Looking for a quick yet easy muffin recipe that's full of flavor? These easy vegan raspberry almond muffins are the perfect solution! Made with simple ingredients like fresh raspberries, almond flour, and plant milk, these babies offer a delicate blend of tart and sweet in every bite. Whether you're enjoying them fresh out the oven for a quick brekkie or saving them for a sweet treat later, these moist and fluffy muffins are sure to become a go-to treat every berry season.
You Will Love This Recipe
- Packed with Flavor: Juicy raspberries, almonds, and lemon combine to create a mouthwatering combo of tart, sweet, and rich flavor that's both refreshing and indulgent.
- Perfect Texture: Thanks to almond flour and plant-based milk, these muffins are soft, tender, and have a lovely crumb, whether you use AP or gluten-free flour!
- Easy to Make: With just a few simple steps and one large mixing bowl, you'll have a batch of delicious vegan raspberry muffins ready to enjoy.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour: I always use King Arthur gluten-free flour for gluten-free baking. I also always test with regular all-purpose flour. Both turn out perfectly!
- Almond Flour: Adds richness, a tender crumb, and subtle almond flavor.
- Sugar: I like to use fair trade cane sugar, though coconut sugar or regular caster sugar will also work well.
- Baking Powder: Ensures the muffins rise beautifully. No need for baking soda or xanthan gum in this recipe.
- Salt: A pinch of salt enhances all the other flavors.
- Unsweetened Soy Milk: Creates vegan buttermilk flavor when combined with lemon juice. Your preferred plant-based milk should work just as well.
- Avocado Oil: A neutral oil that keeps the muffins moist. Feel free to use your preferred neutral oil, like vegetable or canola oil.
- Lemon Juice and Zest: Adds brightness and a little tang that perfectly complements the sweet raspberries. White or apple cider vinegar can also work in a pinch.
- Almond Extract: A key ingredient for that unmistakable almond flavor. Vanilla extract is a good alternative if you'd prefer a milder taste.
- Fresh Raspberries: The star of the show! Fresh raspberries give these muffins their juicy sweetness. Frozen raspberries work too—add them straight from the freezer to prevent them from turning mushy and bake them another 5-10 minutes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Preheat: Set your oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Combine: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a whisk or fork to stir until everything is evenly distributed.
3. Mix: Add the plant milk, avocado oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and almond extract to the bowl. Stir until a thick batter has formed.
4. Fold: Fold the raspberries into the batter until they are evenly distributed, allowing them to break into pieces.
5. Fill: Scoop about ⅓ cup of muffin batter into each muffin cup. The batter should nearly fill each one, ensuring tall, bakery-style muffins.
6. Top: Sprinkle the reserved raspberry pieces and sliced almonds on top of each muffin for added texture and flavor.
7. Bake: Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 7 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking for 25-27 minutes until the muffins are golden brown.
8. Enjoy: Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before optionally transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy them warm or at room temperature!
Storage
- Make-ahead: These wonderfully moist muffins are best enjoyed the day of making, though they are still very tasty (though a bit softer) the next day if you need to make them in advance.
- Store: These vegan muffins will stay fresh for 1-2 days if kept in a bread bag or covered with a tea towel. For extended storage, please place them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: To enjoy a warm muffin, heat it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or, even better, heat it in the air fryer for 1 minute.
Variations
- Chocolate Raspberry Muffins: Add a handful of chocolate chips to the batter for an indulgent twist.
- Banana Oat Muffins: Enjoy baking with almond flour? Try my banana oat muffins next!
Expert Tips
- Definitely use muffin liners. While I like to get away with avoiding muffin liners when I can, these babies are just too tender to pop out of the tin, even when well-greased.
- Baking the first 7 minutes at a hotter oven temp is the best method to get nice high muffin tops, according to muffin queen The First Year. I was delighted that this trick works well, even in vegan and gluten-free baking.
- Use a clear mixing bowl so you can check the bottom for any pockets of dry flour in the batter.
- With their pink embellishment, these sweet muffins make for an adorable Valentine's Day treat.
FAQ
While I haven't tested this (yet), this recipe should work very well with other berries like blackberries, blueberries, or diced strawberries, as long as you smush some of them to allow the berries to contribute some moisture to the batter. Or, if your batter seems dry, add a couple Tablespoons more plant milk.
Recipe
Vegan Raspberry Almond Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) gluten-free all-purpose flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 ¾ cups (168 grams) almond flour
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- ⅔ cup unsweetened soy milk (or preferred plant-based milk)
- ½ cup avocado oil (or preferred neutral/baking oil)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (zest of about 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ½ cups (~6 ounces) raspberries , fresh or frozen, 6-8 reserved for topping
Topping
- 3 Tablespoons sliced almonds
- ~6-8 reserved raspberries, torn into pieces
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a muffin tin.*
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a long-stem fork or whisk to stir until well combined.
- Add the oil, milk, almond extract, lemon juice and zest, and stir again until a thick batter forms.
- Add the raspberries, reserving a small handful for topping, and stir them into the batter until evenly distributed, allowing the berries to break up into pieces.
- Scoop about ⅓ of a cup of batter into each of the lined muffin cups. The batter should nearly fill each muffin cup.
- Top each muffin with a few pieces of raspberries and several almond slices.
- Bake the muffins at 425°F (220°C) for 7 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 350°F (175°C) for 25-27 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (may need to bake an additional 5-10 minutes for frozen raspberries).
- When the muffins have finished baking, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan to enjoy.
- Store leftover muffins in a bread bag or under a tea towel for 1-3 days. They will also keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Becky
Hello,
I was wondering what would be best to use to substitute the oil to make this recipe oil free?
Thank you
Tori Vasko, RD
Hi Becky! I have never tried to make this oil free, but maybe pumpkin purée, applesauce, vegan yogurt, or some combination of those would work well for this recipe. You can always try scaling the recipe back to just a couple muffins to try out your substitution first. I would love to hear how your experimenting goes!