These Orange Raspberry Muffins are light, fluffy, and have the perfect balance of sweet and tangy from the raspberries and orange zest. They're easy to make and freezer-friendly! You can enjoy them for breakfast, as a snack, or even for dessert! They're perfect for school or work lunches and road trips.
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Why You'll Love These Orange Raspberry Muffins
The perfect balance of flavors - Raspberries and oranges are such a good combo, especially in baked goods like these muffins! They're both tangy and sweet, and slightly bitter orange zest brings it all together. I love these for summer, but they're delicious any time of the year because I usually make them with frozen raspberries!
Light and fluffy - The secret ingredient for these muffins is Greek yogurt! It makes the muffins extra soft and light. The raspberries help to moisten the muffins just the right amount
Great for meal prep and freezer-friendly - These muffins store really well both in the fridge and freezer so they're perfect for meal prep! Nothing better than having a few of these stashed in the freezer for busy mornings or a quick snack or a treat!
Ingredients
- Flour - I always use a gluten-free flour blend, but you can use all-purpose flour as well. I like Bob's Red Mill 1:1 flour blend.
- Cooking oil - I like using pure avocado oil, but any neutral-tasting vegetable oil you'd normally use in baking works as well.
- Cane sugar - Cane sugar is slightly less processed than white sugar, it has a very neutral flavor, and it isn't as moist as brown sugar, so it's the ideal option here.e
- Greek yogurt - A thick, full-fat Greek yogurt will yield the best pillowy soft muffins. Other yogurts will work as well, but I find that full-fat Greek yogurt yields the best results. I imagine sour cream could work, too, but I haven't tried it, so I can't guarantee results.
- Milk - I usually use either cashew milk or almond milk because that's what I have on hand (Elmhurst is my go-to), but whole milk works great too!
- Whole orange - You'll need both freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest. I don't recommend using bottled orange juice since you'll need an orange anyway for fresh orange zest. Fresh orange juice provides the best flavor. Use organic oranges for orange zest whenever possible.
- Raspberries - You can use either fresh or frozen raspberries. I actually prefer the muffins with frozen raspberries. They give the muffins a much brighter pink color, and they kind of melt into the muffins, which gives them more moisture. (The muffins in the photos have frozen raspberries.)
- Tapioca starch - You'll need either tapioca starch (tapioca flour) or cornstarch to prevent the raspberries from releasing too much juice into the muffins. You'll toss the raspberries with the tapioca starch before you add them to the batter, and it turns them into an almost jelly filling.
- Vanilla and cinnamon - These two add flavor and balance everything. You can use either pure vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or vanilla bean powder. The recipe calls for vanilla extract or paste, you'll need much less if you use powder.
- Turbinado sugar - This is optional, but I like sprinkling some turbinado sugar on top of the muffins. The sugar doesn't completely melt; it stays cruchy and creates beautiful, crispy caramelized muffin tops.
Variations and Substitutions
- Different berries - If you don't have enough raspberries, you can add blueberries or chopped strawberries as well to change up the flavor. Make sure to also coat them in tapioca starch or cornstarch.
- Different flour - I like using gluten-free flour but regular all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour works as well.
- Lemon zest - These muffins would work with lemon zest as well if you don't have enough orange zest. I don't recommend using lemon juice, though, the muffins would be too sour, you need the sweetness of orange juice.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare a 12-muffin pan and line each muffin tin with paper muffin liners. You can also use cooking spray, but I always prefer paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Into a large bowl, add eggs, cane sugar, fine sea salt, Greek yogurt, milk, cooking oil, vanilla extract, orange zest, and orange juice.
- Whisk everything together until well mixed.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. The batter will be fairly thick.
- Toss fresh or frozen raspberries with tapioca starch in a separate bowl.
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- Fold the raspberries into the batter using a rubber spatula.
- Scoop the batter into your prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin to the top.
- Sprinkle the muffins with turbinado sugar (optional).
- Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, and they’re golden brown on top.
- Let them cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes and transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Expert Tips!
- Don't skip the turbinado sugar - If you want extra crunchy and caramelized muffin tops, don't skip the sugar! I don't like using finer sugars like cane sugar or brown sugar to top the muffins because they will melt in the oven and sink into the batter. Turbinado sugar is coarse and will stay more intact so it's crunchy even after baking!
