Spiced Orange Buckwheat Muffins – Gluten-Free, Healthy & Delicious
These spiced orange buckwheat muffins are giving me all the Christmas feels! Zingy, light, and packed with bursts of dried cranberries for that perfect sweetness. 🌟 Made with gluten-free buckwheat flour (but can easily be swapped for regular flour), they’re the ultimate treat for the season.
These spiced orange buckwheat muffins always remind me of Christmas. They’re light, zingy, and full of flavour, with just the right amount of warming spice. My secret to soft, moist muffins? A generous mix of yogurt and oil. Dried cranberries add a chewy sweetness and festive flair in every bite.
Made with naturally gluten-free buckwheat flour, this recipe is perfect for anyone avoiding wheat—but it also works beautifully with regular flour if that's what you have.
Despite its name, buckwheat isn’t related to wheat at all. It’s a seed from a flowering plant in the rhubarb family, making it both gluten- and grain-free. The flour is often a soft grey-green and, luckily for us bakers, finely milled and perfect for light, fluffy muffins.
A little rustic, a little elegant—these muffins are made for slow mornings, festive afternoons, or anytime you crave a nourishing treat.
Ingredients
- Buckwheat flour – 200g (about 1+1/4 cups)
- Greek yoghurt – 170g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp)
- Sunflower oil – 75ml (1/3 cup)
- Small orange – zest and 2 tbsp juice
- Light brown sugar – 90g (about 1/2 cup firmly packed)
- Dried cranberries/ or fresh – 65g (1/2 cup)
- Vanilla – 1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon – 1 tsp
- Mixed spice – 1 tsp
- Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
- Bicarbonate of soda– 1/2 tsp
- Pinch of salt
- Eggs – 2
- Orange crystal pearl sugar (optional)
Method
- PREHEAT oven 190˚C, 170˚C fan
- PAPER line or grease a 12 cup muffin tray
- WHISK flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Add in sugar and stir in to combine
- WHISK yoghurt, eggs, vanilla together then pour into the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- ADD in juice, zest and cranberries and stir until combined.
- SPOON into muffin tray about 2 heaped tablespoons per muffin.
- ADD sugar sprinkles
- BAKE – 15-20mins until golden brown
- COOL slightly before eating
Sue Maree P Baking Tips
- FLOUR – buckwheat flour weighs more than regular flour so I would suggest using your scales if you are swapping out the flour
- YOGHURT – fresh out of yoghurt you could add milk instead, I haven't tested this yet, but I would suggest about 1/2 cup and make it into buttermilk by adding 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice. Or sour cream would work also.
- SUGAR – no brown sugar you could try white sugar instead.