Last autumn, I noticed a peculiar aroma wafting from my neighbor’s house every time I walked past in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings. It smelled warm, cozy, and comforting, just like fall-flavored cooking or baking, yet since it appeared that all of their windows were firmly closed, I had no idea where the delicious food smell was coming from.
Eventually, when we started chatting at our street’s Halloween block party, I finally asked about the enticing aroma. She laughed and revealed, “It’s my cinnamon-scented broom on the porch sitting next to our front door!” So fun and clever!
Of course, I completely forgot all about the broom after Thanksgiving once she redecorated their front porch for Christmas… Until this fall rolled around and she set it out once again in the beginning of October!
Just a couple of weeks after that, I actually spotted similar cinnamon-scented brooms at our local grocery store. I immediately stuck one in my shopping cart, and now my entire downstairs smells like a gigantic jumbo-sized cinnamon stick. It’s one of my favorite fall aromas and flavors!
Yet it’s not the only autumn flavor I love…
I’m also obsessed with the cranberry + orange flavor combination, like in these Healthy Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins! It’s such a lovely pairing of deliciously sweet and bright tartness. (I wish fresh cranberries were available all year round… I love them that much!)
These healthy muffins supremely moist and tender, some of the softest and fluffiest I’ve ever eaten, yet they contain no refined flour or sugar! And they’re just 108 calories too!
So let’s go over how to make these healthy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins!
You’ll start with instant oats (like these—or these for gluten-free!). Instant oats are also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats. They’re smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats, which helps make your healthy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins supremely tender because instant oats soften faster!
And you’ll start softening them ahead of time by mixing them with Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract. The oats soak up the liquid in these three while you measure and mix together the rest of the ingredients. By doing this ahead of time, your healthy cranberry orange muffins rise properly and turn our really soft and fluffy!
Because you’re using so much Greek yogurt, you actually just need ½ tablespoon of butter or oil… Compared to the ¼ to ½ cup in traditional muffin recipes. (Yikes!) Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil, and it also gives your muffins a protein boost, too. That really helps keep these healthy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins low in calories and fat!
Let’s skip over to the dry ingredients for a moment! You’ll whisk white whole wheat flour (like this!) with baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. The orange zest actually provides the majority of the citrus flavor in these healthy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins, so don’t skip it!
And yes—white whole wheat flour actually exists! It’s not a combination of white (aka “all-purpose”) flour and regular whole wheat flour. Instead, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… And that lets the fruit flavor and soft texture of these muffins truly shine!
Like I previously mentioned, the orange zest provides the majority of the citrus flavor because the orange taste is so much more concentrated in the peel than in the juice, but you’ll still add some freshly squeezed orange juice to the batter! It adds a bit more flavor, and it provides these muffins with natural sweetness as well.
Then you’ll also mix in liquid stevia to boost the sweetness level in these healthy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins! Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!). This is the kind that I use because I don’t notice any strange aftertaste like in some other stevia products, and I buy it online here because that’s the best price that I’ve found. (You’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Time for the other fruit component: the fresh cranberries! I prefer fresh over dried because I love their tart flavor—and because they contain no added refined sugar, like most dried cranberries do! To quickly chop them, I actually pulse them in my food processor. Super easy!
One last thing! Before adding your batter to the muffin tins, you must coat your muffin liners with nonstick cooking spray. Low fat batters, like with these healthy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins, tend to stick to muffin liners like superglue… But misting them with cooking spray first really helps the liners peel away much more easily!
Time for a delicious and healthy breakfast! 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 healthy cranberry orange oatmeal muffins!
| Healthy Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins | | Print |
- ¾ cup (75g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (210mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ½ tbsp (17g) freshly grated orange zest (about 2 extra large)
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- ½ cup (120mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 extra large)
- 1 ½ cups (150g) whole fresh cranberries, diced
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 13 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using liners, then line 13 muffins cups with liners and coat them with cooking spray.)
