On plenty of weekends throughout my childhood, my family drove to a neighboring city to eat at one of our favorite local brunch restaurants. Sometimes, we even went two days in a row if my Arizona grandparents were visiting… They loved the food as much as we did, and they always bought a 5-pound bag (or two!) of the restaurant’s famous tea to pack in their suitcases and take home!
During our early years, my brother and I only ordered off of the kids’ menu. We picked the same dish every time: the Mickey Mouse pancakes! It was one humongous pancake, as large as a dinner plate, in the shape of a mouse’s head silhouette with whipped cream and blueberries for eyes, along with a big honeydew smile.
Once I turned twelve and graduated to the “adult” menu, I opted for scrambled eggs with cheese or a ham and cheddar omelette. Each of those came with a side of toast or coffee cake, and for a few visits, I selected the toast… Because I thought the coffee cake actually contained coffee!
Finally, my parents convinced me that the cake only earned its name because it was typically served alongside coffee, so I bravely decided to order a slice during one of our Christmastime visits. But unlike the rest of my family who swore by the blueberry coffee cake and never ordered anything else, I chose the seasonal cranberry—and they nearly ostracized me from the table!
Don’t worry… I learned my lesson and ordered blueberry coffee cake the following day. ?
But I’ve always had a soft spot for that bright red tangy berry, and every year when the weather turns cooler, I want to create recipes with it almost as much as with pumpkin and chocolate. (And since I published a chocolate cookbook, that’s definitely saying something!)
So on our first true chilly fall day this year, I whipped up a batch of these Ultimate Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins! They’re as tender as cupcakes and full of sweet citrus flavor, which perfectly complements the zing of the fresh cranberries. They’re one of my favorite autumn and winter breakfasts—and they’re just 96 calories!
Which means I never feel guilty enjoying another as a mid-morning snack! ?
To make these wholesome muffins, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour. Yes, such a thing actually exists—and it’s not a combination of white flour and whole wheat flour! It comes from a special type of white wheat, and that has a lighter taste and texture compared to traditional red wheat, which is what regular whole wheat flour is made from. However! White whole wheat flour still has all of the same health benefits (think extra fiber!) as regular whole wheat flour. It’s a main staple in my pantry!
With just 1 tablespoon of butter or coconut oil (yes, that’s it!), the rest of these muffins’ tender texture comes from… You guessed it: Greek yogurt! You know how much I ♡ Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil to your muffin batter, and it gives these baked goodies a big protein boost, too.
To sweeten your muffins, you’ll use another one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing artificial or overly refined (aka it’s clean eating friendly!). A little goes a long way… You just need 1 ½ teaspoons for all 12 muffins! This is the kind I use because I love its warm flavor. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Now with those ingredients taken care of, let’s focus on the stars of the show! First up, the oranges! You’ll need both freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest for these muffins. The latter actually provides the majority of that bright sunshiny taste, so be sure to use the full amount!
And I saved the best for last… The cranberries! Both fresh or frozen and thawed will work in these muffins. My grocery store actually carries frozen cranberries all year round, which means I can get my cranberry orange muffin fix any time of the year—not just in the winter. Hooray!
Tip: Instead of spending the time to dice them with a knife and cutting board, I just pop them in my food processor and pulse until they’re about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size. It just takes a few seconds! Easy peasy!
Sweet, cozy, tender muffin bliss! ?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your muffins and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| The Ultimate Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (14g) orange zest (about 2 large)
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla stevia
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large)
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (165g) fresh whole cranberries, finely diced
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the orange juice. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the cranberries.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 19-22 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
I highly recommend using the vanilla stevia! I buy mine online here because that's the cheapest price I've found. (And you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) If you prefer, 8-10 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave may be substituted for the vanilla stevia, and the milk should be reduced to 1-3 tablespoons to compensate for the added liquid. (The muffin batter should be fairly thick!)
