I’m partnering with Stevia In The Raw® to bring you today’s recipe! I love their zero-calorie stevia products. They’re so easy to use and perfect for baking!
Every year, I always wait until Thanksgiving ends to start the winter holiday season. Some people pull out their Christmas trees and sing along with festive carols as soon as November begins, but I prefer to slowly savor each season and enjoy one holiday at a time.
With the clean dishes drying in the sink and the leftovers safely tucked away in the refrigerator, my family often kicks off the Christmas season with a holiday movie on Thanksgiving night. We alternate between Rudolph, Olive the Other Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, three of our favorites (and we sometimes sneak an extra slice of pie while the credits roll!).
The next morning, Mom usually climbs into the attic and carries down boxes upon boxes of lights and decorations. She generally starts with the dining room table, setting out deep crimson charger plates topped with white dinner plates with gold trim in front of each chair, followed by centerpieces of candles and poinsettias.
Dad and I volunteer to work on the artificial tree (the rest of my family is allergic to real ones!), and after we fluff each branch, we carefully string rows and rows of colorful twinkly lights around and around the tree. We wait to start decorating until after Dad places the Santa tree topper and Mom hangs up their very first Christmas ornament at the top of the tree, a little angel from their honeymoon in Hawaii.
This year, I decided to bake these Healthy One-Bowl Gingerbread Muffins as a festive treat to enjoy while starting the holiday decorating! They’re supremely moist with lots of cozy spice flavors, yet they contain no refined flour or sugar and just 123 calories!
Judging by how quickly they disappeared around my family… I need to bake a double batch next time!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY GINGERBREAD MUFFINS
Let’s go over how to make these healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins!
You’ll start with… A big mixing bowl! Probably pretty obvious, right? 😉 In that bowl, you’ll whisk together a teensy bit of melted butter (or coconut oil!), egg whites, and vanilla. Yes, just an itty bitty amount — a mere 1 teaspoon of butter! But I promise these healthy gingerbread muffins are still supremely moist and fluffy, and I’ll tell you why soon!
Next, you’ll whisk in the spices and salt. You’re using ginger (impossible to make gingerbread muffins without it!), cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I prefer my healthy gingerbread muffins on the extra spicy side, so I’m pretty generous with the ginger. It just tastes so warm and cozy and comforting!
Note: I prefer whisking in the spices and salt now, rather than later with the flour, to prevent clumping and ensure they’re evenly distributed throughout the batter!
Time for that secret ingredient that keeps these muffins so moist! And that’s… Greek yogurt! If you’ve browsed through my recipes before, then you probably know that it’s one of my favorite ingredients in healthy baking. It adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins a protein boost too!
Next, you’ll stir in two different sweeteners. Yes, two! They’re both equally important in creating the best healthy gingerbread muffins. The first is molasses. Along with ginger, molasses is what gives gingerbread its iconic taste. Ginger provides the cozy spice flavor, while molasses contributes a deep richness. I don’t recommend substituting anything for it because your healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins just won’t taste the same without it!
The second is stevia. Specifically, Stevia In The Raw® Bakers Bag! Stevia is a zero-calorie sweetener that contains an extract from the stevia plant, and Stevia In The Raw® Bakers Bag sweetens cup-for-cup like regular sugar. It’s so easy and handy to use in baking recipes to reduce calories without sacrificing flavor (up to 700 calories are saved for every cup of sugar swapped!), like with these healthy one-bowl gingerbread muffins!
Once you’ve stirred in the milk, it’s time to add the last three ingredients: white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda. 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… Which lets the sweet flavor and moist texture of these healthy gingerbread muffins truly shine!
Just remember… Do not dump the baking powder and baking soda into the bowl! After adding the flour in, gently sprinkle them on top. Sprinkling these two ingredients, rather than dumping them in the center, prevents clumping and ensures your healthy gingerbread muffins rise properly, thus giving them the best texture imaginable!
