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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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.
Me, too. I baked mine for 50 mins and they were still mushy. It was hard to throw away 12 muffins. 🙁
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.