These Vegan Blackberry Muffins are the perfect breakfast treat. These tasty muffins are sweet and soft - you'd never guess they're made without oil and are completely gluten-free.

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Do you ever want something sweet and also healthy? That's literally me all the time. I would probably only eat sweet foods for the rest of my life if it was nutritious enough.

When you make recipes like these blackberry muffins that are made with REAL food, you don't have to feel any shame or guilt about eating. You can just enjoy the food you're eating!

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I find myself making muffins like these quite often. They are just so easy to make and they turn out well every time.

I've got my muffin recipe down to a science, which means all I have to do when creating a new recipe is switch out the add-ins. (You can do this too! Swap the blackberries in this recipe for your favorite fruit.)

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My muffins are always devoured so quickly by my friends and family! This recipe is seriously a staple.

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Why I love these Vegan Blackberry Muffins

• Dietary needs — these muffins are vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free

• Featuring fresh blackberries — these muffins are loaded with fresh blackberries for sweet & tart bursts of juiciness throughout each muffin

• Soft & velvety texture without oil — applesauce helps create an extremely moist (but not dense) muffin. It has that perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture. All without oil!

• One bowl and no equipment — you only need a bowl, a whisk, and a spatula for this recipe. No equipment and minimal dishes!

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Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

• Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce gives these muffins the perfect light and fluffy texture. You can also use a banana or pumpkin puree but both of these will likely give a flavor you don't want (and if you do want, try my strawberry banana muffins or my pumpkin muffins)

• Maple Syrup: I recommend maple syrup for the best texture and flavor results, but if you want a completely fruit-sweetened muffin, this recipe does work with date syrup and you can sub in a 1:1 ratio

• Nut Butter: Instead of using oil, we'll use nut butter as the fat source. Use a neutral-tasting nut butter like mixed nut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter.

• Lemon Juice

• Vanilla

• Oat Flour: for this recipe I used store-bought oat flour but it also works with homemade oat flour

• Almond Flour: Almond flour is my go-to flour to balance oat flour. Almonds have more fat, which means that they help lighten up the muffin, making it less dense. AND they add flavor!

• Baking Soda & Baking Powder

• Salt

• Nutmeg: the vegan bakery I worked at used nutmeg in many baked goods and I swear this is the key to giving vegan baked goods the same flavor as 'regular' baked goods. I add nutmeg to many of my baking recipes now and it seriously works - don't skip this spice!

• Fresh Blackberries: fresh blackberries are ideal for this recipe, because they have less liquid. You can use frozen, just allow the berries to thaw completely in a colander and drain any juices. Then add to the batter.

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How to make Vegan Blackberry Muffins

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with liners.

Step 2. In a large bowl, mix the applesauce, syrup, nut butter, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir until thoroughly combined.

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Step 3. Add the oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

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‍Step 4. Gently fold in the blackberries. It's okay if a few of them break.

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Step 5. Scoop into your muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove them from the oven and let cool completely. Enjoy!

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Tips for Making The Best Muffins

• Carefully level your flour with a knife to make sure you measure as exactly as possible.

• Don’t overmix the batter, stir just until combined for the most tender muffins.

• While not necessary for this recipe, I highly recommend investing in cookie scoops! They make portioning cookies, muffins, and cupcakes so much easier! I used cookie scoops all the time when I worked at a vegan bakery and I've never gone back.

• Bake muffins on the center rack.

• Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. The toothpick should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. If you see blue - this is the blackberry, try a different spot in the muffin.

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Frequently Asked Questions

I'M ALLERGIC TO NUTS. WHAT CAN I USE INSTEAD?

• Flour. Instead of almond flour use cassava or coconut flour.

• Nut butter. Instead of nut butter, use sunflower seed butter or pepita butter.

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MUFFIN TROUBLESHOOTING

I have to say, muffins aren’t always the easiest to get right. As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have trouble. But below are some common issues that you might run into…

• Gluey Muffins: If you find that your muffins are gluey, use more almond flour. Almond flour helps lighten the texture.‍

• Crumbly Muffins: The opposite of a gluey muffin. If your muffin simply breaks apart, it may need more fat or moisture. This could occur if your nut butter is thick and not super runny. Try to use a runny nut butter (not the end of the jar). Or add some extra moisture, like a flax egg or a bit of non-dairy milk.

• ‍Burnt Muffins: Hopefully you are able to keep an eye on your muffins as they cook, but sometimes muffins burn even when we are watching. My first tip is to cover the pan with foil so the tops don’t continue to burn. You can also remove burnt parts as soon as you see them and place the muffins back in the oven so the entire muffin can get crispy again. If your oven tends to run hot, decrease the temperature and bake for the same amount of time.

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Why are my muffins blue?

Just like with blueberry muffins, blackberry muffins might turn slightly blue. Since blackberries are so pigmented, any escaped juice will "stain" the batter.

I don't mind this, because I love getting pieces of blackberry in every bite. But if you want a non-blue muffin, be extra careful to avoid breaking any blackberries when folding them in and scooping.

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WHY COOK WITHOUT OIL?

Oil is a processed food. To make olive oil, you take whole olives and press and press and press them until nothing is left except oil.

It takes a lot of processing to turn an olive into oil. And when you process the olives, you take out almost all of their nutrient content - like fiber - and the result is a high-fat, low-nutrient substance.

Plus, oil (even olive oil) has been shown to have the same detrimental affects to our arteries as fast foods. Read this article for more information.

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STORAGE‍

• ‍Avoid Moldy Muffins. Muffins made entirely from plants will get moldy faster than the average muffin. If you plan to keep your muffins around for more than 5 days, store these guys in the fridge.‍

• Freeze in an air-tight container. These muffins hold up well in the freezer. Simply defrost them in the microwave when ready to eat.

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Recipe Prayer

Thank you God for healthy desserts. Thank you for giving us endless ways to feed ourselves food we can feel good about eating. Amen.

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Make these Vegan Muffin Recipes Next

• Raspberry Muffins
• Coffee Pecan Muffins
• Fresh Fig Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins
• Carrot Cake Muffins
• Walnut Muffins

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Tried this recipe?

Please leave a review in the comments section below and post on Instagram tagging me @elizabeths_table. You can also stay in touch with me on social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok or by subscribing to my newsletter.

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