Gluten-Free Strawberry Muffins (Light & Fluffy)

Make the best gluten-free strawberry muffins with this easy and versatile recipe! Light and fluffy muffins dotted with juicy strawberries and a crunchy sweet topping are adaptable for dairy-free or a variety of fruit flavors!

strawberry muffins gluten-free!

Whether you have a bounty of fresh strawberries, ones past their prime, or stockpile of frozen berries, these gluten-free strawberry muffins with make your produce shine! This recipe is right up there with other strawberry favorites, like gluten-free strawberry shortcake and no bake strawberry cheesecake.

If you don’t have fresh or frozen strawberries on hand, though, use this recipe as a basic template for many gluten-free muffins. The possibilities are endless, such as blueberry muffins, gluten-free blackberry muffins, mixed berry, or strawberry lemon!

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten-free flour – The most essential criteria for achieving the best strawberry muffins starts with a quality flour. I’ve found Cup4Cup gluten-free flour to be superior, but for an alternative gluten-free flour blend see my gluten-free flour resource.
• Eggs – This recipe uses 3 large eggs, which is more than a typical muffin recipe. Since the batter is thick, adding an extra egg adds moisture without making a gummy crumb.
• Sour Cream or Yogurt – Gives the tang of buttermilk, but keeps dough sturdier to help structure. For dairy-free muffins, replace with coconut or almond milk yogurt, the higher fat content the better.
• Butter – Melting the butter hydrates the ingredients more than softened butter. For dairy-free muffins, replace with vegan butter sticks.

how to make gluten-free strawberry muffins

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter so it has time to cool to room temperature before mixing with the other ingredients. Line standard-size muffin pan with liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the cooled butter, sugar, yogurt or sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine until no flour pockets remain. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries.
4. Use a large trigger scoop to distribute the batter between the muffin cups. Sprinkle on optional turbinado sugar, for a sweet crunchy topping.
5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

storing and freezing

Once they have completely cooled store in an airtight container up to 2 days at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge, or they will dry out.

For optimal freshness, I freeze gluten-free muffin leftovers right away since they don’t stay fresh as long. Wrap the muffins in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container up to 3 months. 

dairy-free muffins

Even with the addition of butter and yogurt, these gluten-free strawberry muffins can easily be made into a dairy-free recipe as well!

Replace the yogurt with coconut or almond milk yogurt, the higher fat content the better. For the butter use vegan butter sticks, but cut the salt to ¼ teaspoon.

additions and modifications

These gluten-free strawberry muffins may be used as a basic gluten free muffin recipe to adapt into many versions!

• For strawberry lemon muffins, add 1 tablespoon lemon zest to the muffin batter. Drizzle tops with a lemon glaze (1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice).
• Add a crumb topping. Follow the streusel topping ingredients and directions on these gluten-free apple muffins.
• Replace the fresh strawberries with frozen, blueberries, any mixed berries.
• Drizzle the tops with a vanilla glaze (1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1 ½ tablespoons milk and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract).

expert tips for fluffy gluten-free muffins

Why are most gluten-free muffin recipes dry and crumbly, or on the other hand dense, with a gummy texture? They simply require some easy tricks to offset these common baking woes.

Through testing hundreds of gluten-free baking recipes, plus writing a gluten-free cookbook, here are my top tricks for making the best, fluffy gluten-free muffins!

1. Let the batter rest before baking. This gives time for the gluten-free starches to hydrate and relax. However, if the batter sits too long too much moisture is absorbed, resulting in dry muffins.
2. Use a superior gluten-free flour blend. There’s a variety on the market, varying in prices. In my opinion, through experimenting to find the best gluten-free flour, Cup4Cup gluten-free flour outshines others.
3. Replacing some of the GF flour with almond flour offsets gritty texture in baked goods and adds moisture. For every cup of flour, remove 2 tablespoons and replace with almond flour.
4. Using a traditional recipe and simply replacing with gluten-free flour always doesn’t lead to the best results. Gluten-free starches absorbs fats differently, which could lead to dry or greasy baked goods. Like in this gluten-free strawberry muffin recipe, adding yogurt or sour cream with the fat balances the texture.

Click here to see the
step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!

more gluten-free muffin recipes

• Almond Flour Banana Muffins
• Oat Flour Muffins
• Gluten-Free Corn Muffins
• Applesauce Muffins

SAVE THIS recipe for gluten free strawberry muffins TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!

Let’s be friends on Pinterest! I’m always sharing great recipes!

This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.