Moist and fluffy homemade vegan gluten-free cranberry orange muffins made with fresh (or frozen!) cranberries. These easy vegan gluten-free muffins are filled with bright and delicious flavour and they’re perfect to make for the holidays as snacks or as part of your dairy-free gf holiday breakfast or brunch table.
Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
Line a muffin tin with liners or generously grease the inside of each cup with coconut oil.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a medium bowl, mix the coconut oil, sugar, applesauce, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and flax eggs together until blended.
Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the cranberries.
Using a spoon or a large scoop, divide batter into the 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the largest muffin comes out clean.
Let muffins cool in muffin pan for a few minutes and then remove and place them on a cooling rack.
To Make Orange Glaze (Optional):
Add the powdered sugar to a small bowl and a little at a time, add the orange juice and whisk until you have a smooth glaze. You may not need the full tablespoon of orange juice, depending on how thick you want it. If you add all the juice and it's too thick, add a little more orange juice, if it's too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Add the orange zest and mix until it has been incorporated into the glaze.
Drizzle onto muffins just before serving.
Notes
Please read all of the information and FAQ info above and below before making this recipe.
It's important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will always vary if you substitute. I have never used any other brand of flour to make this recipe (other than Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour (Amazon link) with the red label, NOT the blue label), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if you substitute with another gluten-free flour blend. The weight listed above is for this specific brand of flour.
If your cranberries are large, you can chop them, I usually just cut them in half (see pictures above).
Frozen cranberries can be used if fresh cranberries are not available. Simply thaw them on a paper towel. When thawed, pat any moisture away and then chop, if needed.
This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour, it must be a blend, the one mentioned above for the best results.
Any type of neutral flavoured oil can be used in place of coconut oil, such as sunflower or safflower.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, after that, move them into the refrigerator for another 3-4 days. When you’re ready to serve, bring them up to room temperature, and you can warm them up slightly, if you’d like, before serving.
To freeze, fully cool and wrap them tightly so they are airtight. Place in an airtight container and freeze for up to one month. When you’re ready to serve them, thaw at room temperature and serve. Just before serving, you can warm them up a bit in the microwave.
Nutrition info is based on 1 muffin. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.