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    Home » Breakfast

    Cranberry Orange Muffins (Paleo, Gluten Free)

    November 6, 2022 Updated: November 9, 2022 by Lisa Wells / 54 Comments

    Orange cranberry muffins - easy healthy recipe!

    Almond flour cranberry orange muffins - paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and perfect for cranberry season! There's nothing like a warm muffin for breakfast.

    Cranberry orange muffins on plate

    I have a muffin obsession. They are one of my favorite things to bake, and I love coming up with different variations — usually based on whatever I happen to have in the kitchen. This recipe was inspired by oranges in the refrigerator and some cranberries in the freezer. Orange and cranberry is a perfect combination. And these easy paleo cranberry muffins are delicious.

    This post may include affiliate links. For more info, see my disclosure here.

    Here's what you'll need

    • almond flour 
    • baking soda
    • salt
    • one orange, zested and juiced
    • eggs
    • honey
    • ghee or coconut oil
    • fresh, frozen or dried cranberries

    How to make gluten free cranberry orange muffins

    This recipe uses the traditional muffin method. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Then mix the two together and fold in the cranberries.

    Almond flour cranberry muffins on cooling rack

    For the orange flavor in this recipe, zest the entire orange into the dry ingredients and added the juice of half of the orange to the wet ingredients.

    You can toss the cranberries in frozen - there's no need to take the time to thaw them. I always have cranberries in the freezer. I always buy a few bags of fresh cranberries in the fall and freeze them for use year round.

    The fresh cranberries give a nice tartness to the muffins so they are not too sweet.  But you can always substitute dried cranberries (look for ones sweetened with apple juice instead of corn syrup) if you want your muffins a little sweeter.

    Muffins on plates with orange and cranberries

    You can even swirl in some leftover holiday cranberry sauce for an extra boost of cranberry flavor. And for a variation without orange, try substituting lemon zest and just a tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the orange. Or try these cranberry applesauce muffins.

    I love to bake muffins with both almond flour and coconut flour. Almond flour works perfectly for this recipe since almond flour batter tends to be thicker and it helps keep the cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. If you prefer coconut flour muffins, try these banana blackberry or lemon poppy muffins.

    These paleo cranberry orange muffins are a wonderful treat you can enjoy any time of the year.

    Almond flour cranberry muffins

    Paleo Cranberry Orange Muffins

    These quick and easy almond flour cranberry orange muffins are paleo, gluten-free and grain-free.
    4.34 from 45 votes
    Print Save Email
    Prep Time: 10 mins
    Cook Time: 25 mins
    Total Time: 35 mins
    Servings: 9 muffins
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Vegetarian
    Author: Lisa Wells

    Ingredients

    • 200 grams almond flour about 2 cups
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • zest of 1 orange
    • 3 eggs
    • ¼ cup honey
    • 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil, melted
    • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
    • ½ cup fresh cranberries or organic dried cranberries

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease or line muffin tin.
    • Combine dry ingredients and orange zest in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in medium bowl. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then fold in cranberries.
    • Using a large ice cream or cookie scoop, fill muffin cups ¾ full.
    • Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

    Notes

    For dairy-free: use coconut oil instead of ghee

    Nutrition

    Calories: 209kcal Carbohydrates: 13g Protein: 6g Fat: 15g Saturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 63mg Sodium: 114mg Potassium: 37mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 9g Vitamin A: 90IU Vitamin C: 4.5mg Calcium: 57mg Iron: 1.1mg
    Keyword: almond flour muffins, cranberry muffins
    Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating above and share your photo on social. I love seeing what you've made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. maribel B

      November 25, 2013 at 9:01 pm

      Delicious! I have made several paleo muffins recipes and this one is by far the best. I changed the clarified butter for coconut oil and added walnuts. I made it with the organic dried cranberries.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        November 26, 2013 at 5:36 pm

        Thank you Maribel! I'm so glad you enjoyed them.

        Reply
      • bethann

        November 22, 2014 at 11:00 pm

        Did you use the same amount of coconut oil as the ghee? do you remember?

