These vegan cranberry orange muffins with a hint of spice are perfect for a special occasion or just a lazy Sunday morning. Dried cranberries, orange flavor, and nutmeg make a flavor combo that you'll love. And they are free of eggs, dairy, gluten, nuts, and soy, so everyone can enjoy them!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Orange, cranberry, and nutmeg are the perfect flavor trio!
- They're easily made with no egg, dairy, gluten, nuts, or soy, so everyone can eat them.
- You can make them ahead and still taste great the next day.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour – either white or whole-grain wheat or a mix of both. You can also use any grain-based gluten-free flour mix.
- Sugar – to sweeten the muffins. Make sure to use vegan sugar. You can use any other granulated sweetener that you wish.
- Baking Soda – to help the muffins rise.
- Baking Powder – to help the muffins rise.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Apple Sauce – to make the muffins moist and to replace the eggs in traditional muffins.
- Oil – to make the muffins moist. Any neutral-flavored oil like canola, refined coconut oil, or light olive oil. (You can replace the oil with equal amounts of more apple sauce if you want oil-free muffins).
- Plant-Based Milk – to make the muffins moist. Soy, almond, cashew, or rice milk will all work.
- Orange Extract – for an orange flavor.
🥄 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F and prepare muffin tins with either spray oil or cupcake liners.
- Measure out all the dry ingredients and add them to a mixing bowl.
- In a separate container (I like to use a large measuring cup) add all the wet ingredients.
- Give the wet ingredients a good stir and then pour them into the dry mixture and add dried cranberries.
- Stir until it forms a smooth batter and then immediately fill the cupcake tins.
- Place the muffins in the oven and turn down the oven temperature to 375° F.
- Bake for 18 minutes and then allow to cool before adding an orange glaze if desired.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- Be sure to spoon measure your flour, so you have an accurate measurement.
- You can add a little orange zest to the muffin batter and/or the glaze for a stronger orange flavor.
- Make sure to pre-heat your oven to 400° F (200°C) and that it has reached that temperature before putting your muffins in the oven or they will not rise as much.
- Make sure your baking powder has not expired, or it will not rise well and you will have flat muffins.
🍊 How to make an orange glaze
It is super easy to make a glaze to drizzle over your muffins! Simply mix 1/3 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tsp of orange juice and a 1/2 tsp orange extract in a small bowl... and you're done! (You don't need the orange extract in the glaze, but it does give it a stronger orange flavor).
You can also use my vegan crumble topping baked on top of the muffins instead of the orange glaze.
❔ Frequently asked questions
I love these muffins made with 1 cup of white flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. This gave them a great flavor and texture. However, to achieve the same thing, use 1 cup of a gluten-free flour mix and 1 cup of oat flour.
Oat flour may sound fancy, but it is simply oats ground down into a powder. To do this, just put whole oats (GF oats if needed) into a dry blender and pulse for about 30 seconds until they become the desired consistency.
Yes, it is easy to make these cranberry orange muffins fat free by simply adding 1/3 cup additional applesauce instead of using oil.
🌟 More healthy muffin recipes
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffin
- Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Healthy Vegan Muffins with Hidden Veggies
- Vegan Spinach Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A vegan cranberry muffin with a hint of orange and spice!
- 2 cups flour (I like 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
- 2/3 cup vegan sugar or sweetener of choice
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup soy milk or any plant-based milk of choice
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 1/3 cup oil (any neutral flavored oil will work) or sub with 1/3 cup more applesauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and prepare muffin tins with either spray oil or cupcake liners.
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Measure out all the dry ingredients ( 2 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1 cup dried cranberries) and add them to a mixing bowl.
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In a separate container (I like to use a large measuring cup) add all the wet ingredients. (3/4 cup milk of choice, 1 cup apple sauce, 1/3 cup oil, 1 1/2 tsp orange extract)
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Give the wet ingredients a good stir and then pour them into the dry mixture and dried cranberries.
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Stir with a spatula until it forms a smooth batter and then immediately fill the cupcake tins.
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Place in oven and turn down the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C).
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Bake for 18 minutes and then allow to cool before adding orange glaze if desired.
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Mix the powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange extract in a small bowl until smooth, then drizzle over top of the cool muffins.
- Be sure to spoon measure your flour, so you have an accurate measurement.
- You can add a little orange zest to the muffin batter and/or the glaze for a stronger orange flavor.
- Make sure to pre-heat your oven to 400° F (200°C) and that it has reached that temperature before putting your muffins in the oven or they will not rise as much.
- Make sure your baking powder has not expired, or it will not rise well and you will have flat muffins.
*This recipe was originally posted on 9/113/2018. It was updated on 9/29/20 to include new images and more detailed instructions.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Did you make this recipe? I would love to hear from you! Please take a minute and leave a quick comment and a star review below. Thanks!
