These Gluten-Free Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins are an easy and healthy recipe everyone will love. They're the perfect plant-based breakfast for weekends or even the Holiday season and they're made without eggs, butter, white flour, or refined sugar!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- It's 100% Vegan + Gluten-Free
- Can Be Prepared In About 10 Minutes
- Made With Clean Ingredients
You can feel good about making my healthy, plant-based recipe because it's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, and contains no refined sugar!
What Goes Into This Recipe
Here are the healthy, clean ingredients I used to make this recipe:
How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions
Here is how to make this recipe and I'll show you with step-by-step instructions below:
Before beginning, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare a muffin pan lined with (12) standard-size paper muffin cups and set aside.
Step 1: Combine + Mix All Wet Ingredients
Firstly, add all the wet ingredients to a small mixing bowl, whisk together until well combined, then set aside.
It's best to mix the wet ingredients before the dry ingredients to give the "buttermilk" mixture (almond milk + lemon juice) time to blend well.
In addition, I find using a mini-whisk mixes everything together better than a regular spoon.
Step 2: Combine + Mix All Dry Ingredients
Secondly, add all the dry ingredients to a medium-size mixing bowl and stir together until well combined.
Step 3: Combine The Wet + Dry Ingredients
Thirdly, add the mixing bowl of wet ingredients to the mixing bowl of dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
Step 4: Add In The Cranberries
Fourthly, add the cranberries to the muffin mixture and gently fold in.
Step 5: Transfer The Muffin Mixture To A Muffin Pan
Fifthly, transfer the muffin mixture to a 12-cavity muffin pan and divide it evenly.
An optional step is to sprinkle some extra organic cane sugar on top of the muffins before baking.
Please note that in the photo, I used a 6-cavity muffin pan to photograph the muffins, but the recipe will make (12) standard-size muffins.
Step 6: Bake The Muffins
Lastly, bake the muffins at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until they are golden on top.
Allow them to cool before serving or they will be crumbly.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Cranberries: This recipe can be made with fresh or frozen cranberries. However, because frozen cranberries are soft and will "bleed" you will need to use less in the recipe. In addition, if you use frozen cranberries, make sure they are not thawed.
- Frozen Cranberries: Use 1 cup
- Fresh Cranberries: Use 1 ½ cups
Gluten-Free Flour: I used Bob's 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour and haven't tested the recipe using a substitute.
Cane Sugar: Can be substituted with your favorite unrefined granular sweetener. If you use organic coconut sugar, the muffins will be a little darker in color.
Baking Powder: Make sure it's fresh for the best results!
Almond Milk: Can be substituted with your favorite non-dairy milk. Another great alternative is Organic Joi Almond Milk made with 100% organic almonds.
Lemon Juice: You can use freshly squeezed or organic store-bought.
Avocado Oil: I haven't tested the recipe using another type of oil, but you could try using organic coconut oil.
Vanilla Extract: If you need this recipe to be 100% Medical Medium compliant, use non-alcohol vanilla.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Orange Essential Oil vs Orange Peel: I prefer to use organic essential oils for flavoring instead of using citrus rinds because of the potential waxes that are used on produce - even organic produce. I used "Organic Sweet Orange" Essential Oil for the orange flavoring but you could also use "Organic Blood Orange". Additionally, I used about 6-8 drops but you can adjust that amount to your preference. If you don't have "orange" essential oil, you could also use the zest of (2) oranges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are These Muffins Healthy?
In my opinion, yes!
For example, let's look at the typical ingredients included in a traditional cranberry orange muffin recipe:
- S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Typical Ingredients: ½ cup butter, ½ cup refined white sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 ¾ cup white flour, and 2 tablespoons milk.
My healthier recipe is 100% vegan and gluten-free and contains no refined sugar.
What If I Don't Have "Orange" Essential Oil?
Not to worry! You can also use the zest of (2) oranges instead.
What Can I Expect from This Recipe?
Keep in mind this is a vegan and gluten-free recipe, meaning it's made without eggs, butter, and white flour which makes traditional muffins fluffy and light.
These will not be as fluffy as a regular muffin, but they hold well together and have a slightly dense texture.
Want More Healthy Plant-Based Breakfast Recipes?
Check out these:
Gluten-Free Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins
Equipment
- Unbleached Muffin Cups
Ingredients
For the dry ingredients:
- 2 cups Bob's 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
For the wet ingredients:
- 1 cup homemade almond milk
- 2 teaspoons organic lemon juice
- ⅓ cup 100% pure avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract
- 6-8 drops Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil (see notes below)
For the add-in:
- 1 - 1 ½ cups organic cranberries (see notes below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a 12-cavity muffin pan lined with standard-size muffin cups and set aside.
Prepare the dry ingredients:
- Add all the dry ingredients to a medium-size mixing bowl, stir until well combined, then set aside.
Prepare the wet ingredients:
- Add all the wet ingredients to a small mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
Assembly:
- Transfer the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and gently mix together until well combined.
- Add the cranberry add-in and gently stir in.
- Divide the muffin mixture between 12 standard-sized muffin cups.
- Optional: Lightly sprinkle extra organic cane sugar over the top of each muffin before baking.
- Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until golden on the tops and the centers come out clean with a toothpick.
- Allow the muffins to cool before removing them from the muffin pan and serving.
Recipe Notes
- Frozen Cranberries: Use 1 cup
- Fresh Cranberries: Use 1 ½ cups
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
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