Cranberry, Orange and Pecan Muffins
These Cranberry, Orange & Pecan Muffins are the perfect combination of tart and sweet. By using fresh cranberries rather then dried cranberries (which are packed with sugar) these are naturally sweetened with just honey and orange juice. They are Paleo, Dairy Free, Grain Free, Gluten Free & Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
Cranberries are a great fruit to stock up on during the few short weeks between late October and mid December when they are available fresh in stores. I buy bags of cranberries and store them in the freezer to use throughout the year in a variety of dishes. I have always found cranberries to be under appreciated, eaten primarily as a condiment alongside turkey or dried as craisins. I used to love snacking on craisins or adding them to salads but after discovering the amount of sugar they contained (1/4 cup has 4 teaspoons of sugar!), I quickly nipped that habit in the bud.
I have previously steered clear of cranberry muffins and loaves as I found the batters were always too sweet, over compensating for the sour berries. I can truthfully say that these are the first cranberry muffins I have ever tasted that I absolutely love. I used fresh cranberries rather than dried, to ensure each bite has a hint of tart flavour which is perfectly contrasted with the sweet orange zest. I love how juicy the cranberries become once baked, together with the crunchy pecans this results in a delicious muffin with lots of great texture. I have managed to quickly eat my way through a batch, enjoying them slightly warm for breakfast or as healthy protein packed afternoon snack. These Cranberry Orange muffins also freeze well so you can double the recipe and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Love tasty muffin recipes? Here are a few others you might enjoy:
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Chunky Monkey Muffins
- Zucchini, Lemon & Poppy Seed Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins Topped with Pecans
- Butternut Squash, Spinach & Feta Muffins
- Zucchini, Cheddar & Pancetta Muffins
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Cranberry, Orange & Pecan Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups Almond Flour
- 1/3 cup Coconut Flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tbsp orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and line a muffin tray with liners
- In a mixing bowl add the eggs, vanilla, melted coconut oil, honey, orange juice and zest. Add the baking soda on top of the orange juice so that it begins to foam and then add in the flours and stir on low speed until just combined, don’t over mix
- Using a spoon, gently stir in the fresh cranberries and chopped pecans
- Fill each muffin cup to the top with batter and gently press down on the batter to make sure they are firmly filled. I usually top each muffin with a few extra cranberries to make them look pretty.
- Bake in the over for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool completely for at least 20 minutes before removing from the tins.
Nutrition
Can you substitute regular flour instead of the other flours you listed?
Could you make these with just almond flour and not the coconut?
I havent tried it to be honest. Ideally add another flour like tapioca to help absorb some of the excess moisture.
These are absolutely delicious! Simple and easy to make and SO good! The house smells lovely when they are baking. I didn’t have Coconut Flour so subbed for Tapioca and they came out light and fluffy. Thank you! My go to recipe for Muffins.
So happy to hear that they worked with the coconut flour substitution!
Amazing!! I followed the recipe and they were so simple to make and absolutely perfect! We made them for Thanksgiving brunch and ate them for brunch, and lunch dessert, and late night snack, and breakfast the next morning before we made another batch! Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious! I liked the tartness. Didn’t have a muffin pan so baked it in 9” square Pyrex pan for 35 minutes.
These were great! But I would definitely double the cranberries next time, the muffins needed more cranbell (haha)!
These are delicious! I’m just learning to bake gluten free. These are the first things that I’m made that I really liked. I don’t know what I did wrong but they totally fell apart into crumbles
Good crumbles but not sure what I did wrong.
It is typical for gf baked good to have more crumb since you have no gluten to hold things together. Some are more so than others. you will see xanthan gum used in many gf baked goods to help with that. The average amount is 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of gf flour–do not use if the gf flour you use has already added it. Don’t be tempted to use more as it will gum up the food. Always mix it in the dry ingredients well before adding wet.
I’m wondering if I could use regular flour or whole wheat flour in this recipe. They look so yummy and have all the other ingredients. Thanking you in advance and can already taste them.
