These hemp heart muffins are made with fresh cranberry and orange. With 7 grams of protein each from the hemp and oats these muffins make a super nutrient-dense snack, yet so delicious!
When I was little my mom would sprinkle hemp hearts on our salads and cereal, but these days I use them in so many more ways everyday! Try my other favorite hemp hearts recipes: including homemade RX bars, almond butter protein bars, and high-protein hummus.
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Inspiration for this recipe
I polled my community on Instagram and it was clear that a high-protein muffin was what everyone wanted! When I asked if I should use protein powder, nut butter or hemp hearts, hemp hearts were highly outvoted. Here we go with a delicious hemp orange protein muffin without protein powder. I adapted my blender orange muffins and my oat flour blackberry muffins to create these!
I tested this recipe with ground-up hemp hearts (hemp flour) as well as an increased amount of hemp hearts however I found it was a strong hemp flavor. In the end this recipe is perfectly fruit flavored and moist!
Ingredients needed
A few things to note about the ingredients:
- Oat flour: I make my own oat flour by blending rolled oats in the Vitamix or food processor for about 1-2 minutes until it becomes a fine grain. You will also find oat flour in the baking section or the healthy section of the grocery store or online. For another muffin recipe using oat flour try these healthy blackberry muffins!
- Orange: I prefer not to zest citrus fruit as I didn't grow it and I'm not sure what was sprayed onto the fruit when it was growing. Therefore, my method is to peel the orange and throw the whole thing into the blender (with the other wet ingredients) to get a fully infused orange flavor.
- Cranberries: I have tested this recipe with fresh whole cranberries and whole frozen cranberries, both work great! If using frozen berries do not defrost them first. I also tried the recipe with dried cranberries however I found a much more subtle flavor and prefer the berries that aren't dehydrated better.
- Hemp hearts: Using these tiny white and green seeds in the muffins increases the protein. Read more below.
Danika's Insight on Hemp Hearts
Hemp hearts support heart health, good skin, and digestion with their rich omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, fiber, and magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamin E.
In 3 tablespoons of hemp hearts, there is 9.4 grams of protein. A really great option for a plant based or whole food protein source. If you are wondering what to do with hemp hearts sprinkle them on salads, add to soups, or granola, and have in smoothies.
Hemp hearts vs hemp seeds: Hemp seeds have a harder shell that is a light brown and grey color, they are crunchy and are high in fiber. Hemp hearts have the hull removed and are light green and white in color. I like to use hemp hearts as the texture is much more subtle and easy to add to so many recipes.
Try my chocolate hemp smoothie, a delicious hemp seed breakfast recipe!
How to make healthy oat flour muffins
Follow along with these step-by-step photos from my kitchen. It's kinda like we are making them together.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In the blender container place the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and peeled orange. Blend for about 1 minute on high speed until everything is smooth and liquid.
- In a mixing bowl place the oat flour, hemp hearts, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a whisk to mix together well.
- Add 1 ½ cups of the cranberries and stir them into the oat flour mixture. When the berries are coated it helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins when they bake.
- Pour the orange blender mixture into the mixing bowl of dry ingredients and cranberries. Use a spatula to stir together about 10-12 times, just until combined (there may be a few streaks of flour still, but that's alright, it will mix in as the batter goes into the muffin pan, if not poke the flour into the liquid).
- Place muffin liners into a muffin pan (they are a must-use for this recipe for smooth removal). Fill each muffin cup all the way up, about ⅓ cup each. Place the remaining ½ cup of cranberries on top of the hemp muffin batter.
- Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven (425 degrees Fahrenheit) to bake for 8 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until they are fully baked.
Tips for hemp heart muffins
- Make sure the baking soda and baking powder you are using are fresh for a good rise.
- Let the muffins sit for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. When muffins are still hot they easily break, letting them cool slightly stops them from crumbling.
- Use cupcake liners. With the big tops it makes them easier to remove from the pan without breaking them! I have used silicone liners or paper liners for this recipe. I find when the muffins are in a grease pan or with paper liners they will bake 2-3 minutes faster than when they are in silicone liners.
Other healthy muffins you may like
Did you make these orange cranberry hemp heart muffins? Would you take 5 seconds to give a star rating and review just below the recipe? That means SOO much to me!! And it helps the growth of the Beside the Mountain blog. (Your email address will not be shown).
Fresh Cranberry Orange Muffins (with oat flour)
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup oil (look for a cold-pressed organic oil I use olive oil)
- ¾ cup white or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large orange peeled (about ¾ cup - 1 cup)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups (180 grams) oat flour (note below how to make your own)
- ⅓ cup hemp hearts
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups whole cranberries frozen or fresh
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and peeled orange into the blender container. Blend until everything is runny and well combined, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl place the oat flour, hemp hearts, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk until well mixed. Add 1 ½ cups of the cranberries and stir them into the flour. Pour the orange blender mixture into the mixing bowl. Fold together with a spatula just until mixed, about 12 folds.
- Place muffin liners into a muffin pan (don’t skip the liners as the oat flour will stick to the pan). Fill each muffin cup all the way up. Place the remaining ½ cup cranberries on the top of the muffins. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven (425 Fahrenheit) for 8 minutes and then turn the oven down to 375 Fahrenheit for 8 minutes to finish baking.
Notes
Nutrition
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. Let's make snacktime nutrient-dense, and well, easy.
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