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, Greek yogurt, ¼ cup of milk, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in the orange zest. In a third bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and liquid stevia. Stir in the orange juice. Stir in the oat mixture, mixing until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining ½ cup of 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 23-26 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 1 cups (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat flour.
Remember to measure your oats and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of either will make your muffins turn out dry. This is especially true of the oats because they act like sponges and soak up lots of moisture from the batter.
The orange zest actually provides the majority of the orange flavor, so don’t skip it!
The muffins require 2 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the muffins maintain their shape and texture while cooling. Without both egg whites, the muffins may collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.
I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the muffins, substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar and reduce the milk to 7 tablespoons (105mL). You may also substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150mL) pure maple syrup, honey, or agave and reduce the milk to 2 tablespoons (30mL) instead. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
For the best results, dice the fresh cranberries to be no larger than the size of chocolate chips to ensure your muffins bake evenly.
If you prefer to use dried cranberries, substitute ¾ cup (120g), but hydrate them first! Add the dried cranberries to a microwave-safe bowl. Add enough water to completely cover them. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the dried cranberries sit for at least 10 minutes before draining and folding into the dough.
Do not use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in dense or tough muffins. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar, higher protein}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Scones
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy oatmeal muffin recipes!
Ha! That sounds like an awesome broom; and these muffins certainly sound delicious (definitely a classic flavor combination).
Thanks Liz! I’m totally obsessed with the broom! 😉
what is the nutritional count?
That info is already included directly beneath the recipe! I know it can be easy to miss. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these muffins Liz!
Hi Amy, would this and your other recipes work with freshly ground whole wheat flour as I
grind my own flour, or maybe if I grind it and then sift out the bran? as I live rural I don’t have access to supermarkets
so live fairly simple.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Debra! I’ve actually never ground my own flour before (even though I’ve been meaning to try for years!), so I can’t personally vouch for that substitution. However, I have a feeling that it should work, even without sifting out the bran, in my recipes that call for regular whole wheat flour. Then for recipes that call for white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour, it’d probably be best to sift out the bran for a lighter taste and texture. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try your home-ground flour in my recipes! 🙂
Thank you I will try it I just love your recipes, the ingredients you use for lighter more healthy baking just make sense to me.
That means so much to me Debra! Thank you!! 🙂 I’m so excited to hear how your muffins turn out!
You shouldn’t have to sift it if you grind it finely. I have a NutriMill and it’s wonderful. There actually is such a thing as hard white wheat too, which is good for breads and such. Not all hard wheats are red. I keep hard and soft white wheats in my pantry to grind. Hard for breads and such and soft wheat for baked goods.
Hi
Any substitute for Eggs?
Yes! My brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite substitute. Ener-G is a shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white (and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk, just not in this particular recipe!). I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins Mona!
Hi! If I were to use granulated stevia, or truvia instead of liquid stevia how much would you recommend? Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Annalisa! If you’d like to use Truvia, I’ve found that it’s usually a 1-for-1 substitute for granulated sugar in my recipes. Therefore, follow the granulated sugar alternative in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!), and just use Truvia instead of granulated sugar. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
When substituting stevia with honey you say to reduce the milk to 2Tbsp. Is that reducing the entire 3/4 c to 2Tbsp or reducing the the divided amount 1/4 or 1/2?
Reduce the original amount of milk to 2 tablespoons! This is to compensate for the added liquid from the honey. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins Carol!
These muffins are delicious! Just what I was looking for. Thank you for your response!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Carol! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Hi Amy ,
Thanks for your recipe.in your recipe you mentioned Greek yogurt. Since we don’t get Greek yogurt in my country can I replace it with plain low fat yogurt.
Also if I don’t want to use the stevia can I replace with honey. I’m a bit confused with how much honey to use and how much milk.
Can you please help.
Regards
Shenaz
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Shenaz! Yes, you may substitute plain yogurt for the Greek yogurt. If you’d like to use honey instead of stevia, then you’ll need ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150mL) of honey and only 2 tablespoons (30mL) of milk because you’re adding so much extra liquid volume with the honey. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!