My quinoa muffins aren’t just delicious — they’re surprisingly hearty too! Moist, tender, and bursting with juicy berries, they get a satisfying boost from protein-packed quinoa, making them the perfect feel-good breakfast or snack.
You've probably used quinoa in savory recipes before. I know I love a good quinoa burger or a big bowl of quinoa chili. But you know where quinoa really shines? In sweet recipes, like these quinoa muffins. Sounds weird, but stay with me! Quinoa has a neutral flavor, so you won’t even taste it. If you didn’t make these muffins yourself, you’d probably never guess it was there. But you’d definitely notice how moist, hearty, and satisfying they are.
Jump to:
Ever grab a muffin thinking it’ll quiet your hunger, only to find yourself raiding the pantry an hour later? Been there. That’s exactly why I created these blueberry quinoa muffins — they actually fill you up. Protein-rich quinoa locks in moisture and adds bulk, making these muffins super satisfying, and a touch healthier than your typical muffin, to boot! I like to keep a batch in the fridge for easy breakfasts and snacks. They reheat beautifully and always hit the spot.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but I've also made these muffins with spelt and whole wheat pastry flour, so go ahead and substitute with one of those varieties if you'd like!
- Sugar. Stick with organic sugar to ensure the recipe is vegan. Conventional sugar is often processed with animal products!
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Non-dairy milk. Pretty much any type of non-dairy milk that you'd drink can be used, such as soy, almond, cashew, or oat. Read my guide to dairy-free milks if you need help choosing.
- Oil. Whatever baking oil you normally use is fine. Try coconut, canola, avocado, or even olive oil.
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed juice to give your muffins the best zippy flavor.
- Lemon zest. See? You need to buy lemons for zest anyway, so there's really no excuse not to juice them.
- Vanilla extract.
- Quinoa. I use white quinoa for these muffins, since it makes them look just like regular blueberry muffins, but if you'd like to use red or black quinoa, go for it.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Steps 1 and 2: Get ready. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line your muffin tin cavities with papers. If you don't have some cooked quinoa on hand, make some now. Read my guide on how to cook quinoa if you need some guidance.
Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
Step 4: Combine the wet ingredients. Stir your milk, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla together in a small container.
Step 5: Mix the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, then stir everything together just until combined.
Step 6: Add the quinoa and berries. Gently fold them into the batter, being careful not to overmix it.
Steps 7 and 8: Pour and bake. Divide the batter among your muffin cavities, then pop the tin into the oven and bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean.
Step 9: Cool. Place the tin on a cooling rack and let your muffins cool before you remove them.
Step 10: Enjoy! Your blueberry quinoa muffins are ready. Dig in!
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't made a gluten-free version myself, but I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend instead of wheat flour would be the way to go if you'd like to give it a try.
You sure can! No need to thaw them — just add them to the batter while they're still frozen.
Quinoa muffins will keep in a paper bag at room temperature for about a day. Because they're so moist, I recommend moving them to an airtight container and placing them in the fridge if they'll be around longer than that. They'll keep for about five days in the fridge, or about three months in the freezer.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Blueberry Quinoa Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- â…” cup organic granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (Note 1)
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a 12-cavity muffin tin with papers.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir the milk, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract together in a cup or small container.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir just until the ingredients are combined, being careful not to overmix the batter.
- Fold in the quinoa and blueberries, just until combined.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cavities, filling each just below the brim (Note 2).
- Place the muffin tin into the oven and bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean of batter, 18 to 22 minutes.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack and let the muffins cool completely before removing them from the tin.
- Serve.
Notes
- Read my guide on how to cook quinoa if you need guidance.
- Don't overfill the muffin cavities. You can bake extra batter in a second tin if needed.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Hi there 😊 Could I use frozen blueberries instead of fresh? Fresh blueberries are incredibly expensive where we are at the moment.
You can! Don't thaw them - just add them to the batter frozen. Enjoy!!
Can you use something else in place of the yogurt?
Try making vegan buttermilk - just add a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup, then fill it the rest of the way with non-dairy milk, until you've got 3/4 cup total. Some types of milk might curdle (soy usually does), but this shouldn't affect the recipe.
Just made this.It tastes phenomenal!
Nice! So glad they worked out for you! Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you! Please let me know how they turn out if you do try them!
I've been meaning to add pinterest buttons (along with a few other updates). Thanks for the link! It will definitely come in handy and the buttons will definitely be appearing soon!
These look AMAZING Alissa!!! I can't wait to try them. We need to help you get pinterest on your site for people to easily pin your recipe photos! Check out this article. http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/tutorials/add-a-pinterest-mouseover-button-to-your-blog-images.html