These Vegan Orange Cranberry Breakfast Muffins are everything! They make for the perfect quick-grab breakfast item, or maybe a nice dessert or perhaps a snack in between. Whipped together in just one bowl. Minimal ingredients needed. All vegan. Gluten-free option available.

It's definitely the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is one of my favorite holidays because it represents not only all things beautiful (i.e. lights, tress, holiday baking, etc.) but also Christ who is the center of it all for me. However, when it comes to holiday baking----I'm all about the cheesecakes, cakes, cupcakes, and the occasional cookie, BUT for an easy breakfast recipe---I love a good muffin or one dish meal like a strata or french toast casserole. If you have no idea what to do with your large bag of apples, these Vegan Orange Cranberry Breakfast Muffins  are the perfect recipe!

Real whole cranberries are added to the lightly sweetened batter infused with major orange zest for a fabulous burst of sweet + tart flavor. Plus, if you're a lover of muffins and handheld treats, then these Vegan Roasted Blueberry Muffins, Vegan Apple Spice Muffins, Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Muffins, and Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins are just the thing to try!

Making Moist Muffins

Without moisture, muffins can bake into a hockey puck-like consistency. We don’t want firm, hard muffins! Having moist and tender cake is imperative to these crumble muffins.

To make the muffins nice and tender, I like to make homemade vegan “buttermilk”, which lightens the batter beautifully. You can make vegan buttermilk by mixing plant milk and a bit of apple cider vinegar together, which creates a curdling effect. The result is a vegan buttermilk alternative that works perfectly in baking!

For moist and tender muffins, be sure to make my vegan buttermilk mixture! Do not skip on this amazingly simple step.

Making Crumble

Usually when making my muffin crumble, I love using nuts such as toasted pecans or walnuts. However, for these muffins I chose to keep things simple.

Crumble is very easy to make. Simply take vegan butter, brown sugar, spices, and mix together to form a crumb-like consistency. Dollop some crumble on top of each muffin before baking.

The result is a crisp, craggy, and crunchy topping without the nuts. Many freshly baked cafe muffins have a crumble, and now your homemade muffins will too! You can add this crumble to any muffin or cake to take the recipe to the next level.

OTHER CRANBERRY RECIPES!

This Cranberry Cheesecake + Gingersnap Crust recipe is the perfect Holiday dessert for the entire family. This cheesecake comes completely based with a thick tasty Gingersnap Cookie crust, a velvety delicious NY Style filling and a scrumptious sweet + tart cranberry glaze on top and Graham Cracker crumble. The epitome of an easy, yet delicious sweet treat.

Leave the canned cranberry sauce behind! This traditional Perfect Apple Cranberry Sauce combines cranberries, apples, and orange zest and turns it into the perfect complement to turkey or a vegan roast. The best part – this sauce cooks in less than 10 minutes!

This recipe for Apple Cranberry Crisp is full of seasonal flavors from Granny Smiths, fresh cranberries, brown sugar, warming spices, and coconut cream. It’s a dairy-free holiday dessert that’s sure to turn heads (with a gluten-free option!)

How to Make Vegan Orange Cranberry Muffins

TO MAKE THE MUFFINS:

• Add the Almond milk and apple cider vinegar together in a small bowl, stirring together until combined and letting it sit for 5 minutes until it becomes "slightly thickened" and activated.
• Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly grease your muffin pan (for larger muffins) or for standard muffins, line the wells with liners.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, and sea salt.
• In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, vanilla, and Almond milk-AVC mixture, whisking them together until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined and smooth. DO NOT OVER-MIX. Fold in cranberries.
• NOTE: The batter should look moist, but thick where it's 'scoop-able' but not easily poured. If way too thick, add 1-2 Tbsps more milk. If too runny, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Divide the batter evenly among the wells of the prepared muffin pan.

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING:

• In a bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon, stirring until combined.
• Add the partially melted vegan butter and using a spatula, mix until well combined and 'crumbly-like'.
• Now, evenly sprinkle the crumble topping atop each muffin batter until fully covered and place it in the oven.
• Bake muffins for 20 to 24 minutes or until the centers come out clean. Once fully baked through, remove from oven and let the muffins cool in the pan before removing.
• To serve, enjoy muffins along with your favorite coffee, tea, or a glass of plant-based milk.
• Bon Appetit!

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Vegan Orange Cranberry Breakfast Muffins

December 22, 2021 •

By Shanika

5 from 5 votes

These Vegan Orange Cranberry Breakfast Muffins are moist and tender, with a great burst of sweet + tart flavors with chunks of cranberries in every bite. Super easy to make.

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Serves: 12 Muffins

Units:

US Customary|Metric

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Ingredients

MUFFINS:

• 1 ½ cups organic all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
• ½ cup organic cane sugar + 2 Tbsps! (See Notes!)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup Almond milk (You can use your fave plant-based milk!)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 4 Tbsps vegan butter, melted

CRUMBLE TOPPING:

• 1 cup organic all-purpose flour
• ½ cup organic brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 Tbsps vegan butter, partially-melted

Instructions

TO MAKE THE MUFFINS:

• Add the Almond milk and apple cider vinegar together in a small bowl, stirring together until combined and letting it sit for 5 minutes until it becomes "slightly thickened" and activated.
• Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly grease your muffin pan (for larger muffins) or for standard muffins, line the wells with liners.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, and sea salt. 
• In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, vanilla, and Almond milk-AVC mixture, whisking them together until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined and smooth. DO NOT OVER-MIX. Fold in cranberries.
• NOTE: The batter should look moist, but thick where it's 'scoop-able' but not easily poured. If way too thick, add 1-2 Tbsps more milk. If too runny, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Divide the batter evenly among the wells of the prepared muffin pan.

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING:

• In a bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon, stirring until combined.
• Add the partially melted vegan butter and using a spatula, mix until well combined and 'crumbly-like'.
• Now, evenly sprinkle the crumble topping atop each muffin batter until fully covered and place it in the oven.
• Bake muffins for 20 to 24 minutes or until the centers come out clean. Once fully baked through, remove from oven and let the muffins cool in the pan before removing.
• To serve, enjoy muffins along with your favorite coffee, tea, or a glass of plant-based milk.
• Bon Appetit!

Tips & Tricks

• STORAGE: Can be tightly sealed in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Can be frozen for up to 2 months in a freezer safe bag.
• MUFFIN SIZE: This recipe can make 6 Jumbo muffins OR 12 standard muffins, if desired.
• OIL: Instead of melted butter, you can also use coconut oil or vegetable oil, if preferred.
• CRANBERRIES: If using frozen cranberries, be sure to lightly toss them in 1 tablespoon or so in arrowroot starch or flour before folding them into the batter. This controls the moisture while cooking and ensures that muffins bake thoroughly through.
• SWEETENER: If you choose to opt out of brown sugar, you can always substitute with pure cane sugar, coconut sugar, additional pure maple syrup (which requires less milk), Agave, or Date syrup as well. 

Nutrition

Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 290mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg

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