These are delicious. I use regular orange juice , a tablespoon each of maple syrup and coconut sugar—family likes it sweet
Thanks for the feedback!
I used apple sauce instead of oil and egg whites instead of whole eggs. They are DELICIOUS!!!
These are awesome! So moist & tasty my family ate them all up & we are making another batch! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
It had no liquid and was dry- couldn’t have poured into a muffin tin. I think they left out water or some other liquid in the instructions.
I totally agree. I thought I missed an ingredient. Came out a little weird, dry like and gritty
I agree. Just made these and consistency is extremely thick. Added some water but still thick….like cookie dough. Taste good but would like to know if something is missing.
Yes!!! Like cookie dough! Great flavor but you need do eat along with tea, coffee or milk. Her lemon blueberry muffin recipe is so much better.
Oh yeah, there’s is a modest amount of orange juice…..
I calculated 213 per muffin.
Me too, the calorie count posted seems wrong
I noticed the recipe yield was 10 but the calorie count was for 12 servings, that must be why?
I made this with a twist, egg free. I substituted the eggs for pumpkin purée and mashed banana, they are lovely! Even my husband liked them! Thank you!
These are very good. I have tried many different recipes and these are the best so far. And it’s also nice that you use fresh crans and not dried. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you!! I am so happy you enjoyed them!
Made these today. They are absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe and the nutrition information provide with the recipe.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed them!
Perhaps there is some confusion over the orange juice ingredient. I take it as squeezed juice from the orange, is that correct? I wonder if adding orange juice concentrate would make them dry and crumbly as some people had problems with when making them. Thoughts?
I never considered that! You are right, I always use freshly squeeze so concentrate may impact the dryness of the muffins
I used the juice from the orange I zested and it was incredibly dry and crumbly. Your lemon blueberry muffin recipe is so much better.
I’m wondering if I could use regular flour or whole wheat flour in this recipe. They look so yummy and have all the other ingredients. Thanking you in advance and can already taste them.
Carb friendly, but HOW MANY carbs per muffin. Many of us are diabetic a nd need to know. THANK S
I totally messed this recipe up BUT they still turned out great! I didn’t pay attention when I made my grocery list and got dried cranberries and I didn’t have as much almond flour as I thought (I only had 1 1/2 cups) so I had to sub in more coconut flour. A little dry but they came out fine, didn’t totally crumbled like some said. Excited to try again but with the correct ingredients- lol!
Haha I was so worried after reading the first few words of your comment! I’m so happy they were a success even with the change in amounts! If you find they are a bit too crumbly store them in the fridge, I find that greatly improves the texture. Thanks for the comment Stephanie!
Carmen, you are a cooking goddess. Thank you. I have been a home-baker, organic non GMO wheat grinder since the buggy days. My baking days came to an abrupt halt when we realized my labor of love was harming our youngest son. Needless to say, we are on a new course, a new life eating path. My first attempts of baking with GF, DF ingredients were failures. UNTIL these WONDERFUL muffins. They were delicious, and the flavor profile was similar to my families favorite, which I had to toss. Actually these are better, you have the tart-sweet balance perfect. I have printed off many of your recipes and have already tried 3. My family have enjoyed them. I am cannot wait to make your lemon curd. I is our peeps favorites. Great Blog! Great Recipes! Very Good Directions!
Thank you Louise! Your comment has made my week! I am so happy that you enjoyed the muffins, they are one of my favourites. Grain free baking can be such a difficult process with so many failures, it drives me crazy sometimes! Let me know if you try any other recipes, the lemon curd is one of my favourites that I can never get enough of, I eat it by the spoonful. Thank you so so much for the kind comment, I really appreciate it. I hope that your sons health has improved with your new way of eating. Happy baking!
Was wondering if this recipe could be baked in mini bread pans instead of a muffin tin?
Yes definitely! They would turn out just as well in mini bread pans.
HI. Can I used dried canberries? will that make a difference in the moistness?
