Breakfast Blueberry Muffin Tops | Vegan, Plant-Based

Are you somebody that likes the muffin top better than the rest of the muffin? If you are, this Breakfast Blueberry Muffin Top recipe is for you. In my household, we have a couple of people who shall remain anonymous, that love the top of the muffins best, and it is not uncommon to find a couple of topless muffins sitting around after a muffin morning. So, to counteract this behavior, I decided to come up with a recipe that would fit this definite preference. And what better timing, as it is blueberry season here in New England. We have countless blueberry patches where you can go and pick your own blueberries; they even grow wild in the woods around here. We are blessed with a beautiful blueberry patch of our own, so these blueberries are from our own garden.

This year we have been visited by a large herd of turkeys that also love our blueberries, so we have had to protect a few bushes with netting.  We are happy to share, but we draw the line when they are not sharing with us.

You do not need special pans for muffin tops, though many stores carry muffin top pans now.  Since I love to try new gadgets and kitchen tools, I have one of those pans, but I find that it is just as easy to use a regular baking sheet tray. Fortunately, this means that you don’t need to clutter your kitchen cabinets with a ton of pans that you may only use a few times a year. 

Since this is a breakfast muffin top, we pack some extra nutrition and fiber into the recipe. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and you want to have energy for the day ahead. Fiber, while indigestible, helps facilitate the absorption and processing of other nutrients – so it’s great to add into any breakfast meal.

What is the Difference Between Muffin Tops and Full Muffins?

Simply put, the difference between muffin tops – like the ones we’re about to make – and full muffins is that there’s no additional cake-like filler on the bottom of these delicious treats. 

Instead, by baking these delicious muffin tops, you’ll be able to enjoy the crispy, rich goodness of the muffin without the messy paper or crumbliness that you might have to deal with in a regular muffin. This recipe is a healthy vegan way to incorporate a little treat into your morning routine guilt-free, giving you all the benefit of the taste and nutrition. 

Quick tips: This is one of my favorite birthday breakfast recipes. This will make anyone a muffin convert, and it has no butter, buttermilk, or other ingredients that might make you feel bogged down at the end of the day. 

Why Are Muffin Tops Better? 

When you eat a breakfast muffin, what do you enjoy the most? The part of the muffin we tend to tackle is the crispy, rich topping, either leaving the bottom spongy cake-like part for later – if we eat it at all. 

Muffin tops taste so much crisper and richer because not only is that where all the flavor and texture come together, but it has also had direct contact with the heat, rather than being insulated by the cupcake tin. 

This difference in texture and flavor of the muffin top versus the rest of the muffin is most likely attributed to what is called the Maillard reaction. It is the changing of flavors that happens when something becomes “golden brown” after it is exposed to direct dry heat, rather than being covered in some way. This tends to add complexity and allows the flavors to blend together better.  

What Do You Put on Top of Muffins Before Baking?

When I’m enjoying a good muffin top, I tend to savor the taste of the ingredients inside the delicious tops themselves, but you couldn’t go wrong with a little bit of vegan crumble either. 

Now, we’re not talking about the super sweet dessert muffins with turbinado sugar over the top or sugar-overload that will have you bouncing off the walls. Instead, we’re making muffin tops that are great to heat in the oven in the morning and incorporate into a healthy, well-rounded breakfast – without sacrificing the delicious sweetness that comes from baked blueberries and vanilla.

Muffin tops are super easy to modify as well if you have other ingredients you want to include as a part of your breakfast. For example, you can swap blueberries for dried and pre-soaked cranberries for an autumnal twist.

Can a Vegan Muffin Top Recipe Be Better Than Non-Vegan Muffin Tops?

Your non-vegan friends may not believe you at first but trust me: make these delicious vegan muffin tops, and they’ll be hooked. This is definitely one of those cases where the vegan version of a standard food is even better and lighter than the ‘original.’ 

No matter the ingredients, nothing that comes out of a bag ready to bake can beat the delicious taste of a homemade muffin top that has the perfect amount of ingredients to your own tastes. 

Not a Fan of Blueberries? Try These Other Berries…

Maybe you can’t find blueberries in your local store, or you’re not a fan of cooked blueberries. You can use just about any berry in its place so long as you take into consideration the difference in flavor and the water content. 

Fresh blueberries have a decent amount of water in them, so cranberries, blackberries, and raspberries tend to make a great substitute. If you cut them into smaller pieces, you can even work strawberries into the mix.

Let’s Talk Breakfast Blueberry Muffin Top Ingredients:

Blueberries:

Blueberries are one of my favorite berries. We are so blessed to have many blueberry bushes in our backyard. Blueberries are super good for us, low in calories, high in nutrients, especially C and K, high in fiber and full of antioxidants. Besides all these benefits, they are also incredibly delicious.

We use all-purpose flour, almond flour, rolled oats and ground golden flax meal in these wonderful light and delicious muffin tops. To make them healthier, you can substitute the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat flour, but be sure to use a little less flour than the recipe calls for, as whole wheat flour generally requires more liquid.

Apple sauce is a wonderful thing to have on hand in vegan baking; it provides moisture in baked goods. It is a great item to have on the shelf. We also add some coconut oil; you can use either refined (no coconut taste) or unrefined, which will have some coconut taste.

I hope you enjoy these muffin tops as much as we do, and if your family happens to have a muffin top lover, it will be a real hit.

Click Here to Watch Me Make this Recipe on YouTube!

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