Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins are a soft and tender pastry that is filled with flavors including nuts, dried fruit, orange zest, and carrots. This recipe is made with whole grains and natural sweeteners for a satiating breakfast or snack!
I think Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins were the original kitchen sink recipe. Throw in as many ingredients that could possibly fit in the batter bowl, stick it in the oven, and cross your fingers.
Good news: these ingredient packed muffins not only turn out, they are one of the best tasting muffins on the planet. They are aromatic, tender, crunchy from the nuts, chewy from the dried fruit, and wholesome from the addition of natural sweeteners and whole grains.
They are also easy to make and use mostly pantry staples. Some of the ingredients are locked into place, and others can be swapped to fit what's in your pantry or the flavors you are craving.
The following are the crucial substitute-at-your-own-risk Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins ingredients:
- Oat flour: This gluten free flour gives the muffins a tender, but hearty texture. It also offers loads of nutrients and keeps our muffins gluten free. Other flours are too dense or too light and will result in less-than-appetizing muffins.
- Carrots!: Carrots are what make Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins, Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins. It is a foundational ingredient in this classic recipe. If you don't like the idea of vegetables in your muffins, think carrot cake. These morning bites of joy are sweet, not vegetable-y.
- Orange zest: Another backbone of the recipe. The orange zest gives the muffins a beautiful fragrance and delicious sweet taste. Omit this one at your own risk.
The following are the optional, choose what you love best, Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins ingredients:
- Nuts: pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc. Pick your favorite nut and add it to the batter. For bonus points, add a sprinkling of chopped nuts on top of the muffins just before baking. They will give you extra crunch, not to mention the most beautiful muffins.
- Fruits: any good dried fruit will do! Traditionally these muffins are made with raisins, but those don't float my boat, if you know what I mean. I swapped them out for a combo of chopped dates and apricots.
- Liquid sweetener: My favorite sweetener for these muffins is pure maple syrup, but I have also tested them with agave and honey. Just be sure to only substitute the liquid sweetener, and keep in the coconut sugar - the different textures do different things for these healthy muffins.
Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins are a soft and tender pastry that is filled with flavors including nuts, dried fruit, orange zest, and carrots. This recipe is made with whole grains and natural sweeteners for a satiating breakfast or snack!
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened apple sauce
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups gluten free oat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Mix Ins:
- ½ cup finely grated carrot
- ½ cup dried roughly chopped dry fruit (raisins, dates, apricots, cherries, cranberries, etc.)
- ½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- In a second bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine. Add in the mix-ins and fold. Once combined, spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean - or with a few crumbs, but no wet batter.
Can you substitute another oil for the avocado oil (allergy to avocados)?
Hi Veronica, Absolutely! Any neutral tasting oil that is liquid at room temperature should work. Happy baking!
I used "extra light taste" olive oil and it worked very well.
I made these yesterday. They were moist, flavorful, and passed the toddler test! Will definitely be these making again!
Hi Kelly! Thank you so much for the review :) Glad to hear they passed the prestigious toddler test!
Can you substitute the oat flour with coconut flour or another gluten free option?
Hi Katie, Great question. I have tested these muffins with other flours and oat flour definitely yields the best muffins. Coconut flour would cause these muffins to be very dense and dry (coconut flour absorbs wayyyyy more water than other flours). If you are allergic to oats, I would try brown rice flour or a gluten free baking blend. If oats are okay for your diet, you can even grind your own oat flour from oatmeal using your blender. This is my favorite guide. Happy baking!
Hi I substituted the oat flour with cassava flour and my mixture was so dry I had to add more maple syrup and 2 eggs and still too dry so I added 2 cups of pinto bean broth, finally it was consistent enough as a muffin dough. Once cooked they were tasty but very dry! I’d suggest sticking with oat flour!
What can I substitute for apple sauce?
Hi Evis, You can substitute any mashed fruit like pearsauce, etc. Mashed banana may work, but it will give the muffins a distinct banana flavor.
Yum so good! I added in apple chunks, ginger and coconut flakes - so delicious!
Hi Denise, Those additions sound amazing! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe :)
These are my family’s fav muffins by far. My husband (who is more of a meat and potatoes kind of fella) eats these so fast that I have to make atleast two batches a week. And to get him to eat something that is nutritionally equivalent to a bowl of oatmeal is pretty incredible. These are SO tasty!! Warmed up with butter, the best. I like to top mine with walnuts and brown sugar/coconut sugar before baking :).
Delicious!!! These beauties were a hit in my family!!
Thank you so much for your review, Alexandra! So glad to know they were a hit :)
I’m new to the Gluten Free world and have seriously struggled to find a muffin recipe using oat flour that both held together and tasted good... but wow did these hit the spot!
I ran out of applesauce so I used my homemade apricot jam. My jam is pretty sweet so I used half the maple syrup and only sprinkled some coconut sugar on top. They were an amazing breakfast treat and I’m sure will be made over and over again:)
Hi Kiara! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the muffins! Love the substitutions -- the apricot jam sounds like a delicious addition!
Are there no eggs used in this recipe? What binds the ingredients??
Hi Becky, Great question - in this recipe, the applesauce bings the muffins together. If you wanted to use an egg, add one large egg and reduce the amount of applesauce to 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon. Happy baking!
I substitute the baking powder to
Some molasses and they turned out so good. Thank you for your recipe
I was skeptical, my Mom always made the best MG muffins but they were all white flour and white sugar so I decided to try a healthier version. This recipe pretty much fit the bill. I tweaked the honey (instead of maple syrup) and coconut sugar amounts a bit to make them less sweet, and the batter was a little thin so I added 1/4 cup of gluten-free ap flour. It all worked very well! I am assuming that a serving is one muffin... so sad... ;)
We have a nut allergy, would it work well to substitute for sunflower seeds? Not sure what a good crunch substitute would be.
Hi Virginia! I think sunflower or pumpkin seeds would be a great substitute in this recipe :) Happy baking!
Hello.
Could I omit the carrot completely or is it needed to keep the texture correct?
Thank you,
Hiroshi
Hi Hiroshi, the moisture in the carrots is needed to keep the correct texture. You could substitute another shredded vegetable like sweet potato or zucchini. If using zucchini, squeeze it to remove excess moisture before adding it to the batter. Happy baking!