For those of you who have specifically asked for gluten-free recipes… this easy recipe was created just for you! These muffins are so yummy, you’ll never guess they are gluten-free!
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
We love these gluten-free muffins!
This recipe doesn’t contain any specialty ingredients (because I realize that not everyone keeps xantham gum in their pantry), and no one will ever guess these soft, fragrant muffins don’t contain any wheat.
But there’s more. With a few simple adaptations, this recipe can also be fat-free (almost) or dairy-free (see my notes below)… and still taste amazing.
My family can’t get enough of them!
Food issues aside, though, these muffins stand on their own. We love to eat them at breakfast time, snack time, or as “dessert” at dinner time. Yum!
Ingredients for Oatmeal Spice Muffins
- 3 ½ cups quick oats (use gluten-free if it matters to you)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup pecans, chopped (optional)
- ¾ cup applesauce (or oil)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel (you can substitute lemon)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/3 cup sugar, mixed with ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Ingredient Variations
FAT FREE (almost):
- Use low fat milk
- Leave out the nuts
- Brush the tops of the muffins with a tiny bit of water instead of butter before dipping them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture
DAIRY FREE:
- Substitute dairy-free milk (we like almond milk)
- Use melted coconut oil instead of the butter
How to Make Gluten-Free Spice Muffins
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a muffin tin.
2. Put oats into a blender and blend until they reach a flour-like consistency.
3. Dump the oat flour into a mixing bowl and add baking powder, salt, nutmeg and pecans and mix well.
4. In another bowl, mix together the applesauce, sugar, eggs, orange peel, vanilla and milk.
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
6. Pour batter into greased muffin tins, filling each ¾ full.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 14-18 minutes.
8. While muffins bake, melt butter in a small bowl and mix cinnamon sugar in another bowl.
9. Let muffins sit for 5 minutes after they come out of the oven.
10. Remove muffins from tin, dip the tops in melted butter and then cinnamon-sugar.
11. Place on cooling racks until they are fully cooled.
Gluten-Free Oatmeal Spice Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups quick oats use gluten-free if it matters to you
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup pecans chopped (optional)
- ¾ cup applesauce or oil
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons orange peel finely shreddedyou can substitute lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons butter melted
- 1/3 cup sugar mixed with ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a muffin tin.
- Put oats into a blender and blend until they reach a flour-like consistency.
- Dump the oat flour into a mixing bowl and add baking powder, salt, nutmeg and pecans and mix well.
- In another bowl, mix together the applesauce, sugar, eggs, orange peel, vanilla and milk.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Pour batter into greased muffin tins, filling each ¾ full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 14-18 minutes.
- While muffins bake, melt butter in a small bowl and mix cinnamon sugar in another bowl.
- Let muffins sit for 5 minutes after they come out of the oven.
- Remove muffins from tin, dip the tops in melted butter and then cinnamon-sugar.
- Place on cooling racks until they are fully cooled.
Notes
- Use low fat milk
- Leave out the nuts
- Brush the tops of the muffins with a tiny bit of water instead of butter before dipping them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture
- Substitute dairy-free milk (we like almond milk)
- Use melted coconut oil instead of the butter
Nutrition
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What are your favorite gluten-free muffins?
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 6, 4, and 2). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
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Can I sub something for the refined sugar?
I loved these!! I substituted gluten free whole oats, skim milk, and skipped the nuts. I can’t wait to try adding dried cranberries to them. They will become a new staple at our house! The kids ( two 4-year olds, a three-year old, a two-year old, and 12-month old) all gobbled them right down!
Thank you SO much for these! I’m always trying to find recipes that adhere to dairy and gluten free standards, and use regular pantry items that we have. I’m so excited to taste them. Bringing these to a mom’s group tomorrow:)
Found these this morning on Pinterest, and we loved them! Thanks for your hard work so that I can feed my family well on a hurried Friday morning when everyone’s crying feed me!!
Thank you, Brigette! Going gluten-free has been a process of trusting God for me. Instead of saying, “I deserve bread or cookies [even though they make me sick] because I don’t want to be different than my friends.” I’m asking for God’s help when I start to crave those comfort foods. It’s been fun to find recipes *delicious* gluten-free baked goods like this one that I am delighted to share with my gluten-tolerable friends! I served them at my small group breakfast this week and all of the girls went back for another! I’m looking forward to the banana chocolate chip muffin recipe you mention!! Should I look for it here?
