Gluten-Free Blackberry Muffins

Right now, I’d like to talk about my gluten-free blackberry muffin recipe.

Blackberry season is coming up, after all, and it won’t be too long before we have more fresh juicy blackberries than we know what to do with!

These fluffy muffins are possibly the best use of those sweet blackberries. No joke!

Due to the specific flours - and other ingredients - used, these actually taste *better* than regular muffins, and have a fantastic texture.

Soft, tender muffins, with none of the texture or temperature issues you see with things like almond flour blackberry muffins... or gluten free baked goods in general.

They’re also nut free!

All around, the perfect weekday morning breakfast for the whole family.

Let’s get to it...

Ingredients

This easy gluten free muffin recipe uses some fairly wholesome ingredients, most of which should be easy to find in any larger grocery store. A few notes for you:

Flour Mixture

As with all of my gluten-free baking, I use a gluten-free flour blend measured from individual flours, which I design for each recipe, specifically.

I’m not a fan of premade gluten free “all purpose flour” mixes - they tend to use the cheapest flours and starches possible, and don’t mimic the use of wheat flour at all.

All that rice flour and starch tends to lead to undesirable textures, and it doesn’t really taste like much.

The gluten free flours I use for making gluten-free muffins taste much better than regular flour, and produce a nice, soft muffin without much fuss, wait time, etc.

It also ends up to be FAR cheaper than using the pre-mixes.

I use:

Light Buckwheat Flour
Sorghum Flour
Coconut Flour
Xanthan Gum

If you like baking muffins and quick breads, know that this is my go-to blend for these kinds of recipes, so you can definitely get some use out of them! They’re great to have on hand.

Blackberries

I let seasonality and availability dictate what form of blackberries I use in this recipe.

When blackberries are in season, I use fresh blackberries The rest of the year, I use frozen blackberries.

When using frozen berries, I just measure them in as-is, without thawing. If you thaw first, they can mash / “bleed”, which is fine - when you’re not photographing them for a blog 🙂

REALLY large blackberries should be cut in half before using, which is definitely easier with fresh berries.

That said, I don’t tend to see the really giant berries in the frozen packages.

Milk

You can use whatever form of milk you like for this recipe.

For dairy milk, whole milk or 2% milk are both fine.

For dairy-free milk, almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, cashew milk, and flax milk are all great options that we’ve used.

As pictured, I use unsweetened almond milk for this batch.

Lemon Zest

I use fresh lemon zest - from 1 whole lemon - to bring a bit of a pop to the muffins - it goes SO well with the blackberries!

You could also use orange zest, if you prefer.

You CAN skip it if you like. You’ll still end up with tasty muffins, they’ll just have a slightly less “bright” flavour.

Vegetable Oil

While I usually use melted unsalted butter in a lot of my regular baking, I like to use oil for baking gluten-free quick breads and muffins.
I find it retains a nicer texture, even straight from the fridge - butter tends to lead to a more dry texture at cooler temperatures.

I use just basic vegetable oil, but you can use any neutral flavoured oil - canola oil and avocado oil are great options.

Olive oil has a bit too robust of a flavour for this recipe, IMHO, and melted coconut oil tends to run into the same temperature issue as using butter, so I generally avoid it for this.

Vanilla Yogurt

I use a bit of vanilla yogurt to bring - and retain - a bit of extra moisture to the recipe, as well as contribute a subtle bit of tang.

I don’t recommend skipping it, but you can use plain yogurt or sour cream, if you prefer.

Coarse Sugar

I like to sprinkle the top of the muffins with coarse white sugar - specificially Pearl Sugar.

It’s what I use to give a nice crunchy, crystallized topping to sweet baked goods.

Sometimes I'll sprinkle some over an unbaked Gluten Free Pie Crust, after brushing on the egg wash.

It’s optional, but I love the texture it gives the muffin tops.

Alternately, you could use a bit of raw sugar / turbinado sugar, if that’s what you have on hand.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Granulated Sugar
Pure Vanilla Extract
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Large Eggs
Salt

.... I just don’t really have anything to say about these last few ingredients!

How to Make Gluten-Free Blackberry Muffins

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a regular muffin tin with muffin liners, or spray with baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together milk, yogurt, vegetable oil, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Divide the muffin batter among the prepared muffin pan cavities, filling each to almost full - I like to use a cookie scoop.

Note: For best results, be sure to not over bake them! Remove them from the oven as soon as you’re able to get a clean test!

Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

Leftovers

Uneaten muffins can be left on the cooling rack until they’re cooled to room temperature.

Place muffins in a freezer bag or other airtight container for storage. They’ll last in the fridge for up to 5 days or so.

Best served reheated, but they’re also great straight from the fridge!

More Gluten-Free Breakfast & Brunch Recipes

Looking for more breakfast food recipes for the whole family? Here are some easy recipes to try:

Gluten-Free Apple Pancakes with Caramel Apple Topping
Gluten Free Bagels
Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Gluten Free Banana Nutella Ebelskivers
Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Bread
Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
Breakfast Meatloaf
Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Bread
Gluten Free Cranberry Walnut Muffins
Gluten-Free Crepes
Gluten Free French Onion Soup Tart
Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake
Gluten-Free Lemon Mascarpone Ebelskivers
Gluten Free Mushroom Soup & Eggs on Toast
Gluten-Free Paska [Easter Bread]
Gluten Free Pop-Tarts
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
Gluten Free Sourdough Waffles
Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread

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