        Reply
    2. Kathie

      November 29, 2013 at 8:29 pm

      Would it work to use almond butter instead of almond flour? They came out tasting kind of heavy.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        November 30, 2013 at 1:41 pm

        I've never tried them with almond butter, so I don't know if that would work. They should not be heavy with the almond flour. You may need to use less almond flour, depending on the brand and how it's measured, or larger eggs. I always use very finely ground blanched almond flour (usually Honeyville) and weigh it. Here's a post on how I measure it: https://cookeatpaleo.com/how-to-measure-almond-flour/.

        Reply
    3. Danielle

      April 19, 2014 at 4:24 pm

      Is the batter supposed to be dry? I followed this recipie exactly and the batter is dry and crumbly. I am new to paleo baking so maybe this is normal? I did use coconut flour

      Reply
      • Lisa

        April 23, 2014 at 11:23 am

        Hi Danielle, almond flour and coconut flour have very different properties and cannot be substituted for each other in recipes. As you you found out, this recipe will not work with coconut flour. If you prefer coconut flour muffins, try the Banana Blackberry Muffins or Lemon Poppy Muffins.

        Reply
    4. FitFuel Foodie

      July 09, 2014 at 4:53 pm

      I've to try!! <3

      Reply
    5. paleowithcream

      October 25, 2014 at 11:55 pm

      These are my favourite sweet muffins, I have made them about four times and just love them!

      Reply
      • Lisa

        October 26, 2014 at 3:49 pm

        Awesome! I'm so glad you love them!

        Reply
    6. Fawn

      November 18, 2014 at 7:52 am

      Can coconut sugar be substituted for the honey? I just don't have enough honey on hand and want to make them right now!

      Reply
      • Lisa

        November 18, 2014 at 5:01 pm

        Hi Fawn, I have only tested this recipe with honey. Replacing a wet ingredient with a dry ingredient will change the consistency of the batter - not sure it that will change the texture once they're baked. Maple syrup might be a better sub if you have it. Hope this helps!

        Reply
    7. Kim

      November 27, 2014 at 12:14 pm

      I just made these but used a donut pan instead. They turned out amazing!

      Reply
    8. Judy

      December 03, 2014 at 9:46 am

      Great recipe - and very forgiving! I was using what I had to make some Christmassy muffins: I ran out of ghee so had half-and-half ghee and coconut oil; ditto almond flour so used hazelnut; I replaced the orange zest and juice with segments from two seedless clementines, halved; then I added some cinnamon and nutmeg. They came out brilliantly! I'm looking forward to making more - and perhaps having more fun mixing it up. Thanks for posting.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        December 03, 2014 at 2:20 pm

        Yay! I'm so glad you loved it. This is a great recipe to experiment with. Thanks for sharing your substitutions!

        Reply
    9. Diana

      December 26, 2014 at 11:47 am

      These are great! Swapped out the orange zest and juice for lemon - and added a pinch of nutmeg. Yum!

      Reply
      • Lisa

        December 26, 2014 at 12:15 pm

        Thank you, Diana, I'm so glad you loved them! And the lemon and nutmeg sounds great - I'll have to try it that way!

        Reply
    10. Sharon Gibson Lepore

      January 14, 2015 at 6:22 pm

      I make my own almond milk (unblanched) every other day, using 1 cup of almonds, 32 oz. water, plus one Medjool date (for sweetening). I dehydrate the remaining pulp in a warm oven & then run it through a food processor to make my own almond meal. I made these muffins, using 2 cups of my unblanched almond meal, and it created a very heavy dough. I used a heaping 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries (rough chopped) and added a Tablespoon or so of my Almond Milk, to loosen it up a bit. After baking them, the texture was still heavy and a bit chalky (probably because it's unblanched almond meal instead of a fine almond flour, I know). I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how I could adjust this recipe to make it lighter & less grainy, yet still use my almond meal. I need to find a use for it, and these muffins were tasty, I just didn't care for the texture very much. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        January 18, 2015 at 2:12 pm

        Hi Sharon, I have not tested this recipe with unblanched almond meal, but here are a couple suggestions. Whipping the egg whites separately, and then folding them into the batter should make it lighter. Also, just using less almond meal might make them less dense - the consistency should be more of a thick batter than a heavy dough. Hope this helps!

