These festive Cranberry Orange Muffins are bursting with bright citrus flavor, juicy tart cranberries, and a hint of rosemary. Vegan and gluten-free, adapted from Boots Bakery.
Bright, bold, and bursting with flavor, these Cranberry Orange Muffins have a tender, melt-in-your-mouth crumb and the perfect balance of tart cranberries, zesty orange, and a hint of rosemary. Vegan, gluten-free, and irresistibly aromatic, they're perfect for holiday brunch or any cozy morning treat.
Why You’ll Love This
- Fresh ingredients. Fresh orange juice, orange zest, rosemary, and fresh cranberries infuse these muffins with bold flavor.
- Vegan and gluten-free. Meets dietary restrictions without sacrificing flavor or texture!
- Easy to make. This simple method comes together quickly and uses pantry staples. Use fresh or frozen cranberries-either works!
- Light and fluffy texture. Tested and perfected to result in the best light, fluffy, and moist texture every time.
- Beautiful and festive! Top the muffins with our orange glaze and a garnish of orange zest and fresh rosemary.
Ingredients
- Gluten-free flour: Use a gluten-free flour blend (we like Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1:1 or King Arthur gluten-free measure for measure) or regular all-purpose flour.
- Cane sugar: Provides sweetness to the muffins and enhances the flavors of the tart cranberries and orange.
- Baking soda: A leavening agent that helps the muffins rise and become fluffy.
- Salt: Enhances the flavors of all the ingredients and helps to balance the sweetness in the muffins.
- Fresh orange: We use the zest and the fresh orange juice to add a bright orange flavor to the muffins.
- Chopped rosemary: Adds a subtle earthy and pine-like flavor to the muffins. It pairs well with the cranberries and orange, creating a unique and festive taste.
- Fresh cranberries: Add a burst of tartness and color to the cranberry muffins. Feel free to use frozen cranberries, but do not thaw them first.
- Olive oil: Adds moisture to the muffins and helps to keep them tender. It also contributes to the overall richness and flavor. You can sub avocado oil or melted coconut oil.
- Pure vanilla extract and cinnamon: Add warming flavors to the muffins.
- Plant-based milk: Oat, soy, cashew or almond milk all work great.
- Orange glaze: Freshly squeezed orange juice adds a tangy and bright citrus flavor and is combined with powdered sugar to create a sweet and smooth glaze that is drizzled over the top of the muffins!
- Garnish: Rosemary and fresh orange zest add a decorative touch to the muffins. They provide a burst of fragrance and visual appeal when sprinkled on top.
Variations
- Nuts or chocolate chips: Walnuts or pecans would make a lovely addition for a bit of crunch, and you can never go wrong with chocolate chips. Just be careful not to add too many of either, as they can overcrowd the muffins or weigh them down and sink to the bottom.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Muffins
1. Prep. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Gather a 12-cup muffin tin and place paper liners inside. Spray them lightly with olive oil spray. Alternatively, you can spray the muffin tin, but I find that paper liners work best.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. Mix sugar and orange zest with your hands or a fork (if you let this sit 10 minutes it will infuse and distribute the orange flavor more thoroughly). Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and rosemary and mix until combined.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. Add milk, orange juice, olive oil, and vanilla, to a separate medium bowl and mix until combined.
4. Combine the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and use your hands to gently combine. Carefully fold in the fresh cranberries with a spatula. Avoid overworking the batter-it will result in tough, dense muffins instead of light and fluffy ones!
5. Bake. Use a spoon to scoop the batter into the greased muffin cups, filling them to just below the rim. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.
6. Make the glaze (optional). Add orange juice and powdered sugar to a small bowl or measuring cup and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled muffins and garnish with rosemary and orange zest.
Chef’s Tips
- Chop or halve the cranberries for a more even sweet-tart flavor and a jewel-like pop of color in every bite.
- Use fresh orange juice. Bottled juice tends to taste flat and won’t provide the same bright citrus aroma.
- Don’t thaw frozen cranberries. Stir them straight in from the freezer to prevent bleeding and discoloration.
- Avoid over-mixing the batter. Overworking activates the starches and leads to dense muffins. Fold just until combined.
- Don't use an electric mixer. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl. Otherwise, the texture may become too dense.
