These zesty ginger blueberry muffins popping out of the oven are soft and springy. More importantly, they are sweet and lemony with a hint of a pungent taste of ginger. They are also gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free.
“What should I make for breakfast?”
I’m a food blogger for crying out loud. So, how could I run out of recipe ideas? Am I not a fountain of flowing recipes?
It happens sometimes. Finger Snaps ≠ Ideas!
Panicked? Not really. I fumbled through my notebook in which I document my recipes. It has all the recipes that I experimented with, whether successful or not. With a big red check mark and smiling face next to it, I saw this zesty ginger blueberry muffins recipe that I made 2 years ago.
In my old notes, I used ginger powder. Whoops, I don’t have any in my kitchen right now. Instead, I used a piece of fresh ginger root. Surprise! It made these muffins taste even better. With a touch of pungent taste combined with the tart lemony flavor from the lemon zest, these blueberry muffins are full of exciting flavors.
Unlike classic blueberry muffins you find in cookbooks, muffin mix packages, or Pinterest, these muffins are not as fluffy as those. Don’t get disappointed yet. More often than not the light and fluffy texture is achieved from using egg white, sugar, or starch (which is often the case with gluten-free mixes). To be honest, I’m not willing to sacrifice the healthy in breakfast muffins by adding 1 cup of sugar to achieve the “desired” texture. Do you agree?
Standing on my principles, I refused to use xanthan gum, eggs, and sugar. Instead, I used ground chia seed and applesauce as a healthier substitute. These little seeds are full of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, proteins, and minerals. Once you add water to the ground chia seeds, they become sticky egg-like and stretchy after 10 to 15 minutes. It’s absolutely a fantastic natural egg substitute in vegan baking. Because the seeds are ground up, it’s easier for our body to digest than whole seeds.
Our almost-5-year-old Leo loves these muffins. He said, “These muffins are so good, I don’t even need to put any peanut butter on them. Put um on the blog”. Happy Breakfast!
- 1½ tablespoons chia seeds whole seeds
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest from 1 medium size lemon
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2¼ cups 337 grams Joyce’s all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon pure stevia extract powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- Grind the chia seeds in a coffee grinder. Transfer the ground chia seeds into a small mixing bowl and add water. Whisk and combine well. Let the chia-water, a.k.a. Chia-egg, stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. The chia-egg should be sticky after 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Lightly grease a muffin pan with canola oil spray.
- Once the chia-egg is formed, add the remaining wet ingredients into the mixing bowl. Stir to mix.
- Pour the wet ingredient mix into the dry mix. Use a rubber spatula to mix until just combined.
- Fill the greased muffin cups ¾ full with the muffin batter. Bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack. Remove the muffin pan from oven. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Serve warm.
These taste so good!
I had one major issue… they were incredibly gummy. I baked them much longer, and the outside got almost rubbery while the inside stayed just as gummy.
I’m new to gluten free recipes… Where did I go wrong?
What kind of flour are you using?
Bobs Red Mill 1-1 Gf flour blend