Hint: You wait to add the baking powder and baking soda now, rather than with the spices, to ensure they’re not activated too early — especially the baking soda! Baking soda is activated as soon as it comes into contact with liquids, and if it’s activated too early, your muffins won’t rise. (Oops!) So that’s why you wait to add it until the very end!
One last tip for you! If you’re using muffin liners like I did in these photos, remember to generously coat your muffin liners with cooking spray. Low-fat batters, like with this healthy gingerbread muffins recipe, tend to stick to liners like superglue. Yet if you mist the liners with cooking spray, they peel away from your muffins much more easily!
Who else is ready for a festive holiday 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 gingerbread muffins!
| Healthy One-Bowl Gingerbread Muffins | | Print |
- 1 tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp (10g) ground ginger
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses (see Notes!)
- ½ cup (12g) Stevia In The Raw® Bakers Bag
- 1 cup (240mL) nonfat milk
- 2 ½ cups (300g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using paper or metallic liners, place them in each muffin cup and coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the molasses and Stevia In The Raw®. Stir in the milk. Pour in the flour. Gently sprinkle the baking powder and baking soda on top of the flour; then gently stir everything together until just incorporated.
- Spread the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 19-22 minutes or until the centers feels firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before 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.
It’s very important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. Too much will dry out your muffins, instead of resulting in the moist and tender texture they should have.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
By sprinkling the baking powder and baking soda over the flour, instead of pouring or dumping them in the middle, it helps prevent clumps and ensures your muffins rise properly.
IMPORTANT MOLASSES NOTE:The molasses is essential to create the gingerbread flavor. You just need regular molasses (like this), not blackstrap molasses. (Blackstrap molasses is a bit too bitter!) Molasses inexpensive, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages. I do not recommend substituting for it, and you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine too! In a pinch, you can substitute pure maple syrup, honey, or agave, but the muffins will no longer have that classic deep, rich gingerbread taste.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend as follows: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ¾ cup (90g) brown rice flour, and 1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if measured like this.
DAIRY-FREE OPTION: Use the coconut oil option, stick-style vegan butter (like this!), or any oil in place of the unsalted butter. Use non-dairy yogurt alternatives (ie soy-, almond-, coconut-, or even oat-based) in place of the Greek yogurt. Use your favorite non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk.
SUBSTITUTING OTHER SWEETENERS: See the Nutrition Information below for more information about how to substitute other sweeteners!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar, dairy-free option}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
This post was sponsored by Stevia In The Raw®. As always, all text, opinions, photographs, and recipe are my own.
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Apple Gingerbread Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones
♡ Healthy Gingerbread Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Gingerbread
Hi Amy!
What would be a good substitute for the dairy in this recipe?
The best alternative for the Greek yogurt would be a dairy-free yogurt (ie soy- or almond-based yogurt). Then use your favorite dairy-free milk and the coconut oil instead of the butter! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these gingerbread muffins if you try them Sarah!
These turned out fabulous! They disappeared so fast. I substituted regular sugar and sour cream with excellent results. Topped with pearl sugar to make it a little more festive. Thanks so much for sharing a wonderful and easy recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Denise! That means so much to me! Thanks for sharing your recipe modifications too — I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂
WOW, Amy, these muffins are AMAZING!!! Before they got into the oven, I licked the spoon and KNEW they would be THE BEST!!
Next time I will add raisins (hydrated as you recommend) and look forward to a bite of Fall in the midst of spring
You really knocked it out of the park with this recipe, Amy. I tell everyone about you!
Carol
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Carol! Such a great idea about adding hydrated raisins — I can’t wait to try that myself! 🙂 You’re sweet comment made my entire day; that means the world to me that you’ve shared my blog with others! I’m truly honored! Thank you SO much!!
Hi,again! My first batch turned out more like popovers, so I made 18 with the second batch and they looked a lot more like yours. Not sure why. I’ve added raisins, but muffins are still cooling so I can’t give you a report, yet. May I ask if you have seen a difference in the texture if you use a silicone muffin pan? I tried it with your lemon poppy seed muffins and have refrained from using it since. Thanks for all your GREAT recipes!
