If there were a single blueberry muffin to rule all vegan blueberry streusel muffins, this would be it. Not overly sweet or terribly difficult to make, this light and cake-y whole-wheat muffin does the clusters of blueberries inside it justice, highlighting the robust and juicy bursts of deliciousness that these little blue fruits transform into when baked. And what better to top it off than a beautifully brown and crispy whole-wheat streusel?
The Truth About Streusel
Honestly, streusel is one of those toppings that you can sprinkle over any baked good and it’d be more delicious and appetizing. Without the streusel adorning these lil’ vegan blueberry streusel muffins, they’d be rather plain and boring. Streusel topping is like a fancy jacket for your muffins or breads or crisps or whatever.
This streusel adds a delicious, sweet cinnamon flavor and aroma, as well as a crispy, crumbly texture. It’s a must include element, in my opinion.
Essentially, in order to make streusel, you need some basic combination of the following ingredients:
- Some kind of body, like flour or rolled oats or both.
- Some kind of distinct flavor – classically cinnamon and sugar.
- Some kind of fat, like coconut oil or vegan butter, to bring it all together into pebbly crumbles.
In this recipe, I used whole-wheat flour for the body, cinnamon and sugar for the flavor, and coconut oil for the fat.
As noted, there are alternatives, however. Find the best streusel for you by substituting and swapping and changing some of the essential ingredients.
Coconut Oil vs. Vegan Butter
When I’m baking, the two most common fats are coconut oil and a vegan butter like Earth Balance, which is canola oil based.
Both have their own advantages, and both their own drawbacks.
However, they are, for the most part, interchangeable.
Here are some of the differences between them, and when I use once versus the other.
Advantages and drawbacks of coconut oil in baking?
The Advantages
- Coconut oil melts really well, and it very comparable to non-vegan butter in that regard. For this reason, it is the easiest to substitute one to one, especially if you’re transposing something from a non-vegan recipes. It’s a very reliable baking oil, and yields better results more often (at least in my experience).
- Coconut oil has a very pleasant taste and aroma, and can impart a wonderful, floral backdrop of flavor to your baked goods.
The Drawbacks
- Coconut oil is very high in saturated fat and can actually raise both good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol levels. While I’m not here to monitor anyone’s diet or preach sanctimoniously about something I’m not an expert in, I think that it’s important to note this all the same.
Advantages and drawbacks of vegan butter in baking?
The Advantages
- Vegan butter is super accessible and can now be found in most stores! It comes in tubs or sticks, too. Earth Balance is my preference for vegan butter.
- Vegan butter is super easy to work with, and has a lot of the same properties as non-vegan butter.
- It tends to be better for you than coconut oil.
The Drawbacks
- Unlike coconut oil, sometimes vegan butter has a funny taste, at least to me. It’s hard to describe what that taste is, but it’s not necessarily pleasant. At times, it can impart that strange flavor to bakes, especially if it is left in the oven for long periods of time.
- Vegan butter can sometimes melt differently than non-vegan butter or coconut oil. For this reason, it’s less reliable to bake with than coconut oil.
Coating Blueberries in Flour? Yay or Nay?
Honestly, this baking tradition is more of a superstition than something that actually helps the bake.
I’ve baked these vegan blueberry streusel muffins with and without coating the blueberries in whole-wheat flour beforehand, and guess what?
Not that much changed!
If it makes you feel better, then do it! Nobody will judge you for it. Just toss the blueberries in about a teaspoon or so of the same type of flour you use to make the vegan blueberry streusel muffins, whole-wheat in this case.
Should I Make These Vegan Blueberry Streusel Muffins?
Of course you should!
They’re delicious, pretty easy to make, and not overly sweet. Crowd-pleasing vegan blueberry streusel muffins make any day better.
Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Tin 12-count
- 12 Cupcake/Muffin Papers
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- ½ cup coconut oil (or vegan butter), melted
- ⅔ cup sugar, brown or white or coconut
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 6 tablespoons warm water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest from one lemon
- ½ cup soy milk (or your favorite plant-based milk) + 1 tablespoon or so extra if the dough is dry
For the whole-wheat streusel topping:
- 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
- 5 tablespoons brown or coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or vegan butter), room temp (solidified)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Then, line the 12-count muffin tin with cupcake/muffin papers.
- Combine the ground flax seed and warm water in a small bowl, whisk and let sit for 5 minutes, until congealed.
- Sift the 2 cups of flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat the ½ cup melted coconut oil with the sugar until well combined. Then whisk in the gluey flaxseed mixture, as well as the vanilla and lemon zest and soy milk.
- Make the streusel topping before combining the wet and dry ingredients.
For the streusel topping
- Combine the 2 tablespoons of flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Then cut in the 2 tablespoons of room temp (more solid) coconut oil with a fork or pastry cutter until it looks like small, crumbly pebbles.
Assemble the muffins
- Finally, once the oven is preheated, combine your wet milk and flax mixture with your dry ingredients, and fold them together until incorporated. Then, gently fold in the blueberries.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin wells until they're about ⅔ of the way full. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffin batter generously.
- Bake for 21 – 23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (albeit it blue, with no batter sticking to it) and the streusel is crispy. Let them cool briefly before enjoying!
Nutrition
I hope that you enjoyed this vegan blueberry streusel muffin recipe. If you did, please leave a comment and recipe rating before you go.
Also, check out these jalapeño cornbread muffins if you’re in the mood for a more savory muffin that you can have with soups and chilis.
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
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Sounds yummy 😋