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 - I usually use all-purpose white flour for these muffins, but you can also use whole wheat flour or a grain-based gluten-free flour mix.
- Sugar - any vegan sugar that you want will work. I usually use organic cane sugar. Darker sugar like coconut sugar will make the muffins darker. If you want to use liquid sweeteners like agave nectar or maple syrup, reduce the plant milk by 2 tablespoons.
- Baking Powder - to make the muffins rise.
- Baking Soda - to make the muffins rise.
- Plant-Based Milk - you can use almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, or whatever milk you want.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - to curdle the milk and activate the baking soda. You can use white vinegar or lemon juice instead.
- Apple Sauce - this repaces the egg in traditional muffins. If you don't have apple sauce you can use 2 mashed bananas.
- Cooking Oil - any neutral-flavored cooking oil will work. I usually use canola oil, but you can also use light olive oil, coconut oil, or even melted vegan butter.
- Orange Extract - for flavor.
- Dried Cranberries - you can also use fresh, but these will be very tart.
🥄 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C) and prepare muffin tins with either spray oil or cupcake liners.
- Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl.
- In a separate container (I like to use a large measuring container) add the wet ingredients.
- Give the wet ingredients a stir then pour them into the dry mixture.
- Stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until all of the flour is incorporated, then stir in the dried cranberries.
- Scoop out the batter and add it to the prepared muffin tins filling them about 3/4 of the way full.
- Place the muffin tin in the oven and turn down the oven temperature to 375° F (190° C).
- Bake for 18 minutes and then allow them to cool before adding the orange glaze or vegan icing 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 teaspoon lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
- 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 teaspoon lemon juice, 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.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a comment and starred review! I would love to hear from you!
These muffins were outstanding! The batter was much thinner than most muffin recipes so I was worried, but they not only tasted wonderful, they rose and looked beautiful. I chose not to glaze them. I did add orange zest to the batter and I used 1tsp. cardamom for the spice. These muffins will definitely be on my regular rotation.
I'm so happy that you liked them, Lauren. They have been in my regular rotation for years, and I never get tired of them. 🙂
Do you think other combos can be used for this muffin recipe, like dried cherry-pistachio? Also have you used silicon muffin pans? Thank you for these vegan recipes.
Yes, you can add in any combo of things that you would like, Barbara. I have never used a silicone muffin pan for these. Metal gets hotter and cooks things faster, so you may have to increase the cooking time by a few minutes. Enjoy! 🙂
A new favorite! They don’t even need the glaze they’re so good. Thank you for sharing!
I'm so happy that you liked them, Missy! 🙂
These were easy and taste good. However, they stuck to the paper cup. Perhaps because I didn’t use oil??
Hi Georgiana, I'm glad that you liked them. Mine do not stick to the wrapper when I use oil, so that was probably it. You can just use a little spray oil on a muffin tin and not use paper at all if you're okay with a tiny bit of oil to avoid sticking. That may work better. 🙂
Sooo good! My new favorite snack.
Thanks Jennifer! So glad that you liked them! 🙂