These soft and cakey gluten-free bakery style blueberry muffins are bursting with berries and are made from a simple trio of gluten-free flours.

A plate of gluten-free blueberry muffins.

When we moved to Sydney, about five years ago now, we started exploring our new environs, finding the wonderful parks we’d visit so frequently for the next two years. We also found our new grocery stores. In the early weeks I’d take my girls for a walk and/or park then stop at Coles for a few essentials, which more often than not included mini banana muffins or chocolate cream cupcakes, and a pack of blueberry muffins for me.

We’d go home and spread a blanket out on the upper lawn under the enormous eucalyptus tree in the backyard and devour our treats. S still remembers doing this; for me, in a new country, totally sleep-deprived and living super minimally, not having made any friends yet, this became an essential part of our weekly routine. The blueberry muffins were so good — just grocery store muffins, sure, but sweet and tender and bursting with berries.

I put together a blueberry muffin recipe that reminded me so much of those Australian muffins — they are gluten-free but you’d hardly know it. I kept to the memory of those comforting muffins when I developed this recipe.

Try to use frozen blueberries if you can. I think they bake up better than fresh in this recipe. And try a muffin with a generous swipe of cream cheese or butter — dairy-free if that’s your thing. So good on a weekend morning or with a mid-morning cup of coffee any day. Feel free to imagine yourself in Australia; I know I do on a regular basis.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Cakey texture and taste. I love a decadent blueberry muffin, one that tastes more like cake than a breakfast health food. The almond flour in this recipen keeps things nice and cake-like while the sweet white flour gives bounce and binding. I call these “bakery blueberry muffins” because they do taste like they could come from a bakery!

Flavorful and homey. A teaspoon of vanilla extract plus a few spices — cinnamon and nutmeg — make these muffins extra flavorful.

Simple flour blend. I did a blend of three flours here rather than keeping just to oat flour as in my other gluten-free blueberry muffin recipe because I wanted to lighten up the oat flour a bit. More about gluten-free flours.

Gluten-free blueberry muffins on a plate.

What You’ll Need For Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

Unsalted butter
Whole milk
Eggs
Pure vanilla extract
Sugar
Sweet white rice flour: Brings binding and texture to these muffins.
Oat flour: Whole grain naturally gluten-free oat flour is wonderful in baking.
Almond flour: Keeps muffins moist and tender.
Baking powder
Fine sea salt
Ground spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg
Lemon zest: I like to use organic lemons for zest
Frozen blueberries

How to Make Gluten-Free Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

Prep pan. Line a muffin pan with liners and heat oven to 350° F.
Whisk wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, and sugar.
Whisk flours. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest.
Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well to combine. Gently stir in the blueberries.
Bake. Use a ¼ cup measure to scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out clean and muffins are springy to the touch. Let muffins cool on a wire rack.

Substitutions

Oat flour – swap sorghum flour.

Almond flour – substitute tiger nut or another nut flour.

To make dairy-free – use your favorite non-dairy butter or olive oil for the butter. Use your favorite non-dairy milk for the whole milk.

To make egg-free – two flax eggs in place of the eggs.

To make refined sugar-free – use maple sugar in place of the sugar.

Storage

Store muffins in an air-tight container in the fridge for 5 days. You can eat them straight from the fridge, bring to room temperature, or gently warm in an oven or toaster oven before serving.