Healthy cranberry orange muffins are bursting with tart cranberries and sweet orange flavor. With no refined sugar, these muffins are a healthy alternative to your coffee shop staple.
I’ve always loved the combination of cranberry and orange. There’s something so festive about the two flavors together this time of year.
As much as I enjoy a giant, over the top, big-as-your-palm muffin, my mind immediately goes to how much sugar is stuffed inside. Because while we would like to think that these innocent looking breakfast items are good for us, they’re really just a huge sugar and fat trap.
I’m not saying fat is bad, trust me, the good fats I’m all for and can totally get behind! But it’s really the portion size and simple carbs and sugars that go into your coffee house muffin that make it a poor breakfast option.
So today, I’m sharing a much healthier alternative {and more portion friendly} cranberry orange muffin for you.
Healthy cranberry orange muffins healthy dry ingredients
Most muffins start with all purpose flour. While that’s good for some, I wanted to use whole wheat flour to up our fiber content during breakfast time. We’re not going full on bran muffin here, but a nice amount of whole wheat flour is going to up your breakfast game.
We’re also loading up on all those rich spices that will enhance the cranberry orange flavor. Like cinnamon, allspice and ground cloves. Your house will smell so fantastic as these warm flavors bake their way into the healthy cranberry orange muffins.
Using full-bodied spices like those above also helps to enhance flavor and keep us from needing to use copious amounts of refined sugar.
Healthy cranberry orange muffins healthy wet ingredients
I love using full-fat Chobani Greek yogurt in my baking. It’s thick, and creamy, and easily takes place of sour cream, and in this case, butter. It’s thick texture mixes really well and offers a healthy fat for baking.
Pure maple syrup adds a richness to the muffins that’s so perfect as a sugar replacement.
We can’t forget about the homemade orange juice we’re adding to these super soft healthy cranberry orange muffins. I love using this juicer because it makes homemade orange juice so simple!
Once all of our wet and dry ingredients are combined, we add some additional fat with melted coconut oil. The reason we wait until the end is because if you were to mix the coconut oil in with the cold yogurt, it will start to solidify. I’ve found it best to wait until the very end to mix in your coconut oil.
Healthy cranberry orange muffins: the cranberries
I like to toss my fresh cranberries in a bit of cornstarch to help suspend them in the batter. This way they’re less likely to all sink down to the bottom of your muffin.
Fresh cranberries are so great this time of year, and readily available at the grocery store. But if you’re having a hard time finding fresh, grab yourself a bag of frozen.
Then just thaw the cranberries, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. This will keep the muffins from getting too soggy.
Healthy cranberry orange muffins: let’s eat!
I topped my muffins with some turbinado sugar just before baking. This little bit of crunch brings out the extra sweetness of the muffins.
Make up a big batch of these muffins and keep the majority in the freezer for a simple and healthy breakfast any time of the week.
They’re soft and have just the right amount of cranberry orange to make you want to go back for a second!
Looking for more healthy breakfast ideas? Check these out:
Baked Chocolate Protein Donuts
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup raw cane sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. allspice
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¾ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. orange extract
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
- 1 Tbsp. corn starch
- zest of one orange
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Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin tins with 14 cupcake liners.
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In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cloves baking soda and powder and salt.
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In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, milk, orange juice, pure maple syrup, vanilla, orange extract and eggs.
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Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, stirring after each addition, until combined.
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Stir in the melted coconut oil, until combined.*
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In a small bowl, toss the cranberries in the cornstarch and orange zest. Fold into the batter.
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Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake tins. Sprinkle the tops with additional sugar.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Move to a wire rack to cool.
*Note: coconut oil must be stirred in at the end to ensure it doesn’t harden in the cool batter.
Note: muffins can be stored in an airtight container for about a week on the counter, or in a freezer safe container in the freezer for a month.
Note: to thaw frozen muffins, leave on the counter the night before eating, or microwave for about 1 - 1 1/2 minutes until thawed and warm.
