Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

Our bakery-style gluten-free blueberry muffins recipe is light, fluffy, and packed with fresh blueberry flavor. They’re perfect for a special breakfast or gluten-free brunch!

I’m feeling ALL the spring feels over here at Sweets & Thank You! We’ve been elbow deep in testing all sorts of delicious spring recipes over the last few weeks, from fresh mocktails to fluffy lemon bundt cake, and so much more.

Today, though, we’re tackling a spring brunch classic: blueberry muffins! Our bakery-style gluten-free blueberry muffins are tall, ultra fluffy, and popping with fresh blueberries in every bite. They’re a great recipe for Easter, Mother’s Day, weekend breakfasts, or even to freeze in advance for an easy grab-and-go option throughout the week.

Not only will I break down our gluten-free blueberry muffin recipe, but I’ve also got TONS of tips for bakery-style muffins at home. Let’s jump in!

Here’s what you need to make this easy recipe…

Gather Your Ingredients

Other than the impressive appearance and delicious flavor, one thing you’ll love about this gluten-free muffin recipe is the simple ingredients list. Let’s take a look:

• Gluten-Free Flour. We’re keeping things simple by using a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend. We highly recommend King Arthur Measure For Measure Flour for the best texture and taste. If you use another blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum or these gluten-free muffins won’t turn out properly. Do not use coconut flour, almond flour, or oat flour in this recipe. 
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda. We use plenty of leaveners in this recipe so they get that super tall rise and light fluffy texture. Be sure your baking powder & baking soda are fresh with this quick test!
• Kosher Salt. To balance those flavors. If you use table salt, you may prefer to use a little less.
• Oil. I love the flavor butter adds, but for SUPER fluffy muffins, I actually recommend oil here! Use a neutral oil, like canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil for best results. Olive oil and melted coconut oil aren’t great for this recipe. 
• Sugar. Granulated sugar (white sugar) provides sweetness and helps the muffins brown beautifully.
• Eggs. Room temperature eggs blend in the best. Get your eggs to room temperature fast with this trick!
• Sour Cream. The tang and acidity in the sour cream helps create a great balance of flavors, as well as producing a reaction with the leaveners to give the muffins a light, fluffy texture and tender crumb.
• A Little Milk. We usually use whole milk, since the higher the fat percentage, the more moist the muffins, but use what you have. Almond milk, oat milk, etc, should work.
• Vanilla. Plenty of vanilla extract gives this blueberry muffin recipe such great flavor!
• Fresh Blueberries. I use fresh blueberries because they have the best flavor & hold their shape the best. If you prefer to use frozen berries, check out the FAQ below for tips!
• Coarse Sugar. To make them pretty. Trust me!

How To Make Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combing gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk to combine well and set aside.
2. Combine Sugar & Oil. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil. Stir to combine.
3. Add Eggs, Sour Cream & Vanilla. Then, add the eggs one at a time, beating to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next one. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract.
4. Mix In The Milk. Mix in the milk, and stir until well combined.
5. Add Dry Ingredients To Wet Ingredients. Gently mix the dry ingredients in until just a few dry, floury patches remain.
6. Mix In The Fresh Blueberries. Add 3/4 cup blueberries and fold them in until the batter is smooth (no more dry patches!), and the blueberries are well distributed.
7. Let The Batter Rest. This step is important! Let the batter rest for at least 1 hour (up to 2 hours at room temperature or even overnight in the fridge) before scooping. The batter will aerate and get fluffier and thicker. Try not to disturb it, so that it keeps all that lovely air and rise.
8. Preheat The Oven & Prep The Pan. While the muffin batter is resting, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with parchment paper liners.
9. Scoop The Muffins & Top With Sugar. The batter will be a bit fluffy and thick. Try not to disturb it as you use a large scoop (a large cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop) to scoop muffin batter into the prepared muffin cups. The batter should fill the muffin cups completely and generously. If desired, you can add a few extra blueberries to the tops of the muffins. Then, sprinkle each muffin with about coarse sugar. (Be generous here–it’ll look gorgeous!)
10. Bake The Muffins. Pop the pan in the oven and bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees. After 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake another 10-12 minutes, or until the muffins are light golden and baked through. (A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter). You do NOT need to wait for the oven temperature to reach 350 degrees, just adjust the temperature and keep baking.
11. Cool The Muffins 2-3 minutes in the muffin pan before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
12. Serve & Store. Enjoy right away or store leftover muffins in an airtight bag or container at room temperature 2 days (a few seconds in the microwave revives them beautifully!) or freeze up to 2 months.

4 Tricks For Tall Bakery-Style Muffins

One of the big secrets to bakery-style muffins is their light, fluffy texture and sky-high rise. So, what’s the best way to get these muffins to rise really high? Let talk about it.

1. Let The Batter Rest

Allowing the batter to rest for at least 1 hour helps hydrate the flour, develop the flavor, and give the leavening agents more time to react with the batter. This will give these sweet muffins a much taller rise! I recommend 1 hour at room temperature. You can let the batter rest up to 2 hours at room temperature, or in the refrigerator overnight. If you chill the batter, bring it back up to room temperature before baking for best results.

2. Adjust The Temperature

Next, starting the muffins at a higher temperature helps encourage them to rise higher more quickly. Then, we reduce the temperature for the rest of the bake to help the muffins finish cooking through more evenly.

3. Choose The BEST Muffin Pan & Muffin Liners

A light metal baking pan will help your muffins bake more evenly, Dark pans can scorch the outside before the insides are done through, while a silicone pan won’t give you the same golden exterior. Then, I LOVE these parchment liners because they’re as nonstick as it gets!

4. Make Them Pretty

Lastly, to get that gorgeous bakery-style muffin look, sprinkle the top of the muffins with coarse sugar, like turbinado sugar or demerara sugar. (Learn about different types of sugar here). You can also dust them with a touch of powdered sugar right before serving if you like!

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

Can I Make Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins With Frozen Blueberries? Yes, though they’ll soften and bleed their color into the muffin batter. They won’t look as pretty, but they’ll still taste great! Pop them in the batter frozen (don’t thaw before using). You can also experiment with VERY gently folding them into the batter AFTER letting it rest, though you may lose some height.

A Trick For Preventing Blueberries From Sinking. A lot of recipes will tell you to coat the blueberries with flour before adding them to the muffin batter. I find this *sometimes* works, but it can easily lead to gummy muffins. One trick that works better for me is adding a tiny bit of the plain batter (about 1 Tablespoon) to each muffin cup before scooping the rest of the batter in. That way, there’s a little safety net of plain batter at the bottom of the muffin. (See this visually here.)

Use Great Liners! One more shoutout to THE BEST nonstick muffin liners ever. I exclusively use these parchment paper muffin liners since they’re SO nonstick. No more losing the bottom half of your muffin (or cupcake!) to the liner!