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    Home » Recipes » Vegan Breakfast Recipes

    Healthy Vegan Pistachio Muffins

    Updated Feb 15, 2022 by Lori · THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS.

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    These wholesome vegan pistachio muffins are lightly sweetened, moist, tender, and perfect for breakfast. Made with a full cup of pistachios and studded with dried cherries! Oil-free.

    muffins with pistachios on top on a cooling rack.

    Where are my pistachio fans? The unique, deliciously nutty flavor of pistachios makes these healthy muffins totally irresistible! 

    We love that these muffins are not super sweet, which makes them really nice for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. Serve with a generous spread of vegan cream cheese or a cup of cashew yogurt.

    muffin broken in half to show texture.

    Ingredients and Equipment

    This is a summary to get you started. Scroll down to the recipe card for complete instructions.

    Here's what you'll need to whip up a batch of vegan pistachio muffins...

    Food processor, mixing bowl, small bowl, muffin pan, cooling rack.

    You'll also need:

    • shelled, unsalted pistachios - if your pistachios are salted, simply omit the salt in the recipe
    • dried bing cherries, optional - sub raisins, cranberries, or apricots, if preferred
    • oat flour
    • baking powder
    • baking soda
    • fine sea salt
    • applesauce
    • non-dairy milk - I recommend coconut, soy, or almond for this recipe
    • apple cider vinegar
    • vanilla extract, optional - or sub almond extract
    • maple syrup

    Instructions

    2 photo collage showing soaking dried cherries and pulsing pistachios into crumbs.

    1. If including dried cherries, cover with warm water to soften and rehydrate.

    2. Pulse half of the pistachios in a food processor until they're the texture of coarse crumbs.

    2 photos showing wet and dry ingredients before combining, then poured into muffin pan.

    3. Add remaining dry ingredients to the food processor, and pulse to combine. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the wet ingredients.

    Drain the cherries well. Roughly chop the cherries and the remaining ½ cup pistachios, reserving a handful of nuts for decorating the tops of the muffins.

    Whisk together the wet and dry ingredients, then fold in the cherries and pistachios.

    4. Scoop about ⅓ cup batter into each muffin cup. Top with reserved pistachios, and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 17 to 19 minutes.

    So easy, right? 

    Allow muffins to rest in the pan for about 5 minutes, then place on a rack to cool.

    looking down at pistachio muffins on a cooling rack.

    Tips and Substitutions

    • You may end up with enough batter for a 13th muffin. No worries! See the Notes section of the recipe for instructions on turning that into a quick snack for the baker. 😉
    • Feel free to substitute another dried fruit if you can't find cherries, or skip the fruit altogether.
    • So far I've only tested this recipe with oat flour and can't recommend any substitutions. 
    • Milks that contain a decent amount of fat like soy, almond, and coconut (the refrigerated, drinkable type) work well in these oil-free muffins. 

    I hope you enjoy these healthy pistachio muffins! If you try the recipe be sure to leave a comment and star rating below to let everyone know how they turned out.

    More vegan muffin recipes:

    Oil-Free Blueberry Banana Muffins
    Classic Vegan Blueberry Muffins
    Awesome Pumpkin Spice Muffins
    Golden Milk Muffins
    Coconut Garam Masala Muffins
    Loaded Oat Flour Breakfast Muffins
    Healthier Microwave Mug Muffin

    Healthy Vegan Pistachio Muffins

    Author: Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen
    With dark cherries and one full cup of pistachios, these healthy vegan pistachio muffins make a delicious and wholesome breakfast or snack! Oil-free, tender, moist, and made with oat flour.
    Servings: 12 muffins
    4.88 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time: 15 mins
    Cook Time: 18 mins
    Total Time: 33 mins

    Equipment

    • food processor

    Ingredients 

    • scant ½ cup dried cherries, optional
    • 1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
    • 2 cups oat flour (200 g)
    • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • ½ cup applesauce
    • 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk such as almond, soy, or coconut - I like coconut milk in these, the refrigerated type, not canned.
    • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ cup maple syrup
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a standard 12-cup muffin pan, or use paper liners or a silicone muffin pan. 
    • Place dried cherries in a small bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside.
    • Place ½ cup pistachios in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the consistency of coarse crumbs. This won't take long; stop periodically to make sure it's not turning into pistachio butter! Once the pistachios are ground, add the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse several times to incorporate. Set aside.
    • In a large mixing bowl combine the applesauce, milk, vinegar, vanilla, and maple syrup. Set aside.
    • Drain the cherries well. Roughly chop the cherries and the remaining ½ cup pistachios, reserving a handful of nuts for decorating the tops of the muffins.
    • Whisk the wet ingredients again to reincorporate the heavy maple syrup, then add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Whisk until there's no dry flour. Fold in all of the cherries and the larger amount of pistachios. Scoop about ⅓ cup batter into each muffin cup, filling them almost ¾ full (you might have a bit of batter leftover; see Notes on how to make a bonus microwave muffin with it). Sprinkle reserved pistachios on top of each muffin.
    • Bake for 17 to 19 minutes or until the tops are firm when lightly pressed. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

