These classic blueberry muffins have a hearty and moist texture thanks to cassava flour and are bursting with flavor and juicy blueberries! They’re grain free, nut free, dairy free and paleo, family approved, and great for breakfasts and snacks!
This is the first of four nut free paleo baking recipes that I’ll be sharing over the next couple of weeks – and three of those recipes feature cassava flour – a grain free and nut free flour made from cassava root.
I’ve used cassava flour before in this banana bread, these truffles, and in the breading for my crispy chicken tenders, but hadn’t experimented with it as much as I would’ve liked to.
But, I’ve gotten tons of requests over the past several months for more cassava flour recipes from readers needing to avoid almond flour who’ve heard great things about cassava. So, I was inspired – and in my few weeks of experimenting, I’ve definitely learned a lot!
The truth (from my experience) is that cassava flour can be great, but it’s also pretty tricky.
When I first learned about it years ago, I was under the impression that it could be a 1:1 replacement for wheat flour. I quickly learned that a.) it’s not and b.) it has mysteries and quirks that are all its own.
First, cassava flour does resemble wheat flour in appearance, weight, and flavor. However, the texture it lends after baking is very different.
Breads and muffins can feel dense and chewy (which is why cassava is great whenever you want “chew”) and cookies can fall apart, melt, or be rock solid with seemingly small differences in measurements and method.
Cassava flour is probably not for everyone or all recipes – that’s for sure. BUT (and a big BUT here) it CAN be a rewarding nut free + grain free alternative to baking with coconut flour all the time – which is what you’ll probably find yourself doing if you need to avoid nuts.
As opposed to the gritty, extremely dense, and, well, coconutty-ness of coconut flour, cassava flour is smooth and extremely mild in flavor. Flavor wise, it really DOES seem to resemble good ‘ol wheat flour!
And of course, for those who need to avoid coconut AND nuts, this flour can truly be a baking miracle! These blueberry muffins for example, knocked my socks off, for real.
The texture is hearty yet moist, with just enough “chew” without being gummy. They’re sort of crusty on the outside (in a good way – think muffin top) and soft on the inside.
I used applesauce, coconut milk and lemon juice to lighten up the texture and flavor while keeping them moist. The juicy blueberries tie it all together, making these muffins pretty much as perfect as grain free + nut free baking can be!
Also, I did not use another flour in combination with cassava here – it stands alone and does a great job. I do often combine flours to get great texture in my paleo muffins and breads, but I wanted to keep this one simple and stick to cassava.
Luckily – it worked out and these blueberry muffins are not only delicious, but quick and easy to make as well!
I hope you’re ready to get started and I know you enjoy! Now, let’s get out ovens preheated and get started!
Classic Blueberry Muffins with Cassava Flour {Paleo, Nut Free}
Classic Blueberry Muffins with Cassava Flour {Paleo, Nut Free}
These classic blueberry muffins have a hearty and moist texture thanks to cassava flour and are bursting with flavor and juicy blueberries! They're grain free, nut free, dairy free and paleo, family approved, and great for breakfasts and snacks!
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1/2 cup organic coconut milk full fat, blended
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup organic coconut sugar or maple sugar
- 1 1/2 cups cassava flour
- 1 tsp baking powder *Or make your own, see below
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with parchment liners.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, maple syrup and maple or coconut sugar until smooth.
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In a separate bowl, combine the cassava flour, baking powder*, baking soda and salt, then gently stir the dry mixture into the wet until just combined. Fold in the blueberries, then fill parchment liners nearly to the top to make 12 muffins.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins or until muffins rise and toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*To make paleo-friendly (corn free) baking powder, mix 1 tsp baking soda with 2 tsp cream of tartar. For this recipe, you will need just 1 tsp total of this mixture.
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Classic Blueberry Muffins with Cassava Flour:
Want More Nut Free Paleo Baking Recipes? Try One of These!
Blueberry Lemon Muffins with Coconut Flour
Banana Blueberry Breakfast Bread
Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
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These look scrumptious! Love all your muffin and bread recipes! My 3 year old has some sort of muffin for breakfast every day. I have a request: can you included photos of the batter in your posts? When baking paleo I often question the consistency of the batter and would love to see what it’s “supposed” to look like!
Hi Michele
First of all i love your work. You have made the Paleo lifestyle so much more interesting.
I live in Australia and we really are lagging behind the US for availabilty of ingredients. Which can get very frustrating whrn trying your recipes.
I have spoken to a few local suppliers about Cassava flour and they can’t get hold of it. A few even said it’s actually just Tapioca flour. Now from what I read on the net this isn’t the case. Can you please confirm if the two of them are different? Or are they actually one of the same?