- Resist the urge to open the oven door! This can affect the baking time and result in the muffins deflating. Use your oven light to keep an eye on the muffins.
- Use a toothpick to check if they are done. When the muffins are done baking, place a toothpick in the center of the muffin. If it comes out clean, then the muffins are ready. Internal temp should reach 200F.
- Cool fully before glazing. This helps the glaze set rather than melt and slide off.
Serving Suggestions
- Enjoy the muffins at breakfast with hot coffee and something savory, like breakfast potatoes, vegan “eggs” benedict, chickpea scramble, egg bites, quiche, or vegetable frittata.
- The muffins also make a festive dessert during the holidays! Look at our 65+ Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu Ideas for holiday meal planning inspiration!
- Serve as a snack with a cozy beverage like a London Fog Latte, Orange Blossom Cocktail, Pomegranate Martini, Masala Chai Tea, or a Bourbon Cocktail.
Storage
- Room temperature: The muffins can be stored uncovered on the counter for one day.
- Refrigerator: Or store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the muffins directly in the muffin tin, and then add them to a freezer bag or an airtight container. Or, once cooled, wrap the muffins individually-perfect to save for busy mornings! Store for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating. Reheat in an air fryer or toaster oven at 325°F for 8-10 minutes. The microwave works, but it may soften them too much.
FAQs
To achieve a light, moist texture in your muffins, avoid overworking the batter. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Over-mixing will result in a dense, tough texture.
Yes! Fresh cranberries offer a perfect balance of sweet and tart flavor. Plus, they add a beautiful pop of color! Leave them whole for a bright burst of flavor, or cut them in half to distribute them more evenly.
The most delicious way to boost the fresh orange flavor is to incorporate orange zest. The zest adds a vibrant, concentrated citrus taste.
Dried cranberries will be chewier and sweeter. If using dried, we recommend placing them in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes to soften them before using. Reduce to 3/4 cup.
Use an olive oil cooking spray and lightly coat the liners before adding the batter.
Yes, the glaze is optional, but delicious!
Hope you enjoy these festive muffins!
More Muffin Recipes You Might Like
After you try this Cranberry Orange Muffins recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Tonia
Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: baked, muffins, vegan, gluten-free, desserts, holidays, thanksgiving, christmas
- Method: Baked
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These festive Cranberry Orange Muffins are bursting with bright citrus flavor, juicy tart cranberries, and a hint of rosemary. Perfect for holiday breakfasts or brunch. Vegan and gluten-free! Adapted from Boots Bakery.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour blend or all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
- 1 cup milk- plant-based is great: oat, almond, soy, cashew, etc.
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil (or avocado oil)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1–2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries- or use frozen, do not thaw *see notes
Glaze:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons orange juice, more as needed.
Garnish: rosemary and orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Prepare muffin tin. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with olive oil spray, we recommend using paper liners, spray the liners lightly.
- Dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix sugar and orange zest with your hands or a fork (if you let this sit 10 minutes it will infuse and distribute the orange flavor more thoroughly). Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and rosemary.
- Wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, orange juice, olive oil, and vanilla.
- Combine the batter. Pour wet into dry and gently fold in to combine. By hand is best, overworking the batter will toughen it and you will loose the lightness of the muffins. Fold in the fresh cranberries.
- Fill muffin tin. Scoop the batter into very well greased, muffin cups to just below the rim.
- Bake. Lower heat to 350F. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
- Make the glaze (optional!). In a small bowl whisk orange juice with powdered sugar until smooth and combined. Drizzle over completely cooled muffins. Garnish with rosemary and orange zest!
Notes
If desired, for a more balanced sweet-tart flavor, cut the cranberries in half -this helps distribute their taste evenly and adds a pretty pop of color to the muffins.
Store uncovered on the counter for a day. Or place in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freeze right in your muffin tin and then add them to a freezer bag, or an airtight sealed container. Or, let them cool completely then wrap them individually and add to the freezer. They will keep for 2 months. To enjoy, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in an air fryer or toaster oven at around 325 for 8-10 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 204
- Sugar: 9.4 g
- Sodium: 217.9 mg
- Fat: 9.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 28.7 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 1.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Saturday after Thanksgiving I came across this recipe! Something different for our extended weekend and it was a delicious addition. The cranberries added a slight tartness to the warm sweet muffins. Easy to prepare, with pantry ingredients. Our little people enjoyed these!