        Reply
        • Sharon Gibson Lepore

          February 01, 2015 at 11:55 pm

          Thank you, I'll give that a try. The taste was delicious, but the texture was just too heavy. I'll try this recipe again, using your suggestion of less almond meal and whipping the egg whites separately. I'll let you know how they come out. =)

          Reply
    11. Karen

      March 03, 2015 at 9:43 am

      How do you think these muffins, and your other muffins, would turn out if I made the batter a day ahead, left them in the fridge and baked them the next morning? Trying to save some time in the mornings. They look delicious. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Lisa

        March 03, 2015 at 9:57 am

        Hi Karen, the batter should be baked immediately after mixing. To save time in the mornings, I bake muffins ahead and freeze them. Then in the morning I just put as many as I need in a cold oven and turn it on to 300 degrees to thaw and warm the muffins.

        Reply
    12. Lydya

      March 19, 2015 at 10:20 am

      What can I replace the eggs with for allergies?

      Reply
    13. CJ Huang

      October 24, 2015 at 1:20 pm

      Cranberry is such a yummy flavor combo, and we can actually get fresh cranberries around now. 🙂 I'm also starting to play around with different flours, so maybe this will serve as some yummy motivation!

      Reply
    14. Emily

      October 29, 2015 at 12:51 pm

      I made these and they are delicious, though slightly on the sweet side for me. Do you think if i reduced the honey by, say 1/3, it would change the batter consistency too much? I love how moist they are. Also just thinking about adding more cranberries for extra tartness.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        October 30, 2015 at 11:48 am

        Hi Emily, I haven't tested these with less honey, but I think it should work as long as you don't reduce it too much. Let me know how it turns out!

        Reply
    15. zee

      November 20, 2015 at 2:24 am

      OMG!!!!! these muffins are soooooooo good thank you so much for this fast simple recipe this is my second time making them I'm going to share this time 🙂

      Reply
      • Lisa

        November 20, 2015 at 5:54 pm

        Yay! Glad you love them, Zee!

        Reply
    16. Mona Blowatt

      November 21, 2015 at 5:19 pm

      When adding berries or other fruit I always toss in a bit of flour helps to hold the up from the bottom.

      Reply
    17. Karen

      February 10, 2016 at 7:37 pm

      I added a little bit of applesauce and maybe a little more orange juice (I didn't measure it!) and baked it as a cake. It was delicious. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Lisa

        February 11, 2016 at 12:52 pm

        Yay! Thanks for sharing your variation, Karen!

        Reply
    18. Emma

      April 22, 2016 at 7:07 am

      These were AMAZING! I test all my paleo cooking on my staff at work, and these got rave reviews
      These will definitely be a weekly treat

      Reply
    19. Lauren

      November 19, 2017 at 8:20 pm

      Hi,

      Has anyone tried this recipe as a bread instead of muffins? Just wondering if the oven temperature would be different and how long it took to bake?

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Susan

        April 30, 2019 at 4:17 pm

        5 stars
        Yes, I just made them into a loaf, using an 8.5” x 4.5” glass loaf pan. I baked it at 325° for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, checking it every five minutes. It turned out beautifully golden and with a moist crumb!

        Reply
    20. Patricia

      January 13, 2018 at 9:02 pm

      5 stars
      I tried he cranberry orange muffins today--very good! Will definitely make these again!

      Reply
    21. Maria

      February 05, 2018 at 3:14 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you so much for the cranberry and orange muffin recipe! They are delicious and they smelled so nice while cooking!

      Reply
    22. Maria

      May 15, 2018 at 11:45 am

      I would like to make these, but only have organic lightly sweetened dry cranberries. Would I need to soak these cranberries prior to baking?

      Reply
      • Shauna

        January 24, 2021 at 11:18 am

        5 stars
        I make these using dried cranberries all the time and they are great! You can soak them a little while in hot water if you want them extra soft.

