These Healthy Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins (gluten-free) are bursting with tangy cranberry flavour and pack a nutritional punch👊
My mom has always made the most uh-maaaazing cranberry bread. It was (and still is) tangy, tasty and oh-so delicious.
When it gets into our house, it’s basically gone in 5 minutes flat. No joke.
My husband and I fight over who get the biggest and/or last slice of this delicious loaf.
In search of a more portable and slightly healthier version, this recipe for Healthy Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins is adapted from my mom’s original version.
Although, yes, I would love to eat a loaf or two of my Mom’s cranberry bread day in and day out, it’s just not the healthiest stuff. So to boost Nana’s recipe, I boosted the fibre and reduced the added sugar.
The result is a dense, delicious and tangy muffin, thanks to the cranberries.
And no need to cut the cranberries in half, like she does for her loaf.
Well I started to cut them in half but did like 7 and I got lazy and just threw them in the batter whole. The result? Exploding cranberry goodness in every bite. #win
Here’s what you’ll need to make these gluten-free healthy cranberry muffins:
- Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (I love Bob’s Red Mill version)
- Gluten Free Rolled Oats – my fave: Only Oats Gluten-Free Rolled Oats (not the quick ones for this recipe)
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- A large orange (for the rind)
- 2 very ripe bananas – or the thawed ones from your freezer work well
- Milk
- Olive oil
- Applesauce
- Egg
- Cranberries – fresh or frozen. Dried work too but you don’t get the exploding-cranberry-in-your-mouth-taste like you do with the fresh/frozen ones.
I hope you give these muffins a try and love them. If you do make them, be sure to rate and comment below. I love hearing from you.
*virtual* high five🖐️
~April
If you like the sound of this healthy muffin, here are some other healthy snacks recipes to check out:
Healthy Banana Bread with White Beans
Gluten-Free Breakfast Oat Cookies with Date Sugar
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Energy Bars
Healthy Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose baking flour
- 1.5 cup gluten-free rolled oats *not instant or "quick cooking" oats
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Fresh grated orange rind
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed or thawed, previously frozen bananas
- 1/3 cup 1% milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with silicone muffin cups or brush the muffin tins a little oil.
- Combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and orange rind in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, combine mashed bananas, milk, oil, applesauce and egg with a wire whisk.
- Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Fold in cranberries.
- Fill each muffin cup to the top. About 2 Tbsp in each cup.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let muffins cool out of the muffin tins completely. Store in an air-tight container.
Notes
Hi April – I have some dried cranberries I need to use up and wonder if you think they would work in this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Cristina,
Absolutely! I’ve used dried before and I thought they were just fine 😉
Thanks for your question 🙂
I have some leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving a few weeks back. Do you think I could use that instead?
Hey Melissa!
Hmmm, is it homemade cranberry sauce or canned? I ask because they moisture content and/or sweetness would change of course, depending on what it is. Either way, using the sauce instead would change the finished product for sure.
Personally, I would give it a-go because I’m all for experimenting and maybe reduce the banana a little bit? I can’t promise they’ll turn out 🤞but hey, it would certainly LOOK pretty (all that red/pink colouring) and I love cranberry sauce so I’d like the taste 😋
Let me know how it turns out!
April