Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons

Hello friends! Today we are making Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons! These vegan macarons are filled with Vegan Lemon Buttercream and Blueberry jam, and they feature a two-color shell!

Please make sure to watch the video included in this page, and on YouTube, showing you exactly how to make these macarons.

And before you begin: make sure to read the instructions thoroughly, and also make sure to have an oven thermometer.

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vegan macarons the shells are purple and yellow, they are filled with lemon buttercream and are in a white bowl with a container with blueberries and a container with jam around

In my YouTube channel, I have been posting recipes for my vegan macarons, and I have posted a video for these Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons as well.

If you watch my older videos, you will notice a few differences from then to now in the way I make my macarons.

The main changes have been concerning the aquafaba, and oven temperature. And I will talk a little about them now.

Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons purple and yellow shells filled with lemon buttercream, two macarons stacked on top of the other and one macaron on the side

About the aquafaba, I used to reduce the aquafaba when I first started making vegan macarons. Reducing the aquafaba entails opening a can of chickpeas, draining the liquid, then simmering the liquid until it reduces to about half, then letting it cool for several hours in the fridge to be able to whip it into a meringue.

So, as you can see, it’s a step that takes a long time, and requires planning, extra dishes, etc.

Which is why, after seeing some vegan macaron bakers say they didn’t reduce their aquafabas, I decided to start making my vegan macarons without reducing the aquafaba.

purple and yellow vegan macarons filled with buttercream on top of a wooden board with blueberries around and on the back a jar of blueberry jam and half of a lemon

So now, I simply open a can of chickpeas, drain the aquafaba and proceed to whip it into the meringue. That’s it!

It saves so much time and work!

If you still reduce your aquafaba, I really recommend trying to make the macarons without reducing it and see how it goes!

Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons purple and yellow shells filled with lemon buttercream, the macaron shells are purple and yellow

Second difference from before to now is the oven temperature, in some of my older recipes, I was using a 310ºF temperature, and I had also experimented with a much lower temperature of 210ºF.

Now, I bake them at 285ºF, and I have settled on this temperature. Between switching ovens, and switching some of my techniques, I found this is the most optimal temperature for my oven.

Please read the Vegan Matcha Macarons post where I explain in detail the importance of having an oven thermometer, and also figuring out your own oven when making macarons.

purple and yellow vegan macarons filled with buttercream on top of a wooden board with blueberries around and on the back a jar of blueberry jam and half of a lemon

And the third change, I have stopped instructing the macaronage to be done until the batter is on a ribbon stage. If you fold this much, the macarons will likely explode in the oven, or crack.

When making egg white macarons, the standard advice for mastering the macaronage is to fold the batter until you can pick up some batter with a spatula, and draw several figure 8s with the falling batter without having it break up.

However, if you are making vegan macarons, you must stop folding the batter way before it is at the “figure 8 stage”.

Please make sure to watch the video, specially at the minute 3:30 as you can see on the clip below, since it shows exactly what the perfect macaronage should look like.

Also, folding the batter less will help you avoid hollow macarons.

purple and yellow vegan macarons filled with buttercream in a plate

If you like this Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons recipe, I recommend checking out my other vegan macaron recipes below:

purple and yellow vegan macarons filled with buttercream and blueberry jam, with a bite taken to show the inside of the macarons

If you make these Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons make sure to tag me on instagram, and leave a comment below! Thank you so much for reading!

vegan macarons the shells are purple and yellow, they are filled with lemon buttercream and are in a white bowl with a container with blueberries and a container with jam around

Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons

Camila Hurst
These Vegan Lemon Blueberry Macarons are made with aquafaba. The filling is a Vegan Lemon Buttercream and Blueberry Jam in the center.
4.75 from 4 votes
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 40 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French, vegan
Servings 20 macarons
Calories 115 kcal

