Easy Paleo Orange Muffins (nut-free, dairy-free, coconut-free)
These Easy Paleo Orange Muffins have such a bright and sunny flavor, and are so good for you because of resistant starch cassava flour and collagen for added protein. Throw all the ingredients into your blender for a quick paleo breakfast, lunchbox treat, or after-school snack!
Bright and sunny food…
That’s what I’m craving now that Spring is finally here!!!
And what is brighter than fresh citrus flavors early in the morning for an easy paleo breakfast or packed into a child’s lunchbox or as an after-school snack?
I recently bought a giant, 10-pound bag of navel oranges and wanted a creative way to use them, so I thought MUFFINS. But, when I Googled “orange muffins”, all the recipes had cranberry or cinnamon.
Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a good cranberry-orange muffin, but I just wanted straight orange. Orange is definitely my favorite citrus flavor, and I use it a lot in my recipes — like this Chocolate-Orange Quinoa Granola and Chocolate-Orange Smoothie.
These easy Paleo Orange Muffins are sooooo yummy to my tummy. They’re light, the perfect texture, not dry, and simply delish! And BURSTING with orange flavor, thanks to orange essential oil!
Like, they’re literally good for the tummy because they’re not made with almond flour or other nuts — they’re made with a resistant starch called cassava flour!
Here’s What You Need To Know About Cassava Flour:
Cassava flour (purchase here for the best price) might just be the Holy Grail of gluten-free and grain-free flours. It’s made from the cassava root — a tuber similar to potatoes and yams.
Native to South America, it’s a prized food known as manioc or yuca.
Cassava is grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian. And, it’s definitely paleo because it’s been a traditional staple in the diets of South American people for at least 1,400 years (source) — unlike other “paleo” flours such as almond flour.
It also has a mild a neutral flavor — unlike many other gluten-free and grain-free flours. So, in this way, it’s quite similar to wheat flour. And yes, it can even be substituted 1:1 in recipes calling for wheat flour! You cannot say that about any other grain-free flours!
The reason cassava flour is so good for your gut is because it’s a resistant starch.
Resistant starch is a prebiotic that remains undigested (i.e., “resistant”) in the small intestine and then feeds microflora when it ends up in the colon. Its fermentation in the colon helps to provide a healthy inner ecosystem through the production of a beneficial short-chain fatty acid called butyrate, which induces differentiation of colonic regulatory T-cells. T-cells are responsible for creating healthy immune responses and reducing inflammation. With age, humans produce fewer T-cells, making it helpful to take in more prebiotic foods. It is common to observe improvement with issues such as constipation after increasing one’s intake of resistant starch. Heating and cooling cassava flour or root ensures that the cassava is safe to consume and also catalyzes production of cassava’s resistant starch. (Source.)
Other sources of resistant starch are tiger nuts (found in my Tiger Nut Trail Mix), Jerusalem artichokes, cooked and cooled potatoes and rice, and green plantains and green bananas.
I purchase my cassava flour from Thrive Market for the absolute best price. This product also gives me consistently great results.
Otto’s is another brand that is also reputable, and you can find it on Amazon.
I used cassava flour in these brightly flavored Paleo Orange Muffins to make them light and airy and also for their gut benefits.
Now, let’s talk about the other simple, nourishing ingredients in these sunny muffins!
What’s the best, nourishing fat to use?
Moving on to other ingredients in these easy paleo muffins, what about fat? It’s essential to keep these muffins moist, but not dense.
If you need to be dairy-free, you can use avocado oil, coconut oil, or ghee, if tolerated.
If you can’t have coconut or dairy, I recommend avocado oil. Again, I find Thrive Market to have the best price on avocado oil.
So, you can be versatile with your fat choices in these muffins to keep with your dietary preferences.
Sweetener Options
And what about sweeteners?
A granulated sweetener is best in this recipe. I have not tried it with a maple syrup or raw honey, but I would bet that a liquid sweetener would change the ratio of wet : dry ingredients.
I chose maple sugar for these Paleo Orange Muffins. It’s just sweet enough, but not overpowering, which I do not like. Also, it imparts a slight maple flavor to these muffins, and orange and maple is a flavor combo that is to-die-for!
If you aren’t concerned about being coconut-free, you can use an equal amount of lower glycemic coconut sugar.
Finally, if you already have it or prefer to not use whole sweeteners, go for your favorite low-carb sweetener, like Dietz Sweet or Lakanto. It’ll lower the carb count some, but that also brings me to the next question I anticipate from you…
Is or Can This Recipe Be Keto/Low-Carb/THM?
Y’all know I love a good, low-carb/keto treat and have tons of keto dessert recipes here on the blog. I even have an eBook full of keto desserts!
But, with the amount of carbs in cassava flour, it’s just not a keto-friendly flour.
I don’t eat 100% keto/low-carb, so I’m ok with that. If you do need to be keto and are seeking keto/low-carb baked goods, check out my Keto Chocolate Coconut Donuts, Keto Matcha Donuts, and Keto White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins.
Do I have to use orange essential oil?