- Cool the muffins completely before storing - Make sure the muffins are completely cool before you put them in an airtight container. This is especially important if you're storing them at room temperature because if they're still warm, they could steam and grow mold.
Serving Suggestions
This is optional, but I like to warm up the muffins a little bit in the oven before eating them. It softens them a little bit and makes them more fluffy and crumbly. They're much denser straight from the fridge.
You can spread a little bit of butter on the hot muffins or even add some almond butter or seed butter for some healthy fats and protein.
If you want to turn these into a dessert, warm them up and serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Storing
Room temperature: You can store the muffins for 1-2 days at room temperature in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight. Because of the raspberries, I always prefer to store them in the fridge to make them last longer, but if you need to travel with them, they can definitely stay out of the fridge for a day or two if it's not too hot.
Refrigerator: Store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. They taste the best the first 3 days or so, so I recommend keeping however many you know you'll eat within a few days in the fridge and freezing the rest.
Freezer: The muffins store really well in the freezer, and once you defrost and reheat them, they'll taste just like fresh! This is the best way to preserve their freshness. You can store them in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers for 3-4 months or longer if stored properly.
Reheating
Refrigrated muffins: Reheat the muffins in a preheated oven at 300F for 10 minutes or until warm in the middle.
Defrosting first: If your muffins are frozen, the best way to defrost them is to either defrost them in the fridge overnight, on the counter for an hour or so, or in the oven if you have a defrost setting for about 30 minutes.
Warming up from frozen: You can also just put them in the preheated oven right away, but I find it's hard to get them warm through the middle if you don't defrost them a little bit first. I usually have to take them out, slice them in half, and return them to the oven to warm them up in the middle.
FAQs
Yogurt! I love adding full-fat Greek yogurt to the batter, it makes them extra moist and soft.
You can easily make them dairy-free by using vegan yogurt like a good thick coconut yogurt and dairy-free milk (I like almond milk or cashew milk). I haven't tried replacing the eggs with any vegan alternatives, though, so I can't guarantee results. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it went in the comments below! Flax "egg" would be my first choice for a substitute to try.
Yes! Frozen or fresh blueberries or blackberries would be delicious with the orange juice and zest! Use one or a mix of all of them! You could also use strawberries, you'll just have to dice them. I recommend only using fresh strawberries, not frozen.
Other Muffin Recipes
If you're looking for more muffin recipes, check out any of the four recipes below! They're all delicious and can be made gluten-free. Head over to Breads and Muffins to see all the latest ones!
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Print📖 Recipe
Orange Raspberry Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Orange Raspberry Muffins are light, fluffy, easy to make, and freezer-friendly! You can enjoy them for breakfast, as a snack, or even for dessert! They're perfect for school or work lunches and road trips.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt (or dairy-free yogurt)
- ½ cup milk (I used cashew milk)
- ½ cup neutral cooking oil (I use avocado oil)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon orange zest
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (approx. 2 oranges)
- 2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)*
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
- 2-3 tablespoon turbinado sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line a 12-muffin pan with paper muffin liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Into a large bowl, add eggs, cane sugar, fine sea salt, Greek yogurt, milk, cooking oil, vanilla extract, orange zest, and orange juice.
- Whisk everything together until well mixed.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be fairly thick.
- Toss your raspberries with tapioca starch in a separate bowl and fold them into the batter using a rubber spatula.
- Scoop the batter into your prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin to the top.
- Sprinkle the muffins with turbinado sugar (optional).
- Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, and they’re golden on top.
- Let them cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes and transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Equipment
Notes
Raspberries: These muffins can be made with both fresh and frozen raspberries but I recommend frozen for a brighter color, especially if you’re making these off-season. Frozen raspberries also tend to be smaller and spread better throughout the batter. Do not defrost your raspberries before adding them to the batter.
Storing: Always make sure the muffins are completely cool before you close them in a container so they don’t mold. Store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, at room temperature for 1-2 days, or in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Reheating: I recommend warming up the muffins from the fridge in the oven at 300F for 5-10 minutes to soften them up. Defrost the muffins in the fridge overnight before warming them up for the best results.
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Veronika Sykorova says
These are my new favorite muffins and I'm so excited to be sharing them! The raspberry and orange zest combo is so good!