Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins

This Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins recipe is the perfect healthy treat for the holidays. It's moist and fluffy, and has the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. It's made with whole food plant based ingredients and is vegan, oil-free, and refined sugar-free!

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I am so excited to share today's Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins with you guys! I am such a sucker for anything with cranberries this time of year. However cranberry orange has to be my favorite combination of all. It's so sweet and tart, and packed with tons of flavor! This cranberry orange muffin recipe in particular is made with whole foods plant based ingredients. Therefore it's not only delicious, but nutritious as well!

What Makes These Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins Healthy:

I absolutely love making Holiday treats this time of year, I mean who doesn't? However I don't like to 'splurge" too much from my regular diet. I absolutely love eating a whole foods plant based vegan diet, and don't feel the need to "indulge", because it never makes me feel good afterwords.

Another reason I don't feel the need to stray away from my diet is because I truly believe that almost everything can be made with whole foods plant based ingredients (I'm convinced buttercream frosting is the only thing that can't be...yet lol). For example, these Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins are so delicious, you'd have no idea that they were made with whole foods plant based ingredients.

These muffins are healthy, because they are made with whole grain sprouted flour, oil-free, refined sugar-free, high fiber, and vegan of course!

Ingredients For These Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins:

Dry Ingredients:

• One Degree Organics Sprouted Spelt Flour -
• Date Sugar - Is one of my favorite natural sweeteners to use in baking. If you're unfamiliar with date sugar, it's a completely unrefined sweetener that is made from 100% dates. These dates are dried and ground into a powder that works great in many desserts. Since it is unrefined, it still contains all the minerals, vitamins, and fiber found in dates.
• Baking Powder - Since these Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins are egg-free, they need a couple different ingredients to give them the perfect fluffy texture.
• Baking Soda - Another ingredient that is necessary to achieve the perfect fluffy vegan muffin texture.
• Fresh Cranberries - Make sure to use fresh cranberries, and not dried cranberries. Fresh cranberries give the muffins that perfect juicy and tart flavor, whereas dried will not add significant flavor, and will be chewy and unpleasant.
• Orange Zest - Whenever I am making a recipe with a dominant citrus flavor, I always add zest. In my opinion most of the flavor resides in the zest. Therefore adding it to baked goods is always a good idea!

Wet Ingredients:

• Unsweetened Applesauce - Since these Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins are oil-free, applesauce works great as an oil substitute. It also adds additional natural sweetness too.
• Fresh Orange Juice - You can use orange juice that isn't freshly squeezed, however I strongly encourage you to use fresh squeezed. Often times orange juice has a lot of added preservatives, flavorings, and refined sugar added to it, and it doesn't taste nearly as good as the real thing!
• Vanilla Extract - I find that adding a little bit of vanilla extract to these cranberry orange muffins helps to balance the tartness of the cranberries and oranges. I personally always use Mexican Vanilla, simply because I think it has a significantly better flavor.
• Ground Flaxseed - Yes, ground flaxseed is a dry ingredient. However the ground flaxseed is turned into a "flax egg" right away, so that's why it's under wet ingredients. When soaked in liquid, ground flaxseed develops an eggy texture that is perfect for vegan baking.
• Maple Syrup - I love using a touch of maple syrup in these muffins to add some extract sweetness. maple syrup is great, because it contains so many vitamins and minerals, however it is still important to use it in moderation.

For The Glaze:

• Maple Syrup - Adds sweetness and flavor to the glaze.
• Coconut Butter - I love using coconut butter to maple glazes, and icings, because it is thick and creamy, but full of fiber and nutrients.
• Orange Zest - Adds flavor to the glaze.
• Orange Juice - Helps to achieve the right texture and flavor in the glaze.

How To Make These Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins:

Muffins are probably one of my favorite things to bake. They're super easy to make, don't take a long time to bake, and you can enjoy them straight out of the oven.

To make these Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins, begin by preheating your oven to 350. While the oven is preheating, prepare your flax egg. Simply combine the flaxseed and water together and set aside for about 10 minutes (you may have to stir it a couple times throughout the 10 minutes.

Sift all dry ingredients except the cranberries and orange zest together in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Add the orange zest and cranberries and mix until the cranberries are evenly distributed.

Scoop the mixture evenly into 6 large muffin cups 12 medium, or 24 small. Place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes (if using 6 muffins. If you are making 12 I would recommend about 25 minutes, and then 20 for 24. Use the toothpick method, since these times have not been tested).

