I noticed three interesting phenomena as I made this rice flour recipe for blueberry muffins for the first time:
- Rice flour expaaaaands…just like how your stomach feels full after eating rice. I scooped some of the batter into my muffin pan, turned away for a minute, and by the time I came back to the pan the batter had already risen about half an inch up to the rims of the wells. While still on the counter!
- The kitchen smells like rice while baking. I know this one doesn’t sound like much of an “aha” but it didn’t really occur to me that there would be any aromatic differences versus my regular wheat flour muffins. That’s mainly because of notable phenomenon #3…
- Rice flour doesn’t really have much flavor. At least not white rice flour and at least not compared to wheat flour. It does have some taste to it but it’s really mild. It’s for this reason that I’m extra glad I decided to grate in some lime zest which added a little more flavor. To its credit, the rice flour did have a touch more texture to it than wheat flour, like a little nutty graininess along the lines of fine cornmeal.
So why did I venture into Blueberry Rice Muffins in the first place? I’d bought rice flour for a breaded chicken dish I made recently (rice flour, it turns out, makes for extra-crunchy breading – especially when used in conjunction with Japanese panko breadcrumbs!) and there was a blueberry muffin recipe printed on the side of the package. They came out just as light as wheat flour muffins and are a terrific gluten-free alternative if you’re ever baking for someone who needs to avoid gluten.
Beside the lime zest I also added a streusel topping, inspired by Barbara from Barbara Bakes who says, “Muffins without a streusel topping are kind of like cupcakes without frosting. Delicious without it, but irresistible with it.” I’m inclined to agree.
Blueberry Rice Muffins
Adapted from the Sue’s White Rice Muffins recipe on the side of the Bob’s Red Mill White Rice Flour package. Streusel topping adapted from Barbara Bakes.
Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 20 min | Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
For the streusel topping:
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white rice flour
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
For the muffins:
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup white rice flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon or lime zest
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Lightly grease a 6-cup muffin tin.
Prepare the streusel topping:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour. Add oil and mix together until fully incorporated and you have a sandy texture. Set aside.
Prepare the muffins:
- In another small bowl, combine white rice flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon or lime zest. Carefully stir in blueberries.
- In a medium bowl, mix the egg, milk and canola oil until well blended. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Pour into the prepared muffin tin, filling each well about 2/3 full. Sprinkle muffins with streusel topping. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are slightly browned. Allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin.
My grand daughter recently diagnosed auto immune. No nuts or grains except rice. I have started trying different recipes to help her adapt. First attempt at these and they were little dry and definitely gritty. I had used brown rice flour. Second attempt used white rice flour with the addition of Tbs tapioca flour. Used butter in the streusel. Checked before baking time up so, not to over bake. They turned out great! Wonderful taste and texture. Nice rise. Definitely not a sweet muffin but we use a drizzle of honey like on corn muffin. Great recipe.
Awesome recipe and thank you for it. It looks quite easy and your instructions are quite easy to understand also. looking forward to making it ASAP.
I have sprouted rice flour…do you think that would make a difference in any way? Currently, I only have frozen blueberries. Thoughts or suggestions?
I’m afraid I’m unfamiliar with sprouted rice flour — sorry!
I’ve used frozen blueberries in both pancakes and muffins, and they turned out a lot better than had I used fresh berries. Hope that helps!
Can I substitute white rice flour with just brown rice flour without adding extra ingredients ?
Maybe? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the different properties of different brown rice types.
Can i subtitute sunflower or olive oil to the canola oil?thanks
Probably? Just be sure to choose an oil that doesn’t really add flavor.
made these and super dry. Don’t leave them in for 20 minutes! they were like hockey pucks. I realize i should have watched closer but 15 minutes would be ample. I had to throw them out —– dry.
Hi .. thanks for the recipe. Just want to make sure.. there is no baking powder or baking soda in the recipe.
There is baking powder listed in the recipe.
Do you know the calorie count of each muffin? That would help those who need to watch their weight. Thanks for sharing.
That’s not something I calculate, but I believe there are online calculators that can do it.
I just got a Wonder Mill And ground some white rice just to see how it would turn out and it looked amazing so, then I looked for a recipe to make something with this flour. Found your blueberry muffin recipe and actually doubled it. I personally like how they turned out they have a nice grainy texture like corn meal. I think next time I will use the frozen berries. Thank you so much for this recipe, Will definitely make again. I turned out every night
Also baked for about 16 minutes will do 15 next time.
What an easy and delicious recipe.
Thank you
Awesome recipe! I used coconut sugar, oat milk, & walnut oil. My 1st batch was yesterday & today I’m swapping the walnut oil for avocado oil. Thank-you so much for a wonderful recipe!
My son was just diagnosed with allergies to dairy, wheat, nuts, & soy at age 13. So it has been a challenge to find recipes that I can adjust to fit his need. This one was perfect. I used brown rice flour (cause I didn’t think there was a difference), frozen blueberries, no lemon zest (no a staple in my kitchen yet), and substituted milk with rice milk. The muffins turned out perfect. Yes they are dry but that is to be expected, but I might try adding some applesauce next time. Thank you for the recipe.
I just tried these. After reading the comments, I was a bit skeptical but they came out great! I doubled the recipe and added 2+ cups of blueberries. (I like a lot of blueberries!) Even my husband likes them! Thanks for the recipe!
Made these using brown rice flour. Twenty minutes was a bit too long…my fault. Next time I will remove the muffins after 20 minutes. The flavor is good. I used lemon zest, and you can really teste it along with the blueberry flavor.
I found these to be extremely dry. Maybe too much baking powder? They rose well and looked nice, but the texture is very grainy.
In one part of directions, oil is mixed with sugar and flour. In another part of the directions egg, milk and oil are mixed in a separate bowl and then the dry ingredients are added.
WHEN is the oil supposed to be added? Other than that, it sounds like a lovely recipe!
OOPS! Just realized one is for the streusel and the other is the muffins batter.???
Yes!