Chickpea Flour Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free & Higher in Fiber)
Chickpea flour blueberry muffins that are gluten-free, plant-based, and packed with fiber. A tender, easy recipe from a Registered Dietitian.
If you’ve been following along here for a while, you know I’m always looking for a new favorite way to sneak more plant-based protein and soluble fiber into an everyday treat. This chickpea flour muffin recipe is quickly becoming one of my favorite chickpea flour recipes — tender, not too sweet, studded with juicy blueberries, and secretly packed with extra grams of protein you won’t find in your average bakery muffin.
This recipe actually started as a conversation, not a craving….
Earlier this year I attended a nutrition session where USA Pulses was a sponsor, and got to talking with Tim McGreevy, the organization’s CEO, about the chickpea flour pancakes he makes with his granddaughter. There was something about the way he described that special time that stuck with me long after the session ended. I wanted him to have something new to make with her, so this muffin is really for the two of them, even though I’m the one who got to test it first. (Quick transparency note: my attendance at that session was partially sponsored, but no one asked me to write this post or told me what to say. This recipe exists because of that conversation, plain and simple.)
Hi, I’m Regan — a registered dietitian, professional recipe developer, and the creator of This Baking Life.
I bake with less sugar and smarter carbs in mind (though you’ll find plenty of full-sugar favorites here too!), so you can enjoy a real dessert without overthinking every bite.
If you make this recipe, tag me @ReganJonesRDN so I can see what you’re baking!
Dietitian Insight
Chickpea flour isn't just a gluten-free swap for purpose flour. It's a genuinely nutritious one. A cup of chickpea/garbanzo bean flour brings meaningful plant-based protein and soluble fiber to the table, which is part of why these muffins keep you fuller, longer, than a typical quick bread. Pair that with the coconut flour and whole psyllium husk in this recipe (more on that "secret ingredient" below), and you've got a nutritious snack that actually does some work for your blood sugar and digestion, not just your sweet tooth.
If you’ve never baked with flour made from chickpeas (garbanzo beans) before, don’t let the idea throw you. Garbanzo bean flour (also named chickpea flour) has a naturally nutty flavor that mellows beautifully once it bakes, and it gives these muffins a satisfying, tender crumb without any wheat flour at all.
What You’ll Need
This recipe comes together in two bowls — one for your wet ingredients, one for your dry ingredients — so keep a large bowl and a medium bowl on your counter before you start.
For the wet ingredients, you’ll whisk together olive oil, a bakeable sugar substitute, a little real sugar, almond milk, vanilla, and eggs at room temperature. I like using extra virgin olive oil here for its healthy fats and mild flavor, though the base of these muffins is forgiving enough that you have some room to play with what’s in your pantry (more on that in the swaps section below).
For the dry ingredients, you’ll whisk together the chickpea flour, coconut flour, whole psyllium husk, baking powder, and kosher salt in a separate bowl before folding it into the wet mixture.
A Secret Ingredient: Psyllium Husk
I know… whole psyllium husk isn’t exactly a typical muffin ingredient, but it’s doing important structural work here. Because chickpea flour has no gluten to give it stretch and lift, psyllium husk absorbs liquid and helps bind the batter, which is exactly what gets you the right texture instead of a dense, dry muffin.
Dietitian Insight
What Makes a Recipe "High Fiber"?
As a dietitian, I consider a baked good high in fiber when it delivers at least 4 grams of fiber per serving — a meaningful amount in a category where most desserts have little to none. (For reference, the FDA's official "excellent source of fiber" claim starts at 5.6g per serving, and "good source" starts around 2.8g; every recipe in this category meets or exceeds the good-source line, and most clear the higher bar.) Fiber numbers on this site are calculated using a detailed, ingredient-by-ingredient nutrition analysis process, including USDA reference data and manufacturer labels for branded ingredients.
How to Make Chickpea Flour Blueberry Muffins
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and coat 9 cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray, or line your muffin pan with muffin liners.
- Whisk your wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Whisk your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then stir into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Fold in the fresh blueberries (and reserve a few extra. I like dotting the tops of the muffin batter with a few additional berries so every bite gets its fair share of blueberry goodness.)
- Spoon the batter evenly into your muffin cups and bake until golden brown and set, about 25 minutes.
Total time, start to finish, is well under an hour, which makes this an easy weekday bake even if you’re not naturally a muffin lover in the mornings.
Tips for Best Results
- Don’t overmix. Stir until the dry ingredients just disappear into the wet. Overmixing is one of the fastest ways to end up with less-than-perfect muffins.
- Let them rest. Cool the muffins in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. This helps the crumb finish setting.
- Store smart. Once fully cooled, keep muffins in an airtight container in the ‘fridge for a couple of days, or in the freezer for longer storage.
