake-gluten-free-oil-free/ but with blueberries added in. Stevia should be fine too. I don’t bake with stevia, so I can’t tell you how much it will take to get the right level of sweetness. Perhaps you know the conversion rate better. Happy baking!
This recipe is great! Thank you so much for sharing! I made a few changes–I substituted halved blackberries (it’s what I had on hand) and I added 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the muffin batter. I didn’t use a blender but mixed all of the dry ingredients first, then folded in the liquids (including the blackberries) until just mixed.
My muffins came out moist and so soft! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
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Blackberry muffins sound delicious, I love that swap! I am so happy they turned out well, thanks for the feedback and happy snacking 🙂
Great recipe though! I just made a batch of these with my own blend of gluten free flours because I can never get my hands on gluten free oats at a fair price and they came out perfectly (albeit a little burnt on top lol)! I’ll cover them with foil halfway through next time rather than just towards the end.
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I am so happy you tried these, even if they turned out a little EXTRA toasty lol. I get my oats at Trader Joe’s and I’m pretty sure they are GF but either way the foil trick should work too! Thanks for the feedback and happy monday😊
I’m always looking for good, healthy, vegan/GF muffins and often disappointed. I made these yesterday as a test run for a vacation house breakfast and YUM. I’m so excited to share with friends. (I actually added a Tbsp of shredded coconut to both the streusel and the batter because I was in a blueberry coconut-y kind of mood. And I seem to have the compulsion to add coconut whenever blueberries are involved. But they so didn’t need it.)
These are one of my favorites, I am so happy you liked them too🤗 Oooh that sounds so good with the coconut addition, I gotta try that. Thanks for the feedback, and enjoy the rest!
Nata <3
Sweetheart, can i sub cocounot sugar?
What did you want to use instead? Other kinds of granulated sweeteners would work like cane sugar or brown sugar though, yes!
Hey Natalie! Can I use whole wheat flour instead of oat flour? And is it possible to make these muffins sugar free? Thanks!
Wheat flour should work, yes! But not sure about the sugar free part, what did you have in mind like stevia or something? I don’t use sugar free sweeteners so I can’t really say, but you could try it😊
I thought of maybe using date paste or omitting the sugar in general or something to that effect… Would those work?
No sugar and they just won’t taste good, very bland. This recipe really isn’t designed for date paste so it will make the texture mushy, but you could try this date-sweetened blueberry muffin instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-paleo-blueberry-muffins/
Alright! Thanks!
I love this recipe! I subbed some of the oat flour with Nuzest smooth vanilla protein powder (3/4C) and added a little more milk and it worked perfectly! This was such a great & simple muffin recipe, I can’t wait to make it again!
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Oh that’s such a good idea to make them extra healthy and breakfast-y! I’m so happy it worked well, thanks for sharing Taylor 🙂
I don’t have apple sauce can I use mashed banana
Yes that will work!
Hi,, i just tried to baked this muffin and it turns out very good. But i have some question about how to keep the crumble topping crispy for next day because mine it turns out soggy . Should i reheat in oven or do you have any suggestion on how to stored this muffin?
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I think that is somewhat unavoidable, the moisture form the muffin will seep into the streusel so it will never be as crispy as when fresh. But reheating in the oven as opposed to microwave can definitely help!