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    Recipes » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Muffins

    Last updated - July 11, 2021; Published - May 13, 2020 By Rhian Williams 27 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    A collage of two photos of gluten-free vegan orange muffins

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Muffins are moist, fluffy, sweet and fragrant. They come together in one bowl and are refined sugar free too. Perfect for breakfast, a snack or dessert!

    Two gluten-free vegan orange muffins, one cut in half

    Tips for baking with oranges

    • The orange flavour in these muffins comes from orange zest and orange juice.
    • The orange zest can be replaced with orange extract.
    • If using orange zest, make sure to use unwaxed oranges.
    • You can either use freshly squeezed orange juice, or orange juice from a carton.
    • If you prefer a stronger orange flavour, you can add some orange extract to the muffin batter - instructions in recipe notes.

    How to make this recipe

    • Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
    Raw gluten-free vegan orange muffin batter in a glass bowl
    • Divide the batter between muffin cases in a muffin/cupcake tin.
    Raw gluten-free vegan orange muffin batter in two brown muffin cases
    • Bake for 15-20 minutes.
    Two gluten-free vegan orange muffins in brown muffin cases

    For even more orange flavour, you can make an orange syrup to pour over the muffins.

    Tips for the orange syrup

    • Mix it together while you're waiting for the muffins to bake in the oven.
    • I recommend pouring the syrup over the muffins straight out the oven while they're still hot, so that it gets properly absorbed.
    • It's optional so you can leave it out if you want.

    Substitutions you can make

    • You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
    • The orange juice can be freshly squeezed or from a carton.
    • The orange zest can be replaced with orange extract.
    • You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
    • You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
    • You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal) with ground walnuts.
    • For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.
    • You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.

    Flavour substitution ideas

    You can easily make this recipe your own by adding ingredients that suit your taste preferences. Here are some ideas:

    • Poppy seeds.
    • Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries - use my Blueberry Muffins recipe as a guide for how much fruit to add.
    • Desiccated coconut.
    • Dried cranberries.
    • Chocolate chips - use my Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe as a guide for how much to add.

    How long do these Orange Muffins keep for?

    These Muffins do taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days. You can reheat them in the oven or an oven toaster if you like.

    A gluten-free vegan orange muffin in a brown muffin case topped with chopped pistachios

    More gluten-free vegan muffin recipes

    • Carrot Muffins
    • Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins
    • Chocolate Muffins
    • Apple Muffins
    • Blueberry Muffins
    • Chocolate Banana Muffins
    • Banana Muffins
    • Lemon Muffins
    • Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
    • Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
    • Gingerbread Muffins

    If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

    Watch how to make this recipe

    Two gluten-free vegan orange muffins, one cut in half

    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Muffins

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Muffins are moist, fluffy, sweet and fragrant. They come together in one bowl and are refined sugar free too. Perfect for breakfast, a snack or dessert!
    4.20 from 41 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: gluten-free orange muffins, vegan gluten-free muffins, vegan orange muffins
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 12 muffins
    Calories: 193kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the muffins:

    • 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
    • 60 ml (¼ cup) orange juice (freshly squeezed or from a carton)
    • 150 ml (â…” cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
    • 2 tablespoons orange zest * (use unwaxed oranges – or sub 2 teaspoons orange extract)
    • 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • Pinch salt
    • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
    • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
    • 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
    • ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

    For the syrup (optional):

    • 3 tablespoons orange juice (freshly squeezed or from a carton)
    • 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)

    Instructions

    For the muffins:

    • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
    • Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
    • Once melted, add the orange juice to the same bowl along with the milk, orange zest, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
    • Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
.
    • Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
.
    • Transfer the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tin.
    • Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

    For the syrup:

    • Whilst the muffins are baking, mix together the orange juice and maple syrup.
    • Drizzle it over the muffins as soon as they’re out of the oven – it will soak into the muffins better when they’re hot.
    • These muffins taste best eaten on the day they’re made, but keep for a few days. They can be reheated in the oven or an oven toaster if you like!

    Video

    Notes

    *For a stronger orange flavour, add an extra teaspoon of orange extract as well as the orange zest. Or if using orange extract instead of orange zest, use 3 teaspoons of orange extract.
    **You can alternatively use almond flour.
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Muffins
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 193 Calories from Fat 108
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 12g18%
    Saturated Fat 5g25%
    Sodium 41mg2%
    Potassium 57mg2%
    Carbohydrates 21g7%
    Fiber 3g12%
    Sugar 9g10%
    Protein 4g8%
    Vitamin A 14IU0%
    Vitamin C 4mg5%
    Calcium 72mg7%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Sigi Cayel

      November 22, 2020 at 9:06 am

      5 stars
      These are absolutely wonderful! Most times, I have a hard time extracting the citrus flavor from baked goods, but these are so on point, even without the syrup!

      I have large than normal cupcake tins so it made 4 muffins - I halved the recipe as well and used the following for anyone interested:

      1/8 cup EVOO
      1/8 cup freshly squeezed OJ
      1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
      2 tbsp + 2 tsp orange zest
      4 tbsps agave
      1 tsp vanilla extract
      1 pinch coarse salt
      3/4 cup ground almonds
      1/2 cup all purpose flour
      or sub any other sweetener)
      1 heaping tsp baking powder
      1/8 tsp baking soda

      Had to bake for 25-30 minutes, but they are absolute stunners and the flavor is delicious!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        November 22, 2020 at 3:07 pm

        Thank you so much for sharing, so glad you liked them!

    2. Nikki

      January 23, 2021 at 4:14 pm

      Hi, I am interested to learn if you can substitute the ground almonds with coconut flour? As my son is allergic to almonds and maple. Thank you

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        January 23, 2021 at 6:04 pm

        You can replace the ground almonds with a fifth of the amount coconut flour (as coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture)! Hope that helps!

      • Donna

        October 28, 2022 at 2:11 am

        Thankyou for asking this question about almonds substitute as my daughter has a total nut/seed allergy.

    3. H B

      January 24, 2021 at 10:01 pm

      Do you think I could easily add in blueberries?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        January 25, 2021 at 4:24 pm

        Yes!

    4. Selena

      February 08, 2021 at 12:53 am

      5 stars
      Yummy!!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        February 08, 2021 at 12:56 am

        Thank you so much!

    5. Stephanie

      April 17, 2021 at 12:08 am

      This looks amazing! I’m wondering if you think I could replace the Almond flour with oat flour??

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        April 17, 2021 at 2:15 pm

        Thank you! Ah sorry I don't think that would be the right texture, but you can replace it with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds.

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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