Vegan Cranberry Muffins are they’re loaded with fresh cranberries, nuts, and a hint of orange flavor. This easy recipe come together quickly – no mix necessary! They’re perfect for Thanksgiving breakfast, Christmas brunch, or snack time on any day in between! This recipe is vegan with a gluten-free option.
Vegan Cranberry Muffins
Sometime during my Christmas break last year, I had a hankering for cranberry muffins. I had some cranberries in the freezer, along with the usual muffin ingredients, so I baked up a quick batch using some of my other muffin recipes as inspiration. They baked up nicely, and I wanted to share the recipe, but a blog post about cranberry muffins shortly after Christmas just didn’t seem very timely. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, and Christmas coming fast on its heels, the time has come to finally share it with you!
How to Make Vegan Cranberry Muffins
Making muffins is so simple that’s almost silly notto bake up a batch! It only takes a few minutes to throw all of the ingredients together.
- First, you mix together the dry ingredients.
- Then, you mix together the wet ingredients and pour them into the dry ingredients.
- Next, you fold in the cranberries and nuts.
- Finally, you scoop the batter into a muffin tin and bake!
Recipe Notes
When mixing batter, mix the wet and dry ingredients together until they’re just incorporated. Overmixing can cause the muffins to turn out gummy.
Placing the rack in the upper third of the oven is a trick I learned from Fran Costigan in her Rouxbe Essential Vegan Desserts course. It’s the key to getting a nice domed top on the muffins.
Cranberry and orange pair really well together, so I used orange juice in this recipe, rather than clabbered almond milk, which is usually my go-to when making muffins. If you’re feeling fancy, you can add a little orange zest to the wet ingredients when making the batter. (I get lazy, and I pretty much never zest my citrus fruits when I see recipes calling for it!)
I usually bake muffins like these with whole wheat or spelt flour. If you follow a gluten-free diet, try an all-purpose gluten-free baking mix like Bob’s Red Mill’s 1 to 1 Baking Flour.
I like to use walnuts or pecans in my cranberry muffins for a little crunch. You can use any type of nut or seed that you like. If you’re allergic to nuts, you can omit them all together.
Vegan Cranberry Muffins are a great treat for breakfast or brunch on Thanksgiving or Christmas. I also love just having them as a snack with a cup of apple cider tea during the autumn months!
Vegan Cranberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour mix
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup apple sauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cranberries either fresh or thawed frozen
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil the cups of a muffin pan or line it with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the orange juice, maple syrup, apple sauce, and vanilla.
- Pour the wet mixture into dry mixture and mix until there are no visible lumps of flour. Do not overmix.
- Carefully fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling them ¾ of the way full.
- Bake until the muffins are golden brown around the edges and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 to 20 minutes.
Other muffin recipes you might enjoy include:
Joshua Howard
These muffins look perfect! Is it possible to make them with apple juice?
Dianne
Thank you, Joshua! I haven't tried them with apple juice, but I'm sure it would work.
AJ
Can we use dried cranberries?
Dianne
I don't know. I've never made them with dried cranberries.
Leslie Caza
Yum Yum! I made just a few small changes. I replaced the baking powder and baking soda with a heaping tablespoon of Ener-G baking powder. I also quickly pulsed the walnuts and cranberries in my food processor and added them in with the dry ingredients. Ener-g has only 1 rise so you have to work quickly to get it in a hot oven, so I put the batter in a 8"x11" pan to bake for 30 minutes instead of taking the time to do the muffins. It was perfect and yummy. Not too sweet.
Dianne
I'm so glad you liked it, Leslie!
Shellie
These are great! The only change I made was substituting coconut nectar for the maple syrup. Thanks, Dianne. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Dianne
I'm so glad you enjoyed them, Shellie! Happy Thanksgiving!
Danielle
I have made these for my toddler multiple times and she loves them! She is allergic to eggs so always looking for vegan recipes to try. This one is perfect
Dianne
I"m so happy to hear that!
Gail
These look wonderful and I am extra excited because they are oil-free. Do they come out of the pans easily, or do you need to use silicone bakeware? I'm looking forward to giving them a try!
Dianne
Thank you, Gail! I've never had problems getting them out of the muffin pan.
Suee33
Very good and made them with shelled salted and roasted Pistachio nuts yummy!! Thank you for the recipe.
Dianne
I'm so glad you liked them!