Vegan Cranberry Muffins capture all of the great flavors of homemade cranberry sauce in one deliciously soft baked good! Made with tart cranberries, orange zest and juice, and topped with cinnamon sugar, you won’t be able to stop at just 1 of these comforting winter muffins.
You can always count on blueberry muffins or morning glory muffins to start the day off right. When the mornings are dark and cold, warm yourself up with one of these Vegan Cranberry Muffins instead. They’re tart, sweet, and filled with classic comforting flavors!
These soft and fluffy eggless muffins come together in one bowl using a handful of simple ingredients like:
- Fresh cranberries (or frozen!)
- Orange juice and zest
- Cinnamon
- Vegan yogurt
Every bite is a little tart, sweet, spiced, and citrusy. It’s the perfect winter muffin!
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Vegan cranberry orange muffin ingredients
- Cranberries - Fresh or frozen cranberries both work! Just make sure to defrost the frozen cranberries first. You could even use dried cranberries to tone down the tart flavors.
- Vegan yogurt - The secret to ultra-moist vegan muffins.
- Orange juice and zest - Just like cranberry sauce, vegan cranberry orange muffins get their “zing” from a hit of orange juice and fresh orange zest.
- Sugar - You need both white and brown sugar.
- Apple cider vinegar - To help the muffins rise.
- Cinnamon - For those delicious warm winter flavors.
- All purpose flour - Or use 50% all purpose and whole wheat flour for more whole grains. I haven’t tested gluten free cranberry muffins, but this recipe should work with a 1:1 gluten free flour blend.
- Cinnamon sugar - White sugar and cinnamon mixed together create the sweetest topping for these eggless cranberry muffins!
How to make vegan cranberry muffins
Vegan cranberry muffins are made in one bowl with simple ingredients so you don’t have to worry about cleanup or breaking the bank! Enjoy a soft and fluffy muffin as a wintery breakfast or when you’re craving a little bit of sweetness:
- Combine wet ingredients: Whisk all of the wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Mix the batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently stir together. Try not to overmix the batter!
- Fold in the cranberries: Pour the fresh, frozen (and thawed), or dried cranberries into the bowl and fold them into the batter using a spatula.
- Add the cinnamon sugar and bake: Divide the batter into a lined muffin pan and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top of each one. Place the muffin tin in a 425ºF oven for 5 minutes. Afterward, turn down the heat to 375ºF and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool, then enjoy: Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack. Once they’ve cooled completely, dig in! For full ingredients and instructions see recipe card below
Tips for success
- Only mix the dry ingredients into the wet muffin batter until everything has just come together. Overmixing will lead to gummy or dense muffins.
- For fluffy muffin success, make sure your baking soda and baking powder are still fresh and haven’t expired.
- Spray your cupcake liners in the muffin cups lightly with cooking spray so the batter doesn’t stick.
- Instead of the cinnamon sugar topping, top each muffin with a little cane sugar, chopped nuts, pumpkin seeds, or dried cranberries.
- Want to add more flavor to this cranberry muffin recipe? Fold chocolate chips, lemon zest, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, or pecans into the muffin batter.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, but they should be thawed first and and patted dry slightly with paper towels.
To make oil free cranberry muffins, replace the oil with unsweetened applesauce. Note that they will be heavier and denser
I haven’t tested it but replacing the all purpose flour with a gluten free flour blend should work instead!
Store the baked muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes! To freeze, wrap the individual muffins in plastic and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. They freeze well for up to 3 months.
Looking for more easy vegan baked goods?
Enjoy everyone! Happy Day! Please feel free to comment below and give this recipe a rating. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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Vegan Cranberry Muffins
- Total Time: 36 minutes
- Yield: 12 Muffins 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Cranberry Muffins capture all of the great flavors of homemade cranberry sauce in one deliciously soft baked good! Made with tart cranberries, orange zest and juice, and topped with cinnamon sugar, you won’t be able to stop at just 1 of these comforting winter muffins.
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup unsweetened plant milk
-
½ cup oil, I use grapeseed oil
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⅓ cup unsweetened vegan yogurt
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¼ cup orange juice
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½ cup white sugar
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½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
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2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-
Zest of 1 large orange
Dry ingredients:
- 2 and ⅓ cups all purpose flour
-
2 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
-
¼ teaspoon baking soda
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½ teaspoon salt
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½ teaspoon cinnamon
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1 and ½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries, defrost first if using frozen
Cinnamon sugar topping:
- 1 and ½ tablespoons white sugar
-
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° Grease a non-stick 12 cup muffin tin. If using cupcake liners spray lightly with oil for easy muffin removal
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Whisk together the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl
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Add dry ingredients on top starting with the flour then sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt over the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until completely combined but do not over mix.
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Gently fold in the cranberries. Evenly divide the batter between the muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with a little sugar topping using as much or little as you like
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Bake for 5 minutes at 425° then turn the oven down to 375° and bake for another 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs. Let cool for a few minutes in a pan then remove muffins to a wire rack.
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Cool completely serve and enjoy! For step by step photos, FAQ, Tips and more see above post
Notes
- Oil free: replace the oil with unsweetened applesauce. Note- they will be heavier/denser
- Gluten free: I haven’t tested it but using a gluten free flour blend should work just fine!
- To store and freeze: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Wrap the individual muffins in cling wrap and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. They freeze well for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 21 Minutes
- Category: Breakfast & Baking
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
Keywords: vegan cranberry muffins, cranberry orange muffins
Rita
Made these this morning !used lemon instead of orange ! Delicious!!
★★★★★
Verna
Awesome! thanks for the feedback glad you enjoyed the muffins 🙂
Marj
We love the tang to these muffins!
★★★★★
Verna
Awesome! Glad you like them
Kimberly
Really tasty and super easy! I didn’t have oranges or orange juice and didn’t have quite enough fresh cranberries so subbed lemon for orange and use 1 C cranberries and 1/2 C blueberries. It was delicious!!
★★★★★
Verna
Glad you enjoyed them Kimberly the substitutions sound delicious. Thank you for your feedback it is so very appreciated!! Happy holidays to you 🙂
Emily
The cheeky chick pea (my mom) made these for my girls for their school lunches! They loved them!
Thanks mom!
★★★★★
Verna
You are welcome! Love you xo 🥰