These cranberry orange yogurt muffins are perfect for holiday brunches or any time you need a wholesome, seasonal muffin! With fresh cranberries and fresh orange juice and zest, you'll have tangy cranberries and bright citrus flavor bursting in every bite, while Greek yogurt helps create incredibly tender and fluffy muffins.
Inspired by my raspberry lemon muffins, these cranberry orange muffins are incredibly tender and festive for Christmas morning or the holiday season, and we enjoy them on weekend mornings all winter long. They're great for breakfast or brunch because family or guests can easily grab a plate and a muffin to nibble on with coffee while visiting with each other. And in a larger brunch spread, they're excellent alongside a savory dish such as this kale and potato frittata.
My favorite way to eat them is cut in half with a pat of butter while still warm from the oven -- such a treat! Holidays aside, they're also great for winter meal prep so you can have a quick and wholesome breakfast or afternoon snack at the ready. Now, let's head to the kitchen and make some muffins!
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Key Ingredients
- White whole wheat flour - One of my favorite flours for making tender baked goods.
- Plain Greek yogurt - 2% or whole milk is best to yield the most tender, moist texture.
- Orange - for both fresh juice and fresh orange zest.
- Whole cranberries - Fresh cranberries are typically only available close to the holiday season, and both frozen whole cranberries or fresh will work for this recipe.
Substitutions & Variations
- Gluten free - Feel free to sub the white whole wheat flour for a gluten free flour blend at a 1:1 ratio. Make sure it's a gluten free flour blend that's specifically for measure-for-measure substitutions.
- Flour - You can swap in whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or all purpose flour for the white whole wheat flour.
- Nuts - Adding chopped walnuts or slivered almonds to these muffins would be delicious!
- Sweetener - You can sub agave or honey for the maple syrup in a 1:1 ratio.
- Yogurt - If you don't have yogurt, substitute the same amount of sour cream (preferably full fat). I'm loving the probiotic sour creams like Nancy's or Good Culture.
- Coconut oil - If you don't have coconut oil, you can use the same amount of olive oil, avocado oil, or melted butter (melt and allow to cool slightly).
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment liners. Then, whisk together the white whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl, and set aside.
Step 2: Melt the coconut oil in the microwave and allow it to slightly cool (so as not to cook the eggs). In a separate large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, pure maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, plain Greek yogurt, orange juice, and zest. Make sure to whisk it together until you get a smooth, uniform texture.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently mix until just combined.
Step 4: Combine the fresh cranberries with just a bit of flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin cups when baked. Then, fold the cranberries into the batter.
Step 5: Spoon the batter evenly into your prepared 12-cup muffin tin. Sometimes I use a cookie scoop (affiliate link) for even scoops and easy separation of the batter from the scoop. If using, sprinkle the tops with coarse turbinado sugar at this time.
Step 6: Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then reduce your oven heat to 350 degrees. Bake for another 14-16 minutes. Ovens vary, so you'll know they're done when the tops are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a couple tender crumbs. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes. You're done! Yum!
Success Tips
- Don't over-mix the batter! Over-mixing the batter can yield dry muffins, and we want moist, tender muffins. To avoid this, when you add the dry ingredients into the wet, gently stir them together until just combined (no visible flour).
- Oven times. Ovens vary, so sensory clues are helpful to let you know when your muffins are truly done. Look for golden brown tops, smell for delicious baked muffin smells, and perform a toothpick test at minute 14. To do this, take the muffins out of the oven and poke one or two with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs on it, time to take the muffins out. If it comes out with wet batter on it, bake for 2-3 more minutes.
- Tall muffin tops. Who doesn't love tall, bakery-style muffins?! There are a couple ways to achieve this, but my favorite method is to bake the muffins at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees for the remainder of the baking time.
Cranberry Orange Muffin FAQs
My number one tips are to avoid over-baking, and avoid over-mixing the batter, as these are common culprits for dry muffins. See my success tips above for details!
Use a gluten free measure-for-measure flour such as the kind from Bob's Red Mill. This flour is your best option for this recipe since it can be substituted in a 1:1 ratio, whereas other gluten-free flours (such as almond flour, coconut flour, oat flour, etc.) would need to be tested with other ingredient ratios.
The cranberries sweeten up as they bake and burst into the muffins, but if they're still too tart for your tastebuds, you can chop them up a bit before adding them to the batter.
Store cranberry orange muffins on the countertop in an airtight container for a couple days before transferring them to the fridge. They are moist, so they can get moldy when left on the counter in a container for more than that.
To freeze these muffins, place them in an airtight container or reusable storage bag (one that seals tightly), and store them in your freezer for up to three months. Thaw on the countertop until they come back to room temp.
📖 Recipe
Wholesome Cranberry Orange Yogurt Muffins
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Description
These wholesome cranberry orange muffins are fluffy and bursting with fresh cranberry and bright orange flavor in every bite! Made with wholesome ingredients and naturally sweetened, they're the perfect brunch or breakfast treat for the holidays or winter weekends.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup virgin coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (2% or whole milk for richest flavor!)
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (from one orange)
- orange zest from one orange (~2 tsp; same orange as above)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries (leave whole or roughly chop)
- Optional: coarse turbinado sugar for sparkling tops
Instructions
- Preheat & prep. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and line a 12-cup muffin tin with unbleached parchment liners (or grease the muffin tin).
- Mix dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients. Whisk together the melted and cooled coconut oil, pure maple syrup, eggs, yogurt, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract in a separate, large bowl. Make sure to thoroughly whisk these together so that the maple syrup is fully incorporated into the other ingredients.
- Combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients mixture to the wet ingredients mixture and mix until just combined, taking care not to over-mix. Gently fold in the cranberries.
- Fill muffin tin. Spoon the muffin batter evenly into each muffin cup, and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
- Bake muffins. Bake the muffins at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake at 350 for 14-16 more minutes. I recommend testing the muffins with a toothpick at minute 14 baking at 350 degrees (minute 19 of total baking time). If the toothpick comes out dry with a couple tender crumbs, take the muffins out. If not, allow them to bake for a couple more minutes before removing them from the oven. Carefully remove the muffins from the tin and allow them to cool for five minutes.
Notes
- Storage + Freezing Instructions. Store cranberry orange muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, then transfer to the fridge. To freeze, place muffins in an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for up to three months.
- Oven temps. Everyone's oven temperature is different, so the best way to tell for sure that your muffins are done (and not overdone!) is to take a peak at around 14-16 minutes. Do the muffins smell fragrant? Do they look solid, puffed, and golden brown on top? If so, take them out and poke with a toothpick through the top. If a couple moist crumbs come out stuck to the toothpick, you can take the muffins out and let them cool. If there is actual batter on the toothpick, then pop them back in the oven for another 2-3 minutes before testing again. Remember that the muffins will continue to cook a bit as they cool.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 18
- Category: Breakfast, brunch
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 270
- Sugar: 27.3 g
- Sodium: 222.4 mg
- Fat: 10.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.9 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 32.3 mg
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