The most delicious and easy Vegan Raspberry Muffins! These are light, fluffy moist and taste even better than a bakery muffin. The perfect balance of sweetness and tangy juicy raspberries, with a buttery oat-streusel topping.
Jump to:
For the Love of Muffins
As a toddler mom, I love a good handheld snack and muffins are one of my favorites, because they can be made ahead and freeze well. I typically lean on the healthier side when I’m making them for meal prep like my hidden veggie Chocolate Zucchini Banana Muffins. Or for a healthy grab-and-go breakfast, you can’t beat my Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins, Vegan Bran Muffins or my Healthy Vegan Homemade Muffins.… but that said, I also love a sweet treat and sometimes you just want a sweet bakery muffin. These Vegan Raspberry Muffins are exactly that – they’re a treat that is light, fluffy, moist and super easy to make with everyday pantry ingredients.
Key Ingredients
- Applesauce – Use plain, unsweetened, smooth applesauce, like Mott’s, Musselman’s, Tree Top, or Great Value. This is what makes these muffins so moist and acts as an egg-replacer to bind the batter. Do not use sweetened, cinnamon, or chunky-style applesauce.
- Milk – I’ve listed oat milk in the recipe card but any unsweetened and unflavored milk will work here. The only one I wouldn’t recommend is coconut milk as it has a stronger flavor.
- Neutral oil – Use a mild liquid oil such as canola, sunflower, or vegetable oil. Do not use coconut oil. Coconut oil firms up as it cools and doesn’t work well with applesauce, it will make the muffins heavy and dense.
- Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice – Either works here, the acid reacts with baking soda to help the muffins rise. Do not skip or your muffins won’t be as fluffy.
- Raspberries – Fresh raspberries give a cleaner look, but frozen raspberries work fine without thawing, but the color might streak a little.
- Rolled oats – must be rolled oats, don’t use quick oats or steel cut.
Instructions
Step One: Prepare the streusel by mixing the dry ingredients, then stirring in the oil and water until crumbly. Set aside.
Step Two: In one bowl, combine all dry muffin ingredients and mix well to evenly distribute the leavening.
Step Three: In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, applesauce, and oil until smooth, then add the milk, acid, and vanilla.
Step Four: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in the raspberries and rolled oats.
Step Five: Divide the batter into the muffin pan, leaving a little space at the top, then sprinkle each with streusel.
Step Six: Bake until set, let cool briefly in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Storage
These muffins are best the day they’re made, but leftovers still hold up really well. Once completely cool, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I usually pop one in the microwave for 10 or 15 seconds to get freshen them up on day 3.
They freeze well too – wrap them individually in clingfilm to protect them from freezer burn.
Expert Tips
Gently fold the raspberries in last and stop early – overmixing is the fastest way to tough, flat muffins.
FAQ
Yes but do not thaw them first, use them frozen and work quickly. As they thaw in the batter, color may streak but it’s normally not too noticeable after baking.
Usually it comes down to overmixing. Once the flour goes in, stir just until combined and stop. I’ve learned the hard way that “one more stir” is often one too many.
Rolled oats – don’t use quick oats and definitely not steel-cut oats, they don’t soften the same way and will not work.
Let them cool. Vegan muffins set as they cool, and if you break into them too early they can fall apart and feel dry even when they’re not. Wait 15 minutes before testing one (even though it’s hard).
More Muffin Recipes
Vegan Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour approx. 240 g
- 2 tsp baking powder approx. 8 g
- ½ tsp baking soda approx. 2 g
- ½ tsp fine salt approx. 3 g
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar approx. 132 g
- 6 tbsp unsweetened applesauce approx. 90 ml
- ¾ cup oat milk approx. 180 ml
- 6 tbsp neutral oil canola, vegetable, sunflower; approx. 90 ml
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, approx. 15 ml
- 1 tsp vanilla extract approx. 5 ml
- 1½ cups fresh raspberries washed and dried; approx. 240 g
- ½ cup rolled oats approx. 50 g
- ¼ cup light brown sugar approx. 50 g
- ¼ cup rolled oats approx. 25 g
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour approx. 30 g
- 2 tbsp neutral oil approx. 30 ml
- 2 tsp water approx. 10 ml
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175 C. Line ½ cup/120ml wells in a muffin pan with liners.
Make the streusel:
- In a small bowl combine the sugar, oats, and flour. Stir to distribute everything evenly.
- Pour in the oil and water. Use a fork to stir vigorously until everything is wet and forms crumbles.
Make the muffins:
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to evenly distribute everything. Mixing all the dry ingredients ahead of time will reduce the amount of stirring needed and lead to more tender muffins.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, apple sauce, and oil. Beat with a hand mixer on low speed (or a hand whisk) until smooth and well combined.
- Add the oat milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
- Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Fold in the raspberries and rolled oats.
- Scoop into prepared muffin wells, filling each with 1/4″/6mm space remaining.
- Sprinkle the streusel mixture on each muffin.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing and allow to cool completely.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Best the same day. Store in the fridge for up to three (3) days and reheat before eating.
Notes
Fresh vs Frozen: This recipe works best with fresh raspberries. Frozen raspberries will release more moisture into the batter. If attempting frozen raspberries, keep frozen and toss with 2 tbsp/15g flour before folding in. Oil choice: Any oil will work in this recipe. The best choices are very neutral flavoured oils like canola, sunflower, or vegetable. Melted coconut oil will strongly flavour the muffins and is not recommended for the way in interacts with apple sauce. Apple sauce: This is both the binding agent and some of the liquid, much as eggs would be. The pectin in apples acts as the binding agent to provide structure without the muffin getting tough from overworking the gluten in the flour.
Leave a Reply