These Paleo Blueberry Muffins have classic flavor and texture plus the perfect crumb top – it’s downright addicting! Have one freshly baked or make them ahead of time and enjoy as a part of your breakfast or a grab-n-go snack. They’re grain free, dairy free, gluten-free and refined sugar free.
With as much baking as I’ve done/continue to do, I just didn’t feel like I had a blueberry muffin recipe that I was actually in love with. My simple blueberry muffins are definitely de-lish, but they use a lot of almond butter which I don’t always want to sacrifice on a batch of muffins.
There’s the crumb top issue, too. A truly uh-mazing blueberry muffin recipe sorta has to have a crumb top, don’t you think? It adds that certain nostalgia factor that make blueberry muffins feel really special. And yes, while I have a blueberry muffin recipe that involves a crumb topping, the recipe happens to be nut free and made only with coconut flour.
To be honest, my most FAVORITE muffins are typically made with at least SOME almond flour. It lends a lot to the flavor and texture of both the muffin itself and the topping, so I wanted to experiment with making truly classic tasting paleo blueberry muffins.
And, let’s just say what came next was a ridiculous amount of experimenting. To be exact, 4 batches of muffins in two days. This was to be expected though, since I was starting “from scratch”, with these muffins, meaning I wasn’t basing the recipe on anything that came before it, I was trying new ratios, ingredients, etc.
My biggest pet peeve with paleo baking is that while it’s pretty easy to get a great tasting muffin, the texture of the crumb and rise is difficult to get right. Especially when you’re combining flours, and especially when one of those flours is coconut flour.
Yes, I could’ve gone the easy and PRICY route of using, like, 2 and 1/2 cups of almond flour, plus more for the topping, but trust me. I know that great almond flour is a tough purchase to justify, and, while including it does wonders for the result, I wanted to use an amount that wouldn’t break the bank completely.
So, enter coconut flour – low in carbs and a whole lot lower in price, PLUS a little bit goes a long way, as in, for every cup of almond flour that I use in a recipe, just about 5-6 Tbsp of coconut flour is needed to do basically the same thing. The kicker – a little more or less, and you’re left with something too dry and chalky, or a result too moist with no rise.
I hope you were fully ready for my grain free baking rant, apologies if you just want to get to the eating part! Luckily, by the fourth time around, I was happy with the result – the muffins rose, the crumb topping didn’t melt into the muffins at all, and the crumb wasn’t too dry or moist. While the kids and Adam happily ate all the failed batches as well, they all agreed the final batch was just about perfect.
Plus, I was able to use all ingredients that I typically have on hand all the time – including almond milk from a carton rather than coconut milk from a can. Sometimes I just don’t feel like opening a can of coconut milk if I know I’ll only be using 1/4 cup, I’m guessing I can’t be the only one who feels that way!
One note on the sweetener I used for this recipe. I’ve been head over heels for maple sugar lately – which is very fine and lighter in color than coconut sugar. That said, it works exactly the same as coconut sugar does in most recipes, so you can easily sub it in if you don’t want to use maple sugar or don’t have it on hand. The resulting muffins will be significantly darker in color if you use coconut sugar, so keep that in mind!
If you don’t need these to be strictly paleo, organic cane sugar will sub in well too. I wouldn’t recommend using a liquid sweetener for these, though, since my attempts using honey led to a melty topping and a middle that wouldn’t rise.
Are you ready to get started? Let’s preheat our ovens – I’m craving one already!
Paleo Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Top {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}
Paleo Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Top {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping:
- 5 tbsp blanched almond flour
- 2 Tbsp refined coconut oil solid but soft***
- 3 Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar**
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the Muffins:
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or light coconut milk at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice room temp
- 6 Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar**
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract optional
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temp
- 1 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup fresh blueberries you can use frozen if you thaw and drain well beforehand
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with parchment liners.
-
Prepare the crumb top first: Place all ingredients together in a medium bowl and combine well using a fork until a thick crumb forms (it will thicken while chilled). Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the muffin batter.
-
Try to have all ingredients at room temperature before adding. In one bowl, combine the 3 flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond milk, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, almond extract and coconut oil. I typically add the coconut oil last so it doesn't have time to form solid pieces in the mixture.
-
Once combined, add in the dry mixture and stir (don't vigorously mix or use a blender) until no flour spots can be seen. Lumpy batter is good for the texture and rise of the muffins. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated, gently fold in 3/4 of the blueberries.
-
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan approximately 3/4 of the way full. Top each one with remaining blueberries and a generous sprinkle of the crumb top (I made 12 muffins and used nearly all of the crumb topping)
-
Bake in the preheated oven (375) for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Allow to cool in the muffin pan for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*For this recipe I would not use full fat coconut milk because it would be too heavy and thick. Almond milk, cashew milk or light coconut milk would work.
**Using coconut sugar instead of maple sugar will make the color of the muffins significantly darker but should not alter the flavor.
***Palm oil shortening, grass fed butter or ghee are options as well.
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Paleo Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Top:
Want more paleo muffin and quick bread recipes? Try one of these!
