Updated in 2023! These “just” dairy-free blueberry muffins are now loved in thousands of homes. The recipe showcases wild blueberries, which are smaller than their “domesticated” cousins, and perfect for generously populating muffins. They provide the perfect dose of sweet-tart fruit for lunch boxes or an after-school treat.
These Old-Fashioned Dairy-Free Blueberry Muffins are Wildly Popular
This dairy-free wild blueberry muffins recipe was originally shared with us by Wild Blueberries in 2013! We have recently updated the recipe with more information and clarity, and we have several new tips in the FAQs below. But don’t worry, the ingredients haven’t changed a bit!
Can I Use Regular Blueberries instead of making Wild Blueberry Muffins?
Yes, you can! Wild blueberries are smaller and usually more flavorful, so they provide a bit more blueberry bang per bite. But regular blueberries will work in this dairy-free blueberry muffins recipe, too!
Can I Use Fresh Blueberries instead of Frozen Blueberries?
Fresh blueberries work great, too. Wild blueberries are only sold frozen, due to their delicate nature. But regular blueberries sold in the produce section also produce delicious results.
Can I Substitute Other Fruit for the Berries?
Other whole berries, like raspberries, blackberries, or currants are great variations for these muffins. Chopped or mashed fruit can provide more moisture, which might affect the recipe negatively. See my Dairy-Free Banana Muffins Recipe if you want to use smashed or blended fruit. If you’re looking for other types of dairy-free fruit muffins, use the search at the top of our site. We have dozens of them!
Will Regular Whole Wheat Flour Work instead of All-Purpose Flour?
Using all whole wheat flour will make these dairy-free blueberry a little denser. You can use up to half whole wheat flour to maintain some of the fluffiness. If possibly, use whole wheat pastry flour, which is a lighter grind of wheat flour. Or use white-whole wheat flour, which is still 100% whole wheat flour, but is lighter in taste and color.
I Only have White Vinegar. Will that Work in this Muffin Batter?
White vinegar should work just fine in place of the lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. It’s neutral, and won’t affect the taste, but does help give these dairy-free blueberry muffins a little extra lift.
Can I Substitute a Different Sweetener for the Sugars?
You can use coconut sugar or sucanat in place of one or both of the sugars. The muffins will just come out a touch less sweet. I haven’t tested these old-fashioned dairy-free blueberry muffins with a liquid sweetener or sugar-free sweetener. Both types of substitutions would affect the recipe.
What Type of Milk Alternative Should I Use?
Use whatever plain or vanilla milk alternative you have on hand! Most types will work just fine, including almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, rice milk, and coconut milk beverage. I use unsweetened vanilla milk alternative for making these dairy-free blueberry muffins, but it’s okay to use a sweetened version. These muffins are relatively low in sugar, so they won’t taste overly sweet for most people if you use a sweetened milk alternative.
Can I Use Water instead of Milk Alternative?
You definitely can! One commenter used water and increased the oil to 3 tablespoons. This is a good idea for maintaining a richer and fluffier muffin taste and texture.
Can I Substitute Applesauce for the Oil?
I don’t personally recommend it, but I’m not a fan of fat-free or extremely low fat muffins. Fat free muffins usually taste okay hot, but take on a gummy texture when cool. Just a little bit of fat gives these dairy-free blueberry muffins their tender texture. If you really need oil-free, you might try substitute full fat coconut milk (shake the can) for the milk alternative and oil. You could use a scant 1 cup of coconut milk total. I haven’t tested this option with these dairy-free wild blueberry muffins, but have had success baking with coconut milk in muffins.
Your Recipe Calls for Eggs. Aren’t Eggs Dairy?
f you confuse eggs with dairy, you are not alone. See this post: Are Eggs Dairy?. For egg-free, dairy-free blueberry muffins, see the egg-free and vegan option in the Special Diet Notes below.
What Oil Should I Use? Can I Use Coconut Oil?
Use your favorite oil for baking muffins or cakes. Lately, I’ve been using extra-light olive oil (not extra-virgin) due its neutral taste, good baking smoke point, and affordability. But any neutral-tasting oil will work great. You can certainly use coconut oil, but if you do, make sure your liquids and egg are at room temperature. If any ingredients are cool, it can cause the oil to solidify into little beads of solid oil.
Can I Add Vanilla Extract?
We like these dairy-free wild blueberry muffins without vanilla or with just a touch of vanilla (from the milk alternative). I do love vanilla, but sometimes it can compete with flavors. If you want to add vanilla, I would use just 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, or simply use vanilla milk alternative.
How Should I Adjust these Dairy-Free Blueberry Muffins for High Altitude?
