These low-fat cranberry corn muffins have cranberry sauce hidden in the middle so you get a burst of fresh cranberry in every bite! They're a little savory, sweet, AND tart and great with chili and soups. The recipe is vegan, oil-free, nut-free, and easily made gluten-free.
With a base of savory cornbread, a hidden dollop of cranberry sauce in the center, and a few tart cranberries throughout the batter, these cranberry cornbread muffins are a real flavor treat!
They're healthy enough for breakfast yet special enough for your holiday table. They also make a great snack. With no refined sugar and only 1 gram of fat per muffin, these are definitely not your typical cornbread. About that....
I just realized that for each year My Quiet Kitchen has existed, which is four holiday seasons now, I've shared at least one cornbread recipe and multiple cranberry recipes. You could say I'm slightly obsessed with both. The only dish that comes close to rivaling these is pecan pie (I have three on the blog).
From this gorgeous Vegan Cranberry Tart to Apple-Cranberry Hand Pies, and buttery Vegan Skillet Cornbread to Easy Oil-Free Cornbread, there's a little something for everyone. And today we're bringing these two magical foods together!
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Ingredient Notes
You'll need ten basic ingredients plus about half of a batch (or maybe a little less) of homemade vegan cranberry sauce, which only takes about 10 minutes!
So don't be discouraged by the thought of having to make cranberry sauce first. I promise it's ridiculously easy AND worth it.
- Cornmeal - being the savory, gritty, southern-cornbread lover that I am, I always use medium-grind cornmeal, sometimes called stoneground. If you decide to use a finer grind I can't vouch for the results, as it will alter the wet-to-dry ratio a bit.
- Flour - I've tested this recipe with all-purpose flour, white whole-wheat, and King Arthur's 1:1 gluten-free blend. All three batches turned out great and held together well.
- Cranberry Sauce - in just a few minutes you can make a batch of cranberry sauce. Sweeten it however you like, with maple syrup, as written, or with organic cane sugar.
- Whole Cranberries - fresh work best, but frozen and thawed cranberries may also be used.
- Maple Syrup - I haven't tested another sweetener in this particular recipe and can't recommend any substitutions.
- Milk - plain soy milk is my favorite for cornbread, but almond or oat milk are also good.
See recipe card below for quantities and full recipe.
Instructions
Even if you're a novice home cook, I promise you can make these fun and impressive corn muffins. Here's how to do it...
- Whisk dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another.
- Combine to create a batter, and fold in the halved cranberries.
- Spoon just enough batter into each muffin cup to cover the bottom. Next, place a heaping teaspoon of cranberry sauce directly in the center of each one. Divide the remaining batter among the 12 muffin cups, completely covering the cranberry sauce. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 18 minutes, then enjoy!
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Tip: I like to reserve a few of the halved cranberries to press into the tops of any muffins that don't have cranberry peeking through. You know how it is with batter additions. Sometimes you need to help things along so that each muffin has a similar amount of goodies!
Serving Suggestions
The combination of savory, tart, bright, and sweet in these muffins makes them both unique and flexible!
Serve them with our favorite vegan chili on a cool day.
They're great with Thanksgiving dinner alongside Vegan Turkey Roast, Seitan Roast, or this lovely Harvest Chickpea Meatloaf (WFPB). And if you love cornbread as much as I do, go for a double-dose with this amazing Vegan Cornbread Dressing.
These cranberry corn muffins are also great as a grab-and-go breakfast. Since they're so low in fat you may want a pat of almond or peanut butter on top for a PB&J vibe.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-Free - as mentioned above, a gluten-free all-purpose blend works well in this cornbread.
- Soy-Free - if you'd rather not use soy milk, plain almond milk or oat milk are good substitutes.
- Jalapeno - I haven't actually tried this yet, but I think chopped fresh jalapeño added to the batter would be amazing! If you try this be sure to let us know in the comments.
- Nuts - add a large handful of chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter when adding the halved cranberries.
And if you love jalapeños, check out these Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins (not oil-free).
Equipment
A mixing bowl, one smaller bowl, and a standard 12-cup muffin pan are all you need for this recipe.
Storage
Store the muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen.
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I hope you enjoy these fun and tasty cranberry cornbread muffins! As always, if you try the recipe I would love to hear from you. Be sure to rate the recipe and leave a comment below!
Recipe
Vegan Cranberry Cornbread Muffins (Oil-Free; GF Option)
Equipment
Ingredients
- approx. ⅔ cup homemade cranberry sauce (tap for recipe) - see Notes; ready in 15 min!
- 1 ½ cups medium grind cornmeal
- ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose or gluten-free all-purpose flour - sub whole-wheat, if desired.
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup plain, unsweetened soy milk - see Notes.
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup apple sauce
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup cranberries, halved - fresh or frozen and thawed.
Instructions
- First, head over to this cranberry sauce recipe and make a batch (or a half batch if you don't want much leftover).
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 C), and lightly spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil or use muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl whisk together the milk, vinegar, maple syrup, and apple sauce. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir to combine. Fold in the halved cranberries, reserving a palmful for decorating the tops of the muffins.
- Spoon enough batter into each muffin cup to cover the bottoms. Then place about 1 ½ teaspoons of cranberry sauce in the center of each one. Evenly divide the remaining batter among the muffin pan so that the cranberry sauce is fully enclosed. Press the reserved cranberries into the tops of any muffins that look like they need a little color.
- Bake for 17 to 19 minutes or until the centers are firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.
Notes
- Soy-Free - if you'd rather not use soy milk, plain almond milk or oat milk are good substitutes.
- Jalapeno - I haven't actually tried this yet, but I think chopped fresh jalapeño added to the batter would be amazing! If you try this be sure to let us know in the comments below.
- Nuts - add a large handful of chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter when adding the halved cranberries.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Rosalie says
Lori,
While the recipe looks devine, with cranberries, we were in for the simple, so we left out the cranberries etc and needed to decrease the liquids so left out a little of the maple syrup. It turned out great anyways. Can't wait to make the cranberry and also the jalepeno cornbread. We are so grateful for your creativeness in the kitchen. Thanks, Rosalie
Rose_Anne says
Absolutetly delicious, Lori. Thank you!
Monte Hill says
These are the bomb! My partner and I are digital nomads, heading back on the road in just a few days. I needed to use up some staples I had bought for our 2 month stay in Asheville, and had a simultaneous craving for cornbread. I found your recipe and ... woah! It checked all my boxes. Coarse-ground cornmeal shines in these little jewels!
I made some alterations based on what I had on hand: I halved the recipe. I did not use the cranberries. (Don't be sad. It's great to know how versatile these babies are!) I did use the almond milk substitution and only about a fourth of the maple syrup.
I baked them in one of those cheap 6-cup aluminum pans you buy at the grocery store. Because of this, I feared they would stick, even with cooking spray, but they slid right out, perfectly intact! No egg? Who knew!
I also love, love, love your suggestion of jalapeno. You can bet I'll be making these again and will give that a try. FanTAStic recipe!
Suzi Gilmore says
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were tremendous! I'm serving them for Christmas too! Thanks for so many gluten-free recipes! I come to your website often--for inspiration and great recipes!
Heather says
Made these today. Absolutely delicious and something I would have never thought to put together.