Name: Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup vanilla dairy-free yogurt; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 tbsp orange zest; 1/2 cup orange juice; 1/2 cup water; 1 1/2 cup cranberries

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These vegan cranberry orange muffins are fluffy, flavorful, and perfect for brunch or snacking. You can make them with fresh or frozen cranberries; the tartness playing nicely off the sweet muffin matter and orange zest.

It feels a little weird to be posting cranberry recipes in March – but when I hit up the grocery store the other day, cranberries were the only frozen fruit left! So I thought why not grab some and get creative?! Muffins were the first thing I thought of, because I knew I could freeze half of them after making to save for another time.

How to make vegan muffins

I’m not personally vegan, but I create a lot of food-allergy-friendly recipes here that tend to be vegan. To modify most regular muffin recipes, you only need to do a few things:

Swap out regular butter for vegan butter
Skip the egg and play around with other substitutes, like dairy-free yogurt, flax eggs, and slightly different proportions of leavening agents (the specific substitute will depend on the type of recipe)
Ensure the sugar you choose is a vegan sugar. Some sugar is processed using a bone char filtering system, while others are not. If you avoid all animal products, choose one that does not use any animal products in processing.

Those are really the only three things you’ll need to change for most recipes!

Of course, I’m not going to leave you hanging here – I’ve got a delicious recipe for these vegan cranberry orange muffins. For this particular recipe, you’re going to use these ingredients:

Vegan butter
Sugar (vegan-friendly)
Vanilla dairy-free yogurt
Flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Orange zest and juice
Water
Cranberries (frozen or fresh)

You’ll start by mixing up these ingredients. You’ll notice the batter is pretty thick and you might be worried – but don’t be. It won’t be dense; on the contrary these muffins are actually very light and fluffy.

Once the batter is ready, just pour it in the muffin tin. Then bake, let cool, and enjoy!

Allergens in this recipe

Disclaimer: I try to note potential allergens in all recipes – but as you know, manufacturers can change ingredient formulations or I may miss something. Always double check ingredients and labels prior to consuming if you have an allergy.

This recipe is naturally dairy free and egg free.

This recipe does contain wheat/gluten (in the flour).

Depending on the type of dairy-free yogurt you use, it may also contain nuts or soy. For example, I used cashewmilk yogurt, so my version contained nuts.

Here’s suggested modifications based on these needs:

To make this soy free: Be sure to choose a soy-free vegan butter (for example, the red container of Earth Balance is soy free and what I used here) and a dairy-free yogurt that does not use a soy base.
To make this nut free: Be sure to choose a nut-free dairy-free yogurt alternative (like an oat milk or soy milk yogurt).
To make this gluten free: I have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour, but I imagine using a high-quality gluten-free all-purpose substitute would work well.

More Recipes with Frozen Cranberries

If you bought a bag of frozen cranberries, you’ll probably have some more left after these muffins. In that case, try one of these other delicious ideas from fellow bloggers:

Cranberry Oatmeal: My RD pal Lainey Younkin doesn’t have this posted on her website, but shared it with me directly! She recommends combining 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, and ~1/2 c frozen cranberries. Microwave for two minutes. Add peanut butter and any spices, nuts, and/or seeds of choice.
Cranberry Apple Breakfast Bowl: This breakfast bowl combines tart cranberries, sweet apples, and hearty quinoa. It’s a great breakfast for active men and women!
Pomegranate Cranberry Smoothie: Are you looking for an antioxidant boost this winter? This pomegranate cranberry smoothie is sweet and fruity – and also full of health benefits.
Squash and Quinoa Salad: This quinoa salad is packed with flavor! It’s mixed with cranberries, butternut squash, sage, and goat cheese. You’ll love this as a main dish or side dish.

I hope you enjoy these tasty vegan cranberry muffins! If you get a chance to try them, please be sure to leave a recipe rating or comment below.