Perfect for holiday entertaining, these festive and flavorful Cranberry Orange Muffins are made with fresh or frozen cranberries and have a hint of zesty citrus.

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Cranberry Orange Muffins Recipe

The holidays will be here any minute. I'm already thinking about the recipes I'll make this year... There will for sure be Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and Shredded Cheesy Potatoes. The rest I still need to figure out.

One type of food that often gets left off holiday menus is breakfast. If you have family coming over or if you simply just want to start a new holiday tradition, breakfast is a great place to start.

These healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins are a perfect centerpiece for a holiday breakfast or brunch. Made with fresh or frozen cranberries, these sugar-free muffins will definitely be a hit.

cranberry muffins, oats, cranberries and half an orange

Why you'll love this recipe

These easy Cranberry Muffins are perfect for entertaining! Here's why I think you should make them for your holiday entertaining this year.

Muffins are a crowd-pleaser for breakfast and brunch.
They're made without refined sugar so they're perfect for little ones.
Cranberries and orange have the most festive flavor!

This recipe is based on my Lemon Blueberry Muffins, which are some of my favorites!

Ingredients

Here is what you'll need to pick up at the grocery store to make these easy cranberry orange muffins:

all-purpose flour
old-fashioned rolled oats
coconut sugar or brown sugar
baking powder
ground cinnamon
salt
almond milk
yogurt
coconut oil
eggs
pure vanilla extract
orange zest
fresh or frozen cranberries

Fresh cranberries are recommended! They will get super hot in the oven, then burst and release their juices — similar to what happens with blueberry muffins.

Frozen cranberries can be used instead. Do not thaw them first — just throw them in frozen!

If needed, dried cranberries could be used in a pinch, but I'd recommend making sure they are unsweetened cranberries.

If you have any cranberries leftover after this recipe, use them to make some cranberry curd!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin.

You can use muffin papers, silicone baking cups or just grease a muffin tin really well.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, coconut sugar, aluminum-free baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a glass liquid measuring cup, combine almond milk, yogurt, coconut oil, eggs, pure vanilla extract and orange zest. (In other words, everything else except for the cranberries.)

Create a well in the dry ingredients in the center of the bowl.

Pour wet ingredients into the bowl and gently mix ingredients with a silicone spatula.

Gently fold in the cranberries.

Use a cookie scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop batter into a greased or lined muffin tin, filling cups about ¾ of the way full.

Bake muffins for 20-22 minutes, until muffins bounce back when gently touched.

gooey cranberry muffins on a cooling rack

Allow muffins to cool in pan for 3 minutes, then move to a wire baking rack to completely cool.

cranberry muffins on a cooling rack next to a bowl of cranberries

How to store muffins

Muffins are best fresh, but they can be just as good a day or two later — or even a month later — if stored properly.

I have a whole post about how to store and freeze muffins, but here's the gist:

Store in an airtight container, lined with paper towels to help collect condensation from residual heat in the muffins. Make sure they are completely cooled for best results.

The best way to store muffins depends on how soon you want to eat them:

Within 3 days of baking them: Store them on the countertop at room temperature.
In the next few days: Store them in the fridge, but with the risk of a change in texture. Alternatively, store what you’ll eat in the next few days using the countertop method, then freeze the rest.
Within the next 3 months: Store them in the freezer — reheat when you get a muffin craving!

More muffin recipes

More cranberry recipes

Cranberry Orange Muffins

These Cranberry Orange Muffins have tons of sweet-tart flavor and are perfect for the holidays! Make them with fresh or frozen cranberries.

5 from 44 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 20

Servings: -14 muffins

Author: Madison | A Joyfully Mad Kitchen

Equipment

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup almond milk
½ cup yogurt
¼ cup coconut oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
zest from one orange
juice from one orange
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, coconut sugar, aluminum free baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a glass liquid measuring cup, combine remaining milk, yogurt, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla extract, orange juice and zest.
Create a space in the center of the bowl. Pour ingredients into the bowl and gently mix ingredients with a silicone spatula.
Gently fold in cranberries.
Use a cookie scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop batter into a greased or lined muffin tin, filling cups about ¾ of the way full.
Bake muffins for 20-22 minutes, until muffins bounce back when gently touched.
Allow muffins to cool in pan for 3 minutes, then move to a wire baking rack to completely cool.
Store in an airtight container, lined with paper towels, for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Cranberry Orange Muffins