    Notes

    You should have just enough batter leftover to make a small 13th muffin. Let's call it our baker's treat! You can either pour the batter into an oven-safe ramekin or mug and bake it with the other muffins, or microwave for about 1 minute (keep a close eye on it). 
    If you choose the microwave method, allow to cool for 1 to 2 minutes, then dig in. 😀

    Storage

    Store pistachio muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days. Muffins can also be frozen.

    Estimated Nutrition (per serving)

    Serving: 1muffinCalories: 158kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 4gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 50mgFiber: 3gSugar: 10g

    Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.

    Tried the recipe?I love hearing from you! Share your feedback below!

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Just another GF Vegan cooker...

      December 25, 2022 at 7:37 pm

      These muffins didn't have as much pistachio taste as I'd like to.

      I don't know how many grams you are assuming a cup of pistachios is; 1 cup ended up being 136 grams for me. I added half of that (68 g) plus the 200g oat flour (which I weighed) together with the other ingredients according to the directions, and the batter was way too runny the first batch. I made it again and added just enough oat flour to make the batter slightly thicker than pancake batter and they turned out better and rose without falling! If it were me, I'd just increase the pistachio flour to 136g so it has more pistachio taste and forget about the chopped pistachios, plus however much oat flour you need to make it slightly thicker than pancake batter consistency.

      If you could clarify how many grams of ground pistachios you are assuming a 1/2 cup is, it would help the muffins turn out more consistently I think! But overall, great recipe. The applesauce really helps make these moist and a little fluffier than the other recipe I usually make.

      Reply
      • Lori

        December 25, 2022 at 8:02 pm

        Hmm, did you blend the pistachios into flour as instructed in step 3? The recipe is well-tested and has worked well for others, as you can see. So unfortunately I'm not sure what happened with your batter. I'm happy you seem to have enjoyed the muffins anyway! Note: if you tap on "Metric" above the ingredient list it shows the weight of the pistachios in grams.

        Reply
    2. Franny

      June 15, 2021 at 7:14 pm

      Excellent recipe. I followed it exactly, except I didn’t have cherries so subbed dried cranberries. Turned out perfectly; the oat flour made a very moist muffin, just barely sweet, with an exotic crunch of pistachios and a pop of tangy sweetness from the fruit. I loved getting a large “bonus” 13th muffin which I baked in a ramekin and quickly devoured as a “taster.” 😉 This recipe is a keeper! Thanks, Lori!

      Reply
      • Lori

        June 17, 2021 at 10:10 am

        I'm so happy you enjoy them, Franny. And thank you for the lovely feedback!

        Reply
    3. Irvonne

      February 17, 2021 at 5:00 pm

      I just made these and they are fabulous- delicate and subtle balance of the fruit and nuts. Pistachios with fruit give them a more unique/exotic, almost Middle Eastern flair. I used whole-wheat pastry flour, agave in place of maple syrup, dried cranberries and salted pistachios(what I had on hand.) So delicious! Thanks for sharing💓

      Reply
      • Lori

        February 19, 2021 at 6:31 am

        What a delicious review! Thank you, Irvonne. I'm so happy you enjoyed the muffins!

        Reply
    4. Karen Ricketts

      February 17, 2021 at 9:52 am

      Moist, cake-like texture, with a delicious flavor. I didn't have dried cherries so used chopped dates instead (soaked, like you suggested to do with the cherries); we really liked them as well as the subtle flavor of the pistachios. I got 20 muffins instead of 13 for some reason - bonus! This will be another of our favorite muffin recipes - thank you!

      Reply
      • Lori

        February 19, 2021 at 6:32 am

        Hi Karen,
        Yum! I bet the dates were delicious in these. Thanks so much for the feedback!

        Reply

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    Lori Rasmussen, Owner/Creator

    Hi, I'm Lori. Welcome to My Quiet Kitchen where I share easy vegan recipes with a healthier twist. Many are special diet-friendly or easily adapted. I also have a passion for veganizing classic desserts, and sometimes even those get a healthy-ish makeover.

    Learn more about me →

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