Gluten Free & Keto Cranberry Orange Muffins 🍊
Suuuper Tender & Moist
These gluten free and keto cranberry orange muffins are truly special, and some of the most aromatic muffins you’ll ever bake. Think of a ridiculously tender and moist sweet-orange crumb, paired with wonderful tangy cranberries. A marriage for the books.
i.e. pure bliss in every bite! So if you’re an orange and cranberry fan, these guys are a must make.
The Orange 🍊
Yes, oranges are a no-go in the keto diet. But you’ll often find orange zest (and a small amounts of orange juice) scattered throughout keto baking (and even cooking). This is because a little zest goes a long way, and net carb impact is minimal in the end.
But know that you can always opt for an orange extract. Just keep in mind that we always prefer the more natural route, which we believe it’s what keto is all about.
The Flours 🔍
We like a mixture of super fine almond flour and coconut flour best. Add a touch of psyllium husk and xanthan gum, and we’re golden.
And don’t skip the psyllium husk. It helps retain moisture, create structure (i.e. it’s highly responsible for the killer crumb), and it just so happens to be a killer source of fiber (it’s responsible for 2g of fiber per muffin 💩!). Without it, your muffins will be more crumbly and they may collapse more when cooling. They will, however, taste the same.
We also highly suggest you do not skip the xanthan gum here, as your muffins will be more crumbly. Borrowed from molecular cooking, xanthan gum is the binding agent which makes your toothpaste jelly-like (and your cream cheese, well cream cheese-like). And it’s also the most common gluten-replacer in gluten free baking. You can (if you absolutely must), substitute in with twice the amount of ground flax seeds.
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds. And for the coconut, we always favor Anthony’s.
The Sweetener 🍯
These keto cranberry orange muffins work well with Swerve, xylitol and Pyure. So you’ve got options.
And if you’re doing the orange glaze, which comes highly recommended, your best options are Swerve or xylitol (same amounts). They’re roughly 1-to-1 in sweetness to sugar (and you need the ‘bulk’ here guys!). But they must be powdered.
So get your blender out, make sure it’s completely dry, and process your sweetener of choice until powdered. Just make sure you wait a few moments for the dust to settle before opening the blender or food processor.
Or you can always grab a bag of Powdered Swerve (i.e. confectioner’s).
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
Gluten Free & Keto Cranberry Orange Muffins
Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Customary at the bottom of the ingredients for an instant conversion.
Ingredients
For the keto orange cranberry muffins
- 64 g almond flour
- 21 g coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or 2 teaspoons ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs yolks & whites divided
- 6 tablespoons Swerve *
- 2 teaspoons orange zest or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 57 g organic grass-fed butter melted and cooled slightly
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice or water
- 2 tablespoons water
- 50-100 g fresh cranberries to taste (we go for the larger amount!)
For the orange glaze
- 3 tablespoons Swerve confectioners
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest or orange extract to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease and flour (with coconut flour) a muffin tray.
- Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside.
- Whisk together in a medium bowl almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg yolks with sweetener until pale and fluffy, 1-3 minutes.
- Incorporate orange zest (or extract), vanilla extract, vinegar, and melted butter. Add flour mixture slowly, alternating with water (or orange juice) and beating until well incorporated.
- Fold egg whites little by little and gently into batter. The dough will be thick initially, but will loosen up as you begin to incorporate the egg whites. Fold in cranberries.
- Spoon batter onto the prepared muffin tray.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (covering with aluminum foil at minute 13-15), until deep golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before removing, and cool completely in a rack (they will be very tender when warm, so handle gently). They will also collapse slightly as the cranberries weigh them down.
- While the cranberry orange muffins are cooling, make the orange glaze by mixing the powdered sweetener with the orange zest (or extract) and water (or orange juice, if you so desire).
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, though we're fairly certain they'll be long gone before then.
Notes
Nutrition
These are great. I was lazy and didn’t use a mixer. I just tossed all but the cranberries in the bowl, stirred then added the max cranberries and a bag of sugar free white chocolate chips. No glaze needed. Even my non ketos love them.
I made these muffins as the recipe is written. Took awhile but they were worth it. Moist and just the right balane of sweet and tart. I did not use the icing as I didnt have the right sweetener. I used powdered splenda naturals in the muffins but it left an aftertaste in the icing so I left it off of the muffins. Next time I will try less for the icing and see if it makes a difference. I would recommend these to everyone looking for sugar free low carb ideas. I also chopped the cranberries.
These tasted great but I made a few mistakes. I cooked them in silicone cups and I think my use of frozen cranberries made them quite wet inside. I’m going to try making them with less cranberries and just a greased pan.