I haven’t tested this recipe at high altitude, but if baking at over 3000 feet, I would reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons. At very high altitudes, you might need just 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Troubleshooting Tips
Batter is Too Dry – Many recipes are tested in somewhat humid and low altitude environments. If you’re in a dry climate or season, the batter can be a little dry. If this is the case, simply add a little more liquid to make the batter easy to scrape into your muffin cups. If you’re at higher altitude, you likely need less baking powder. You can add a little more liquid, which might work fine …
Muffins Collapsed when Baking – If the muffins rose up quickly and domed mid-way during baking, but were concave and dense when the time was up, there was too much leavener for your climate or altitude. If they were flat or slightly concave, reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons. If they were quite concave, reduce the baking powder to 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Muffins Never Rose – If you checked in midway through, and they weren’t rising up, and they came out short and/or flat when finished, check your baking powder. Baking powder does go bad, even if it hasn’t reached its expiry. To test it, put about a 1/2 teaspoon of the baking powder in a bowl. Add some boiling water. It should vigorously fizz and bubble. If not, it’s on the way out. Try these dairy-free blueberry muffins with fresh baking powder.
Special Diet Notes: Old-Fashioned Dairy-Free Blueberry Muffins
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.
For vegan and egg-free wild blueberry muffins, I recommend swapping Ener-G Egg Replacer, flax eggs, or even 1/2 cup dairy-free yogurt, mashed banana, or applesauce for the eggs. You can see our Egg Substitute Guide for more options.
For gluten-free and dairy-free blueberry muffins, substitute your favorite gluten-free flour blend for the flour. One that includes xanthan or guar gum will usually yield the best results, or you can add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the recipe. If using this gluten-free option, I would use eggs rather than an egg substitute, if possible.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (can substitute whole wheat pastry flour for all or part)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- Scant ¾ cup dairy-free milk alternative (see instructions)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon white sugar, divided
- ½ cup (4 ounces) egg substitute or 2 large eggs
- 2½ tablespoons oil
- 2 cups frozen wild blueberries
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF and grease 12 muffin cups or line them with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the lemon juice or vinegar to a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk alternative to reach ¾ cup.
- Pour the milk alternative mixture into a medium bowl. Add the brown sugar, ¼ cup white sugar, egg, and oil, and whisk until combined.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and gently mix just to combine. Be careful not to overmix.
- Fold in the blueberries.
- Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon in a small dish.
- Divide the batter between your prepared muffin cups and sprinkle each muffin with the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
- Bake for the muffins for 18 to 22 minutes or until firm to the touch.
- Let the muffins cool in the tins for a few minutes before carefully removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- You can store these dairy-free wild blueberry muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, individually wrap the muffins and freeze them. When ready to enjoy, simply remove one from the freezer and let it defrost at room temperature (preferred), or reheat it on low in the microwave.
For Another Popular Option, Try Our Dairy-Free Mango Muffins!
84 Comments
These muffins were so good! I substituted the blueberries for huckleberries because I had so many left over from picking them last summer. The muffins were perfectly moist and not too sweet! Will definitely make these every year from now!
Also forgot to add that I opted for using the eggs, lemon and for my dairy alternative I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
Thanks for the recipe however the liquid contents were too much so I had to add some flour at the end to get the paste texture. Otherwise a good recipe.
That’s odd, but I’m glad it worked out for you.
Huckleberry muffins sound amazing! Thank you for sharing your feedback Lauren!
Are there any alterations for using frozen blueberries?
Nope! Wild blueberries are only sold frozen.
These turned out great. I made mine with blackberries instead of blueberries. I will definitely make them again.
Yum! I love blackberry muffins!
I am not the best baker. Our dough turned out a bit dry but I added some flax seed milk until it was easier to stir. We have made them twice and they are wonderful. We used cane sugar and left out the brown sugar which reduced the sugar (I think…I added in about a half cup of honey). We added more lemon juice and zest the second time. What fun with my girls! We ate way too many.
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I used the above water substitute and they were good enough that my high schooler hovered over the counter and inhaled 4-5 muffins while I was waiting on my 1 to cool….
That’s great! Thanks for your feedback Renee.
Could you substitute applesauce for the non dairy alternative and 3T. coconut oil?
Technically, yes, but I don’t recommend it. Fat free muffins tend to have a gummy texture. Just a little bit of oil helps the texture tremendously.
This is a delicious recipe! I made mine dairy free with coconut/rice milk, and I also subsistuted all sugar for 1/8 cup coconut sugar for a healthier option. Do leave them to cool before devouring as they stick to the paper cups.