Allow to cool for 10 minutes. While the muffins are cooling, make the glaze. Simply combine all the glaze ingredients and mix until super smooth. You want to be sure that there aren't any chunks of coconut butter.

Pour the orange glaze over the muffins and enjoy!

Why I Love One Degree Organics:

This recipe is made in collaboration with one of my favorite brands: One Degree Organics. I absolutely love One Degree Organics, their products, and everything they stand for.

One Degree Organics offers sprouted flours, cereals, granolas, breads, and more. All their ingredients are sourced from farmers they know. They are 100% transparent about where and how their products are sourced.

I also love their products, because they are organic. Buying organic foods is something that has become super important to me in recent years. After learning how detrimental pesticides can be on your gut health, buying organic is a priorirty.

Lastly, their products are incredible! I love using their sprouted grains for baking, and I love their ready to eat products as well. Everything is made with clean and simple ingredients! What's not to love?

One Degree Organics is also available in many stores nation wide! Head to their store locator page to find where it's available near you!

Frequently Asked Questions:

What Is Spelt Flour?

Spelt flour is a species of wheat. It has been around for a very long time, and is what would be considered an ancient grain. Spelt flour works very similarly to whole wheat flour, however is slightly more nutritious. Therefore I prefer to use it whenever I am cooking with whole grains.

Since it works almost identically to whole wheat flour, there's not a lot you have to keep in mind when using it. However there are a couple slight differences. First, unlike whole wheat flour, the gluten in spelt flour doesn't become chewy when over kneaded. Instead, it becomes more crumbly. This usually won't cause any issues, just keep in mind that you don't want to over knead it.

Second, the flavor is slightly stronger. This is because it is a whole foods flour, and it therefore contains more nutrients than refined wheat flours. However I don't find the flavor to be distracting, and I actually think it makes recipes like these Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins taste better!

What Are The Health Benefits Of Sprouted Grains:

Eating whole grains has been proven to have an abundance of health benefits. However sprouted grains have been proven to have even more. "Sprouting of grains for a limited period causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvement in the contents of certain essential amino acids, total sugars, and B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, starch, and antinutrients", 1989; 28(5):401-37.

This is why I love shopping for my grains from One Degree Organics. Their products are made with sprouted whole grains, making them extra nutritious!

How Long Do These Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins Keep?

Muffins are one of my favorite foods to meal prep for breakfast. They're perfect for a healthy grab and go breakfast, and they're the perfect balance of sweet and filling. These Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins are perfect for breakfast prepping, however it's very important how you store these.

If these muffins are covered with foil, or plastic wrap they will dry out very quickly. Even if these muffins are stored in ziplock bags, they can dry out easily, and nobody wants a dry muffin. In order to keep these muffins super moist, I recommend storing them in air-tight containers.

These are the containers I use, and I can not recommend them enough. If stored in these containers these muffins can keep for 10 days in the fridge. These muffins can also be frozen in air tight containers and reheated. If frozen they can last for up to two months.

Related Recipes:

• Oatmeal Raisin Ice Cream
• Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
• Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Plant Based Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins

This Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins recipe is the perfect healthy treat for the holidays. It's moist and fluffy, and has the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. It's made with whole food plant based ingredients and is vegan, oil-free, and refined sugar-free!

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Servings 6 muffins

Ingredients

  

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Dry Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups One Degree Organics Sprouted Spelt Flour
• 1 cup date sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 3 Juiced oranges about 1 cup (if making a single batch)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoon water (1 : 3 ratio - if doubling do 4 tablespoon with 12 tablespoon water etc.)

Orange Glaze:

• 3 tablespoon maple syrup
• ¼ cup coconut butter
• ½ orange juiced
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

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Instructions

 

• Begin by preheating your oven to 350.
• While the oven is preheating, prepare your flax egg. Simply combine the flaxseed and water together and set aside for about 10 minutes (you may have to stir it a couple times throughout the 10 minutes.
• Sift all dry ingredients except the cranberries and orange zest together in a large bowl.
• Add the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Add the orange zest and cranberries and mix until the cranberries are evenly distributed.
• Scoop the mixture evenly into 6 large muffin cups and bake for 30-35 minutes.
• Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes. While the muffins are cooling, make the glaze. Simply combine all the glaze ingredients and mix until super smooth. You want to be sure that there aren't any chunks of coconut butter.
• Pour the orange glaze over the muffins and enjoy!

Keyword cranberry orange, muffins, vegan cranberry orange muffins

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