This article may help clarify what I was talking about in the above post –
http://www.harraways.co.nz/healthy-living/hf-gluten.html
I appreciate the article link! This recipe was geared more toward those with wheat sensitivities, rather than full-blown celiac disease (because honestly? My friends with celiac aren’t going to be eating anything that comes out of my kitchen because I DO use wheat in other recipes, and there would be a chance of cross contamination). It is true that some people with celiac are also allergic to (certified gluten-free) oats as well. Generally those people are well aware of their allergies and read every label or ask questions before consuming anything -especially homemade. 🙂 Speaking personally, all my friends with celiac or gluten allergies/sensitivities are able to eat gf oats without a problem. You are absolutely right, though… If you have a wheat allergy, check for an oat one as well. If you’re thinking of making these for someone with celiac, check with them ahead of time to see if they eat oats.
It might be worth noting that most people with coeliac disease cannot tolerate oats as the protein is nearly identical to the gluten protein, plus they are often contaminated with wheat during the milling process (I guess if they are certified as gluten free this means they were milled in a plant where there is no gluten containing cereals processed). Just check before you feed these to coeliacs or gluten intolerant people as although some people can tolerate oats, many cannot and would have a nasty reaction from eating something they thought was gluten free.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! We made them today and they turned out excellent. I made a few substitutions to make them dairy free, but I am excited to share them with my mom tonight – she rarely can eat baked goods with the rest of us due to needed to eat gluten and dairy free, so I really appreciate this recipe!
Oh, I’m so glad!!! I hope your mom likes them too. 🙂
I tried to pin this, but pinterest blocked it.
I’m really sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know – I’ll see if Crystal can fix that. 🙂
I *think* I fixed the Pinterest button code. Let me know if it doesn’t work.
Think egg replacer or more applesauce would work ? My son is allergic.
I would go with egg replacer. I haven’t actually tried it in this recipe, but I’ve had pretty good success with using it in muffin recipes. Let me know if it works!
Anyone know about how many calories per muffin?
Somewhere around between 150-160 calories per muffin (for full-fat version, including the nuts). The low-fat version would be significantly less, so go for that if you’re worried about too many calories -still quite good!
These look so yummy! Muffins are one of my favorite foods because they’re so easy to freeze…must try these!
I love that they freeze so well too! Hope you like these. 🙂
These muffins looks delicious!
Can you use raw sugar? If so, would you use the same amount?
Thx!
Yes, you can use raw sugar, and yes just use the same amount.
Those sound sooo good! I will put that recipe on my to-bake list.
Sounds really good! Thanks for sharing.
Mmm! We’ve been moving towards consuming less gluten around here, so the timing of your recipe is just right! Thanks! 🙂
Oh, good! Hope you enjoy these!!!
Do you know if these freeze well? Thoughts?
Yes!
Two questions: Have you ever tried using old fashioned oats instead of the quick cooking oats (old fashioned is usually what I have on hand)? And, have you ever tried them without the orange/lemon peel (I don’t normally have either of those things either)?
I haven’t tried it with rolled oats… But if your blender can grind them to a powder, it will work. You want approximately 3 cups of oat flour total, so you might need a slightly different amount of rolled oats than quick (3 1/2 cups quick oats grinds to about 3 cups of “flour”). I think the orange peel adds ALOT, but they will still be good without it. 🙂
I use rolled oats as flour in many of my recipes and haven’t had a problem substituting one for the other in muffins before.
Yum!!! Would mashed banana work for applesauce (yes, I’m too lazy to lug out the Vita)? Thanks 🙂
Texture-wise, it would probably work. It would end up being different flavor-wise, but probably still good ( the applesauce isn’t a strong flavor in these muffins, where I’m guessing the banana WOULD be). Let me know if you try it… Btw, I just made some super yummy banana chocolate chip muffins today using oat flour as well ( gluten- free, dairy-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free, and completely fat-free except for the chocolate chips!), so if you like banana recipes, I’ll probably post that one a few weeks from now. 🙂
Oh wow, that’d be awesome!!! No worries about the banana flavor- we love it!
Can you tell me how to find the banana chocolate chip muffin recipe? Thanks. 🙂