Hearty Paleo Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Paleo Orange Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Paleo Blueberry Lemon Muffins {Nut Free}
Paleo Almond Butter Banana Muffins with Flaxseed
Paleo Sweet Potato Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Tell Me!
What is your biggest grain-free/paleo baking pet peeve?
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Paleo Running Momma!
I’m curious why you would thaw and drain the blueberries first? Most recipes you add frozen, stir fast and get it in the oven. Wondering if that step is truly necessary. Definitely printing this recipe to use!
I’m no expert but wouldn’t the extra moisture from the frozen blueberries make the almond flour gummy? I can’t wait to try this one. I tried one once with coconut flour and the texture was off-putting.
It’s not ideal to use frozen, but getting a lot of the water out beforehand by thawing and draining helps. If you use frozen berries, it seems to help to use a bit less than the recipe calls for to avoid excessive moisture.
I’ve found it helps to try to get some water out beforehand, at least when I’ve baked with almond flour and other grain free flours. I haven’t tried using frozen-out-of-the-bag berries but if you do try it let me know how it turns out 🙂
Thanks! I’ve just always used frozen so I might give it a try.
Also, I see you still use Easy Recipe. Have you thought about switching to a new, fully supported plugin? Most blogs have been leaving ER since the developers will no longer be updating it.
I just made these and they came o it AMAZING!!! What’s the best way to store them??
I ran out of coconut oil. Would it work with Avocado oil?
Blueberry muffins look amazing. Is tapioca flour necessary? What can be used instead. I don’t have tapioca flour. I followWheat Belly where it states tapica starch is not healthy; I would assume the same for the tapioca flour. Thank you.
The tapioca helps with the texture but if you don’t use it, arrowroot has a very similar effect. If you don’t want to use either of them, you can probably sub in 1/2 cup more of almond flour for a similar result. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
If I decide to use arrowroot, how much do I use? 1/2 cup?
Yup that’s what I would do 🙂
can you subsitite with cassanova flour instead?
Can you use agave or monkfruit sweetener instead? If so, what portions of each for this recipe? TIA!
Well I wish I could say that my muffins turns out as pretty as yours. I’m sure it’s not the fault of the recipe. I was recently tested for food sensitivities (for inflammation) and was told eggs cause inflammation in me. Since I have Lupus, Lyme, and possibly MS (refuse to be tested because the treatment is the same), I try to stick to what is healthiest for me. I am also bothered by flax so had to resort to chia eggs. The muffins were very dense and wierd. Don’t think I will try this recipe again unless some day I can have eggs again. The muffins were edible, but not enjoyable.
I try not to substitute for more than two eggs when I use flax or chia. It just doesn’t seem to work. Maybe you’d have better luck using some applesauce or yogurt alongside some “chia eggs.” I think the coconut flour is the problem. It really seems to need the eggs in recipes. Allergies make things so tricky sometimes!
I’ve never tried chia eggs but with flax eggs, I don’t think subbing in for more than 2 eggs typically works well. Also to speak to the point about coconut flour – I’ve only used flax eggs in recipes with almond flour and never for muffins, I do think coconut flour simply needs more eggs to work properly. In the chance that you can have GF oats, I highly recommend trying these vegan and gluten free blueberry muffins if you can’t have eggs: http://www.feastingonfruit.com/blueberry-coffee-cake-muffins/
Not sure about oats. My report says no oat bran but oats is on the ok list. Guessing if I grind up oats that would be ok. Everything else looks good on the recipe you suggested so will try that. Won’t have to sub anything. I really love muffins and am so grateful you ladies have helped me find one I can eat! Thank you! If I get a belly ache, I’ll give the rest to my husband! He can eat anything.
try doing two eggs worth of bananas or apple sauce and two eggs worth of chia egg
Try 4 oz of unsweetened applesauce for every 2 eggs I’ve been doing this for all recipes comes out great. I’m actually gonna make this one now.
Thanks for the tip. I will try it again using applesauce for half of the chia eggs. Not supposed to have yogurt either.
Great, helpful tip on liquid versus the recipe-recommended granular sweetener- thanks 🙂 These look delectable.
These muffins look delicious, and thanks for the tip on using frozen blueberries. I usually always have a bag in my freezer.
Made these today. Mine looked a little darker from recipe. They tasted so good! I used organic coconut palm sugar, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and substituted arrowroot powder for tapioca flour. Recipe is a keeper! And I agree, the blueberry muffins are very addictive. (y)
The coconut sugar (versus) maple makes them darker but flavor should be the same. Glad you liked them!
I made these today and the flavor is great. I followed the recipe exactly. The only down side is that they are very dry. Any suggestions? Did I bake too long? Do I need more oil? Thanks!
I’m thinking perhaps the flour measurement was a bit off? Probably the coconut flour, sometimes brands vary in how dense they are. If you make them again, add a Tbsp less coconut flour and see how that works out.
Can I substitute maple sugar for maple syrup?
Since it’s liquid versus dry it will affect the recipe, I’d try to use a granulated sweetener like coconut sugar if you can, I don’t think they’ll come out with the same texture otherwise.