Easy, healthy orange poppy seed muffins full of citrusy flavors that are perfect for breakfast or as a sweet treat. They are gluten-free, dairy-free and can easily be made refined sugar-free.
Oh boy, oh boy, I really don't want to be that girl who makes conversation about the weather, but man, this Parisian gloom is killing my spirit!
Why does it have to be so rainy and grey all the time? I don't mind the cold but I think I must have been a cat in another life because cloudy and rainy...I can't ????
I'm living at my mom's for a month and she's trying to make me believe it's not always like that this time of year (you know, like "defending" Paris and all).
And I'm like "yeah right Mum, remember I lived here for 23 years? You can't fool me, I wasn't always living in Australia!"
Ok, so technically since last April, I no longer live in Sydney, but since I haven't had a "real" home for the past nine months as we were traveling, I guess that's the easiest way to put it!
But anyways, I really can't wait to move to our new home in Tel Aviv in February (I'll be telling you more about this soon!). It won't be super warm yet, but at least it'll be sunny most of the time!
I think I've become dependent on sunshine ☀️
These gluten-free Orange Poppy Seed Muffins are little rays of sunshine - the perfect treat for a rainy day!
Is it grey and gloomy where you live too? I have an easy solution to lift our spirits and it's called "baking these pretty orange poppy seed muffins"!
Every time I'm making something with citrus – be it orange, lemon or lime, I feel like I'm eating a piece of sunshine and I instantly picture myself having a lovely picnic on a beautiful day.
Despite being healthy, these orange poppy seed muffins do not "taste" healthy. They have a great texture (see the pic below!) and are bursting with citrusy flavors thanks to the zest and juice of the oranges.
The poppy seeds add such a lovely crunch too!
I did use some confectioner's sugar for the vanilla glaze, but it's totally optional. The muffins are delicious without it so you won't feel like you're missing out if you want to skip it.
Without the vanilla glaze, I think they'd make a great low-sugar grab-and-go breakfast. I would personally drink a tea or infusion with two scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen to get a healthy dose of protein!
And if you do want to make the vanilla glaze, they'll be a perfect breakfast treat/snack to be eaten with a cup of tea or coffee! Enjoy ????
If you tried these gluten-free orange poppy seed muffins, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!
Healthy Orange Poppyseed Muffins with Vanilla Glaze {Gluten-free}
Easy + healthy orange poppy seed muffins full of citrusy flavors that are perfect for breakfast or as a lovely treat. They are gluten free + dairy free and can very easily be made refined sugar free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour or arrowroot
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil liquified
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoon orange zest from about 2 oranges
Vanilla Orange Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350F / 176C degrees.
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Add oats to a food processor. Pulse for 10-15 seconds or until oats become a gritty meal. Add to a large mixing bowl and whisk together with almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppyseed and salt.
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In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, orange juice + zest. Stir in to dry mixture, making sure to combine well.
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Line a muffin tin with muffin liners, then fill ¾ full. Bake for 15 minutes or until muffins are browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
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Make the glaze. Whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
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Once muffins have cooled, submerge the top completely with glaze, allowing to drip off evenly, then let set. Continue until all muffins are glazed.
Recipe Notes
TO MAKE REFINED SUGAR (PERFECT FOR BREAKFAST): leave out the glaze, it's very good without it too.
Kim @ Three Olives Branch
These look and sound absolutely amazing! I love breakfast muffins, I can't wait to try these. The orange and poppy seeds sound amazing together!
Marie
Thanks so much Kim!
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ
I love that these muffins are gluten free and the citrus and poppy seeds sounds like such a wonderful combination. Will definitely be putting these muffins on the to do list 🙂
Marie
Yay I hope you love them!
Cindy
Hmmm...I don't have poppy seeds on hand, but I do have chia seeds. Do you think those might work in a pinch? Never tried a substitution like that!
Marie
I wouldn't use chia seeds here. They do look like poppy seeds but they absorb a lot of moisture and will form a sort of gel and expand. The result will be more chewy than crunchy. But you can leave out the poppy seeds if you need to 🙂
Kristen
I use chia seeds all the time in muffins and breads! I think they are a great substitute for poppy seeds.
Ellen
I love orange anything! These will be perfect to take to work for a mid-morning snack.
Marie
Oh yes, definitely – I would love one right now 😉 Thanks Ellen!
Diana
I usually make lemon poppy seed muffins, but now will have to try and make them with orange. These look very tasty!
Marie
Yes me too, I love lemon poppy seeds treats but this is a nice chance from the more traditional combo 🙂
Jill
It's actually cold and snowy where I live - in Ohio. These sunny orange muffins would be a treat here too!
Marie
I'd trade snow over rain any day, but citrus treats are always welcome in both cases 😉
Stacey Dunn
What degree do you bake these at?
Marie
Oops so sorry about that! You bake them at 350F (176C). Just updated the recipe ????
MeCooks
That looks delicious. Worth trying at home.
Tamara
There is almond flour in the recipe but does not mention when to put it in. I assume it’s with the dry but I didn’t want to put it in if it wasn’t needed
Marie
Sorry about that Tamara, I just updated the recipe. You do add it with the dry ingredients 🙂
Raads
Hi! Could you make these vegan by substituting the eggs for aquafaba/flax/chia?
Marie
I haven't experimented myself but you could try adding 1 small, mashed banana as one of the eggs, then using 2 flax/chia eggs for the two other eggs. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Chandra
Hi! Have you ever tried adding the collagen to the muffins?
Marie
I haven't tried myself but I think it would work fine!
Sara
I made this recipe, but with lemon and coconut flour rather than orange and tapioca flour, and they turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Marie
So happy to hear Sara! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Cassie Levy
This was one of the best if not the best flourless thing I have ever baked. They are actually amazing. The texture is perfect
Yara
Hello! I just searched the net for healthy orange and poppy seed muffins and I’m so glad i tried these. Oh my gosh they are AMAZING!! I ran out of maple syrup so used honey and I used wholemeal flour as I don’t have gluten free flour. They were so yummy my 2 year old demolished a whole one straight away. Thank you for creating this recipe!
Marie
I'm so glad to hear that Yara, thanks so much!
Susan
These turned out great! Lovely flavour and texture. I used 1/3 cup of date puree instead of the maple sugar (blended dried dates with a splash of hot water). I also replaced 1 tablespoon of the almond meal with 1 tablespoon of flaxmeal (ground linseed) for extra nutrition. These muffins are going to become a regular favourite in our house!
Anne
Looks so good! Can I substitute the tapioca flour for cornstarch or potato starch?
Marie
Hi Anne! Thanks so much. Potato starch is gluten-free and can replace tapioca flour. However, it has a heavier consistency and may result in a denser product. Cornstarch is another gluten-free substitute for tapioca flour, but be sure to only use half as much cornstarch as you would tapioca.Hope this helps!