Swaps & Substitutions
I always encourage you to bake the recipe as written the first time, since these exact amounts of each ingredient were tested together for a reason. But I know a lot of you like to make a recipe your own, so here’s how I’d think through a few common questions:
Can I make these vegan chickpea flour muffins?
As written, this recipe isn’t vegan. It calls for two eggs, which give the crumb structure that chickpea flour can’t provide on its own. If you want to experiment with a flax egg or another egg replacer, I’d start with one egg swapped at a time rather than both, since chickpea flour batters can already be finicky. I haven’t tested this myself, so treat it as a starting point, not a guarantee.
Can I use a different flour?
This recipe was developed specifically with chickpea flour, coconut flour, and psyllium husk working together, so swapping in whole wheat flour, oat flour, almond flour, or almond meal will change the texture and likely the amount of liquid the batter needs. If you’re craving a more traditional muffin, both my Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin and basic Small Batch Blueberry Muffin recipes are better jumping-off points for other flours.
What about the milk, oil, or sweeteners?
Soy milk, oat milk, or another plant-based milk should work fine in place of the almond milk. For the oil, coconut oil or canola oil can stand in for the olive oil, though with coconut oil you’ll lose a little of that mild, healthy-fats flavor. If you’d rather use maple syrup, coconut sugar, or brown sugar instead of the sugar substitute, know that you’re changing the added sugar content of the recipe, which was written intentionally to keep that number low.
Other mix-in ideas:
A handful of chocolate chips, chia seeds, or ground flaxseeds would all fold in nicely if you want to change things up. A swipe of peanut butter or almond butter on top of a warm muffin isn’t a bad idea either.
Why I Like Baking With Chickpea Flour
Between the plant-based protein, the soluble fiber, and the fact that it’s one of the more accessible whole foods flours out there, chickpea flour has earned a permanent spot in my gluten-free baking rotation. These muffins in particular walk that line between “healthy muffin” and genuinely craveable — the chickpea flavor stays in the background, and the juicy blueberries do a lot of the talking.
If you give this chickpea flour muffin recipe a try, I’d love to know what you think in the comments. And if you’re building out a collection of gluten free recipes for your own gluten-free baking rotation, you’ll find more quick breads and muffin recipes like this one throughout the blog.
You’ll find the exact amounts of each ingredient, in US customary measurements, in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Protein + Fiber Check 💪🏻 🌱
Each muffin delivers about 5 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber—thanks to chickpea flour, psyllium husk, coconut flour, and eggs doing double duty here. That combination does more than simply create structure in a gluten-free muffin. Protein and fiber work together to slow digestion, promote satiety, and support steadier blood sugar levels, which can help you feel satisfied longer than you might after a typical bakery-style muffin.
While these aren't considered a high-protein food, they do provide more protein than many traditional blueberry muffins. Whether you're simply trying to eat more balanced, navigating appetite changes while taking a GLP-1 medication, or just hoping to avoid the 10 a.m. energy crash, these muffins are a nourishing way to start the day.
Regan · The Baking Dietitian This recipe was personally developed and tested by me. I never use AI to write or alter the recipe itself. Some photos on this site use AI to adjust the background. The food/recipe is real and not generated by AI.
Chickpea Flour Blueberry Muffins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 9 muffins
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Description
Gluten-free chickpea flour blueberry muffins with a nice dose of fiber. Easy, tender, and RDN-developed — perfect for a healthy grab-and-go snack or quick breakfast.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup bakeable sugar substitute*
- 1/4 cup sugar**
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup chickpea/garbanzo bean flour
- 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
- 1 Tbsp. whole pysllium husk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 9 muffin cups of a muffin tray with cooking spray. (Alternatively, line with paper liners.)
- Whisk together oil, sugar substitute, sugar, milk, vanilla, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together chickpea flour, coconut flour, pysllium husk, baking powder, and salt in a medium separate bowl. Add to oil mixture, and stir until well combined. Fold in blueberries. Spoon muffin batter evenly into muffin cups.
- Bake in preheated oven until muffins are golden brown and set, about 25 minutes.
Notes
*I often use either Swerve Granular or NOW Foods Allulose
**You could omit this sugar for a slightly less sweet, completely sugar-free recipe. I find that a little bit of real sugar enhances the flavor and doesn’t have a huge impact on the per muffin sugar content.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Category: Breakfast, Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 160
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 5 g
A Note on Nutrition Information
The nutrition and wellness information shared in this post — including references to protein, fiber, and GLP-1 medications — is intended for general educational purposes only and reflects my perspective as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for individualized guidance from your physician, prescribing provider, or a registered dietitian familiar with your health history. Nutritional needs vary significantly from person to person, particularly for individuals managing a medical condition or taking prescription medication. Please consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, especially if you are currently taking a GLP-1 medication or have other health considerations.
Shop My Kitchen Curious what I bake with? From my go-to mixer to the pans I reach for most, I’ve rounded up the tools and equipment I actually use on my Amazon storefront. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