Ingredients
  

Vegan Macaron Shells
  • 110 grams almond flour
  • 110 grams powdered sugar
  • 75 grams aquafaba*
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 66 grams granulated sugar
  • Food coloring I used purple and yellow
Vegan Lemon Buttercream
  • 4 tbsp vegan butter 56 grams, 2 oz
  • 1 cup powdered sugar sifted 125 grams, 4.4 oz
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest from 2 lemons
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
Blueberry Jam
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 tbsp sweetener sugar or maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp water

Instructions
 

Vegan Macaron Shells
  • Gather all of the ingredients before starting to make the macarons. Measure out the almond flour, powdered sugar, aquafaba, cream of tartar, and granulated sugar.
  • Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
  • And fit a large piping bag with a round tip. Also set aside two piping bags if you plan on doing the two different color shells.
  • Sift the almond flour and the powdered sugar together. Set aside.
  • Place the aquafaba in the bowl of a mixer.
  • Start whipping on low speed and add the cream of tartar.
  • Whip for about 30 seconds, until the aquafaba starts getting white and thick.
  • Raise the speed to medium and continue to whip for another minute or so, until you are able to see streaks left by the whisk on the aquafaba.
  • At this point, raise the speed to high, or medium-high, and start to add the granulated sugar, slowly, a bit at a time. I like to add it in three different additions, to give the sugar a chance to incorporate with the aquafaba.
  • Continue to whip until the meringue achieves stiff peaks.
  • The whole whipping, from beginning to end, should last about 10 to 15 minutes. It might take more or less time depending on your mixer, and on your aquafaba.
  • The peaks should be shooting straight up.
  • Add the sifted dry ingredients to the whipped aquafaba. Start folding with a spatula slowly.
  • Fold just until you see no more dry ingredients. At this point split the batter between two different bowls. Cover one bowl with a towel so it doesn’t dry out. And set it aside.
  • Work with one batter at a time. We are going to dye the first batter yellow.
  • Add yellow food coloring and fold the batter forming a letter J with the spatula.
  • Fold until the batter is flowing slightly. You don’t want the batter to be flowing continuously off the spatula. When it comes to vegan macarons, the folding time is very very brief. You are basically just looking to incorporate the dry ingredients with the meringue. Please watch the video to see what the consistency should look like. If you grab a spatula full of batter and hold it over the bowl, it should still be separating in chunks, and not flowing continuously on a ribbon. Do not get to the ribbons stage! If you get to the ribbon stage, the macaron feet will spread out in the oven.Transfer the batter to the piping bag.
  • Transfer the yellow batter to a piping bag, and set it aside.
  • Now do the same thing with the other batter. I used purple food coloring and a touch of blue.
  • Fold it until it has the proper consistency. Transfer to the other piping bag.
  • Now snip the ends of both yellow and purple batter piping bags.
  • Place both piping bags inside the large piping bag with the large round piping tip. (Watch the video on this page or on Youtube to see how this is done)
  • Place the piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each circle template on the baking sheet.
  • Pipe 1 1/2” circles, applying equal pressure on all sides of the piping bag, so both colors get dispensed somewhat evenly.
  • Slam the trays against the counter to release air bubbles.
  • Use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles.
  • Let the trays rest for 20-40 minutes until the shells are dry. Test this by touching a macaron gently with your finger. Depending on humidity levels and weather, it might take longer or less time for the macarons to dry.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 285ºF.
  • Bake each tray separately, one tray at a time.
  • Bake for a total of 20 minutes, or until the macarons are easily coming off the silicon mat.
  • Remember to rotate the tray every 5 minutes, to ensure even baking.
  • Baking time might vary depending on your oven, consistency of the batter, oven temperature.
  • Let the macarons cool down before filling.
Vegan Lemon Buttercream
  • Whip the butter on medium for about 1 minute, until creamy. I like to use vegan butter straight from the fridge, so it doesn’t get runny and melty.
  • Add the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the bowl, and mix on low until combined. Raise the speed and cream for another minute.
  • If you notice the buttercream is too stiff or dry, add a bit of non-dairy milk, or water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
  • If the buttercream is too runny, maybe the butter got too soft, or you need more powdered sugar. Add more sifted powdered sugar and cream until you achieve the proper consistency.
Blueberry Jam
  • You can use store-bought jam, and you will need 1/4 cup. Otherwise, follow this easy recipe below.
  • Place the blueberries, sweetener, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the blueberries are softened and syrupy.
  • Dissolve the cornstarch in the water, add it to the blueberries, and cook, stirring for 1 to 2 minutes, until thick.
  • Remove to a bowl and let it cool in the fridge thoroughly before using to fill the macarons.
To assemble
  • Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edges of each bottom shell. Fill the middle with a little bit of jam. Top with another shell.
  • Make sure to let macarons mature in the fridge for 24-48 hours before serving. They will have a much better consistency and flavor.
To store
  • Keep macarons in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Notes