I do them the same way you did – just leave them
in the oven longer until the tops are firm and they aren’t making “snap crackle pop” noises anymore
I’m making these right now and I divided the batter between to mini loaf pans to give away for Christmas, not sure it will bake up right, I will let you know. I’m a little confused by the orange juice and water… the recipe calls for 2 T of oj or water, but then also calls for 2 T of water. The directions don’t say when to add the 2 T of water? am I suppose to add it to the orange juice? so 4 T of liquid? I chose to put 2 T oj and 1 T water, just because I wasn’t sure. Thanks for your great recipes.
I made these for the first time today and I’m speechless!! They are absolutely amazing!! It’s foods like this that make me believe that I can live the low-carb lifestyle forever 💕. I do think I messed up the recipe a bit and used powdered Swerve for both the muffin batter and the glaze. Can you clarify the recipe for me? I wonder if it’s sweeter my way.
I have to avoid almonds for a few months, what could I sub?
Sunflower seed flour is a good sub, but double up the amount of baking powder and leave out the baking soda (this flour turns free, like blueberries, in the presence of baking soda) xo!
I don’t usually comment on recipes, but these muffins were amazing! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. Moist, great texture, yummy, diabetic friendly. I made them 3 times already and only found the recipe last week. The recipe is great as is, but if you are looking for a little addition, a little cinnamon works. I also tried frozen orange juice concentrate once, which came out well.
So happy to hear Irine, and thanks for taking the time to report back! 😉 xo!
Hi Paola! These muffins look scrumptious. I am hoping to make these for a party later today, but I’m not able to use dairy, and am wondering, is there anything I can substitute for the butter? If you could respond as soon as possible, that would be amazing! Thank you!
Muffins are fantastic, after a day and a half I cut into one and noticed it was green, i went on line and found out this is a reaction to the baking powder and soda! I thought it might be worth noting in your recipe tips to not worry, my wife thought it was mold and wanted to through them out! I refrigerated them the same day I baked them after they had cooled a few hours. I have also started to use “Bocha Sweet” it would be very interesting to hear your take on this new sweetner, we love it though on the expensive side! Love all your recipe especially the “Fluffy Bread”!
Just made these muffins they are moist and so flavourful, thanks gnom gnom I’m for your recipe I always enjoy your recipe. I was thinking of doing the same recipe orange cranberry and used lemon instead of orange which was so good, do you think I can use the exact same recipe with lemon. Do you have a keto book recipe for deserts I have been on keto for 7 months and lost 36 pounds thanks to your recipes they are delicious. Very satisfied customer
This is a super great recipe! The crumb texture is so good. No one thinks this is gluten-free…let alone keto. Looking forward to experimenting with lemon extract and lemon juice. Added some walnuts to my orange cranberry muffins which complemented the crumb texture so nicely. Right up there with your banana bread Paola!! Thanks! 🥰
Does the nutritional breakdown include the glaze?
Yup!
I doubled the batch and I’m sooooo glad I did!! Soooo yummy! I did a cup of cranberries and a cup of blueberries. I will be making these regularly!
Can frozen cranberries be used in place of fresh ones.
Yeah def!
Thank you, looking forward to making them tomorrow.
Just whipped up a double batch this morning (just forgot the cranberries, bummer…)…HOW do you do it?? Thank you so much!
These were absolutely delicious! I didn’t have apple cider vinegar so I used red wine vinegar – still tastes good.
Thanks!
I don’t have Swerve. Can I substitute eythritol or xylitol? If so, what would be the change in sweetner quantity? Thanks!
This is a good muffin recipe but cranberries are soooo tart. Too overpowering. I would make again with blueberries possibly.
OMG!!! I LOVE GNOM-GNOM.COM!!!
In my life prior to going gluten-free, I used to make a very famous vegan version of cranberry orange muffins all the time. I thought those muffins were lost to me forever. Thanks to Paola, I just enjoyed my first one in probably two years or more. My eyes rolled back in my head as I devoured this delicious piece of heaven. I added a handful of toasted walnuts to my batter for old times sake. Words cannot express how divine these muffins are.
How do you do it Paola, time and again?!!!
Oh Lisa how wonderful to hear you’re enjoying the recipes so much! I can’t wait to make these soon again (maybe as mini bundt cakes…!). Big kiss and thank you for all your lovely comments!!