So glad to hear this Tiffany! Love it when the young ones enjoy!
I had a bag of fresh cranberries left from Thanksgiving and made this recipe yesterday afternoon. Yum! Bright, fresh & very moist without being overly sweet. I will definitely make this again while cranberries are in season!
So glad you gave them a try Jen!
These are lovely!!! I love how your baking recipes are always the perfect sweetness – never too sweet! I’m not even that big on cranberries and I love these! Thank you!
Yay! So glad to hear this Angeli!
Could I bake this in a loaf pan?
Good question, we have not tested this. Because it is vegan without eggs, I am not sure how the bake and texture would be?
In a final attempt to use up my Thanksgiving leftovers, I made these muffins. I love the combination of sweet, tart and savory. I used the last of my fresh cranberries and the rosemary is just brilliant. And I love that I can freeze them! Thank you again!!
Great to hear Pam!
I made these yummy muffins for Thanksgiving! So fresh, bright and the hint of rosemary is a chef’s kiss! This recipe is a keeper!
Great to hear Maura!
Wow. These were quite tasty, and the texture was remarkable … nice crustiness on the outside and pillowy on the inside. The rosemary is a lovely addition!
Great to hear Amy!
These were yummy! Used oat milk and just sprinkled powdered sugar on top rather than glaze. Love the touch of rosemary!
Your recipes are always a success! Thank you.
Nice to hear this!
Yummo! These muffins were fabulous! Ran out of OJ for the glaze so used a spoonful of orange marmalade with the sugar for drizzle. Easy to make. Thanks.
Oh nice! Glad you enjoyed these!
Due to thanksgiving, in had all the ingredients at home this morning. With the fresh snow today, I decided I’d stay in and bake.
These muffins couldn’t have been more splendid. I think the note about slicing each cranberry in half did help spread the tartness more evenly.
Thank you
Great to hear Jacqueline!
This is a slam dunk fabulous easy recipe with Thanksgiving leftover ingredients!!!! Love the orange, cranberry, rosemary flavors!!!
Awesome Kris! Glad you gave them a try.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving left-overs….I whipped these up on Black Friday- using fresh cranberries, oranges and rosemary we had in the house. They were SO Delicious and I loved the tart surprises in almost every bite!! I will do again for Christmas!
Glad you enjoyed these Kristin!
This fresh cranberry muffin recipe made me realize how amazing fresh cranberries are! Why don’t we use them in more recipes? I added more oats and cranberries, and walnuts, and they were fabulous; very light yet nourishing. Thank you!
I agree Deborah, fresh cranberries are under used! Glad you enhanced and enjoyed these!
These taste amazing! I think I must have overstirred the batter, despite my best efforts, because they had a wee bit of a gummy texture, but the taste was pure holiday celebration! Thank you for a vegan AND gluten free recipe! They’re hard to find!
Thanks Marti, appreciate your review. What kind of flour did you use?
So happy to find a vegan recipe for these! Would it be ok to sub part whole wheat (spelt) flour and to use coconut or date sugar?
Yes, that’ll work! They are very flexible.
I am making these for Christmas morning for sure! They look amazing!
Great Barb!
Try most of recipes especially Soups they are the best so glad cold weather here now I don’t feel silly having soup as much I want. Thank you
Thanks Patti- I think soups are great anytime of year. 🙂 Let us know if you try these muffins!
Made these for Thanksgiving breakfast – super yummy. I halved the cranberries, but wish I would have left them whole. The tart pop of them was intense and satisfying and I wanted more! I put batter into the cupcake pan the night before and popped into the oven in the morning for a super easy start to the day, the tops mounded up beautifully. Loved the touch of rosemary. Mwah!
Glad you enjoyed these Therese!
These were a big hit on Thanksgiving morning! The rosemary adds a nice savory note. The batter was super thin so I added 1/4-1/3 additional cup of flour to give it a little more body. (The total liquid volume on the recipe is same as volume of flour — is that intentional?) I did not take the step of spraying the insides of the muffin cups and they didn’t stick at all. Thanks again Tonya for a new holiday favorite!
Glad you made them work! The batter is thin but they bake up nicely.