These cranberry orange muffins combine the best of sweet, tart, and crunchy in an easy-to-make muffin!
These cranberry orange muffins include tart cranberries, the sweet zip of oranges, crunchy pecans, and a streusel, making them a fabulous treat for breakfast or dessert!
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Seasonal fresh cranberries are one of my absolute favorite holiday foods.
I love cranberry sauce so much that I even swirl it into my yogurt and oatmeal.
This cranberry streusel pie is one I could eat again and again. I could eat an entire loaf of cranberry bread or cranberry banana bread. And don’t even get me started with Instant Pot Nantucket cranberry pie (and of course, traditional Nantucket cranberry pie) {swoon}.
And when it comes to muffins? The pairing of cranberry and orange is where it’s at.
There’s just something about the sweet and tart combo that makes them irresistible to me! The citrus adds brightness to the pop of cranberries.
The texture of these muffins is more cake-like, soft and fluffy, which is perfect for housing the berries and pecans.
Plus, what’s not to love about muffins? They are basically the best way to bake something that’s versatile enough to be served at breakfast, or as a sweet treat dessert after dinner.
These are similar to something you might pick up at Starbucks, only they’re homemade!
I know you’re going to want to add these muffins to your holiday baking, too!
More Delicious Muffin Recipes:
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Easy German Muffins
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Banana Muffins with Streusel Topping
- Decadent Nutella Muffins
- Easy Pear Muffins
Tips for Making These Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins
I personally like to chop up the cranberries a bit before adding them to the batter. I find this helps to more evenly distribute the cranberries throughout the muffins, and allows the cranberries to really sweeten more.
While you can make these without the streusel topping, I think it adds so much! The orange-scented sugar in the streusel is just one more added layer of flavor.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Pecan Muffins
It’s easier than you think to make these delicious muffins!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Whole cranberries
- Sugar
- Chopped pecans
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Orange zest
- Vanilla extract
- Whole milk
- Vegetable oil
How to Make It:
(Full printable recipe is available below)
Chop the cranberries. First, you’ll use a food processor to chop up the fresh cranberries with a bit of sugar.
Combine dry ingredients. Next, you’ll whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Make the batter. Then, you’ll use a stand mixer to cream together some butter and sugar. Add in the eggs, orange zest, and vanilla until combined. Then add in the milk, followed by the cranberry mixture and chopped pecans, gently folding it in to combine.
Gradually add in the dry ingredients just until combined, creating the batter.
Scoop the batter into a prepared muffin pan.
Prepare the streusel. In a small bowl, combine sugar and orange zest with your fingers, until it’s nice and fragrant. Add in the flour and vegetable oil, continuing to mix with your fingers until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Add some streusel to the top of each bit of batter.
Bake. Bake the muffins in a preheated oven until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Notes and Adaptations:
- These muffins are freezer-friendly—just cool completely and wrap well before freezing.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can either roughly chop the cranberries with a knife or just leave them whole.
Recommended Equipment:
Cranberry Orange Muffins with Pecans and Streusel
These delicious cranberry orange muffins are the perfect combination of tart and sweet, with added crunch of pecans and streusel! They're a delightful breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup whole cranberries
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- Streusel Topping:
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a food processor, combine cranberries and 1 Tbsp sugar. Process in short bursts until cranberries are coarsely chopped.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, orange zest, and vanilla, beating to combine. Slowly mix in the milk until combined.
- Gently fold in the cranberry mixture and chopped pecans to combine.
- Gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Divide batter into the prepared muffin tin.
- In a small bowl, prepare streusel topping by combining sugar and orange zest, using fingers to mix it together until fragrant and pale orange in color. Mix in flour, followed by vegetable oil, until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Top each muffin with streusel topping.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Notes
- These muffins can be frozen--simply cool completely and wrap well!
- Feel free to omit the pecans if you need a nut-free treat.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can roughly chop the cranberries by hand, or just leave them whole.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 236Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 141mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
Dena Arntzen says
The step by step instructions omit the pecans. Wasn’t expecting that.
Chrysti Benner says
Thank you for catching that mistake, Dena! I’ll update it now. 🙂
Jennifer says
Hi there, your recipe is delicious. I did tweek it a little bit and use butter instead of oil for the crumble top, I also added white chocolate chips and dried cranberries in the end then the pecans,because I almost forgot them too lol. Definitely gonna make this recipe again!Delicious!
Chrysti Benner says
Thank you, Jennifer! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Carissa says
Do you think I could substitute whole milk with almond, soy or oat milk?
Chrysti Benner says
I think that would work fine, Carissa! I like the added fat from whole milk, as it produces a more tender texture, but it’s not a necessity. Enjoy! 🙂