These MOIST bakery-style lemon blueberry coffee cake muffins are stuffed with a rich and creamy vanilla bean cheesecake filling! No eggs, no dairy, and no, you won’t even be able to tell that they’re all vegan 😉 

lemon blueberry muffin with bite in it

Not your average bakery-style muffin:

If you can’t decide between a lemon blueberry muffin and coffee cake, then these lemon blueberry coffee cake muffins are most definitely for you.

I was heavily inspired by my viral lemon blueberry coffee cake with cream cheese filling, and just had to turn them into a muffin.

Because what’s better than a slice of coffee cake? Not much, but a coffee cake muffin comes pretty darn close 😉

bitten lemon blueberry muffin in a pan

Plus, you don’t even need any eggs nor dairy to make them. Yep, they’re all vegan, but don’t let that hold you back (especially because you only need a whisk to make the entire recipe- how simple!)!!

One bite, and this will easily be your new favorite muffin recipe…okay, next to my chocolate chip muffins (because who doesn’t love to start the morning with chocolate!?).

Components:

  • Lemon blueberry muffin: One of my favorite creations ever because we just need the simplest ingredients to make the TALLEST blueberry lemon muffins. Seriously, they deserve a spot in a bakery. And you just need a whisk! Plus, no lemon extract- we’re only using real lemon here!
  • Vanilla bean cheesecake filling: Just a few simple ingredients here- vegan cream cheese (homemade or store-bought), sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla bean paste! Once baked, it sets beautifully- rich, creamy, and moist to perfectly accompany the soft tender crumb of the muffin. The only thing here, I do not recommend Violife- it will dissolve into the muffins. Oatly is okay, but I’ve noticed it borders on dissolving as well. The best bet is my homemade vegan cream cheese, Tofutti, or Kite Hill cream cheese.
  • Vanilla bean crumble: To finish everything off, just like coffee cake, we’re topping with my simple vanilla bean crumble. It bakes to this beautifully sweet, crunchy finish that just so wonderfully complements the tang of the cream cheese and zest of the lemon.
sliced open vegan lemon blueberry muffin

Overview: How to make lemon blueberry coffee cake muffins:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

lemon and sugar rubbed together
First, we’ll rub the sugar and lemon together. This is crucial for bringing out the lemon flavor.
making the muffin batter
Then we’ll whisk together the remaining wet ingredients in the same bowl.
finishing the muffin better
Followed by whisking in the flour and vegan buttermilk.
rested blueberry muffin batter
Fold in the blueberries then chill the muffin batter for 30 minutes.
making the lemon blueberry muffins
To assemble, fill each muffin tin all the way full. Don’t worry, they won’t overflow! This will help create the dome tops.
filling the lemon blueberry muffins with cream cheese
Then pipe the filling into each muffin.
lemon blueberry muffins before baking
Sprinkle with the vanilla bean crumble, and bake!
lemon blueberry muffins after baking
Once baked, let cool for 10 minutes, then enjoy!

Can I omit the cream cheese filling?

Absolutely! The lemon blueberry coffee cake muffins will only need to cook for a total of 20-22 minutes then. Keep the same instructions to bake for 7 minutes at 425F, but when you reduce the oven temperature to 350F, they’ll only need about 15 minutes to finish from there.

bitten lemon blueberry muffin with cream cheese filling

Substitutions and variations:

Gluten free: I like King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour here.

Blueberries: You can swap in wild blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or even chopped strawberries!

Can I use frozen berries instead?

Yes, you can! But still make sure to lightly flour them- this will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the lemon blueberry muffins while baking.

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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MOIST Vegan Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins with ‘Cream Cheese’ Filling

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Resting Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 27
  • Total Time: 1 hour 27 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Muffins
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

These MOIST bakery-style lemon blueberry coffee cake muffins are stuffed with a rich and creamy vanilla bean cheesecake filling! No eggs, no dairy, and no, you won’t even be able to tell that they’re all vegan 😉

Ingredients

Scale

Muffin batter:

  • 1 pint blueberries, rinsed
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 cup (240 mL) vegan buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup (300 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest, from 1 lemon
  • 3/4 cup (180 g) unsweetened dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (57 g) vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/4 cup (57 g) neutral oil
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 3 1/2 cups (430 g) all-purpose flour, see note for gluten-free options*

Cream cheese filling:

  • 8 ounces (240 g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature*
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Coffee cake crumble:

  • 3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • 4 tbsp (56 g) vegan butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Prep: Line 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners. Measure out all ingredients. Read through all instructions before beginning. We’ll make the batter, then while that’s resting, we’ll make the cream cheese filling and the crumble.
  2. Coat the blueberries: In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries in 1 tbsp flour. Set aside.
  3. Make the muffin batter: In a large bowl, add in the sugar and lemon zest, and rub together with clean hands. This helps release the lemon oils. Then pour in the vegan butter, neutral oil, sugar, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Then stir in the baking powder and salt, and whisk again. Finally, add in the remaining flour and buttermilk mixture, and whisk together until there are no more dry streaks, being careful not to over mix.
  4. Fold in the blueberries: Pour in the blueberries to the batter, and fold into the batter with a silicone spatula.
  5. Rest the batter: Cover the bowl with tinfoil or plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 425F. We’ll make the cream cheese filling and crumble while the batter is resting.
  6. Make the cream cheese filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together all cream cheese filling ingredients until creamy and consistent, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
  7. Make the crumble: In a separate bowl, whisk together the crumble ingredients, except for the vegan butter. Pour in the butter, then use a fork to mix until you get a crumble texture. Set aside.
  8. Fill: Remove the batter from the fridge and get ready to fill the muffins. Use a large cookie scoop or a large spoon to scoop the batter and fill each muffin tin all the way full. It’s okay if they’re slightly overfull. Then spoon the cream cheese mixture into a piping bag, and snip the end off. Press the piping bag into the middle of each muffin and gently squeeze to fill the muffins with about 1-2 tbsp of cream cheese filling each. Sprinkle each with the crumble.
  9. Bake: Place the muffin tin into the oven to bake for 7 minutes at 425F, then reduce the temperature to 350F, and finish baking the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Cool & enjoy: Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Use a butter knife to help gently separate the muffin sides from the tin. Remove each muffin from the tin and enjoy!
  11. Storage: Store any leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days, in the fridge for up to 6, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

Gluten free: You can use King Arthur all-purpose gluten free flour where I call for all-purpose flour.

Cream cheese: I recommend Kite Hill, Tofutti, or my homemade cream cheese (linked in the recipe card). Violife will NOT work here, and Oatly is just okay here. Violife will dissolve completely, and Oatly borders on it, so please go with one of the others!