Buttery, moist, soft Vegan Cherry Muffins. Full of almond flavour & bursting with juicy cherries in every bite!
💌 SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email and I'll send the link straight to your inbox.
Watch out for more tasty treats coming your way too! Unsubscribe at any time.
Almonds and cherries are the perfect marriage and you're going to love them in these soft and fluffy vegan cherry muffins.
And the good news is you can also use dried or frozen cherries if you don't have fresh. That means you can make them even when cherries aren't in season.
Ingredients
This is what you will be needing to make my vegan cherry muffins and why:
- All-purpose flour or oat flour - You can use regular all-purpose flour or you can use oat flour. Both give great results. (The muffins in my photographs are made with oat flour). The quantity of flour varies slightly for each so make sure you take note of that when making them.
- Almond flour - Just like my vegan almond cake, these muffins are made with almond flour. It gives the muffins a lovely buttery flavour. It also acts as the "fat" in this recipe. There is no other fat source so it is really important it isn't subbed for anything else.
- Sugar - It must be a light coloured sugar for this recipe or it will take away from the lovely cherry and almond flavours. Sugar is important for structure as well as sweetness in cakes/muffins so don't omit it.
- Baking soda and baking powder - In egg-free recipes it's important to use both to make up for the leavening eggs would otherwise provide.
- Apple cider vinegar - Reacts with the baking soda to create lift.
- Salt & almond extract - Flavour!
- Applesauce and non-dairy milk - For moisture and binding. Any dairy-free milk will do such as oat milk, soy milk, cashew milk, or almond milk.
- Slivered almonds - For decoration and texture.
IMPORTANT: Check your baking powder and make sure it does not contain aluminum. This is because the aluminum can react with fruits like cherries and raspberries and turn everything a lovely shade of blue. It can also affect the flavour a little. Aluminum-free baking powder is easy to get at most grocery stores.
As for equipment, nothing more than a 12 well muffin pan is required. I love my USA Pan Muffin Pan. No liners are required because it releases so well. A cherry pitter would be nice too if you're using fresh cherries to avoid stained fingers.
How To Make Vegan Cherry Muffins
Wondering how to make eggless cherry muffins? It's as simple as mixing the dry ingredients together, adding the wet ingredients, folding through the cherries, then spooning into your muffin pan. Full and detailed ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card below.
Success Tip - Be sure to follow my tip about starting the oven really high and turning it down after 5 minutes. It helps make muffins extra light and fluffy!
Variations
Some ideas for making this Vegan Cherry Muffin recipe your own:
- Omit the almond extract and add some chocolate chips
- Use blueberries or raspberries instead of cherries
- Make orange cherry muffins by adding orange zest and orange extract instead of almond extract
- Fancy them up with piped vegan cream cheese frosting
- Drizzle on a simple powdered sugar glaze. Mix half a cup of powdered sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water or non-dairy milk. Just enough milk to make a thick drizzle-able glaze. Stir until smooth then drizzle over the cooled muffins.
More Cherry Recipes
Recipe
Vegan Cherry Muffins
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour , see recipe notes for gluten-free option
- ½ cup (60 grams) almond flour
- 1 cup (200 grams) cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder , it must be aluminum free
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup (254 grams) applesauce , unsweetened
- ½ cup (120 mls) plant-based milk
- 1½ cups (336 grams) fresh pitted, frozen or dried cherries , (no need to defrost if frozen)
- ½ cup (40 grams) flaked or slivered almonds
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425°F and prepare a muffin tin. Either grease it or line with liners.
- Add the flour, almond flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a bowl. Mix together well.
- Add the almond extract, vinegar, apple sauce and milk (use milk ONLY if using all purpose flour and not oat flour), to another small bowl or jug and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until it is just combined. Do not overmix.
- Add the cherries and stir them gently through, then spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tins so they are about ¾ full. Sprinkle the tops with the flaked/slivered almonds and get into the oven as quickly as you can.
- After 5 minutes in the oven turn the temperature down to 375°F (don't open the door) and cook for another 12 - 15 minutes. A tooth pick inserted into one of them should come out clean after that time. If it doesn't give them a minute or two more.
- Once cooked leave for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack.
