Guest post from Brigette Shevy
For those of you who have specifically asked for gluten-free recipes… this recipe was created just for you!
And those of you who aren’t gluten-free? This recipe is for you, too. It 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. My family can’t get enough of them!
But there’s more. With a few simple adaptations, this recipe can also be fat-free (well, almost) or dairy-free (see my notes below)… and still taste seriously amazing.
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!
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*
- 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
*I don’t always keep applesauce on hand – so I often throw a cored medium/large apple into my vita-mix along with the cup of milk and blend until pureed (and then pour it back into the mixing bowl to combine with the sugar, eggs, orange peel and vanilla).
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Put oats into a blender and blend until they reach a flour-like consistency (I have a Vita-Mix and this only takes 5-10 seconds. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you may have to do this in a couple of batches).
Put the oat flour into a mixing bowl and add the 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 14-18 minutes.
While muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the melted butter and then the cinnamon sugar mixture.
VARIATIONS:
Fat-free (almost!) version: Use low fat milk, leave out the nuts, and 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 version: Substitute dairy-free milk (we like almond milk) for the regular milk, and use melted coconut oil instead of the butter.
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.
Gina says
Can I sub something for the refined sugar?
Stephanie says
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!
Darcy says
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:)
Andrea says
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!!
Maureen says
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?
Louise says
This article may help clarify what I was talking about in the above post –
http://www.harraways.co.nz/healthy-living/hf-gluten.html
Brigette says
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.
Louise says
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.
Carly says
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!
Brigette says
Oh, I’m so glad!!! I hope your mom likes them too. 🙂
BJMarley says
I tried to pin this, but pinterest blocked it.
Brigette says
I’m really sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know – I’ll see if Crystal can fix that. 🙂
Crystal says
I *think* I fixed the Pinterest button code. Let me know if it doesn’t work.
Cathy says
Think egg replacer or more applesauce would work ? My son is allergic.
Brigette says
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!
Christy says
Anyone know about how many calories per muffin?
Brigette says
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!
Heather @ My Kansas Life says
These look so yummy! Muffins are one of my favorite foods because they’re so easy to freeze…must try these!
Brigette says
I love that they freeze so well too! Hope you like these. 🙂
K says
These muffins looks delicious!
Can you use raw sugar? If so, would you use the same amount?
Thx!
Brigette says
Yes, you can use raw sugar, and yes just use the same amount.
Luba says
Those sound sooo good! I will put that recipe on my to-bake list.
Blessed Mama says
Sounds really good! Thanks for sharing.
Susan in St. Louis says
Mmm! We’ve been moving towards consuming less gluten around here, so the timing of your recipe is just right! Thanks! 🙂
Brigette says
Oh, good! Hope you enjoy these!!!
melissa says
Do you know if these freeze well? Thoughts?
Brigette says
Yes!
Sarah says
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)?
Brigette says
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. 🙂
Becky says
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.
Sarah says
Yum!!! Would mashed banana work for applesauce (yes, I’m too lazy to lug out the Vita)? Thanks 🙂
Brigette says
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. 🙂
Sarah says
Oh wow, that’d be awesome!!! No worries about the banana flavor- we love it!
Christy says
Can you tell me how to find the banana chocolate chip muffin recipe? Thanks. 🙂