Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins (Dairy-Free Option)

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This delicious fluffy Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffin Recipe is bursting with fresh tangy cranberries and sweet orange zest, perfect for the holidays!

Three gluten-free cranberry orange muffins stacked on top of one another with the top muffin having a bite taken out of the middle exposing the cranberries.

It took me over ten batches to perfect the texture of this cranberry muffin recipe and I have to say it was well worth the trials. The key to precision is correctly measuring the ingredients, as it is with most baked items. I recommend using a food scale for both liquids and solids for the most accurate results.

These pillowy soft moist muffins have a crunchy sugared-coated topping and are packed with freshly tart cranberries and orange zest. During cranberry season these muffins can be made with fresh cranberries or any leftover cranberries from the holidays. This recipe can also be made with frozen cranberries during the off-season. We love to serve these bright and colorful tasty muffins during the holiday season for breakfast. They also make a great afternoon snack or dessert.

For more holiday recipes check out my Red Wine Cranberry Sauce, Gluten-Free Corn Casserole, Gluten-Free Stuffing, and Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Dairy-Free
Muffin Baking Tips
Storage
FAQ
Recipe
Reviews

Ingredients

Butter + Unrefined Coconut Oil: The combination of both butter and unrefined coconut oil is what gives these muffins a rich buttery taste and soft crumb. You can use all butter or all coconut, but the results may slightly vary in texture and flavor.
Sugar: Organic cane sugar helps sweeten the muffins. Combining the orange zest with the sugar helps release the oils in the zest and gives these muffins that vibrant orange flavor.
Orange Zest + Orange Juice: You will need the zest from two large navel oranges and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Eggs: Used to bind all of the ingredients and give the muffins structure.
Yogurt + Milk: Yogurt and milk add a bit of tang and sweetness along with a creamy texture to the muffins.
Vanilla Extract + Almond Extract: This combination of flavors helps enhance the citrus.
Gluten-Free Flour + Almond Flour: The gluten-free flour blend plus almond flour gives these muffins a nice golden color and softens the texture.
Salt: Helps balance the sweetness.
Baking Powder: Helps lift the muffins giving them tall domed tops.
Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen, but if you’re using frozen cranberries do not thaw them. Keep them in the freezer bag until ready to use.

Instructions

A step by step process showing the creation of cranberry orange muffins. Starting with a clear bowl and mixed flours. Next is a clear bowl with orange zest and sugar, followed by a large clear bowl of the wet ingredients. The last photo shows the wet ingredients combined with the dry ingredients, and a spatula folding in the mixture.

Steps showing gluten-free cranberry orange muffins. A large bowl with frozen cranberries being folded in. A large clear bowl with the batter fully mixed. A muffin tin with the batter is added to each well. Finally, the last photo shows 12 fully baked muffins in the tin, doming over the top with vibrant red cranberries poking through.

Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set the bowl aside.
Work the zest into the sugar. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and zest of two navel oranges. Work the orange zest into the sugar with a spoon, stirring for a few minutes until evenly combined. The sugar will feel like wet sand between your fingertips, and the zest should be fragrant, and fully incorporated into the sugar.
Add the remaining wet ingredients. Whisk in the melted coconut oil, melted butter, yogurt, milk, eggs, orange juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined.
Combine the wet mixture and dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, stir just until little. to no streaks of flour remain. Be careful not to over-mix, 15-20 full stirs should work.
Mix in the cranberries. Fold in the cranberries until just combined.
Let the batter rest. Cover the muffin batter with aluminum foil and allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This allows the batter to hydrate.
Preheat the oven and prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a standard muffin pan with paper baking cups. If not using paper cups, grease the inside of the muffin pan with coconut oil. Use a large cookie scoop or spoon to portion the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin. Make sure to fill the batter to the top. (If using frozen cranberries, the batter will be quite thick.) Sprinkle the top of the muffins with sugar, and add a few more cranberries to the tops if you please.
Bake the muffins. Bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and continue to bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

Three cranberries orange muffins with one muffin liner pulled down exposing the muffin.

Dairy-Free

This recipe can easily be made dairy-free with a few simple substitutions.

Butter - Use dairy-free butter or additional coconut oil.
Milk - I use almond milk in this recipe but any non-dairy milk will work.
Yogurt - Almond milk yogurt and coconut milk work well in this recipe.

Muffin Baking Tips

Follow these tips to perfect orange cranberry muffins!

Allow the batter to rest - Resting the batter allows for the gluten-free flour to hydrate. This will give you fluffy muffins with a taller rise.
Bake at high temperature initially - Starting the muffins at a higher temperature helps them to rise higher more quickly. Then, we reduce the temperature for the rest of the bake to help the muffins finish cooking more evenly.
How to get sky-high gluten-free muffins - For even taller muffin tops, line a 12-count muffin pan with 6 muffin liners, filling every other muffin well with the batter. Filling every other well allows the muffins to spread and dome without running into each other. Repeat with the remaining batter, making sure to bump the temperature back up to 425ºF.
Use a good muffin pan - For best results, using a light metal muffin pan will help the muffins to bake more evenly. If you want to give the muffins an even higher lift,
How to avoid muffins from sticking to the pan - Use a small amount of unrefined coconut oil to lightly coat the inside of the cupcake liners or the inside of the muffin pan before filling them. This will allow the muffins to easily release from the pan or the liners.
Bakery style - Adding a few extra cranberries on top of the muffins along with a sprinkle of granulated sugar gives a bakery-style finished look.
Do not thaw frozen cranberries! - Both fresh and frozen cranberries work well in this recipe but make sure to not thaw the frozen cranberries. Also when using frozen cranberries the batter will become quite firm, which is normal and it can take a minute or two longer for the final bake.
Room temperature ingredients - Bringing the ingredients to room temperature helps incorporate them into the batter more easily.
Measure with a food scale - The biggest reason this muffin recipe fails is not measuring the ingredients properly. I find a food scale is the most reliable source with the best outcome.
Do not overmix the batter - You’ll want to combine the batter ingredients just until they are smooth. It's ok if there are a few lumps, that is normal. Overmixing can lead to dense tough muffins.

Storage

To Store: These muffins are best served the day they are made. Any leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.

To Make Ahead: The muffin batter can be made one day in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To Freeze: Once the muffins are completely cooled, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months. You can thaw them overnight in the fridge or defrost them in the microwave.

Three cranberry orange muffins, one with a bite take out of the middle showing the crumb and cranberries.

FAQ

Can I use dried cranberries?

For dried cranberries, use only 1 cup, and soak the dried cranberries in warm water for 10 minutes to help soften them. Before adding to the mixture, make sure to pat the cranberries dry. Dried cranberries are chewier in texture and sweeter.

Can I use frozen cranberries?

Yes! This recipe has been tested with frozen cranberries and they come out great. Just make sure to not thaw the cranberries, you want them to come straight from the freezer. Thawing the berries will lead to them bleeding into the batter and will affect the texture. Note that the final bake time may increase by a minute or two since the fruit is starting cold.

Should you chop the cranberries before baking?

Cutting them can more evenly distribute the flavor, but is not necessary.