I’m so glad you’re still enjoying my recipes Carol! The only difference I’ve noticed when baking with silicone versus metal baking pans is that the sides of my muffins don’t turn quite as dark brown. The flavors and textures remain the same for me though! 🙂 Can you describe a bit more about what you mean by popovers — was it the appearance or texture? Did you follow the recipe exactly as written, without any substitutions or modifications? What measurement of raisins did you add?
Hi! Thanks for your quick response. They were HUGE. That’s why I was able to make 18 with one batch, yesterday. I’m not complaining—they are FABULOUS. I did follow the recipe because your attention to detail tells me I gotta. :). The silicone baking question applies to the lemon poppyseed muffins. I will post a comment on those after church today. Thanks, Amy. You are a baking rockstar!!
It’s my pleasure Carol! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I’ll check your silicone pan comment on my ultimate healthy lemon poppy seed muffins!
Your typo for the sugar weight ruined my whole day! I believe you meant 120g not 12g because they are pretty awful and sweet at all! They just taste like the ghost of gingerbread. Like something is missing. Such a shame and waste of a lot of ingredients. I was really looking forward to them! If it weren’t for the typo these muffins would be absolutely perfect.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kristen! The weight is for Stevia In The Raw, not for sugar. ½ cup of Stevia In The Raw weighs 12g, whereas ½ cup of granulated sugar weighs 96g. Weight is based off of density, rather than volume. If you measured out 1 cup of cotton balls versus 1 cup of sand, they’d take up the same amount of space (volume)… But the cup cotton balls would definitely weigh less than the cup of sand! Or if you measured out 1 pound of cotton balls versus 1 pound of sand, you’d end up with a small handful of sand… And a pillowcase or two full of cotton balls! Same weight, different volume. Does that make sense?
The same thing applies to different ingredients. 1 cup of Stevia In The Raw weighs 24g, whereas 1 cup of granulated sugar weighs 192g. (Check the nutrition label on the sides of the packages — they should show the grams per serving {volume}!)
If you’d prefer to substitute granulated sugar, then use 96g instead — your muffins should turn out much better that way! 🙂
Could something more natural be used instead of the stevia? Maybe maple syrup or honey as the sweetener? If so, would this make the consistency too liquid? Thanks for any feedback! 🙂
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Katie! If you’d like to substitute pure maple syrup or honey in place of the stevia, then use ½ cup of either one and reduce the milk to ½ cup to compensate for the added liquid volume. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these muffins if you try making them!
I can’t get Stevia in the raw where I am, so I thought about subbing in coconut sugar. Would that work? And if so, at what weight? Thanks!
I’m so honored that you’d like to try making yet another one of my recipes Tracy!! Yes, you can easily substitute coconut sugar! You’ll need 96g to replace the Stevia In The Raw, and you’ll also need to reduce the milk to ½ cup (maybe a touch more) because coconut sugar dissolves in liquids SO much differently compared to Stevia In The Raw. The batter should be on the thicker side, but not nearly as thick as cookie dough, if that makes sense! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins — and maybe even see a picture! (I loved seeing your sweet potato pie earlier today!)
I love ginger, ! Can I use liquid stevia instead of stevia in the raw?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Allison! See the Notes section of this recipe and Nutrition Information — I’ve actually answered this exact question already! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these muffins if you try making them!
This recipe sounds delicious, can I substitute Swerve or monk fruit sweetener for truvua? I typically bake with Swerve.
Thank you
It means a lot that you’d like to try making this recipe, Karen! If you’d like to substitute Swerve, then you’ll need ½ cup. Because it dissolves differently than Stevia In The Raw, reduce the milk to ¾ cup to compensate. The batter should be fairly thick, similar to the texture of really wet cookie dough, if that makes sense! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!