Moist, fluffy orange muffins made from freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest for incredible flavor, then baked high to the sky!
If you love muffins as much as we do, be sure to make these lemon blueberry muffins, these popular pumpkin oatmeal muffins and these lemon poppy seed muffins are always such a hit.
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Easy Orange Muffins Recipe
This easy muffin recipe yields moist muffins infused with real orange flavor and beautiful high-rise muffin tops that look like they’ve come straight from the bakery. The sprinkle of coarse sugar on top is optional, but a highly recommended way to give them something extra!
It’s a simple muffin recipe where you mix wet and dry ingredients and bake them until done. Nothing complicated; however, the beautiful citrus flavor from the fresh orange juice and zest makes them stand out. The citrus is both tangy and sweet yet delicate, and it has such a fun flavor to brighten up even the gloomiest of days.
Enjoy a muffin or two for breakfast on the go, or have a basket of muffins on the table for brunch with a morning coffee. I also love them as an afternoon snack with my tea.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this easy recipe. Scroll down to the full recipe card with amounts.
- Granulated sugar: Just your everyday white sugar will work to add sweetness to these orange muffins.
- Butter: I use unsalted, melted butter, so that way I can control the amount of salt I add separately.
- Canola oil: Adding oil to muffins is the fat that is needed to keep them nice and moist.
- Large eggs: To bind the muffins so they don’t crumble and fall apart.
- Whole milk: I use whole milk, but any other milk, like 2%, 1%, or skim milk, will do. You can also use unsweetened almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk.
- Orange juice: I encourage you to use fresh squeezed orange juice from whole oranges, but orange juice from concentrate is also doable.
- Pure vanilla extract: A delicious flavor enhancer.
- All-purpose flour: Measure it accurately to avoid dense muffins. Use a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method to prevent adding too much flour.
- Baking powder: This is what helps keep the muffins fluffy and soft.
- Orange zest: Be sure to zest the orange before you juice it.
- Salt: Brings out the flavors in the muffin.
- Coarse sugar: A little sprinkling on top of the muffins for presentation, added texture, and sweetness.
Variations You Can Make
1. Replace canola oil with vegetable oil. Both have a neutral flavor, and either one will work.
2. You can also swap the oil with apple sauce or greek yogurt for lighter and fewer calorie muffins.
3. Add dried or fresh cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips, poppy seeds, or slivered almonds.
4. Drizzle the muffins with a simple orange glaze of ½ cup of powdered sugar mixed with a tablespoon or 2 of milk and a teaspon of orange zest or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
5. Almond extract would be a great vanilla substitute. Or for extra orange flavor, use orange extract.
6. During citrus season, you can have fun with this recipe! Use it to make lemon muffins or lime muffins next time.
7. Swap out a ¼ cup of the flour for whole wheat flour or almond flour.
How to Make These Bakery Style Muffins
These muffins come together in a few easy steps, and it will take just 40 minutes from beginning to first bite!
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, and canola oil. Then add the eggs, milk, orange juice, and vanilla.
Step 2: In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, zest, and salt.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just barely combined. Do not over mix!
Step 4: Portion the muffin batter equally into the muffin cups, all the way to the brim. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar, if desired.
Step 5: Bake the muffins in a preheated 425° F oven for 5 minutes so the tops have a chance to expand, and then lower the temperature to 350° F and bake for another 15 minutes.
Let them cool in the muffin tin before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pro Tips
- Bring the eggs and milk to room temperature. They will blend easier together, and it also helps with even baking.
- The muffin batter will be thick. Be careful not to overmix it. Doing that will get rid of too much air and activate the gluten, leaving behind dense muffins.
- Spray the muffin tin really well. After all, you want them to pop right out of the tin without leaving any pieces behind. Muffin liners are great to use as well.
- You’ll know they are done baking if you stick a toothpick into the center of one of them and it comes out clean.
How to Store Leftover Muffins
Refrigerate: Keep muffins in an airtight container to lock in moisture. They will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freeze: To freeze them, place them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature before consuming.
Reheat: If you want to warm yours up a bit, zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
FAQ’s
Sure, you can! That’s an easy way to turn these into gluten-free orange muffins. Try a gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour or oat flour.
If you have the extra time, you can rest the batter for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. This is to allow the dry ingredients to absorb more liquid and for the baking powder to fully activate. This is purely optional, however, and won’t make or break your delicious orange muffin recipe.
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Orange Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter unsalted, melted
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Coarse sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F and spray a muffin pan very well with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the white granulated sugar, melted butter, and canola oil and whisk together.1 cup granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons butter, ¼ cup canola oil
- Then add the eggs, milk, orange juice, and vanilla extract and whisk to combine well.2 large eggs, 1 cup whole milk, ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, orange zest and salt and stir to combine.3 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon orange zest, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until they are just barely combined– the batter will be thick but be careful not to over-mix or the muffins won’t be as fluffy.
- Divide the batter between holes of the prepared muffin tin, filling each one all the way to the top for a nice big bakery-style muffin!
- Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar, if desired.Coarse sugar
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425° F and then reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. (don’t remove the muffins from the oven when decreasing the temperature.
- Remove from the oven and let the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove them and place them on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclosure
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
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