Best Vegan Cranberry Muffins

The best Vegan Cranberry Muffins are a special treat any morning of the year but will be part of a memorable breakfast come Christmas morning. Also gluten-free, making this vegan cranberry muffin recipe is super easy. With these beautiful cranberry muffins on your holiday table, your family will beg you to make them again and again.  

With Christmas right around the corner, I had to make these gorgeous Vegan Cranberry Muffins to try and get myself into the holiday spirit. Being that this is the first Christmas without my beloved mother, its been a very difficult thing to do, but baking is always a comfort to me, so I had to jump in and just do it.

Ingredients for Vegan Cranberry Muffins

Luckily for me, I had all the ingredients I needed to made this vegan cranberry muffin recipe. Perhaps you have the ingredients in your pantry, as well! On the other hand, if you don’t, here’s what you’ll need to make these vegan muffins:

• flax eggs
• oat milk 
• champagne vinegar
• gluten-free flour
• fine granulated sugar
• baking soda
• baking powder
• sea salt
• vegetable oil
• vanilla extract
• fresh or dried cranberries 

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 Celsius), with rack adjusted to lower position. Line a muffin pan with liners (if you don’t have any, grease each tin lightly with vegan cooking spray or small amount of vegetable oil on a clean paper towel).

• Make flax eggs by mixing, in a small bowl, 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 4 tablespoons water. Stir and place in freezer for 10 to 12 minutes to allow it to thicken.
• In another small bowl, mix almond milk with champagne vinegar and allow it to sit for 10 minutes until it starts to look curdled, at which time it turns into vegan buttermilk.
• Into a large bowl, sift flour, vegan sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk gently until it appears combined.
• As when you make homemade bread with yeast, take your fingers and make a small well in the center of dry ingredients. To your well, add vegetable oil, vanilla, flax eggs, and oat milk and vinegar mixture. Fold with spatula just until ingredients are well-combined. If it appears dry, then add 1-2 tablespoons of water and stir.
• Gently fold in cranberries. There are two ways you can prepare the cranberries: 1) If you’re using fresh, add them to a small pan of water and simmer, just until they swell. DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO BURST. Drain, add to mixture and gently fold in about 3/4 cups, depending upon how much merry berries you want in your muffins, then save the rest for pushing into tops. 2) If you’re using dried, add to pot of boiling water, remove from heat, cover and wait for them to swell before folding them gently into mixture. Same applies to adjusting berry amount as it did with fresh berries. Don’t be alarmed if your batter is thick and lumpy from the cranberries.
• Using a greased tablespoon, add two heaping spoonfuls of batter to prepared muffin tins. Push 2 or 3 cranberries gently into tops of muffin. Sprinkle with vegan sugar (both steps optional)
• Bake for 25 minutes. Before removing, insert a toothpick to check if done. If it comes out clean, your muffins are good to go.
• Remove muffins and place on cooling while still in the pan for 5-7 minutes. Gently remove each muffin from tin and transfer to cooling rack to allow to cool for another 10 minutes. Enjoy with a cup of my vegan eggnog.

EXPERT TIPS

• If you don’t have red foil muffin tin liners or muffin toppers, you can make them decorative using basic ingredients. For example, sprinkle with vegan powdered sugar and top with fresh cranberries, then surround with a few sprigs of Christmas tree or fresh heather. The picture below is a batch I did with just the basics as mentioned above.
• Adjust your baking time according to how hot your oven runs.
• To get the look I achieved with these muffins, you must use fresh cranberries. Simply add cranberries to saucepan and water. Simmer on low for a couple of minutes (more or less as needed). It’s best that you not allow them to burst or you’ll get cranberry sauce instead of berries. Remove from heat and allow to cool before using them in the recipe.
• If using dried cranberries, soak them in water overnight, or add to pot of boiling water, remove from heat, cover and allow to cool at which time they should be nice and swollen from the water intake.
• Allow muffins to cool completely before removing from muffin liner.

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**Recipe adapted from Mindful Avocado

Vegan Cranberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)

These vegan cranberry muffins are so fluffy and moist, they’ll melt in your mouth! A vegan cranberry muffin recipe that’s also gluten-free for your friends and family to enjoy anytime of year.

5 from 24 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 84kcal

Author: Deborah

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 flax eggs add 4 tbsp water to 2 tbsp ground flax seed, stir well and freeze for 10 minutes
• ▢ 2/3 cup oat milk or any plant-based milk you choose
• ▢ 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
• ▢ 1-3/4 cup gluten-free flour
• ▢ 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons for topping vegan fine granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1-1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries see recipe tips in post under instructions or below to find information on how to prepare your berries.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 Celsius), with rack adjusted to lower position. Line a muffin pan with liners (if you don’t have any, grease each tin lightly with vegan cooking spray or small amount of vegetable oil on a clean paper towel).
• Make flax eggs by mixing, in a small bowl, 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 4 tablespoons water. Stir and place in freezer for 10 to 12 minutes to allow it to thicken.
• In another small bowl, mix almond milk with champagne vinegar and allow it to sit for 10 minutes until it starts to look curdled, at which time it turns into vegan buttermilk.
• Into a large bowl, sift flour, vegan sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk gently until it appears combined.
• As when you make homemade bread with yeast, take your fingers and make a small well in the center of dry ingredients. To your well, add vegetable oil, vanilla, flax eggs, and oat milk and vinegar mixture. Fold with spatula just until ingredients are well-combined.
• Drain fresh or soaked cranberries, strain and and add about 3/4 cups to mixture. Save rest for topping muffins with. Fold gently. Don’t be alarmed if your batter is thick and lumpy from the cranberries.
• Using a greased tablespoon, add 2 heaping spoonfuls of batter to prepared muffin tins. Push 2 or 3 cranberries gently into tops of muffin. Sprinkle with vegan sugar (both steps optional)
• Bake for 25 minutes. Before removing, insert a toothpick to check if done. If it comes out clean, your muffins are good to go.
• Remove muffins and place on cooling in the pan for 5-7 minutes. Gently remove each muffin from tins and transfer to cooling rack to allow to cool for another 10 minutes. Enjoy with a cup of my vegan eggnog.

Notes

• To get the look I achieved with muffins, use fresh cranberries. When using fresh cranberries, add 1 1/2 cup to small saucepan of water. Simmer just until they swell. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Do NOT allow them to pop.
• If using dried cranberries, soak them in water overnight, or add to pot of boiling water, remove from heat, cover and allow to cool at which time they should be nice and swollen from the water intake.
• If you don’t have red foil muffin tin liners or muffin toppers, you can make them decorative using basic ingredients. For example, sprinkle with vegan powdered sugar and top with fresh cranberries, then surround with a few sprigs of Christmas tree or fresh heather.
• Adjust your baking time according to how hot your oven runs.
• Allow muffins to cool completely before removing from muffin liner.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 84kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 27IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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