NOTES
💌 SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email and I'll send the link straight to your inbox.
Watch out for more tasty treats coming your way too! Unsubscribe at any time.
NUTRITION
This recipe was originally published on September 22nd 2016. I've updated it with some new content and a video and am now republishing it for you. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!
Tom says
Simple, trouble-free recipe with excellent results! It helped to rotate the pan a few minutes before the end to ensure even cooking. Dried cherries worked well.
Stephanie Zick says
Wonderful; I cut the almond extract to 1 teaspoon, used half brown sugar and subbed in puréed sweet potato instead of applesauce. Our kids love these muffins and they’re wonderfully nutritious for an on the go breakfast! Thanks for the great recipe
Rosebud says
Perfect! Turns out perfect every time.
I tested 3 different pans to see which pan was best for baking. The dark pan was tops, 2nd was a regular pan, 3rd was a Wilton pan (turned out too dark).
Maureen Cram says
Made these yesterday as a friend bought me cherries at a really good price for here in South Africa so I had plenty to use! We had them for dessert last night and called them cupcakes and will be eating them for breakfast this morning as muffins :). Not too sweet but really tasty. Another great recipe - thanks so much :).
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed them Maureen!
Maureen says
Just a note for anyone using frozen cherries as I did for the second time of making... I let them thaw out and..... put the package in the fridge and took out another package of still frozen cherries and used them! Didn't realise how much liquid frozen cherries can have as they thaw out!! We used the thawed out ones for a smoothie so didn't go to waste!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes always use frozen fruit in the state it's called for in the recipe. If a recipe needs it to be defrosted it will say. For baking it will almost always go in frozen because otherwise, you'll end up with batter that's more liquidy than intended which will affect how the recipe turns out, and it will be stained whatever colour the fruit is.
Marcia says
I love this recipe!! I made the gluten free option. I used only a 100 grams of sugar, for those who prefer a little less sweet, also added blueberries.
It was amazing, I’ll be making them again. Thank you for such a great recipe!!!
Nicole De Wilde says
Just a fantastic recipe. Made mine with oat flour and monk fruit/erythritol sweetener and fresh blueberries from our garden. Fabulous. Thank you!
RB says
Very good recipe, easy to follow, oven timing was right on! ******Thank you!******
marquis | realrawkitchen says
I am SO excited to make these :) I love baking fruit into breads and this is such a great vegan recipe I imagine would work well with lots of different fruits. I don't have any applesauce but I do have apples... I should be able to blend the apples and use that, yeah? Or do blended apples have a different consistency than regular applesauce?
A Virtual Vegan says
Blended uncooked apples won't work in this recipe because they wouldn't be as liquidy or soft and would cause the flour to liquid ratio to be off. To make your own applesauce, just peel some of your apples, core them, chop them up and put them in a pan with a couple tablespoons of water. Cook with a lid on 'til they are soft then blend or mash them up to a puree. You can make extra and keep it in pots in the freezer. Hope that helps!
Kerstin says
Just made the muffins and they so good, however when I make them again, I will reduce the sugar by at least half. They are too sweet for me. But as long as cherries are available, I will make them again. So good, thank you
Simran says
Hi what's the substitute for apple sauce?
A Virtual Vegan says
The recipe hasn't been tested with anything other than applesauce. It's the best option if you want great results :O)
beth says
I was thrilled to see the gluten-free option in the subject line of the e-mail but so sadface when I clicked over here and see that almond flour is required. I am allergic to treenuts, among other food allergies too. I've been gluten-free for nearly a year now and dearly miss baking from scratch and I rarely ever buy gluten-free sweet treats at the store because they are so expensive.
I don't mean to be so whiny, it's definitely nothing personal to you, I know it's time consuming (and possibly pricey since you are buying your own ingredients) to create your fabulous *free* recipes that you share. I just wish I could make more of your recipes.
Harjinder says
Can I use tinned cherries if I have difficulty getting fresh ones.
A Virtual Vegan says
I wouldn't use tinned cherries because they are way too wet and would end up making the muffins damp. Frozen or dried cherries are fine though.
Harjinder says
If I freeze tinned cherries and then use them , do you think that might work?
