These Gluten-Free Vegan Sunflower Seed Muffins are the perfect easy new muffin recipe. They are made with whole food and clean ingredients and they are guaranteed to keep you full for hours. These delicious muffins are moist, fluffy, and naturally sweet!
Muffins are probably one of my all-time favorite foods. I love traditional muffins, but I honestly think I like my gluten-free muffins even more! My Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Muffins and Bakery Style Gluten-Free Vanilla Muffins are some of my favorite recipes of all time. Since these muffins were so good I figured it was time to add another delicious muffin recipe to the mix!
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Jump to:
- Sunflower Seed Muffin Ingredients:
- How To Make Gluten-Free Sunflower Seed Muffins:
- Substitutions:
- SunButter Muffins Variations:
- What You Will Need To Make These Gluten-Free Vegan Sunflower Seed Muffins:
- How To Store Sunflower Seed Muffins:
- Top Tip:
- Frequently Asked Questions:
- Related Sunbutter Recipes:
- Gluten-Free Vegan Sunflower Seed Muffins
- More Gluten-Free Vegan Muffin Recipes:
- Food Safety:
Sunflower Seed Muffin Ingredients:
These sunflower muffins are a great healthy muffin recipe because it's made with simple ingredients that you can pick up at your local grocery store.
​Dry Ingredients:
- Gluten-Free Flour - Any gluten-free flour blend should work perfectly for these muffins. I've linked my go-to gluten-free flour blend for baking. In my opinion, this flour works the most like all-purpose flour, and it has more wholesome ingredients than other gluten-free flour.
- Oat Flour - I love using oat flour in addition to gluten-free flour, because it creates the perfect bouncy fluffy texture, and it's full of fiber and protein. You can easily make your own oat flour by blending rolled or quick oats in the blender on high for 30 seconds, there's no need to buy overpriced premade oat flour.
- Coconut Sugar - I love using coconut sugar as an unrefined sweetener in baking. It works just like cane sugar, except it's packed full of nutrients.
- Baking Soda - Works with apple cider vinegar in this recipe to make delicious gluten-free fluffy muffins.
- Baking Powder - The best way to make gluten-free and vegan muffins like these is to use baking powder. It's a simple leavening agent that works wonders. Using the perfect amount of both baking powder and baking soda will give you the perfect muffins.
- Sea Salt - A pinch of salt helps to enhance the flavor of these muffins.
- Ground Flax Seeds - This will be mixed with water to create the flax egg which is the perfect vegan egg substitute.
Wet Ingredients:
- Unsweetened Soy Milk - Any plant-based milk will work for this recipe. However, I always like to use unsweetened soy milk because it contains more healthy fats than other plant-based milks which will result in a more moist muffin.
- Water - This will be mixed with the flaxseed to create a vegan flax egg.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - This will activate the baking soda and help the muffins to rise.
- SunButter No Sugar Added Sunflower Seed Butter - I love using Sunbutter in baking recipes as an oil replacement. It adds healthy fats and delicious sunflower seed flavor. I like using the no sugar added sunflower seed butter to avoid added sugars, however, any variety of Sunbutter will work.
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce - This is a great replacement for vegetable oil in baking recipes. It works very similarly to vegetable oil, it is low-calorie, and it adds a little extra sweetness.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Gluten-Free Sunflower Seed Muffins:
These Sunflower muffins are the perfect easy and quick breakfast recipe.Â
1. Begin by making the flax egg. Combine the ground flax seed with the water and mix. Set the egg mixture aside for 10 minutes or until it's thick and eggy.Â
2. Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until combined.Â
3. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until the muffin batter is smooth.
4. Prepare a muffin tin with muffin cups. Then spoon batter equally into each cup. Place the muffin tin into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown.
​5. Once the muffins are done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cooled top with the maple glaze. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Hint: The maple glaze will work best with chilled muffins. If you have the time put them in the fridge or freezer for about 15-20 minutes to get nice and chilled before topping.
Substitutions:
There are a handful of easy substitutions that can be made to these sunflower seed muffins if needed. Here are some common ones.
- Whole Wheat Flour - You can replace the gluten-free flour with whole wheat flour if you are not gluten-free.
- Peanut Butter - Peanut butter can be used as a substitute for sunflower seed butter (as well as any other nut butter), however, keep in mind that this will impact the flavor and it will no longer be nut-free.
