Vegan Gingerbread Muffins (Gluten-Free Option)

Festive, quick, and easy vegan gingerbread muffins filled with warm spices, They’re soft, fluffy, and delicious, plus, they’re also egg-free, gluten-free and dairy-free!

You can add chocolate chips or make them plain, it’s up to you, all of the details can be found below.

There's a very good chance these spicy, sweet, vegan gingerbread muffins will become a new holiday must-make recipe for you every time the festive season rolls around. They have for me and I think they may be my favourite vegan Christmas muffins!

I used my vegan gluten-free pumpkin spice muffins recipe as a guide to develop this particular recipe and they include chocolate chips because the combination of gingerbread and chocolate works extremely well together.

BUT, if you don't want to add them, you don't have to, details can be found in the "Ingredient Note and Substitutions" section below.

It's a great idea to make and serve them alongside breakfast, brunch, or cozy up and serve them with your favourite warm holiday season drink, like one of these:

• Vegan Gingerbread Latte
• Vegan Peppermint Mocha
• Vegan Hot Chocolate
• Oat Milk Hot Chocolate
• Vegan Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Ingredient and Substitution Notes

Flour – You have two options for the type of flour you use.

For Vegan Gluten-Free Gingerbread Muffins - Use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (the one in the RED bag without xanthan gum). I have not tried any other gluten-free blends. With gluten-free baking, using the same flour the recipe calls for is extremely important to get the expected results.

For Vegan Gingerbread Muffins - Use all-purpose white flour.

Make sure to measure your flour correctly or your muffins will not have the correct texture.

Sugar – I use coconut sugar in this recipe, but brown sugar will also work. I haven't tried making it with a liquid sweetener (like pure maple syrup or agave) or with any sugar alternatives to make them sugar-free, so I am not sure how they would work.

Molasses - Use molasses labelled "fancy," “unsulphured,” “dark,” OR “baking.” Avoid using blackstrap molasses since its flavour is so strong and it can be bitter. Don't leave the molasses out or try to substitute it with something else since it contributes to the gingerbread flavour.

Pumpkin Purée - Use unsweetened pure pumpkin purée for this recipe, NOT pumpkin pie filling. You can use canned purée or you can make homemade pumpkin purée. If your homemade purée is very runny, strain it to remove some of the water before adding it to the recipe.

If you don't have access to pumpkin, you can use a different puréed squash, like butternut squash or even sweet potato. Whatever you use, the flavour will not come through in the finished muffins, the dominant flavour is the gingerbread spices.

Flax Egg - Since this recipe is made without eggs, the flax eggs act as a binder. If you can’t have flax, use chia seeds to replace the ground flax seeds.

Coconut Oil – Any neutral-flavoured vegetable oil can be used in place of coconut oil, such as safflower or sunflower. I have not tested with vegan butter or with making the muffins oil-free.

If using coconut oil, make sure that all of your other ingredients are at room temperature before starting so it does not solidify if another ingredient happens to be cold. (You should always start with room-temperature ingredients.)

Spices - This blend of spices (along with the molasses) is essential to getting the classic gingerbread flavours. Don't omit, reduce, or increase any of them.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Make sure both of these ingredients are fresh, they make the muffins rise and become fluffy. They cannot be left out.

Chocolate Chips - Use your favourite vegan chocolate chips, I always use vegan semi-sweet / dark chocolate chips. If you don't want to use chocolate chips, you can leave them out or use chopped walnuts or pecans, raisins, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.

Turbinado Sugar (not shown in the image above) – This is an optional ingredient, but I like to sprinkle a little on the top of each muffin before they bake to add a little festive sparkle and crunch.

Are you new to vegan gluten-free baking? If so, be sure to read all of my vegan gluten-free baking tips!

How to Make Them

(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this gingerbread muffin recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)

Prepare your muffin tin by placing paper liners or lightly oiling each cup.

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Mix the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix.

4. Add the chocolate chips to the batter.

5. Stir the chocolate chips into the batter.

6. Evenly divide the batter into your prepared muffin pan. You can use either a spoon or a scoop to do this. I like using a scoop because it’s quicker and easier to divide the batter, this is the scoop I’m using in the picture below.

7. This step is optional, but if you’d like, you can add a small amount of turbinado sugar to the top of each muffin.

8. Bake and remove the muffins from the oven and let them sit in the pan for a few minutes before carefully removing them from the pan and placing them on a cooling rack.

Storing Leftovers and Freezing

Store the muffins in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to five days.

They can also be frozen, once they’ve fully cooled, wrap them up individually so they’re airtight, place them in a container or freezer bag, and freeze. They will keep in the freezer for up to two months.

When you’re ready to serve, thaw at room temperature. You can even take it a step further and warm them up in a toaster oven or microwave.

Tips for Success

• Use the same flour I use. Baking vegan gluten-free can be tricky because different flours produce different results. I know this particular flour works perfectly for this recipe, so to duplicate that perfection, please use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (in the RED bag without xanthan gum, no need for that ingredient in this recipe!).
• Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily. Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature.
• Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale (this is one I have) and my weight measurements when making this recipe. If you don’t have a scale, lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup until it is overflowing and then drag the flat edge of a butter knife across the top to level it off. (NEVER dunk the measuring cup into the flour to fill your measuring cup because this will guarantee an incorrect measurement of up to 1.5x more flour and a recipe fail.) Learn more about how to measure flour correctly.
• Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. These ingredients are what make the muffins rise and become fluffy. If they're not fresh, your muffins will turn out dense and gummy.
• Don’t over-bake. If over-baked, you’ll end up with dry, crumbly muffins.
• Read this post from top to bottom before you start. I’ve included a lot of tips and tricks so you get things right. Also, read through the actual recipe before getting started.
• Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.