I will hold my breath in hope that thwy are but I think that’s not the case.
In the mean time I will keep up my search for Cassava floor here in Oz.
Thanks again for your amazing recipes.
Adrian
You can try ordering directly from Otto’s Cassava Flour or try Amazon.
Adrian,
If you live in Sydney there is an African food shop in Seven Hills (http://www.dfhunny.com) that has Cassava flour. Or see if there is a African food shop in your local area. I also think there is an online store based in Melbourne that would (don’t know if they still do) the Otto’s Cassava flour.
And you are right, it’s not the same as tapioca flour. Good luck with your search.
Terri.
Another Aussie
These muffins look so good! A great idea for breakfast on the weekends 🙂
These look delicious! I know you wrote this for those not able to have almond flour but could you do an equal substitution with almond flour? What the result be the same? Thanks for yet again another yummy recipe!
I believe you’d need more almond flour – probably 2 cups? Not totally sure!
Have you tried this with any other milk? Cashew milk? Almond milk?
Nope I haven’t, I don’t see that it would change it a ton, but not sure!
Thanks Michele. Just made this. Yum. I used cashew milk.
Yay! Finally a recipe with cassava flour!
I have a couple of other too already posted, and two coming as well 🙂
Terrible terrible terrible. Most breads, cookies and brownies I’ve made taste like your eating gravel. Everything falls apart and isn’t worth eating. I made your blueberry muffins above. Forget it. Makes me want to forget being on a paleo diet. The muffins rose in the oven and fell when I took them out. I stuck a toothpick in three muffins. Toothpick came out clean. Let them sit and cool. They fell more. I couldn’t pull the paper off very easily and when I got it off, the muffin looked liked they weren’t fully cooked. I left them in 20 min. And used a toothpick. Trash is all I ever get when I try to bake with any of the paleo flours. This is depressing. I love to bake and I’m not able to on paleo. I try very hard but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
I just made these. I had such high hopes and bought the cassava flour just for these. They were not good at all. They were fully cooked but completely soggy from the blueberries – almost like they were under cooked but they were not. Strange texture too. Threw them all away. First recipe from this website that wasn’t good. Bummer and a lot of money in the trash.
Apologies it didn’t work out for you! Cassava flour is not for everyone, not sure why they were so soggy though.
I would recommend weighing cassava flour for your recipes. It’s density varies drastically among different brands. Using the scale It, it isn’t uncommon for me to only use 1/2 cup of my local market cassava flour in a recipe that calls for a cup of Ottos. It is one of the only ingredients that I would say should always be measured by weight.
Thanks for your suggestion.
HI there,
Is there anything i could sub for the applesauce? I’m allergic to apples!
And thank you SO much for all the cassava flour recipes, i’m allergic to nuts, and sometimes don’t do well with coconut, so these nut free recipes are very much appreciated!
Alicia
I think mashed bananas would work!
What if you need to avoid banana and apple?
How about pear sauce? I’d think any stage 2 baby food veggie puree would work too, e.g. carrots or sweet potatoes. It’s probably mostly for moisture. Mine came out well. A little chewy, but that may be because I used a microwave pan for the muffins. I used Celtic sea salt. Topping mine with ghee!
These are amazing! I just finished a round of W30 so all I added was a 1/4 cup of coconut sugar and it was plenty. Thanks!
So happy you enjoyed them!
First of all, thank you. I appreciate the recipes, I’ve been making your recipes for a while, first time posting now. These turned out soggy (and gel like texture) for me also the first time I tried. I kept going back to it because I want to use cassava flour. One of the negative reviews about blueberries making it soggy made me think. I decided to try it again with dried strawberries this time and it worked great! I was pretty generous with blueberries the first time so I think that was the problem. A little adjustment goes a long way when it comes to baking. Another change, I didn’t blend the strawberries with the mix, I folded them in after I poured the mixture in muffin cups and immediately put them in the oven. Cassava, in my opinion, is the closest texture to the regular baking flour. If you have any ideas for eliminating coconut sugar, please let me know. I checked out the banana bread recipe thinking banana could substitute coconut sugar but you have coconut sugar in that recipe too. Again, thank you!
Hi! Glad these did eventually work out for you and yes, too many blueberries will make them soggy and for cassava, that means sort of doughy. I do think the recipe needs a sweetener for flavor but you can most likely sub in another sweetener (granulated) that you prefer in place of the coconut flour.
I subbed banana for the applesauce and chocolate chips for the blueberries. Delish!!
Any ideas on how I could make these egg-free? Having so much trouble finding a dairy/grain-free muffin recipe that doesn’t include coconut or banana and can be made with no eggs.