Ohhh… Mini Bundts! Great idea. I was just contemplating making another batch. Of it’ll have to wait in the Gnom-Gnom line. Just finished rolling out my dough for the cheese crackers. About to roll my 2nd dough this week for the almond crackers — this time with Everything But the Bagel seasoning. After that crack chocolate chia pudding! We are under a winter advisory. Might as well make it a Gnom-Gnom day since I’m stuck inside 😁
Before I forget, thanks for an awesome cranberry sauce recipe too. Big hit at Thanksgiving dinner 👍
I made these muffins x 2 this AM; the first time I used silicone baking cups in the cupcake pan–they would Not get baked through- stayed gooey in center even after returning to oven for a total of 45+ minutes.
I thought this was probably die to the silicone ?
But I made them again without using silicone baking cups and they still will not completely bake. I have an oven thermometer and the temp was correct.
The baked edges taste really good but I would prefer to have a whole muffin.
What could the problem be?
I made these this weekend and doubled the batch for company. No one suspected they were keto! I did make a couple of minor changes though. I added a couple of drops of orange oil to water to substitute for the orange juice, and added cinnamon and cloves because I like spice. Will have to make these again!
Awesome to hear Janelle!!
I made these for my six year old before school today and he LOVED them. So difficult
to find recipes that work and he enjoys. I didn’t have cranberries so I just left them out.
First of your recipes that I’ve tried. I’m so taken by your recipes that I went and bought your book. I wish ALL the free recipes on your website were compiled into a book. I would definitely buy it for the convenience of everything in one place.
Paola you are amazing!
I’ve made these using the recipe above and yesterday, did a twist by making them Lemon Blueberry muffins. Both were EXCELLENT. So excellent, that my dad ate 5 of the double batch I baked for Mother’s Day brunch, and I had to bake a 2nd batch! This is an amazing base. I can’t wait to play with this recipe more… I’m thinking orange and ark chocolate chips on the next go round?
Thanks so much for all the work you put into these recipes! One of my biggest concerns going keto was that I love to bake and cook, and I was afraid I’d spend every day scrambling eggs and grilling steak. Using your recipes, I eat AMAZING food every day and am down 15 lbs! These muffins are sooooo yummy!
Hi Terri! Thank you for your comment, makes me so happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying the recipes so much (and CONGRATS on the weight loss how fabulous!!). pssst, check out the lemon poppy seed muffins 😉 xo!
Hi! I’m going to be making these and was wondering the measurements for the flours– instead of grams, what would it be in cups?? I want to get it just right, thank you!!!
Hi Patti! You can always click on US Cups below the ingredients in all our recipes 😉 xo!
🙄 How could I have missed that, lol??!!! Thanks!
You’re not alone! I’m trying to get the developers to move it to the top 😉
Dude, these are amazing! The texture is just like “regular” muffins, and they taste so good! I don’t know how long it takes you to come up with these ingredient combinations, but I think you’re maybe the best keto baker out there.
A couple things that might help someone else –
The orange zest was incredibly slow for me to make. I don’t have a legit zester, just a grater, it’s always worked fine for lemons and limes, but the navel oranges I used were just not giving up the zest. After 30 minutes I only had about 1/3 tsp. My boyfriend then had the idea to shave off flakes with a sharp knife and then i chopped them up. Probably saved me 2 hours. I used navel oranges which have a pretty smooth skin, not sure if that was the reason for the trouble.
1 tsp of water was nowhere near enough for me for the glaze. It was a super thick paste. I added another 1/2 tsp water and it was finally soft enough to squeeze slowly out of my piping bag, but i don’t know how you could have gotten the drizzle in your pics with this glaze. And while it tasted awesome in terms of the orange flavor, it also added quite a cooling effect to the muffins (which had none), which was distracting from the overall amazingness of these muffins.
Anyway thank you so much for sharing this muffin recipe, wouldn’t change anything about it, they’re perfect!
I served these for Christmas brunch and they were AMAZING. Brunch wasn’t over and I was already getting requests to make another batch!
I served these for Christmas brunch and they were AMAZING. Brunch wasn’t over and I was already getting requests to make another batch!
THESE ARE ON CRACK! The family polished off a the batch of 12 within a couple hours. My goodness! I never leave reviews, but had to for these. I used the orange zest and Swerve. No cooling sensation AT ALL and I’m very sensitive. And just pure orange goodness with an amazing crumb, which no one would ever be able to tell was gluten free… wow just wow! None of that dry and crumbly mess with usual keto muffins! These are just so tender and moist! Who would have thought I would find my favorite orange cranberry muffins in a keto recipe?! THANK YOU!
I end up pinning EVERY single one of your posts! I think these will happen for Xmas morning!