These gluten-free Vegan Almond Flour Chia Seed Muffins are light and fluffy and tender, with the delicious crunch of chia seeds. Perfect food for breakfast or a snack. A soy-free recipe.
There are some breakfast food trends I simply cannot wrap my head around. Granola popsicles, anybody? Smoothie bowl?
I would rather put that granola back in a bowl and the smoothie in a popsicle -- or a glass.
But baking with nut flours? Now that's a trend I can run with, because it gives me such great things to eat as these vegan Almond Flour Chia Seed Muffins.
I honestly can't think of a better way to start the day, but these muffins would also work as an anytime treat. They are moist, full of nutty flavor, and have the divine and healthful crunch of chia seeds.
Cracking the recipe for the perfect Almond Flour Chia Seed Muffins took a little work, but these delicious little nuggets were well worth the trouble.
I've baked on and off with almond flour, but of late I've been trying to incorporate this healthy and delicious ingredient in more of my baked recipes, like the Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies I posted not long ago. I love the taste of almond flour -- it's almost buttery without the butter, and it really is quite perfect in baked goods.
I wanted to make this muffin almost entirely with almond flour, but cooking with any gluten-free flour presents a basic conundrum, because without gluten, it's almost impossible to get the baked good to hold a shape. I didn't want to use a gum, but after a couple of trial runs during which the muffins caved in after baking, I got over that hurdle by using a small amount of starch in combination with oat flour (use oat flour labeled gluten-free if you have Celiac Disease or are trying to avoid all gluten), and then using chia seeds, which absorb liquid and help build and maintain structure.
I really love the chia seeds in here-- besides adding a welcome crunch, they are nutritious as anything and a perfect food to start the day. There's very little sugar in here, and the muffins are lightly sweet without the almost cupcake-y, gummy sweetness you sometimes find in store-bought vegan muffins.
I'll leave you with the recipe now. Hope you guys have a fabulous weekend.
Vegan Almond Flour Chia Seed Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups superfine almond flour
- ½ cup gluten-free oat flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups nondairy milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup vegan cane sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- In a larger bowl, mix the wet ingredients using a whisk, and then add the dry ingredients in two batches, incorporating thoroughly each time. The batter will be a little more liquid than a typical muffin batter, but that's okay.
- Let the batter stand 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Divide the batter equally among all cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Unmold the muffins after they cool. These muffins are tender, so handle them carefully.
Nutrition
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More vegan breakfast recipes for your sweet tooth:
Vegan Breakfast Brownies with Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Frosting
Vegan Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Pancakes
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! It is PERFECT!
I modified this slightly to make lemon-chia muffins — I replaced the vinegar with lemon juice and added lemon zest. I also substituted the cornstarch with an equal amount ground flaxseed since I can't have corn.
The result was absolutely divine. The olive oil pairs amazingly with lemon.
I also made this recipe as a loaf, replacing the olive oil with a psyllium husk powder slurry for a little more firmness. It also came out perfectly!
THANK YOU!
Hi Alexandra, I love the idea of lemon-chia muffins--they sound divine. Good to know you baked it as a loaf. So happy you loved it!
My all time favorite gluten and corn free chia muffins. Delicious and super easy to make. I add wild blueberries.
So great to hear ❤️
You responded yes to Pam (Dec. 25,2017) asking about sub.all purpose flour for oat flour and leaving out the cornstarch. Why can you skip the cornstarch when using all purpose flour but using it with oat flour? What is the reason for the cornstarch or (tapioca) anyhow? THE 1st time I made these I followed recipe except I used tapioca starch and avocado oil instead of olive oil but didn't care for them. I am making them again using the way Pam did. They are in the oven now and I'm hoping I like these better. I will let you know. Thank you for your reply.
The cornstarch acts as an egg replacer to help bind the muffins, since there is no gluten here.
Any substitutions for the corn starch? I'm on board with all the rest.
Tapioca flour.
Hi,can I add cocoa powder in it to make it chocolaty...if so plz say what quandity. And instead of chia seeds can I add chocochip. Thank u.
Hi,can I substitue oats flour with coconut flour. Can I omit chia seed and add cocoa powder. Thanks.
These are great. Exactly as you said, they don't have that heavy cupcake consistency a lot of vegan muffins do, these are actually a bit fluffy. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome, happy you liked them!
what would be a good sub for the almond flour?
You can just use all purpose flour!
I don't have oat flour on hand and don't mind adding a little gluten. Could I substitute 1/2 cup all purpose flour for the oat and skip the cornstarch?
Yes that's fine!
Hi, do you think I could add blueberries to the almond flour chia seed muffins? Looks great, thank you!
Blueberries would add more moisture as they bake, so you might need to bake for longer. Be sure to do the toothpick test and bake longer if you get wet batter on the toothpick.
It looks beautiful & delicious!
Thanks!
Wait...GF chocolate chip cookies?!?! How did I miss that!
Hi Leslie, the chocolate chip cookies are not gf, unfortunately. But I would like to try making them so at some point.