Hi Michelle, I think it may make the muffins slightly less moist. You could swap the cranberries for fresh blueberries instead or alternatively if you are going to use dried cranberries I would suggest adding another teaspoon of orange juice.
How many carbs are in these muffins?
How come you said this recipe is dairy free when there are eggs involved?
I do not classify eggs as dairy as they do not contain any of the same proteins or sugars found in dairy products. If you are looking for both dairy and egg free recipes then check out the vegan section in the recipe index.
Eggs don’t come from cows. Therefore, eggs are not dairy foods.
Can I use regular flour instead of both the almond and rice flour?
Unfortunately I wouldnt recommend that, almond flour is a very dense flour that cannot be substituted. Sorry about that!
Where do you get almond and coconut flour? Thanks
Any health food store or Whole foods should have these speciality flours. Alternatively, I normally order them off amazon where they are cheaper.
How many calories does Cranberry, Orange, Pecan muffins have?
I was wondering how many grams of sugar per muffin? I am Diabetic.
Try using Monksfuit for sweetener, available from Amazon
Thanks for the tip!
what is the carb count , fiber count and protein count in these? The honey and orange juice I am leary of due to the amount of carbs naturally in these.
Just made a batch of these! What a Lovely texture! They are delicious! 15 minutes later we only have 6 left! ! My family love them! I can’t believe something so tasty can be so low in carbs!
Cheers Denis
Great to hear these were a hit with your whole family! If you are a fan of the texture you can always switch up the flavours by swapping orange for lemon and cranberries for another fruit, the recipe is super versatile!
Can you provide the carb count on the Cranberry Ornage & Pecan Muffins?
I’m calculating it out at 2.4g protein, 8g fat, 14.3g carbs, 236 calories each muffins when making 12 muffins with this recipe
They aren’t dry and crumbly if you measure the dry stuff correctly. I read above comments about them falling apart and being too dry so I didn’t pack down the almond or coconut flour. You just lightly spoon and shake the flours into a measuring cup and then use a knife to smooth the top so there’s some air in there still, and I also added 1 Tbsp of tapioca flour to the coconut flour measurement because I know that coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture and that tapioca flour may add a bit of starchiness and help sorta bind it better. I also did NOT over beat the mixture to blend everything. Just lightly stirred it. And did not even attempt to try a finished muffin until they were totally cooled. They were extremely moist.
Thanks for the detailed feedback Amanda! Hopefully it will be helpful to others who found the muffins crumbly. I’m happy to hear they turned out well!
These are excellent suggestions. After reading most of the comments I am sure to try these today.
Does tapioca flour add carbs?
Very excited about this recipe!! Attempted tonight: dry, crumbly, dense, even with adding more o.j., but undaunted. All my favorite ingredients, I’ll re-attempt.
I also was very excited to make these. Followed everything in the recipe and DID let them cool. They fell apart and except for the juicy cranberries, they are very very dry. I would like to try again but it’s such a waste of good ingredients. Do you think these could be made with regular flour?
Any idea on nutritional counts?
Calories?
They were delicious!!!!
What a waste of good ingredients. Dry and crumbly. Wont be making these puppies again :s
Mine were awful… dry dry dry…. I measured everything exactly….
I am sorry to hear that! My best guess would be that they may have been cooked too long or at too high a temperature.
Hello, I am just wondering if there are any alternatives to coconut flour here in he receipe?
These muffins are fantastic! Love the freshness of the orange zest and fresh cranberries. Packed the batter tightly and waited for them to cool completely and they came out great! Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
I made them this morning and they were extremely yummy. My family loves it. Thank you for the recipe.
Important note….175 degrees Celsius =350 degrees ferenheight.
Thank you for this. Was left stumped & was sure it was a typo. Pregnancy brain at its finest.
Thanks for the great recipe Carmen! I have made these 4 times and my family always seem to demolish them! Your Chunky Monkey Muffins are also so good!