Aquafaba is the water you obtain from cooking chickpeas (or other legumes). The aquafaba I use is water drained from a chickpea can. Some people use the juice from other beans also, and some people like to boil their own dry chickpeas to obtain the aquafaba, and you can do that, but make sure to study what are the best ratios water:chickpeas so your aquafaba is concentrated enough
Aquafaba: I used to reduce the aquafaba before. But I don’t reduce it anymore, and not only it works perfectly, but also it’s way less work.
Macaronage: Do not let the batter reach ribbon stage. If it reaches ribbon stage it will be over mixed, the batter is supposed to be thick. Watch my videos on YouTube to see what it should look like.
Thick batter: If the batter is too thick while mixing, add a teaspoon of aquafaba as you mix, until you obtain the perfect consistency.
Oven thermometer: Please make sure to have an oven thermometer! I receive a lot of troubleshooting questions and the great majority are issues caused due to not having an oven thermometer. Read this post for more detailed information about how important this is.
Oven temperature: Please experiment with your own oven temperature. Temperatures will vary depending on your oven and technique. It’s important to experiment and see what works best for your own oven. In my old oven I used to bake this same recipe at 310ºF. However, with my new oven, I bake it at 285ºF. This comes to show that the temperature will vary greatly depending on your own oven. Please experiment and find out what works best for you.
Tray rotation: some bakers don’t need to rotate their trays when baking macarons. If your oven bakes evenly and doesn’t have any hot spots, you might be able to skip the tray rotation.
Troubleshooting: if your macarons are exploding, flattening out, with the feet spreading to the sides, that can mean a few things:
1- hot oven (make sure to have oven thermometer and experiment with the optimal oven temperature for your oven).
2- over mixed batter. It’s really easy to over mix vegan macaron batter. Mix it just until it starts to flow. Watch the videos on my youtube channel for reference.
3- under whipped meringue: make sure the meringue has really stiff peaks. It can take some time. Just be patient.
Jam: If you don’t want to make the homemade blueberry jam, you can use store-bought, and you will need about 1/4 cup blueberry jam.
Keyword macarons, vegan

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18 Comments

    1. I don’t use a convection oven. My oven’s heat comes from the bottom, I really recommend you study your oven and experiment with different settings, temperatures, rack levels, to find out what’s optimal for you. Each oven is different and will require different settings.

  1. 5 stars
    Hi Camila! What brand of granulated sugar and powdered sugar do you use to make these vegan macarons? They look delicious and would love to try to make these!

  2. Hi, I tried to follow the method here closely. Somehow I always ended up with porous macarons or flat feet macarons. But when I cut open the macarons, they are always well incorporated, no hollow shells, nothing.. I am not sure what went wrong.

      1. Yes, I always beat till stiff peak. My latest batch has no feet, and a little hollow inside now. I am hoping I can perfect this.

  3. 4 stars
    I’m on my second day of attempting to make these! The tops are perfectly smooth but the base doesn’t seem to cook!? Could you please give me some advice?!

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