These Paleo Cranberry Orange Muffins are easy to make, perfectly moist, and gluten free as well. The classic cranberry orange combo is so tasty in the colder months and great for festive occasions as well. They can also be made ahead and frozen to make holiday or weekend breakfasts even easier. They’re simply loaded with fresh cranberries but not too tart thanks to the maple syrup that pairs perfectly with the orange. Then to top them off there’s a refined sugar free orange glaze that really rounds out the flavors.
I’m back today with another instalment of seasonal muffins! This time around I went with cranberry and orange because it’s one of my favorite combos throughout the holidays and winter months. And I mean I’m pretty crazy for cranberry orange anything from granola to sauce for turkey day.
So if you’re looking for something festive to make for upcoming holiday breakfasts, these would be a good bet. I’ll also be sure and leave links towards the end for all the seasonal muffins I’ve done so far, as well as some other cranberry orange recipes, in case you’re crazy about this combo too.
Now let’s make these Paleo Cranberry Orange Muffins step by step!
To get started, you’ll want to whisk together all the dry ingredients to make sure and break up any lumps of almond flour. For the orange zest I like to use a micro-plane grater because it makes the zest very fine, and there’s no chewy pieces in the muffins when they’re finished.
Next up you stir in the cranberries and wet ingredients into the dry ingredient flour mixture.
Then stir just until combined and you have a thick muffin batter…
… which you portion out equally into muffin tins.
After they’re baked, you can serve them as is, with butter…
… or of course with the orange glaze!
More recipe inspiration for the cranberry and orange combination:
- Cranberry Orange Shortbread Streusel Bars
- Cranberry Orange Smoothie Bowl
- Gooey Cranberry Orange Skillet Cookie
- Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies
- Vitamin C Booster Cranberry Orange Smoothie
- Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Cinnamon Cranberry Apple Crisp
And of course some more paleo seasonal muffin recipes:
- Pumpkin Spice Streusel Muffins
- Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins
- Grain Free Glazed Cinnamon Apple Streusel Muffins
- Peaches and Cream Muffins with Cinnamon Almond Streusel
- Grain Free Glazed Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Grain Free Blackberry Cardamom Muffins
These muffins freeze really well so they’re perfect to make ahead. I reheat mine gently at 250ºF just until thawed in the centers. The glaze takes on a dull appearance if reheated, so for the best presentation you’ll want to glaze right before you eat them. Or you can also just serve them with butter which is pretty hard to beat as well.
Print
Paleo Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Paleo Cranberry Orange Muffins are easy to make, perfectly moist, and gluten free as well. The classic cranberry orange combo is so tasty in the colder months and great for festive occasions as well. They can also be made ahead and frozen to make holiday or weekend breakfasts even easier. They’re simply loaded with fresh cranberries but not too tart thanks to the maple syrup that pairs perfectly with the orange. Then to top them off there’s a refined sugar free orange glaze that really rounds out the flavors.
Ingredients
2 cups fine almond flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour, also called tapioca starch
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon, I like to use Vietnamese
1/2 Teaspoon sea salt
2 Teaspoons baking powder, see notes
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon orange zest, grated with a micro-plane grater
2 cups frozen cranberries, 7 ounces
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted ghee, butter, or coconut oil
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
Orange Glaze:
1/4 cup coconut butter
2–4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1–2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cup liners.
In medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, and orange zest until combined and no lumps remain.
Stir in the cranberries, then add the maple syrup, eggs, melted ghee/butter/coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined, then portion the batter equally into the muffin cup liners.
Bake the muffins until they’re puffed in the middle and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes for frozen cranberries. If you use fresh cranberries the muffins will cook faster.
Remove the muffins from the oven and place them on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove the muffins from the tin to cool further on the rack.
While the muffins are cooling, melt the coconut butter over low heat in a small saucepan. When the coconut butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the orange juice and maple syrup until you reach thin frosting consistency.
Don’t worry if at first the coconut butter breaks or becomes too thick, simply whisk in a bit more orange juice until it comes back together and is the right consistency. Coconut butter varies greatly from jar to jar, so just add the liquid called for until it’s glossy and ready to drizzle.
When the glaze is ready, drizzle it over the muffins and serve. I like to use a squeeze bottle to make drizzling easy. This glaze never fully sets up like a powdered sugar glaze does, so after glazing you can serve immediately or wait for it to partially dry over the next hour or so.
If you’d like to freeze these, it’s best to leave the glaze off, and then glaze them when you’re ready to serve.
Notes
Baking powder can have all sorts of additives, and isn’t always gluten free or paleo. To be safe, you can make your own by mixing together 1 part baking soda to 2 parts cream of tartar, and use the mixture right away.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Paleo Muffins, Almond Flour Cranberry Muffins, Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins, Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Muffins
These muffins are so delicious. I added roasted walnuts and since I love the citrus taste I mixed in lemon zest also. I had arrowroot flour and used this instead of tapioca. Due to the high requests of my family, I must have made this recipe six times in the last few months.
★★★★★
I’m so glad to hear you’ve all been enjoying these! And I love the sound of walnuts and lemon zest, definitely need to try that out!
Just made these. Scrumptious.
I had almond flour, the tapioca flour and I added 1/2 c ground gluten free oats in lieu of a bit of the almond flour. . I used fresh cranberries.
The orange, cinnamon aroma was wonderful as they baked. Used a powdered sugar, orange juice/zest glaze. These are fluffy, light and perfectly perfect.
★★★★★
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them! And thanks so much for writing with your variations, it’s so helpful to others!
These muffins look so delicious! I love the combination of orange and cranberries. Great recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks so much!
I cant wait to try these muffins. Luckily I have some cranberries I need to use up. Perfect for holiday gatherings.
★★★★★
I hope you’ll let me know how they go!
How special are these?? I am in love with orange in everything right now! And that drizzle on top? Irresistible!
★★★★★
I’m constantly in the mood for citrus right now too, can’t get enough!