Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
These vegan lemon blueberry cupcakes are soft, light and fluffy with lots of fresh lemon flavor. The juicy blueberries and naturally-colored blueberry frosting perfectly complement the tartness of the lemon!
Simple ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Blueberries. These cupcakes work well with both fresh and frozen blueberries. Frozen blueberries will just give these cupcakes a slightly longer bake time.
Fresh lemon zest adds the best lemon flavor to these cupcakes. The recipe contains the perfect amount of fresh lemon juice to make these cupcakes flavorful, but not too much that the cupcakes become dense (too much lemon juice can weigh down cake/cupcakes). We don’t need any lemon extract for this recipe!
Neutral-flavored oil or a light olive oil. I used olive oil as it complements the bright lemon flavor (just like my lemon olive oil cake).
Non-dairy milk for example soy milk, oat milk or almond milk (I prefer unsweetened soy milk). Please ensure your milk is at room temperature – this encourages the batter to emulsify properly and the cupcakes to bake evenly.
Even though this recipe doesn’t contain any eggs, the cupcakes rise beautifully without any special egg replacers or fancy ingredients!
How to make lemon blueberry cupcakes
First, we need to toss the blueberries in some all purpose flour. Coating the blueberries in flour allows them to ‘grip’ onto the batter so they’re less likely to sink. I tested this recipe without flouring the blueberries, and the blueberries did sink.
Next, I recommend rubbing the lemon zest with the sugar in a large bowl. This releases the natural oils in the zest and furthers their flavor. It also gives the cupcakes a light yellow hue!
Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir. Add the wet ingredients and stir. Finally, fold in the floured blueberries. Try to ensure the blueberries are evenly distributed throughout the batter!
Initially, the batter for these lemon blueberry cupcakes will look thick. However, after a few minutes, the sugar will dissolve in the liquid ingredients and the batter will become a little more runny (Image 4).
Baking these cupcakes
This recipe yields around 13-16 lemon blueberry cupcakes, depending on the size of your pan. With a USA Pan muffin pan, I got exactly 14 cupcakes.
To get slightly taller cupcakes, I suggest filling every other cup in your pan (Images 5 & 6). This allows more oven heat to circulate each cupcake encoraging them to rise more. If you only have one muffin pan, you’ll need to bake around 7 cupcakes at a time, in 2 lots.
Decorating these cupcakes
I topped my cupcakes with a blueberry buttercream frosting made of vegan butter, powdered sugar and fresh blueberries or freeze-dried blueberry powder.
Alternatively, you can top your cupcakes with:
- Lemon Buttercream Frosting from my lemon cupcakes recipe
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting from my red velvet cupcakes recipe
- Simple runny icing from my lemon olive oil cake recipe (this is great if you don’t have a hand mixer or stand mixer)
- Strawberry Frosting or strawberry cream cheese frosting
For a next-level dessert, you can also fill or top these cupcakes with blueberry sauce or lemon curd.
Customizing this recipe
This recipe acts a little differently when baked in a larger pan. I recommend checking out my other blueberry recipes, including my:
– reader-favorite lemon blueberry cake
– blueberry coffee cake
– blueberry bread
– blueberry muffins (larger and more breakfast-like compared to these cupcakes)
Yes, these delicious homemade cupcakes will work well with raspberries, strawberries and blackberries!
I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour but it may work with a good gluten-free flour such as King Arthur’s measure for measure.
More vegan cupcake recipes
Follow Rainbow Nourishments on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of our latest recipes!
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour, spooned and leveled (note 1)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest, (note 2)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup (250g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80g) neutral flavored oil
- 3 tablespoons (45g) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (140g) fresh or frozen blueberries, plus 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour
To Decorate (note 3 for alternatives)
- Vegan Blueberry Buttercream Frosting
- fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line one or two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. This recipe yields about 14 cupcakes (depending on the size of your pan) so you will have a second batch.
Prepare the cupcakes
- In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the flour until the blueberries are evenly coated in flour. Set aside. If you used frozen blueberries, set them aside in the freezer.
- Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to rub them together until fragrant.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk until the mixture is well combined and there are no lumps. Add the wet ingredients (except the blueberries) to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Add the floured blueberries and fold the batter until just combined.
- Use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to divide the batter between your cupcake liners. Each cupcake cavity should be three-quarters full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. If you used frozen blueberries, you may need to bake them for a few extra minutes. They are ready when you insert a toothpick in the center of a cupcake and it comes out with no wet batter on it (a few crumbs are fine).
- Cool the cupcakes in the tray for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack.
Decorating the cupcakes
- When the cupcakes have fully cooled, use a spatula or piping bag to frost them. Decorate with fresh blueberries, lemon segments or as desired.
- Serve the cupcakes within a few hours. Store the frosted or unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature before serving. The cupcakes freeze well but I recommend storing them separately from the frosting.
Notes
- Make sure you accurately measure the flour, otherwise your cupcakes may be dense and dry. Fluff up the flour in its container, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Using your measuring cup to scoop flour out of the container will pack in too much flour. For the best results, use the grams measurements.
- Do not omit the lemon zest as most of the lemon flavor comes from it. You’ll need 3-4 medium lemons for the amount of zest and juice in the recipe. When you zest the lemons, try to avoid getting any of the white lemon rind as this can make the cupcakes slightly bitter.
- Alternatively, top your cupcakes with lemon buttercream from my lemon cupcakes recipe or cream cheese frosting from my red velvet cupcakes. I’ve listed more decoration/frosting alternatives in the post above.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Hey there Anthea!
This recipe looks great!
Just wondering if I was able to swap the sugar for something else?
I was thinking of making these cupcakes for my toddler so wanted a more child friendly swap.
Thanks!
Can’t wait to try out the recipe?
Hi Pamela, I haven’t tested this recipe with any other sweetener, so I can’t guarantee results but you could try mashed banana or even maple syrup. You’ll need to adjust the amount of milk so the batter isn’t too thick/thin. Hope that helps!
Hey
The recipe was good.
Cupcakes turned out great!
Just a little bitter
Hi Neha, glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! They can be a bitter if you accidentally grate too much zest from your lemons – it’s best to grate only the yellow part as the white part is bitter.
These look delicious! Can I use the same measurement of regular / dairy milk if I don’t need them to be vegan?
Hi Lyndsay, yes I’d say so! I just haven’t tested it myself as I don’t drink dairy 🙂