These gluten free Blueberry Muffins with cinnamon streusel get a protein boost from the addition of almond flour, nuts and seeds. I love a good crumb topping and I made this one with granola ingredients in mind. Gluten free cooks want to make muffins everyone wants to eat, and this recipe will meet that criteria.

Gluten free Blueberry Muffins surrounded by fresh blueberries and pumpkin seeds.

In my Recipe Roundup of gluten free muffins I share my handful of favourites that I've been making for decades. I can turn my banana muffins into a loaf or a Bundt Cake for a party and my cornmeal muffins into Cornbread-Sausage Stuffing for turkey dinner. Gluten free cooks need recipes like these.

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🫐 Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions & Variations
Storage
Oats Are Complicated
Top Tip
Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

🫐 Ingredients

I wanted these muffins to be oat free since many people cannot tolerate oats, even safe gluten free oats harvested using the purity protocol. I also wanted to use blueberries since they're so good for brain health. I chose my usual flour blend and added almond flour to boost the protein.

EGFG gluten free flour blend (sweet rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, millet flour)
almond flour
brown sugar
baking soda & baking powder: Two leavening agents lighten up GF baking.
cinnamon
xanthan gum
buttermilk (sour milk or yogurt)
cooking oil
egg
blueberries
walnuts
coconut
butter
pumpkin seeds
chia seeds
hemp seeds

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Instructions

If you've made a few muffins you likely know the two bowl method. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another and then combine. The cinnamon crumb topping, called streusel, is made in a third bowl and is generously sprinkled on top of each muffin once they're in the pan.

Gluten free baking often includes unusual instructions like letting the batter rest to allow the flours to more fully absorb liquids and fats. If you are baking with different flours than I am, be open to trying different instruction steps you've read until your muffins are perfect.

Substitutions & Variations

EGFG Gluten Free Flour Blend - It's your job to try different blends and figure out what you like best. This is the blend that worked for me and it was a game changer.

To learn more about flour join my virtual class, Understanding GF Flour

Xanthan gum - The best substitute for xanthan is guar gum. Use it in equal amounts in any recipe calling for xanthan gum.

Almond flour - Substitute almond flour with more of the flour blend or any other flour you like or are learning about. This small tweak will alter the taste, texture and nutrition profile to help you create exactly what you want.

Nuts - Use any nuts you have on hand to add variety to your diet and keep your pantry staples moving.

Seeds - If you haven't bought chia seeds or hemp seeds yet this is a good place to try them. Use either of them anywhere you use nuts and other seeds. I like them sprinkled on a fruit smoothie bowl or in chia pudding.

Blueberries - Brain coach Jim Kwik calls these brain berries. I want to eat foods that are good for my brain health so I buy them fresh in the summer and keep them in my freezer the rest of the year.

Buttermilk - Commercial buttermilk always does the best job but sour milk can be made in seconds and is the next best thing. See recipe card for ratio.

Cinnamon Streusel Topping - For a less sweet muffin use half the streusel and save the rest for next time. For a time saving tip toss the streusel (that includes any streusel topping you find in my recipes) in with the dry ingredients and call it done.

Storage

Gluten free baking often goes stale more quickly than baking with wheat flour. Be sure to transfer your baking to air tight containers soon after it has cooled completely. For maximum freshness, freeze muffins you won't eat within two or three days.

If you don't use all the streusel topping freeze it. I like to do this so I can skip that step and quickly make these muffins or any muffins with a crumb topping.

Oats Are Complicated

I developed these gluten free blueberry muffins without oats for my friend Shirley over at GFE - Gluten Free Easily. She runs an (almost) annual event called March Muffin Madness that's worth checking out. She has roundups like this for every category of gluten free baking so be sure to visit her website when you want to find new gluten free blogs.

Top Tip

Find a gluten free flour blend that works for your go-to recipes. To make pancakes, muffins, quick breads and dozens of everyday recipes, finding a flour blend you like is a game changer. I use this in 80% of my baking and keep it in a canister ready to go. This kind of flour blend doesn't work well in yeast breads, pasta dough or maybe even an Angel Food Cake. If you don't make those recipes every day you can find a blend you like, no matter what dietary restrictions you're accommodating.