Similar to my vegan lemon muffins, these bakery style muffins are tall with a beautifully moist crumb and they are bursting with citrus flavor.
Fresh orange zest is featured in the batter, streusel topping, and citrus glaze. While the topping and glaze are optional, they do add so much extra orange flavor to the muffins!
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🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make the recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Fresh Oranges: These moist orange muffins pack in the zest of 4 large oranges and the juice of 2-3! Make sure you zest your oranges before juicing them, and wash them well before use. I used half regular orange and Blood orange as they give a gorgeous color. Feel free to use any sweet oranges like Cara Cara, Valencia, or Navel oranges.
- Sugar: I like to use raw superfine sugar (golden caster sugar) as makes for incredibly moist muffins. You can opt for granulated or cane sugar, or brown sugar which will add a lot of moisture too, and a slightly caramelized flavor.
- Non-Dairy Milk: I recommend soy milk, but you can use oat milk or almond.
- Vegan Greek Yogurt: Thick, greek-style yogurt works best, but coconut yogurt or vegan sour cream can also be used.
- Olive Oil: I use extra virgin olive oil, feel free to use a lighter vegetable oil like sunflower or canola oil if you prefer a more subtle flavor.
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🔪 Instructions
Here are step-by-step images to give you a visual of how to make these fluffy orange muffins. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
Step 1: In a jug, mix the freshly squeezed orange juice and non-dairy milk, and set aside.
Step 2: Combine the sugar and orange zest in a large mixing bowl and rub it between your fingertips to release the natural oils and orange flavor.
Step 3: Whisk in the vegan yogurt, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Mix the dairy-free milk and orange juice into the rest of the wet ingredients.
Step 5: Fold in the dry ingredients in 2 parts (all purpose flour, baking powder, and sea salt).
Step 6: To make the orange crumble topping, first rub the orange zest into the sugar in a small bowl. Then rub in the flour and butter until it resembles a crumble consistency.
Step 7: Divide the muffin batter amongst the paper liners, filling them to the top of the pan. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the muffins before baking.
Step 8: Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool fully before drizzling the orange glaze on top.
💭 Recipe Tips
Zest only the bright outer zest of the oranges. The inner white pith is bitter and can leave an unpleasant flavor.
Bake muffins at a higher temperature for the first 5 minutes. The initial burst of heat promotes super high muffin tops, by activating the baking powder more quickly.
Don't fill each well with muffin liners. Leaving a cavity empty between each muffin helps them to bake more evenly by allowing the hot air to circulate around them, which helps them bake up taller!
𓇢 Possible Variations
This easy orange muffin recipe makes a great base for additions. Here are some ideas:
- Cranberry orange muffins: Add a cup of fresh cranberries to the muffin batter for a festive spin. Note that this will increase the volume and yield of muffins.
- Orange poppy seed muffins: Add 2-3 tablespoons of poppy seeds to the muffin batter.
- Orange lemon muffins: Swap one of the oranges for the zest of a lemon or even a couple of fresh limes for a citrus twist!
- Extra crunch: Add some chopped nuts to the crumble or a sprinkle of coarse sugar on top of the muffins before baking.
💬 FAQs
Keep the muffins in a sealed container or ziplock bag at room temperature. They will stay fresh for up to 5 days, but you can extend their shelf life in the fridge for up to a week. Let them sit at room temperature for an hour before serving if stored in the refrigerator.
For sure! You can freeze them in an airtight container or ziplock bag, and then defrost them for a couple of hours before serving.
I'm afraid not, as sugar not only sweetens but creates moist fluffy muffins. If you're after a muffin recipe with less sugar, try my vegan date muffins instead and add a few tablespoons of orange zest to the batter.
🧁 More Vegan Muffins
📖 Recipe
Vegan Orange Muffins With Fresh Orange Glaze
Ingredients
Muffins
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) soy milk *note 1
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) orange juice freshly squeezed *note 2
- Zest of 3 large oranges *note 3
- 175 g (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) golden caster sugar (superfine) *note 4
- 180 g (¾ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt *note 5
- 100 ml (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) olive oil *note 6
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour sifted
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Orange Crumb Topping (optional)
- Zest of ½ large orange
- 25 g (2 tablespoons) golden caster sugar (superfine) *note 4
- 45 g (6 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
Orange Icing (optional)
- 90 g (⅔ cup) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vegan yogurt
- Zest of ½ large orange
- 1 teaspoon orange juice freshly squeezed *note 2
Instructions
- Mix milk and juice: In a jug, mix the soy milk and orange juice for the muffins. Set aside.
- Flavor the sugar: Add the orange zest and sugar to a large mixing bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar crystals feel "wet".
- Mix wet ingredients: Add the vegan yogurt, olive oil, and vanilla extract to the orange sugar and whisk. Add the milk and orange juice mixture and whisk again.
- Combine dry ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Make the batter: Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 parts using a spatula. Fold the ingredients into the batter between each increment until there are no pockets or streaks of flour. Do not be tempted to overmix!
- Rest the batter (optional): Let the batter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes - this promotes high muffin tops.
- Prepare the oven/pan: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 190°C(375°F) or conventional 210°C(410°F). Line 2 muffin trays with 10 muffin liners - leave a gap between each one as you will only be filling every second cavity. I use large tulip liners, if using regular baking cups the recipe will yield more muffins. I recommend only filling every second cavity as this promotes high muffin tops! The recipe will make 10 large muffins (or 8 jumbo muffins) - so if you only have one muffin pan I recommend baking them in 2 batches.
- Make the crumb topping: Rub the orange zest into the sugar using your fingertips until fragrant. Rub in the flour, and then the butter until it resembles a crumb consistency. Set aside.
- Assemble: Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, distribute the batter amongst the muffin liners, filling them to the top of the pan. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top.
- Bake at fan-forced 190°C/375°F or conventional 210°C/410°F for the first 5 mins. Then turn down the temperature to 170°C/340°F or conventional 190°C/375°F and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift them out of the tray and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool further for 30 minutes.
- Make the glaze: Mix all the ingredients until smooth. You can add more or less sugar depending on whether you want it runny or thicker. Drizzle the icing on top of the muffins once they have cooled.
Notes
- Soy Milk: Swap for almond milk or oat milk.
- Orange Juice: Zest the oranges first, then juice them. You will need 2-3 oranges, depending on size. I use half Valencia oranges and half Blood oranges.
- Orange Zest: I use 2x Valencia oranges and 1x Blood orange for the batter, plus 1x Valencia orange divided for the crumble and glaze.
- Golden Caster Sugar: Can be labeled raw superfine sugar, sub with cane sugar, granulated sugar, or light brown sugar.
- Greek-Style Yogurt: I use Alpro Greek-style plain yogurt (soy-based) sometimes labeled as Skyr or protein yogurt.
- Olive Oil: Or neutral oil like canola (rapeseed) or sunflower oil.
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