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
The cranberries should be measured when whole, then diced! To quickly dice the cranberries, add them to a food processor, and pulse until they’re no larger than ¼ of their original size.
Frozen and thawed cranberries that have been patted dry to remove any excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh. In a pinch, ¾ cup of diced dried cranberries that have been hydrated may be substituted. To hydrated the dried cranberries, add them to a microwave-safe bowl, add water until it rises ½” above the cranberries, and cover the top with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the cranberries sit while preparing the scone dough. Just before mixing them in, drain and pat dry.
Be VERY careful if using liners! Generously coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray before adding the muffin batter. This batter will stick to liners like superglue if they aren’t coated with cooking spray.
{gluten-free, clean eating, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Scones
♡ Healthy Greek Yogurt Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Muffins
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Mini Muffins
Hi Amy
I made these muffins and used all the ingredients that you suggested but My muffins didn’t have any flavor. Where do you think I went wrong? I will definitely try again.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Paulette! I’m happy to help solve that issue. 🙂 When you say your muffins didn’t have any flavor, do you mean they weren’t sweet enough? Or you couldn’t taste the orange flavor? Something else? Also, did you use the same vanilla stevia that I linked to in the Ingredients list? Finally, how was the texture of your muffins? Once I know all of those answers, we should be able to narrow down what could have happened!
I made these muffins and followed everything in the recipe including the vanilla stevia you use. They were dense and flavorless. They also didn’t look like the picture. Probably will never make again.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Patricia! That sounds disappointing and not like how these muffins are supposed to turn out at all, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. How did you measure the flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail what you did? Did you use an electric or stand mixer to make the muffin batter? How long did you bake your muffins? Also, did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section of the recipe? Once I know your answers to all of those questions, I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit and what you can do to prevent that from happening again, if you decide to give this recipe another try! 🙂
I enjoyed this recipe. Had to do many substitutes but I appreciated that you provided information for the stevia. I used honey, regular whole wheat flour, and freeze dried cranberries which I rehydrated per your directions. I thought the muffins were satisfying and tasty. Thanks for this recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Gary! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! I’m really happy to hear the substitutions and alternatives were useful too. 🙂
Made these vegan! Added vegan vanilla almond milk, egg replaces and vegan protein powder! Yummy!! Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Stephanie! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I really appreciate you sharing your recipe modifications too — I always love to hear what tweaks work!
Something I found out about Agave years ago:
“In spite of what you may have heard, agave nectar is not made from the sap of the agave plant but from the starch of the agave root bulb. The agave contains starch, similar to the starch in corn or rice, and a complex carb called insulin, which is made up of fructose. Agave starch is put through a chemical process that converts the starch into a fructose-rich starch, anywhere from 70% fructose and higher, according to several agave nectar web sites. That means that the refined fructose in agave nectar is even more concentrated than the fructose in HFCS. For comparison, the HFCS used in soda is 55% refined fructose.”
From Dr. Don Colbert’s “I Can Do This Diet”
Can I make this recipe into a quick bread?
If so. What changes to baking time & temperature adjustments should I make?
I’m honored that you’d like to try this recipe of mine too, Marie! Since you’ve asked about mini loaf pans for my two banana bread recipes, I just wanted to double check… Did you want to use this muffin recipe to make a quick bread in a standard 9×5″ loaf pan? Or did you want to use mini loaf pans instead?
I’d like to use mini loaf pans. I’m making this recipe to give out as family Xmas gifts (everyone with type 2 diabetes)
I’m waiting for the liquid stevia you use to be delivered. Can’t wait to try several of your recipes.
Thanks for clarifying, Marie! I’m truly honored that you’d like to make this recipe as Christmas gifts to your family members. That’s such a huge compliment! ♡ I’d recommend following the same modifications that I shared with you on my cranberry orange banana bread recipe (you can find those modifications here!) to convert this recipe to mini loaves instead as well.
I’d love to hear what your family members think if you do end up making any of these recipes to share with them!