- Nut Milk - If you are not nut-free any nut milk will work. Using unsweetened almond milk is a great way to lower the calories in these muffins.
- Sugar - You can use dark brown sugar or maple crystals (code: "NATURALVEGAN" for $10 off!) as a 1:1 substitute for coconut sugar.
SunButter Muffins Variations:
There are a couple of fun ways to mix up these sunflower seed muffins.
- Sunflower Seeds - Add â…“ cup sunflower seeds to the muffin batter for added taste and crunch. You can use raw or roasted sunflower seeds, both will work great for this recipe. You can also use a variety of different nuts or sesame seeds.
- Chocolate Chip - You can add a handful of vegan chocolate chips to make these rich dark chocolate muffins.
What You Will Need To Make These Gluten-Free Vegan Sunflower Seed Muffins:
These sunflower muffins are great because they don't require any crazy equipment. Here's what you'll need to make these.
- Mixing Bowls - You will need a large or medium bowl and a small bowl for this recipe.
- Electric Mixer - You can mix the muffin batter by hand, but I find it much easier to just use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer!
- Muffin Tin - You can either make 6 large muffins like the recipe calls for, or you can make 12 small bite-sized muffins.
- Muffin Liners - These are optional, but I find they prevent a giant mess.
- Wire Rack - You will need this for chilling the muffins.
As always you can find all my go-to equipment on my Amazon storefront or my affiliate page.
How To Store Sunflower Seed Muffins:
​I have found that an airtight container is the best way to store muffins. It can sometimes be a bit tricky because the muffins have to be on top of each other and whatnot. Therefore I recommend not using the maple glaze until you are ready to serve. If you have leftovers that already have the glaze on them it is no problem, just keep in mind it might get sticky.
Top Tip:
If you struggle with your muffins sticking to the muffin cups then try spraying a little bit of oil onto the cups before adding the batter. This has always helped me avoid having muffins that stick to the wrappers.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Sometimes the chlorogenic acid (chlorophyll) in sunflower seeds will have a chemical reaction with the baking soda and baking powder while baking which can cause these muffins to turn green! It's completely natural and nothing to worry about!
Related Sunbutter Recipes:
Are you looking for other recipes that use Sunbutter like this muffin recipe? Try these:
If you try this Gluten-Free Vegan Sunflower Seed Muffin recipe, I’d really love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I’d also really appreciate a recipe card rating! Thank you for supporting The All Natural Vegan!
Gluten-Free Vegan Sunflower Seed Muffins
Equipment
- 1 Mixer
- 1 muffin pan
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 cups oat flour
- 1 cup gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
Wet Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Sunbutter No Sugar Added Sunflower Seed Butter
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 6 tablespoon water
Maple Glaze:
- 3 tablespoon Sunbutter No Sugar Added Sunflower Seed Butter
- 4 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Â Begin by making the flax egg. Combine the ground flax seed with the water and mix. Set the egg mixture aside for 10 minutes or until it's thick and eggy.Â
- Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until combined.Â
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until the muffin batter is smooth.
- Prepare a muffin tin with muffin cups. Then spoon batter equally into each cup.
- Place the muffin tin into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown.Â
- Once the muffins are done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled top with the maple glaze. Serve immediately and enjoy!
More Gluten-Free Vegan Muffin Recipes:
Looking for more delicious vegan and gluten-free muffins? Make sure to check out my other recipes!
Food Safety:
Make sure to always practice proper food safety in the kitchen.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Do not eat raw batter
Padma
This was so moist, fluffy and delicious! Loved the creamy nuttiness of the sunflower seeds. Yum yum!
Erin
I can't believe these sunflower seed muffins are gluten free and vegan! This is a great go-to, healthy recipe for mixing up your breakfast or mid-morning snack routine.
Holly
Kid-approved! Back to school is sunbutter season in our house and these muffins are great for packing in lunches. 🙂
Jacqui
They turned out so delicious and fluffy! It was so easy to make and will make these again soon.
Tavo
Wow, these Seed Muffins are a game-changer! The flavors are so well-balanced, and I love how you've made them both gluten-free and vegan without sacrificing taste or texture. Seriously, these muffins are my new go-to for a guilt-free treat.