So glad you enjoyed them and thank you for sharing your modifications Sara! Yes, hot muffins stick to paper liners more than cooled muffins. Definitely let them chill or just enjoy off the wrappers, too 🙂 Also, reducing the sugar will change the structure a bit, which can cause a little more sticking.
Can you replace the blueberries for other fruits? Or dairy free chocolate chips?
Hi Jen, yes, you can.
Made these this morning with 1/3 wheat flour, no salt (hubby is lo-so), dark brown sugar and put it in silicone liners. Very tasty, nice crispy tops with plushy insides. The kids were all over them.
That’s great! Glad to know they worked out low-sodium, too!
What is dairy free milk substitute?
Dairy free milk alternative, also known as milk beverage, includes dairy-free products sold as alternatives to dairy milk. Such as almond milk beverage, coconut milk beverage, rice milk beverage, soymilk, etc.
Would oat milk work?
Yes! It should work well.
Beautiful muffins!
Great recipe! Adapted well to use no milk or soy at all!
To replace all milk, I used water to make the 3/4 cup liquid, and then upped the coconut oil to 3Ts. The extra 1/2T replaces the lost fat.
I greased the cups, and the muffins released while still warm – they do need a knife to pop them from the side and get the bottoms up.
I also made these to use up a leftover mix of blackberries, lime zest and sugar that I’d macerated and then pulled most of the liquid from. (I was testing a shrub recipe.) The crushed and juiced blackberries worked well, giving a hint of fruity flavor. Feel free to email me if you’d like a pic of them!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your changes Chris and so glad the recipe worked as a great base for you!
These are so good! It was hard not to eat them all. My 2 year old daughter loves them for breakfast and snacks!
That’s wonderful Carissa! Thank you for providing feedback.
I made these muffins for my grandson who is very allergic to dairy. I used organic flour. Coconut oil and the apple cider. They are delicious! Thank you
That’s wonderful! Thank you for sharing your version Deb and so glad you and your grandson enjoyed!
Can these be frozen? Also, how long can they last for?
Basically, can I make it ahead of time and store them?
Thank you so much!
Yes, I always freeze muffins! Once cooled, I usually freeze all that I won’t be eating within the next two days. Many people say muffins last for three or more days, but I don’t like to keep them at room temperature past two or three days. They stay quite fresh when frozen promptly.
My grandson wanted blueberry muffins and I searched on line for a dairy-free alternative to my old standby. I am new to dairy-free eating, as I’m trying to figure out if I am, indeed, lactose intolerant (GI issues — and after a month of no dairy, I’m still not sure.) I really enjoyed this recipe though and loved the taste of the brown & white sugar combination. I used coconut oil for my oil and lactose-free, whole (cow’s) milk and vinegar combination. I also used real eggs. I used muffin tins lined with paper liners. The only thing that I didn’t like was that the muffins (mostly the bottom) stuck to the paper liner if you try to remove them while they’re hot. I’m hoping that they won’t do that after they cool . Regardless, I will make this recipe again, since I do love the taste.
Fabulous! My guess is that they won’t adhere once cool. Enjoy!
UPDATE: Yes, they come out of the muffin paper much easily when cooled – I should have realized, at my age. 🙂 The recipe was a big hit with everyone, especially the cinnamon/sugar topping, which adds a nice touch.
Fantastic! And thank you so much for the update Elaine!
I tried making it last night. I think you must have forgotten to add milk (or soy milk) in your recipe because the mixture was dry and sandy. I added about half a cup of soy milk so that the mixture became a “batter” like consistency.
Hi Lisa, see the ingredients – it calls for “2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar + enough dairy-free milk alternative to equal ¾ cup” – so you need just a smidge under 3/4 cup milk alternative. East to miss I think!
how many calories is in one old- fashioned Dairy-free blueberry muffin?
I’m not sure! You can calculate with a site like this one: http://nutritiondata.self.com/
I’m not sure where to find wild blueberries… are they originally frozen? Do you know whether it would work the same to use regular blueberries instead of wild blueberries?
Hi Marcie, yes, they are usually frozen. Regular blueberries will definitely work, they are just twice the size. I like the littler ones in baked goods for a bigger and more intense blueberry infusion 🙂
Never mind just re read
Thanks for the recipe! Is it 2 1/2 (measurement-tablespoons of oil?) not clear above thank you:)
If I were to use GF all purpose flour, can I follow same recipe and just watch time or do I need to add xanthan gum?
Hi Lisa, I can never fully recommend a gluten-free swap without testing first. That said, I prefer the texture of muffins without gums, even though they an be a little more crumbly. If you can and do eat eggs, I would first start by using eggs rather than egg substitute if making them gluten-free. Gums will help keep the muffin cohesive, but again, I can’t say what would work best without testing.