Search and Hit Enter

Gluten free vegan blueberry muffin (single serve)

As a single person with only a cat as a dependent, I don’t always want a whole tray of muffins on my kitchen bench. If I have a whole tray of muffins, I’ll eat muffins at every meal (with nary a vegetable in sight) until I no longer have muffins. Given that I bake professionally (and constantly) you can see my dilemma. Today’s recipe is the perfect middle ground: a single serve, gluten free vegan blueberry muffin.

An aerial macro image of a single serve gluten free vegan blueberry muffin on a white marble table

Gluten free vegan blueberry muffin (single serve)

This muffin is gluten free, nut free, egg free, dairy free, xanthan gum free and uses a single flour (not a blend). It’s easy to make and small enough to slip into the oven if you have something baking already. If you don’t fancy turning the oven on, I have another solution: the gluten free vegan blueberry mug cake in my mug cake e-book. In addition, if you’re feeding a crew, please see my gluten free vegan blueberry muffin recipe (that makes 6-7 muffins).

The muffin is a low FODMAP, quick and easy dessert or snack for one. It uses fine, fresh white rice flour, vegan yoghurt and milk, a small amount of oil and sugar plus baking soda to make a satisfying and gorgeous little muffin.

An aerial image of the ingredients needed to make a gluten free vegan blueberry muffin arranged in small white ceramic bowls on a white marble table.

Can I make this gluten free vegan blueberry muffin with dairy instead?

Yes, you can! If you don’t need this muffin to be vegan, you can use regular yoghurt and milk. I would recommend an unsweetened variety, as the muffin is perfectly sweet as is. Personally, I love Jalna lactose free Greek yoghurt. It’s thick and acidic, which works really well here.

A moody macro image of a gluten free vegan blueberry muffin on a black rustic table against a black background. The muffin has been torn in half, revealing the deeply blueberry coloured crumb inside.

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Yes, you can. In fact, I developed this recipe using frozen blueberries, because I assumed that people are more likely to have frozen berries on hand. I wanted this muffin to be a pantry friendly recipe, and frozen blueberries are easy to keep at home. If you don’t have frozen blueberries, I daresay frozen raspberries or perhaps even chopped frozen strawberries would work a treat.

An aerial macro image of blueberries grouped together

Can I use a different flour?

Most gluten free flours need to be combined with a different flour or starch to make an edible baked good. I find rice flour to be one of the only gluten free wholegrain flours that works well alone. I have had success with sorghum flour, but it can be bitter in large volumes.

As for gluten free flour blends: I don’t work with them so I can’t say. If you try it, let me know how you go!

An aerial image of a single serve gluten free vegan blueberry muffin atop a white marble table. The muffin is golden brown and has swirls of blueberry on top.

Tips for your single serve muffin

This muffin uses a small amount of baking soda for rise. In my experience, less leavening (baking powder or soda) actually makes for a taller muffin.

These muffins use baking soda (also called bi-carb soda) specifically. Because the muffin is vegan, it doesn’t have the sugars in milk and butter present. These sugars are fast browning, which means that traditional baked goods brown better than vegan ones. Baking soda encourages browning in the oven, so we use baking soda in vegan baked goods to help replicate the browning for a golden brown muffin.

However, because we’re using baking soda, we need acidic ingredients to start the chemical reaction. Baking soda (an alkali) reacts with acidic ingredients (like vinegar) to create bubbles in the batter responsible for rise. This reaction also neutralises that metallic baking soda flavour, so it is important to use sufficient acidic ingredients to start this reaction. Without them, you’ll have a stodgy and flat muffin that tastes that baking soda.

Acidic ingredients include brown sugar, yoghurt, chocolate and buttermilk. In this recipe, we’re using brown sugar and yoghurt along with a tiny bit of vinegar or lemon juice.

So, why the long spiel about baking chemistry for a single muffin? Because I want you to know why the recipe works and what you can cannot substitute. Simple as that.

More gluten free vegan dessert recipes

A side on moody macro image of a gluten free vegan blueberry muffin against a black backdrop. The muffin has been torn in half, revealing the blueberry laden muffin crumb inside

Gluten free vegan blueberry muffin (single serve)

Nut free, xanthan gum free, dairy free, egg free
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Food Intolerance Friendly
Servings 1 person

Ingredients
  

  • 40g fine, fresh white rice flour
  • 20g light brown sugar
  • 1.5g (1/4 teaspoon) baking soda
  • 25g plain yoghurt (vegan or regular)
  • 40ml milk of choice (plant based or regular)
  • 10ml (2 teaspoons) neutral flavoured oil (I used vegetable) or 25g regular or vegan butter, melted
  • 15-20g frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice

Optional extras

  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
  • pinch of fine salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/356F. Grease or line an 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin hole.
  • Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Whisk in the wet ingredients. The batter will thin out a little after 15-20 seconds of whisking. If it is still thick and chunky, add a little extra milk.
  • Add the blueberries and mix, then transfer into your greased muffin hole or muffin liner.
  • Bake the muffin for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Notes

  • Stale or gritty white rice flour will ruin your muffin. It has a musty, floral flavour that can’t be hidden, particularly in ‘vanilla’ baked goods. Make sure you choose a fresh and finely ground variety.
  • You can add as many blueberries as you like, but you might end up with a bit too much batter. 
  • If you divide the mixture between two muffin holes, check on it sooner (about the 10-15 minute mark) to ensure they’re not burning. 
Keyword gluten free dairy free dessert, single serve dessert, small batch gluten free baking, vegan gluten free dessert
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

No Comments

5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Recipe Rating