A Virtual Vegan says
Tinned cherries aren't the best for baking with because they are too wet. Even if you freeze them the liquid will still be present and come out as they defrost. You will likely end up with soggy patches of sponge around each cherry. Fresh or dried cherries are best to use. Or glace cherries.
Harjinder says
Thank you Mel for your advise.. I will try with an alternative fruit.
Sandy says
I just made these using the regular flour because I didn't have enough oat flour and was too lazy to grind it. They are sweet and crunchy and delicious, I am freezing xsome cherries for the next time when I want to try the oat flour method. I may risk decreasing the sugar but don't want to sacrifice the testure.
Thank you for a new favorite recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you enjoyed them Sandy. I like both versions but I think I prefer the oat flour ones. They are a little lighter and more delicate which I like. I haven't tried them with less sugar. You should be able to lose a few tablespoons without too much damage though. I hope you enjoy your next oaty batch just as much!
Jim Manning says
Mel: These are fantastic! The taste and texture is amazing , all the more so given that there is no added fat or shortening in the recipe. My wife made a batch of these this afternoon using homemade almond flour, oat flour and applesauce. We live on a small island so sourcing "specialty" ingredients can be challenging. I was skeptical about not needed any additional moisture (plant-milk) with the oat flour, but the batter and the finished muffins were perfectly moist. We will be making another batch very soon - not just because my wife and I love be them, but because while my wife was bringing me the first muffin from the batch back in my home office, our petite little 100 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback was in the kitchen helping herself to the remainder of the muffins off the cooling rack! I rate them Five-Stars, Matilda rates them Five-paws!
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh no! Naughty Matilda! She obviously has good taste though ???? I'm so glad you at least got to eat one. Hopefully Matilda won't take a fancy to the 2nd batch. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know that you (and Matilda) enjoyed them. I really appreciate it!
jacquie says
those look great - i bet they would work with blueberries or other fruits as well. Do you think i could reduce the sugar by half? that seems like a lot given the sweetness of the cherries and the applesauce (i know it is unsweetened but apples are still sweet) thanks.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! Blueberries would be great in them. As for the sugar, these muffins aren't overly sweet as they are, and if you reduce it, it will be a case of trial and error to see how much you can get away with, if any. Sugar doesn't just act as a sweetener in cakes and muffins, it also provides structure. If you reduce it you could affect the rise and texture. As long as you are willing to take the risk then give it a shot. I'm sure they would still be edible even if they do end up a little flatter.Good luck!
Alice says
Just made these and they were SOoooo goooddd! I had all ingredients but the applesauce on hand too, which is great!! The texture came out perfectly and they weren't too wet/moist which is a recurring problem I have with muffins. Thank you! I posted a pic on my instagram too, @pupsandpancakes , if you wanna see how it came out! :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks so much for sharing a picture on Instagram! They look great! I'm glad you were pleased with the texture. A pet hate of mine is claggy damp sponge so I make sure that doesn't happen in my muffins & cakes etc. Enjoy eating them all up and thank you for leaving feedback. I really appreciate it!
Alice says
Just made another batch and had to comment because I added chocolate chips and OMG it took them to a whole 'nother level....highly recommend .... !! (Also omitting the almond extract+almonds on top)
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh no! Now I have to make them again with chocolate chips! ???? So glad you are enjoying them and that is a great idea! Almost like Black Forest flavour. Yum!
Paula says
This is really good. I made a batch and a half and got 12 muffins out of it. I used the oat flour rather than regular flour. I baked them 15 minutes but they could have used one more minute. My muffins turned out blue but I should have folded the cherries in at the last rather than with the wet ingredients. This is a keeper. Thanks. I freeze lots of cherries when they come in season so I will have them for recipes just like this one.
A Virtual Vegan says
Check your baking powder. If you have one that contains aluminum it will make cakes etc turn blue with fruit like raspberries and cherries. The substance that makes the fruit red, reacts with the aluminum and causes the colour change. The same can happen with blueberries only they can turn green. Next time you need baking powder look for the aluminum free varieties. Bob's Red Mill makes one but most stores sell at least one these days. I will make a note of it in the recipe now to warn others! I'm so glad you like them though and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback!