These cranberry orange muffins tick all the boxes. They are: moist, delicious and super fast to pull together for a festive dessert or everyday breakfast on the go.
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I love making these cranberry & orange muffins during the fall holidays when fresh cranberries line the produce aisles. But I often find myself craving them year round; they are just SO good for a quick breakfast or anytime treat. Thankfully, frozen cranberries are available all year. 🙂
Did you know?
Besides being festive and full of color, cranberries are considered to be a prebiotic food since they contain compounds including oligosaccharides and proanthocyanidins which help feed beneficial bacteria in the gut like Lactobacillus plantarum. And, they're delicious! 🙂
Can't get enough homemade muffin recipes with fruit? Check out these easy blueberry muffins or these scrumptious banana chocolate chip muffins. And if you love making recipes with Greek yogurt, definitely try this yogurt parfait, this easy apple cake, these pancakes using yogurt or these 2 ingredient bagels—you won't believe how good they are.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Only 10 minutes of prep time required
- Perfect fall muffin recipe
- Easy to make year-round with frozen cranberries
- Delicious, not too sweet breakfast muffins
- Lovely dessert to bring to festive gatherings
🌿 Ingredients
All easy to find ingredients in this recipe. And feel free to substitute frozen for fresh cranberries! (You could also use a lesser amount of dried cranberries, but I prefer the natural tartness of fresh or frozen cranberries to offset the sweetness of the muffins.)
See recipe card below for exact quantities.
📝 Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400°F and grease or line one 12-muffin tin or two 6-muffin tins. Then, wash and zest the orange, and set the zest aside. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice from one half the orange and set the juice aside.
Pro tip: If you don't have a citrus zester, you can also use a chef's knife to slice thin peels off the orange and then finely mince them.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. I like to use a whisk to incorporate everything really well.
Step 3: In a larger bowl, use a whisk to beat the eggs a little and then add the sugar, brown sugar, yogurt, orange juice, butter and vanilla. Whisk everything again until the wet ingredients are well incorporated.
Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet until they are just incorporated (don't over mix here.)
Step 4: Fold the cranberries into the batter and then divide the batter evenly into your muffin cups.
Bake your muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool in the tins for 5 minutes, and then remove onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
📋 Substitutions
Here are some common substitutions you can make depending on dietary preferences and needs:
- Fresh cranberries - use frozen cranberries if you can't find fresh!
- Sugar - substitute coconut sugar instead of the white and/or brown sugar
- Greek yogurt - substitute sour cream if you don't have any Greek yogurt on hand
- Unsalted butter - use salted if necessary and leave out half of the added salt, or use coconut oil instead
- Gluten free cranberry orange muffins - use any all-purpose gluten free flour in place of regular flour (I tested with Cup4cup Gluten Free Flour and it worked well)
- Cranberry orange muffins with dried cranberries - dried cranberries can be used in a pinch, but just use half the amount as fresh cranberries
📖 Variations
And here are a few variations on this muffin recipe:
- Cranberry walnut orange muffins with walnuts - add ⅓ cup of chopped walnuts when you fold in the cranberries
- Banana cranberry orange muffins - mash a small ripe banana and add it to the wet ingredients
- Mini cranberry orange muffins - use a 24-mini muffin tin (or 2 12-mini muffin tins) and bake for just 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
🔪 Equipment
Here is the equipment you'll need to make this recipe:
- muffin tin
- muffin liners
- zester, or chef's knife and cutting board
- medium and large mixing bowl
- whisk
- silicone spatula
🍱 Storage
These cranberry and orange muffins will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
🎉 Top tip
Definitely use a fresh orange to make the zest and juice for this recipe. It only takes minutes to prep and makes all the difference in these delicious fall muffins. 🙂
Enjoy!
💭 FAQ
Yes; you can substitute the same amount of frozen cranberries for fresh cranberries, no thawing required.
Yes. Use twice the amount of mini muffin tins than regular muffin tins, and cut the baking time by a third.
Sure can! Add chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans, some white chocolate chips, or a mashed ripe banana for some delicious variations on cranberry orange muffins.
Homemade cranberry orange muffins will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
🍳 Recipe
The Best Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 orange
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- ¼ cup unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted, plus extra for greasing (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease or line one 12-muffin tin or two 6-muffin tins. Wash and zest the orange, and set zest aside. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice from one half the orange and set aside; you can eat or save the other half of the orange. (see notes)
- Mix the dry ingredients: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest in a medium mixing bowl and use a whisk to incorporate.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a larger bowl, use a whisk to beat the eggs a little, then add the sugar, brown sugar, yogurt, orange juice, butter and vanilla and whisk again.
- Make the batter: Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just incorporated (don't over mix.) Fold the cranberries into the batter and then divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups.
- Bake: Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool in the tins for 5 minutes, and then remove onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Enjoy: Serve immediately, or save covered for up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer.
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