It’s muffin day! Vegan blueberry muffin day, to be exact. With a crunchy crumb topping. How incredible does that sound?
If you take a look at the calendar, July 11th is apparently the official National Blueberry Muffin Day. National Muffin Day (celebrating any kind you choose) is February 20th. And Vegan Baking Day is October 1st.
Maybe you’re visiting this page on one of those dates. If that’s the case, you’re in luck because this recipe is the perfect way to acknowledge the deliciousness of homemade baked goods. But it’s really a wonderful recipe to pull out on any date you choose, at any time of year.
If you’re not in the mood for banana bread or crumbly scones or buttery biscuits, you’re in for a real treat.
I’m pretty sure that blueberry muffins have to be America’s favorite kind. I have no evidence to back that up, but my gut feeling is telling me I’m right. That’s all that matters, right? Who needs statistics when you have gut feelings?
Whenever I’m in the mood for muffins, this is the type that immediately comes to mind. They’re so classic and never disappoint… Unless they do.
As you guys know, I like to do most of my baking without any animal products. I love the challenge, and creating vegan versions makes me feel a little less guilty about indulging in sweet treats.
However, I’ve tried a lot of recipes that just didn’t turn out well, or that made me feel like there was something missing. A lot of regular blueberry muffin recipes on the internet add sour cream for richness, and most vegan recipes just kind of skip that part, and leave that richness out.
So, I set out to make my own. I don’t like to use any fake or chemical-laden vegan products, so I tried to figure out what I could use to replace that rich sour cream flavor without resorting to using weird products.
The answer? Cashew cream!
I’ve been loving cashew cream in everything lately. I even use it to make pesto! And it really is amazing.
This simple homemade ingredient took the recipe that I had been working on from mediocre to just fantastic.
For this recipe, I recommend using smaller blueberries if you can find them. I used frozen organic wild blueberries from Trader Joe’s.
Most organic berries will be smaller, so if you don’t already buy organic then there’s a good reason right there. Larger berries can make the finished product more crumbly, so definitely try to find smaller ones.
This recipe makes 18 tender, sweet, and delicious vegan blueberry muffins. I know this sounds like a lot, but I promise you they will be gone in no time. I think this batch I made was gone in… 4 days. Four days split between two people! They just really don’t stick around for long.
But the good news is, you can always make another batch…
Print
Vegan Blueberry Muffins with Crunchy Crumb Topping
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 18 muffins 1x
Description
These vegan blueberry muffins have a crunchy crumb topping, and cashew cream makes them rich and buttery with no eggs or dairy.
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 3/4 cup + 6 Tbsp water, divided
- 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
- Cooking oil spray
- 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup vegan granulated sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup vegan granulated sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp cold vegan margarine, cubed
Instructions
- Heat 3/4 cup water on the stove, or in a medium-sized heat-safe bowl in the microwave for about 90 seconds, until just boiling. Add the cashews and let sit for about 30 minutes. If you are using frozen berries, measure them out into a colander and place in the sink to drain and defrost.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a muffin tin with spray oil.
- Combine the flax seed and remaining 6 tablespoons water in a small bowl to make a flax egg, and set aside. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.
- Place the cashews and their soaking water into a blender and blend in 30-second intervals until creamy. Feel it between your fingers to make sure the mixture is not too grainy and continue blending if necessary. A high-speed blender is preferred for this step, to make a smooth cashew cream.
- Whisk the cashew cream, flax egg, canola oil, applesauce, and vanilla together in a medium bowl, then pour over the dry ingredients. Gently whisk together until just combined. If using defrosted frozen berries, rinse under cool water until the water runs mostly clear. Drain, then add the berries to the batter and gently fold in with a large spoon. Divide the batter into 18 muffin cups so each is about 2/3 of the way full. Set aside while you prep the topping.
- Combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon for the topping in a large bowl. Add the cubed margarine and cut in using a pastry blender or two knives until crumbly. Generously sprinkle the topping over the batter.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. A fork can be helpful for removal.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Keywords: vegan muffin, blueberry muffin, blueberry
Whether you decide to freeze half of this big batch in airtight zip-top bags to defrost in the toaster oven and enjoy later, or bring a big basketful to a party or family gathering to share with the whole gang, you will love the moist crumb, juicy fruit, crumbly topping, and the overall indulgence that is these muffins.
Give this recipe a try, and when you do, please give it a rating below and let us know how you enjoyed it. We love hearing from you!
And for more vegan muffin recipes, take a look at these beauties:
Photos by Raquel Smith, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on February 23, 2016. Last updated: December 30, 2019 at 19:06 pm. With additional writing and editing by Allison Sidhu.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Raquel Smith
Raquel is a whole foods enthusiast, an avid mountain biker, and a dog lover. She works by day at Food Blogger Pro and formerly maintained her food blog "My California Roots" (now merged into Foodal).
Was looking forward to your next recipe! This one certainly doesn’t disappoint. It looks beautifully moist and perfect- although I’m not vegan, I do have some “vegan-ish” friends who I try to accommodate when I’m cooking/baking for dinner parties 🙂 Will file this one away for such an occasion..