Via My California Roots: Vegan Blueberry Muffins
It’s muffin day!!! Vegan blueberry muffin day, to be exact. With a crunchy crumb topping. #winning
I’m actually halfway joking because today is actually national banana bread day. But I already have a banana bread recipe on my site and I’ve been working on these muffins to share, so that’s what you get!
I’m pretty sure that blueberry muffins have to be America’s favorite muffin. 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?
But let’s be real – whenever I think of making muffins, the first thing that pops into my head is blueberry muffins. They’re so classic and never disappoint…. Unless they do. As you guys know, I like to do most of my baking vegan. I love the challenge, and it makes my sweet treats feel a little less guilty.
However, I’ve tried a lot of vegan blueberry muffins recipes that just didn’t turn out so well. It always felt like there was something missing. A lot of regular blueberry muffin recipes on the internet use sour cream for richness, and most vegan recipes just kind of left that richness out.
So, I set out to make my own. I don’t like to use any fake or chemically 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 for everything lately. I even have a pesto that uses it coming soon! It really is amazing. It took this blueberry muffin 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 the 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 muffins more crumbly, so definitely try to find smaller ones.
This recipe makes 18 tender, sweet, 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! They just really don’t stick around long.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 18 muffins | 35 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 25 minutes |
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These vegan blueberry muffins with a crunchy crumb topping use cashew cream to make them rich & buttery with no dairy, eggs, or weird products.
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- 3/4 cup Water
- 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 cup Canola oil
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
- 6 Tbsp Water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup Flour
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp cold vegan butter cubed
- Heat the water in a medium bowl in the microwave until just boiling, about 1.5 minutes (or heat on the stove). 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 350ºF and grease a muffin tin with spray oil.
- Combine the flax seed and water in a small bowl 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 it’s not too grainy and continue blending if necessary.
- Whisk the cashew cream, canola oil, applesauce, flax seed mixture, 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 – it should come come about 2/3 the way up the cup. Set aside while you prep the topping.
- Combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon for the topping in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and cut in using a pastry blender until crumbly (see photo below). It might seem impossible, but just keep cutting and it’ll get there in a couple minutes. Generously sprinkle the topping over the unbaked muffins.
- Bake the muffins for about 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, then remove either by using a fork or by inverting the pan (inversion is more efficient but more messy). Enjoy!