Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Muffins
These Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Muffins combine almond flour, oat flour, blended cottage cheese, fresh lemon juice, and blueberries for a fluffy, naturally sweetened treat. Topped with coconut and white chocolate chips, they’re perfect for breakfast, brunch, or special occasions like Easter and baby showers.
These Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Muffins are everything you want in a muffin: light, fluffy, and bursting with fresh flavors. Made with almond flour, oat flour, blended cottage cheese, fresh lemon juice, and blueberries, this recipe uses simple ingredients to create a delicious treat. Topped with coconut and white chocolate chips, these muffins offer a refreshing twist on a classic.
What sets this recipe apart is how the natural sweetness of honey and the rich texture of cottage cheese keep the muffins moist while reducing the need for refined sugars. Whether you’re prepping breakfast for a busy morning or serving them for a special occasion like Easter, baby showers, or brunch, these muffins are a guaranteed hit. With my time-saving techniques and focus on wholesome ingredients, this recipe brings bakery-style results to your home kitchen effortlessly.
Why You’ll Love This Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Muffin Recipe
- Fluffy and Moist Texture: These muffins bake up light and fluffy, with the perfect balance of lemon and blueberry flavors.
- Wholesome Ingredients: Made with almond flour, oat flour, and naturally sweetened with honey for a recipe that’s simple and satisfying.
- Perfect for Any Occasion: Great for breakfast, brunch, or special events like Easter, baby showers, or bridal showers.
- Easy to Make: With minimal ingredients and straightforward steps, these muffins come together effortlessly for a bakery-style treat at home.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here is all you need to make the best gluten-free lemon blueberry muffins recipe:
Honey: Substitute with maple syrup, agave nectar, or brown rice syrup.
Cottage Cheese: You can swap with greek yogurt, sour cream, or ricotta cheese.
Unsweetened Applesauce: You can replace with smashed bananas in the same amount.
Fresh Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries.
Eggs: Try using flax eggs (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water per egg) or chia eggs.*
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice or orange juice can be used instead.
Oil (Light Olive): Swap with melted coconut oil, vegetable oil, or melted butter (if not dairy-free).
Lemon Zest: Orange zest can also be used for a delicious citrus flavor.
Vanilla Extract: You can use pure vanilla extract or imitation.
Almond Extract: You can omit or replace with hazelnut extract.
Oat Flour: Replace with brown rice flour or almond flour.
Almond Flour: You can replace it with an equal amount of oat flour. However, the texture will be more dense.
Tapioca Flour: Arrowroot flour or potato starch can be substituted.
*I have not tested this substitution
How to Make My Blueberry Lemon Muffin with Almond Flour Recipe
Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
Zest and juice one lemon.
Add one teaspoon of tapioca flour to a bowl and shake the fresh or frozen blueberries to coat them lightly. The flour coating will provide some friction to the blueberries so they don’t sink to the bottom of the muffins during baking.
Step 2: Make the Muffin Batter
In an upright blender, food processor, or large mixing bowl with an immersion or stick blender, add the wet ingredients, including honey, applesauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Blend until the bananas and cottage cheese are smooth. Add the eggs and mix until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, including oat flour, tapioca flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a whisk until blended. Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 minutes. The batter will become fluffier as it rests.
Gently fold the blueberries, shredded coconut, and white chocolate chips in with a spatula.
Step 3: Bake the Muffins
Fill the muffin cups nearly full with batter. Allow the batter to mound higher in the middle. Sprinkle additional blueberries, white chocolate chips, and coconut as a garnish on top of each muffin.
To get a higher dome on the muffins, bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Leave the muffin tin in the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F, and bake for an additional 12-14 minutes or until the muffin tops are lightly brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with lemon zest.
Lemon Blueberry Muffin Gluten-Free Recipe Notes
Cottage Cheese Texture: Be sure to blend the cottage cheese to remove the curdled texture. Otherwise the white curds will be visible in the muffins.
Batter Consistency: Allowing the batter to rest after you mix in the dry ingredients will give the baking powder to activate and make the dough lighter and fluffier.
Heat Boost: Baking the muffins at the higher temperature for the first five minutes will help create the bakery-style high dome on top of the muffins.
Delicious Serving Suggestions
- For Breakfast: Serve warm with a side of Greek yogurt and fresh berries.
- At Brunch: Pair with a light salad or quiche for a complete brunch spread.
- With Coffee or Tea: Perfect for an afternoon snack with your favorite hot drink.
- Holiday Gatherings: Dress them up with extra lemon zest and serve at Easter or other celebrations.
- Dessert: Add a drizzle of honey or a light glaze for a sweet dessert twist.
- On the Go: Pack them up for a quick and wholesome breakfast or snack during a busy day.
- Kid-Friendly: Let kids add their favorite toppings, like extra white chocolate chips or fresh blueberries.
Do you love muffins? Check out more of my easy and nutritious muffin recipes:
Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons oil (light olive is my fave)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
DRY INGREDIENTS:
- 1-3/4 cups oat flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
MIX-INS
- 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
- Zest and juice one lemon.
- Add one teaspoon of tapioca flour to a bowl and shake the fresh or frozen blueberries to coat them lightly. The flour coating will provide some friction to the blueberries so they don't sink to the bottom of the muffins during baking.
- In an upright blender, food processor, or large mixing bowl with an immersion or stick blender, add the wet ingredients, including honey, applesauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Blend until the bananas and cottage cheese are smooth. Add the eggs and mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, including oat flour, tapioca flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a whisk until blended. Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 minutes. The batter will become fluffier as it rests. Gently fold the blueberries, shredded coconut, and white chocolate chips in with a spatula.
- Fill the muffin cups nearly full with batter. Allow the batter to mound higher in the middle. Sprinkle additional blueberries, white chocolate chips, and coconut as a garnish on top of each muffin.
- To get a higher dome on the muffins, bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Leave the muffin tin in the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F, and bake for an additional 12-14 minutes or until the muffin tops are lightly brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with lemon zest.
I cant wait to try these! Can I substitute the oat, almond and tapioca flour with a pre mixed GF flour blend? If so would I use 3 cups? Thanks so much for your awesome and tasty recipes!!!!
Hi Gale,
I’m excited for you to try these! I haven’t tested them yet with a GF blend flour. I recommend starting with 2 cups of GF flour. Then add more if needed once you’ve added all the ingredients to get the same batter consistency as mine in the video. GF flour is much more absorbent than almond flour so it’s not an even swap. If your GF flour has xanthan gum in it, then you may want to reduce the baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons and the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon. This should still give you a nice rise without overpowering the structure from the xanthan gum. You could also make a half batch of this recipe to test it. Let me know how it goes! 😊
Why does it say to add the bananas to the blender and yet this recipe doesn’t call for bananas
Hi Tania, thank you so much for catching that! A previous version of this recipe included bananas. It’s fixed now! I hope you enjoy this recipe 🙂
All gone in 5 minutes 🙂
Haha…that happens in my house, too 🙂