Sadly, my first attempt at making these didn’t turn out so well… They fell apart completely and I lost half the muffin in the muffin tray. I will try to make them again, but this time let them cool fully in the tray (btw, the length of cooling time should be in the instructions).
175 degrees left my muffins still completely raw.
ThIs is my worry! Must be a typo?!?
I’m sorry to hear that! As many ovens seem to run at different temperatures I recommend baking for another 5 minutes and then testing with a toothpick. Cooking times may also vary depending on the size of the muffins so regularly checking with a toothpick is the best way to ensure they cook properly
I cooked them for an extra 5 minutes and they came out perfect! These are so good!
You realize this is 175 celsius, right? That would be 350 Fahrenheit.
it is 175 celcius , 350 degrees farenheit
175 C. Equates to 350 fareinhiet. Which were you using? Celsius or fahrenheit? That would make a world of difference. 🧁
These are great – so moist and flavorful without much added sugar! I even cut down the honey to about 1/3 cup, and I didn’t miss the extra sweetness. I made these yesterday morning and it was a perfect weekday breakfast treat warm out of the oven. With a bit of prep the night before they came together quickly and baked while I was in the shower.
Were these mini muffins? Because when I typed in the recipe into The Recipe Nutrition Finder, it was more like 52gm of carbs for regular sized muffins!
Hhmm really? These muffins are on the smaller side but I dont think making them much bigger should result in that many carbs. The almond flour in this recipe contains 54grams of carbs but that is for the entire recipe.
I love these muffins. I also made them with fresh blueberries and used lemon zest and juice in place of the orange and added cinnamon. These were great as well.
I love the creativity Vicki! Those sound like great substitutes! This is a great recipe to use all year round adding in whatever is in season, raspberries, blackberries, different nuts….the options are endless!
Can you use regular flour? I’ve made muffins with almond flour and my family just does not like them.
Vicki, how much cinnamon did you add?
Do you have a carb count on these? They are delicious and they came out beautifully for me the first time.
Karen i’m so glad you liked them! I did I quick calculation and I believe there are 5g of carbs per muffin.
I did the math on all the ingredients and came up with 12.2 g net carbs per muffin. I love the recipe. Trying low carbs, but got tired of eggs for breakfast.
Yes closer to 13 carbs.
What about swapping in frozen blueberries? Should you thaw them similarly?
Hi Abby, Blueberries would make a great alternative to cranberries. You can use either fresh or frozen but like the cranberries I would recommend allowing them to thaw first so the moisture doesn’t change the consistency of the muffins. Enjoy!
thanks!
Can you use frozen cranberries?
Hi Sandra, yes you can, just allow them to thaw first to reduce the amount of moisture they will add to the muffin batter.
I made these muffins today and they are so good! I absolutely love the cranberry and orange flavour combo and the muffins are so moist! Thanks for the great recipe, I will definitely be making these again.
I’ve neve made muffins before, and these turned out dry and crumbly. Didn’t keep their shape at all. I added more egg. I wonder what I did wrong.
Im so sorry to hear that. Have they completely cooled? I find that they change texture once reaching room temperature and hold together much better. My only other recommendation would be I also find that when filling the muffin cups, it helps to lightly press down on the batter to ensure they are firmly filled.
Hi, try not adding as much coconut flour I add extra almond flour to make up the amount stated. I also use olive oil instead of coconut oil used it because I ran out of the latter. They turned out to be delicious and very moist.
These are absolutely delicious and a great compliment to my morning coffee.
Happy to hear you like them Peter!
are you sure its only 175 for the oven ? just seems kind of low temp
Amanda thats 175 degrees Celsius which is 350 degrees Fahrenheit 🙂
Oh gee sorry blonde moment lol have had enough caffeine
These are perfect in every way!! Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe except found that I had no pecans on hand mid mixing so subbed unsweetened coconut flakes and came out beautifully. Will definitely make again and again!
Made these muffins.Moist, full of flavor and goodness.
Enjoyed every bite.
Thank you