Using two whole oranges — pulp, juice, and zest — really pumps up the orange flavor of these cheerfully flavored muffins. Yet, I found after baking that much of the orange flavor disappeared — as often happens. It just wasn’t as orange-y as I was hoping for.
So, I amped up the orange flavor even more with orange essential oil! <– Save 10% on my favorite essential oils with my discount code NOURISHING10!
I love using essential oils to flavor my food, especially baked goods. It really does pump up the flavor and make it stand out, as I believe it should. I mean, if you’re gonna have an orange muffin, you really want that orange flavor to pop. And it does in these bright Paleo Orange Muffins!
Furthermore, for those of you who are like NO WAY when it comes to ingesting essential oils, just know that any “benefits” from the oil disappear due to the heat of the oven. So, these muffins aren’t anti-bacterial or anything and won’t do any harm to your insides. 😉
If putting essential oils in your food still makes you squirm, you can use organic orange extract instead.
Is The Collagen Necessary?
Yes! These muffins are meant to be higher in protein so they’re not pure carbs.
Using hydrolyzed collagen — a pure source of grass-fed protein that’s also good for your gut, skin, hair, and joints — adds an additional 40 grams of protein!
It also is part of the dry ingredients in this recipe.
Perfect Supplements Hydrolyzed Grass-fed Collagen is the only brand I use. You can save 10% off my favorite collagen and any other Perfect brand product by using my readers-only discount code ALLTHETHINGS!
How To Make These Easy Paleo Orange Muffins
Y’all know I don’t do complicated…
So, these happy morning muffins are getting made in your blender!
I have a BlendTec, which I love, love, love — but any regular blender will do the trick.
Don’t have a blender? No problem. Mix by hand or with a hand mixer or stand mixer, just as you would any muffin recipe. I just love the blender batter method because it’s so darn easy and quick.
So, put the ingredients IN THE ORDER LISTED into your blender. It’s important that the liquid ingredients go in first.
Add the orange zest and orange insides (avoiding the white pith and removing seeds first) to the blender. Next, add room temperature eggs and fat of choice (melt your fat first if it’s solid).
Then, start adding your dry ingredients: cassava flour, collagen protein, orange essential oil or extract, baking soda, salt, and vanilla.
Blend on low speed, or if using a BlendTec, use the Batter setting. You will likely need to stop the blender a time or two to scrape down the sides for an even blend.
Once blended, divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups. I have a vintage muffin tin that’s made from aluminum, so I always use muffin liners like these.
Ok, now that you have the ingredients and the method, let’s make these yummy, freezer-friendly, easy Paleo Orange Muffins that have the gut-healing benefits of collagen and resistant starch!
Oh, and this recipe was inspired by my dear friend Emily at Recipes To Nourish who has a super awesome recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins! Check it out!
Easy Paleo Orange Muffins (nut-free, dairy-free, coconut-free)
These Easy Paleo Orange Muffins have such a bright and sunny flavor, and are so good for you because of resistant starch cassava flour and collagen for added protein. Throw all the ingredients into your blender for a quick paleo breakfast, lunchbox treat, or after-school snack!
Ingredients
- 2large navel oranges, zest & flesh
- 2eggsroom temperature
- 1/2cupavocado oilmelted coconut oil or ghee also work, if tolerated
- 1/2cupmaple sugaror coconut sugar or low-carb sweetener of choice
- 1-1/2cupscassava flour
- 1/4cupPerfect Supplements collagenUse my code ALLTHETHINGS to save 10%!
- 4dropsorange essential oilor 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1teaspoonbaking soda
- 1teaspoonvanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with liners.
To your blender, add the ingredients in the order listed.
Blend until a smooth batter forms. You will likely need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides for an even blend.
Evenly divide the batter in each muffin liner.
Bake for 15 to 19 minutes. The tops should begin to brown a bit and a toothpick inserted should come out mostly clean with a few crumbs.
When done baking, remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes.
Store in an airtight container or zip-top bag on the counter for 1-2 days, then refrigerate if there are muffins remaining. These also freeze well!
Pin it!
More Easy Paleo Breakfast Goodies You’ll Love…
- Super Simple, 5-Ingredient Paleo Breakfast Hash
- Instant Turmeric Bone Broth Latte — just add water!
- No-Fail Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs
- Grain-Free, Low-Carb Belgian Waffles
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Pancakes
What’s your favorite muffin flavor? Do you bake with cassava flour?
These muffins make me so happy! Love the orange color and flavors. It’s a must make to welcome Spring.
I need to do egg-free for my son. Is there a particular egg replacer you think might work best with this recipe, or should I just give flax or chia a try and see what happens?
Many thanks!
I would give the flax/chia thing a try and see what happens. The only bad result I can imagine is that they won’t rise quite as much. So you could slightly increase baking soda to compensate? Please let me know if you try it and what the outcome is!
Do you zest the oranges, discard the rest of the peel, and toss in the segments, or do you chop oranges and toss them in?
Yes, I zest first. Then I cut the oranges in half and use a spoon to scoop out the pulp. I pull off any white pith that might come out with the orange because it’s bitter. Then I discard the peels.