Cherry Muffins
This cherry muffin recipe creates big, beautiful muffins topped with a simple vanilla glaze. Soft and moist, these are the best muffins, bursting with sweet cherry flavor in every bite!
I know a lot of people like donuts. And I’m definitely in the vegan donuts crowd! But I swoon for muffins, especially when berries are involved. Are you with me?
I wanted to make this cherry muffin recipe easy, delicious, and affordable (fresh cherries are pricey). You don’t need to go to a bakery when it’s so easy to make homemade cherry muffins recipes at home.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Applesauce added to the batter creates undeniably moist and tender muffins
- Cornstarch added to the flour helps soften the proteins, creating a softer crumb
- Frozen cherries means you can skip the pitting, and you can make these muffins all year long, even when cherries are not in season.
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Let’s begin by talking about the key ingredients:
- Vegetable oil — I used canola oil, but any vegetable oil will do (even melted coconut oil).
- Coconut sugar — to keep these muffins on the healthy side, I used coconut sugar, but any granulated sugar will do.
- Applesauce — I love adding unsweetened applesauce to my baked goods. It’s a great way to add moisture to these muffins.
- Almond milk — I like using almond milk, however, any plant-based milk will work for this recipe.
- Ground flaxseed — This is a great egg replacer in baked goods.
- Cornstarch — I use cornstarch alongside flour because cornstarch can improve the texture of baked goods.
- Apple cider vinegar — You won’t taste it in the finished muffin, but vinegar helps create fluffy muffins.
- Flour — I recommend all-purpose flour. Substitute 1:1 gluten-free baking flour to make gluten-free cherry muffins. Use whole wheat pastry flour (different than whole wheat flour) to make healthy cherry muffins.
- Frozen cherries — I find frozen cherry recipes to be more affordable, and because they’re already pitted, it’s much easier too!
I love recipes with frozen cherries because it makes cooking with cherries much easier. This from a woman who used to have a cherry tree in her yard! I would spend hours picking and pitting those cherries. Trust me, frozen cherries are great!
How to Make Cherry Muffins
Do you ever wonder what to make with frozen cherries? If you have a bag hanging out in your freezer, you’re going to love transforming them into delicious cherry muffins! Here are the steps:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin pan with papers or spray compartments with a light coating of vegetable cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, sugar, applesauce, milk, ground flaxseed, cornstarch, and apple cider vinegar.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Add the cherries to the flour and gently toss to coat. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir gently, until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake 20–22 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Muffins should be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days or can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make Cherry Muffins:
Step One: Combine Wet Ingredients
In a medium bowl stir together the oil, sugar, applesauce, milk, ground flaxseed, cornstarch, and apple cider vinegar. Set this aside.
Step Two: Combine Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the frozen cherries to the flour and gently toss to coat. This helps prevent the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the baked muffins.
If you prefer sour cherry muffins, be sure to purchase sour cherries. There’s no denying tasty tart cherry muffins!
New to Vegan Baking?
The idea of making cookies, cakes, or muffins without eggs or dairy can seem like a hill too tall to climb. But with the simple tips in my Guide to Vegan Baking, you’ll be baking like a vegan pro in no time!
Step Three: Make the Batter
Next, pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir gently, until just combined.
Spoon the batter evenly into prepared muffin tins. I like to use a cookie dough scoop or a measuring cup to distribute equal amounts across all the muffin compartments.
Step Four: Bake
Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
When the muffins are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving. If you want to add the vanilla glaze, allow them to cool completely first. I like using this simple vegan royal icing on top with a little vanilla added for flavor.
Storage Tips
Cherry muffins should be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days or can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Vegan Cherry Desserts
For even more delicious vegan cherry muffins, be sure to check out these tasty vegan cherry recipes:
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Cherry Muffins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup applesauce , unsweetened
- 1 cup almond milk , unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups frozen cherries
- optional vanilla glaze (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Line a standard muffin pan with papers or spray compartments with a light coating of vegetable cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, sugar, applesauce, milk, ground flaxseed, cornstarch, and apple cider vinegar.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Add the cherries to the flour and gently toss to coat. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir gently, until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake 20–22 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Muffins should be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days or can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2020 and was updated to include new text in 2021.
These were awesome.
Moist and delicious. I’ll definitely be making these again. My three grand children loved them as well!!
Thanks, Chrisy! I’m so glad to hear you all loved these muffins. They’re a favorite here, too!
As the author of this cherry muffins recipe, I’m pleased to report it’s both easy to make and delicious!