Nana's Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins is a recipe post by contributing author, Jane Scott (my mom). This is possibly the best gluten free muffin I've ever tasted. A bakery style blueberry muffin, made with lemon zest and juice for a lovely citrus flavor.
My mother, Dorothy, who was a creative baker and cook, baked blueberry-lemon muffins often using the standard Better Homes and Gardens’ recipe. She used lemon instead of orange zest.
As I wanted to have these muffins during blueberry season, I adjusted a blueberry muffin recipe from a gluten-free cookbook so it would be gluten free AND milk free with lemon juice and zest added. I picked the blueberries myself from a nearby Green Meadows Blueberry Farm near Monticello, Florida (a family owned "you- pick", organically grown blueberry farm).
Note: If you want to make this recipe dairy free, substitute vegan buttery spread instead of butter.
As a child, mom would take my brother Larry and I blueberry picking every May or June in an orchard near our town (Ozark, Alabama). Larry says we mostly chased each other around the orchard while Mom picked the berries at lightning speed. Nevertheless it was the best of times together as it produced tasty muffins, pie filling, and cobbler, the most memorable part."
I’ve submitted other blueberry recipes to Mom Loves Baking such as “Grandmother’s Quick Easy Blueberry Pie” (a gluten free and dairy free pastry with a blueberry filling) and “Grandmother’s Easy Peach Cobbler with Blueberries” (another dairy and gluten free recipe using Paleo flour).
The batter is easy to whip up in just a few minutes. The key to the success of these muffins is to use the correct gluten free flour recipe. I used a blend from Mom Loves Baking called My Favorite Gluten Free Flour Blend.
Hints for Making Perfect Muffins
1) Make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature.
2) Use fresh blueberries for the best results.
3) Stir together ingredients by hand and do not over mix to insure fluffy muffins.
4) Gently toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar before adding to prevent "blue" batter.
5) Add extra lemon zest for added flavor, if desired.
My 17 year old granddaughter, Savannah, made Nana's Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins at home and did a great job. Here she is, carefully putting them into the oven.
What is so special about these muffins is that they taste JUST LIKE they came from a bakery and they absolutely do NOT taste like they are gluten free or milk free. The perfect crumb, not too dense yet not too delicate. When you bake them, your house will smell heavenly.
For me, it's a recipe that's been handed down from my mother down to my granddaughter and a wonderful way to feel connected over our four generations. I hope you will enjoy Nana's Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins just as much as we do!
Tools for success
Bakery Style Cupcakes Liners (shown in photos above)
Note: The above items are affiliate links.
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Nana's Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups my favorite gluten free flour blend (see notes below) or use store bought such as Bob's Red Mill
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted use vegan butter if you can't have dairy
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup almond milk
- 1 large lemon zested and juiced
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 Tablespoon sugar stir into blueberries before adding to batter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 6-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside. (Note: I used "Tulip" cupcake liners which I found at my local grocery store, Kroger. They are also available online. It's important to use these liners if you want your muffins to rise up as shown in the photos in this post. Otherwise, if you use regular cupcake liners, they won't rise up as much but still taste delicious. You can get about 8-10 smaller muffins if you use standard sized cupcake liners.)
- Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. (For the gluten free flour, use my favorite gluten free flour blend recipe - see notes below - or you could also use store bought such as Bob's Red Mill.) Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the milk and lemon juice. Add the beaten eggs and stir to combine. Pour into flour mixture. Add melted butter and mix until combined. Fold in the blueberries, sugar, and lemon zest. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Makes 6 over-sized muffins or 8-10 standard sized muffins.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
All text and images © Lise Ode for Mom Loves Baking. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate. This post may contain affiliate links.
Sonia says
These are the most delicious moist blueberry muffins I have ever made . This recipe is a keeper .
Lise Ode says
I know, right?! So happy that you love this recipe as much as we do!
Nicole says
Can I use monkfruit instead of regular sugar? Don't like to add added sugar if possible. Thanks!
Emily Smith says
No
Naomi says
I love these muffins. They are a hit in my family. Do you think it would work as a loaf?
Lise Ode says
I'm so glad you love them. I'm not sure if it would work as a loaf but don't see why not.
Naomi B. says
These came out great. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure flour and I added a little extra lemon juice. Delicious muffins, great texture.
Lise Ode says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Erin says
Can I use buttermilk in place of the almond milk?
Thanks!
Lise Ode says
We haven't tested it with buttermilk, but I don't see why not.
Zoë says
Frozen blueberries in sugar. 1 cup gf flour & 1/2 cup almond flour. Spray oil muffin pans. Made 6 squat jumbo & 6 regular muffins. Best ever! Just like a fancy shop! Confused on the “add dry” & then at the end “add sugar” with the blueberries & makes 6 is not correct. Otherwise, just amazing!!
Karen Carpenter says
Beautiful GF lemony muffins, thank you! Note: your recipe title says 6 muffins, the end of the recipe itself says a dozen. (Mine made 6 oversized ones.)
Lise Ode says
Hi Karen, Would you believe that I made these muffins TODAY as well?! Isn't that funny. I'm glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for letting me know about the muffin count. I adjusted the recipe at the end. Happy Gluten Free Baking! 🙂
Rosalie says
I make these for my daughter and grandson she is GF. He is T1D. I use sugar substitute they love them 💕
Lise Ode says
Yay, that's wonderful. Enjoy!!
Kinnidi says
Hiii these are good, but will frozen blueberries be okay?
Lise Ode says
Yes, you can use frozen berries.
Dana says
My daughter has Celiac's and we were doing a bake sale. Often there arent any options that are safe for them and these were a great new edition! Not only were they Gluten and Lactose free they taste great! Would make these instead of "regular" blueberry ones to be honest!
Lise Ode says
Hi Dana, I'm do glad you like this recipe. And I agree with you, these are just as good as "regular" blueberry muffins, if not better!
June says
These are SO GOOD! I never leave comments but boy oh boy is it ever hard to find a good gf muffin recipe. I made the flour mix you linked to (bonus: 1/4 of the flour recipe is exactly the right amount for these muffins!). I also replaced the butter with 4 1/2 tbs avocado oil, and the sugar with swerve. They look like real blueberry muffins and they taste great. Thanks!!
Sepideh says
So yummy thank you