I just made them with ground flax seed. You take a table spoon of flax and add 2 1/2 Tbls of water and let sit for 5 mins you can also do this with chia seed.
This recipe was terrible. The batter was way too runny they took much longer than 20 min and did not cook completely through. The blueberries sank to the bottom and caused the bottoms to be mushy and not completely cooked. They were chewy and not good all around
These didn’t turn out for me. I followed the recipe and they turned out gummy and weird and I threw them away.
amazing! loved them! so delicious
Absolutely awesome & yummy. so light & great texture.
Cooked a little longer – 25 minutes & turned out perfect.
These turned out great! I cooked them for about 28 minutes and then let them sit until they were completely cooled. They taste great and they have a really nice texture!
I’ve been on the search for a morning bread or muffin recipe that is nut free, dairy free, grain free and also egg free (it’s been a challenge!). Can I do a substitution for the eggs and coconut milk?
I do a lot of gluten free baking and use cassava four all the time and I had a really hard time with this recipe. I chose to try it because I had great success with the paleo banana bread recipe. However, the blueberry muffin recipe was very runny after combining ingredients. I bake half the muffins because I was concerned and they all stuck to the liners and like I have never seen. The muffins were cooked outside but inside was a strange gooey consistency and even after cooking longer they did not change much. I added more flour (1/2 cup to get batter thicker) for second half of the batch and still had the same results. I looked back on reviews and it seems like numerous people had the same issues.
Agreed. Should have read more comments. Mine turned out exactly as you described.
Great recipe. I didn’t have applesauce so I used a butternut squash baby puree from my freezer. The consistency was a little thin (more like pancake batter) so I added 3/4 cup instant oatmeal and let sit for 10 minutes before baking. Will definitely make again. Whole family loved.
Can you please clarify the instructions about the baking powder substitute? If I do use the substitute recipe with baking soda and cream of tartar, do I also need to add the portion of baking soda listen in recipe? It’s not clear from your “total” statement if that includes other baking soda in the recipe. Thank you.
I was looking forward to trying this since I have a tree nut allergy and have struggled with cassava flour baking in the past. I only saw the other comments after I made it and was surprising because for me, the consistency turned out literally perfect. Light, but moist and not gummy. I had to cook for 5 minutes longer in my oven before they came out clean and I added about half the called for amount of coconut sugar. Fantastic recipe!!
Loved them! I swapped the blueberries for strawberries because it was what I had. How long do these keep?
Disappointed that I had to throw these out. I suspect three things went wrong for me. One, I accidentally switched the amounts of applesauce and coconut milk – totally on me. So, used 1/4 cup extra coconut milk and 1/4 less applesauce. Thought it might still turn out since total amt of liquid was still balanced. Two, I used the canned full cream coconut milk vs the 2L coconut milk drink, which may have been wrong. Three, the amount of flour should (as suggested by other reviewers) probably go by weight. Mine turned out like bricks. The taste was there but texture was a big flop for me. Disappointed I had to throw away all those expensive ingredients and anti climactic for my excited 5 year old who helped me make them : ( Suggest to clarify the flour in weight and the type of coconut milk.
I made this recipe and they turned out to be delicious!! The only issue I had was the muffins sticking to the muffin cups. I use the same type of cassava flour; they can vary quite a bit from one brand to another. I usually sift with a large spoon in the bag, then spoon the flour into my measuring cup, last of all slide the straight end of a table knife across the top to take off excess flour. This seems to help get the correct amount. Thanks for a great blueberry muffin recipe!
I wish I had read the reviews before using this recipe. They came out really spongie and too moist, and I had to bake them for 30 minutes just to get them passable. I was making them for a gift. Now I have to start over.
Please weigh your 1 1/2 cups cassava flour and include the weight measurement in the recipe! Different brands vary quite a bit in density, and you have such mixed reviews on this recipe. It would really help people get consistent results.
Keep the rendered fat in the skillet and lower heat to med. Add beef to skillet and sprinkle with the salt and seasonings. Brown, breaking up lumps with a spatula.
I was unable to try making it, as I’m allergic to all derivatives of coconut. I’m trying out cassava flour to replace coconut flour and am upset that these “nut free” recipes rely on coconut products.
Delicious and easy to make.
Delicious and easy to make. Fresh blueberries added moisture and sweetness which was delightful. Overall the muffins were not too sweet and we enjoyed them very much. Thank you for a great recipe!
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They came out perfect and delicious! I used lightly greased silicone muffin liners and the muffins slipped right out. Thank you for sharing your recipe!