Whole Wheat Orange Blueberry Muffins
These whole wheat orange blueberry muffins are egg-free and refined-sugar-free, and get a nutritional boost from chia seeds and antioxidant-rich berries.
Whole Wheat Blueberry Orange Muffins
My kids and I are always delighted to start the day with muffins! It always feels like a treat… cake for breakfast, anyone? Am I really allowed?
Absolutely. Because the most amazing thing about muffins is how indulgent they can feel even when we use healthy, whole food ingredients, and minimal sweetener.
These muffins fit the bill perfectly: they’re made with 100% whole wheat flour, antioxidant-rich berries, and tiny chia seeds that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
They’re sweetened with honey and fruit, and for all our readers who plan meals around egg allergies, we created these muffins to be egg-free too!
In the process of testing this recipe, we learned a little something about egg-free baking. And we thought we’d pass along what we know. Ready? Here we go.
Egg Substitutes in Baking
Eggs provide three main elements to baked goods, that must be replaced by other ingredients in egg-free baking. These elements are:
- Moisture
- Leavening
- Binding
In these muffins, we took care of moisture by soaking some chia seeds in orange juice. Easy!
For leavening (the rising-power of the muffins) we used lemon juice soaked in milk, plus baking powder. Together, these ingredients create a froth that translates to nice fluffy, well-risen muffins. Leavening: check.
Binding power is the easiest element to duplicate in egg-free baking, because grains usually have some binding power of their own. We used whole wheat flour, which is rich in gluten. (Gluten may have a bad reputation these days, but as long as you don’t have Celiac disease, don’t fear it!)
Using these techniques and ingredients, we were able to get a moist, fluffy muffin without eggs. Hooray!
Low Sugar Baking
Most muffin recipes call for a cup or more of refined sugar. But there’s really no need for a load of sugar that high (Unless you’re making me a birthday cake. Then we’ll talk.)
For an everyday breakfast recipe like this, we’re satisfied with the natural sweetness of blueberries, orange juice, and honey. They are PLENTY sweet, I promise!
They taste great right out of the oven, but if you’ve got leftovers, consider tossing some in a freezer bag for quick school-morning breakfasts. Just pull a couple of frozen muffins out of the freezer the night before, and by morning they’ll be ready to eat.
Treat yourself and your kids! Cheers.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes:
- Sweet Spinach Muffins
- Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
- Best Ever Bran Muffins
- Avocado Banana Muffins
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- Fruit and Veggie Muffins
Whole Wheat Orange Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1/8 cup orange juice
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 4 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 1/2 cup flour, whole wheat
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Place liners into muffin tin or spray with cooking spray.
- Combine chia seeds and orange juice in a small bowl; place milk in a separate small bowl or cup and add lemon juice. Set both aside for 10 minutes.
- Mix together chia mixture, milk mixture, oil, honey, and orange extract.
- In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Slowly pour wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. Don’t over mix!
- Fold in blueberries and orange zest.
- Equally divide batter among muffin cups, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.
- Serve with orange wedges on the side.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Can you sub coconut milk or almond milk on these muffins? Thanks!
Will non dairy milks like soy milk work in this recipe?
Just made these with soy milk and my daughter declared them “super.delicious”. We will definitely make these again.
Thanks Stephanie!! They were good, so I’m glad they worked as well with soy milk!
Just made these…they did not rise at all….I feel something is missing in the recipe. Doesn’t taste that good either
Hey Raj- sorry they didn’t turn out. I’d love to figure out what went wrong, considering my kids loved these! Did you let the milk and lemon juice soak? Did you let the chia seeds absorb the juice? What kind of oil did you use?
Could you use flax seeds instead of chia seeds?
Yes Crystal! They are both a great egg substitute.
The batter was very dry, is that normal?
Mine wasn’t dry at all @Michele. If you used a cup and a half of flour, there is just about that much in liquid ingredients between the milk, oil, juice, etc. So, the batter should be quite wet!
My batter was very dry too maybe the different type of honey? But I added milk until it was more like a muffin batter( half a glass) and they turn out to be amaZingly delicious! Thanks for sharing :). Oh and i didn’t have coconut either so i sprinkle sesame seeds which the kids loved it!
Can EVOO be used instead of Grapeseed oil? I also have coconut oil, but it’s unrefined and has the coconut flavor.
Kelly- Personally, I don’t like the taste of EVOO in baked goods. Grapeseed oil is very mild in flavor and a good choice for baked goods. They sell it at most major stores now, even Walmart.
I triple checked the recipe and my batter was very dry, like that of a pizza dough. 1/8c OJ (which the Chia seeds soaked up) + 1/3c of milk + 1/3c of oil + 4 T. Honey + juice from 1/2 a lemon is maybe 1c total liquid. What am I missing?
Diana- the batter wouldn’t be runny like cake batter, but drier. How did they turn out after you baked them? Also, were you using fresh or frozen blueberries?
My batter was very dry, couldn’t get the blueberries to incorporate. They didn’t rise when baking nor did they spread out – they were the same shape as when I put them in the oven. Muffins were dry – my kids wouldn’t touch them. I think I’ll stick to regular muffin recipes from now on.
I’m sorry they didn’t turn out Colette! We live at high altitude, and as such, we add more flour to our recipes.
The recipe reads 1/3 tablespoon, is it supposed to be 1/3 cup of coconut oil?
Yes Melissa! Thank you. fixing now.
How important is the orange extract? I have everything in my kitchen except that. Are these better with fresh or frozen blueberries?
Not that important! You could just use vanilla extract.
Fresh is best, but off-season, I always use frozen.
You lost me st whole wheat flour unless “ you have celiac”. We do not have celiac but have a positive IGg test for antibodies for gluten and wheat. Rashes , stomachs aches, joint pain and fatigue follows if we eat these ingredients.
Please do not spread misinformation that could harm others who have good sensutivities that cause the body to attack itself . It is not limited to Celiac sufferers.
Yummy and just the perfect amount of sweetness!
Doubled recipe and it did not make 24 muffins, only 18.
The batter here ended up being too dry for me as well. Even to mix it I had to add two tbsp. each of milk and of oil, which then increased my cooking time to about 18 minutes. The flavour is great, and I love that it’s an egg-free way to make these. Great idea about souring the milk too.
Is the batter supposed to smell mouldy?
We haven’t noticed this- it could be one of your ingredients? Or maybe just the combination of the orange juice with the other ingredients?