        Reply
    23. Rose

      April 22, 2019 at 11:10 pm

      5 stars
      So thrilled with how these turned out! They are so easy to make and so delicious...this is definitely my new favorite muffin recipe. I doubled the amount of orange zest and was really pleased with the results.

      Reply
    24. LaJeana

      May 09, 2019 at 8:07 am

      5 stars
      I added the orange pulp and used 1 cup almond flour and 1/3 cup of coconut flour, arrowroot starch and paleo baking mix and an extra egg. Hubby loved them.

      Reply
    25. Denise Fournier

      September 02, 2019 at 4:58 pm

      How should I store these muffins after they are cooled down

      Reply
    26. Jessica

      November 30, 2019 at 2:06 pm

      5 stars
      I stumbled upon this recipe looking for grain free options. They are sooo good! Thank you for the great recipe!

      Reply
    27. virna

      December 06, 2019 at 5:02 pm

      4 stars
      4 star because it is not easy to find good scd recipes, so thank you

      one less star as the batter is too dry and the muffins turn out heavy
      I have 4 years experience in baking with only grain free 'flours' especially almond flour
      my basic muffin recipe, invented by me with trial and error over the first year of scd, is very similar to this, but i omit the oil (no need as almond flour is very fatty) and I add one cup of 'milk'
      your recipe would be 100 times better if you add 1 cup of liquid: the muffins would be super moist and delicate

      i do know that it depends on the type of almond flour though
      i use 'real' almond flour, not ground almonds called almond flour...
      either wy, it needs more liquid
      it should be 'puorable', yours isn't
      Anyway, thank you

      Reply
    28. Maria F

      February 27, 2020 at 1:24 pm

      5 stars
      Just wanted to let you know that these are my go to muffins! I saw your cranberry applesauce recipe today and am wondering how these compare to them.

      Reply
    29. Ash

      May 23, 2020 at 11:26 am

      Are the calories per muffin? 209 per muffin? Thank you! They sound delish.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        July 20, 2020 at 1:54 pm

        Yes, the nutrition info is per muffin.

        Reply
    30. Tracy

      October 06, 2020 at 11:23 pm

      5 stars
      I am new to baking with almond flour, grain free and no sugars. I followed the recipe exact.for the orange cranberry muffins. I used dried organic no added sugar cranberries, coconut oil and cooked in Silicone muffin tin. Made exactly 9 muffins. They were perfectly moist and stayed together and were delicious!! This will be a permanent recipe for me and I can't wait to make it again!

      Reply
    31. Christina

      October 28, 2020 at 2:16 am

      I tried using the monk sugar instead of honey, and substituted equal orange juice for the Liquide missing from the honey. It worked beautifully. Thanks for this recipe.

      Reply
    32. Judy

      February 25, 2021 at 8:46 pm

      5 stars
      These are just delicious. My husband usually doesn't like gluten free Muffins but he ate 2 of these right away. I did what another lady did and substituted 1/4 cup Xylitol and added 1/4 more orange in place of honey. Worked perfectly. Thank for recipe.

      Reply
    33. Alyse

      October 10, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      5 stars
      Yum! These muffins look amazing!

      Reply
    34. Shana

      December 19, 2021 at 6:11 pm

      These were so yummy. I used dried whole cranberries, sweetened with apple juice, and added walnuts. Quick, easy, and delicious!

      Reply
    35. Natashia

      July 03, 2022 at 8:17 pm

      5 stars
      Just made these tonight. Love, love, love this recipe. I have always loved the cranberry/orange flavour combo, but the almond flour and coconut oil really made this a very flavorful, satisfying muffin.

      Reply
    36. AKROL

      November 27, 2022 at 12:38 am

      I just want to make sure I’m seeing this correctly—the only sweetener is 1/4 cup of honey? Doesn’t seem like a lot, so wanted to double check. Excited to try this recipe

      Reply
      • Lisa Wells

        December 21, 2022 at 11:03 am

        Yes, just a 1/4 cup!

        Reply

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