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    You are at:Home»Dairy-Free Recipes»Alisa's Recipes»Healthy Power Muffins that Happen to Be Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Nut-Free!

    Healthy Power Muffins that Happen to Be Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Nut-Free!

    76
    By Alisa Fleming on September 4, 2012 Alisa's Recipes, Bread, Breakfast, Dairy-Free and Fit Blog, Dairy-Free Recipes, Dairy-Free Snack Recipes

    For years I’ve been attempting to replicate the Power Muffins of the former Capers grocery stores in Vancouver B.C. Those very dense muffins were an entire meal, and an indulgence that Tony and I enjoyed once a week with a big mug of hot tea after a leisurely walk. When Whole Foods took them over, they attempted to keep the power muffin legacy, but their version just didn’t measure up. The healthy gluten-free muffin recipe below is by no means identical to those original power muffins (which were made with spelt flour and quite a bit of oil!), but they truly reminded me of them and gave that same comfort food feeling.

    Healthy Vegan and Gluten-Free Power Muffins Recipe (also nut-free, soy-free, hearty, and delicious!)

    Healthy Power Muffins that Happen to Be Vegan, Gluten-Free & Nut-Free!

    Unlike the original power muffins, this is a vegan (egg-free!) and gluten-free muffin recipe (made with buckwheat flour instead of spelt). My recipe also has less oil and less added sweetener, so they can be enjoyed nearly every day, rather than as an occasional indulgence.

    However, there are a few special ingredients that make this dairy-free and gluten-free muffin recipe reminiscent of power muffins past. First are the shelled hemp seeds (I use the Hemp Hearts from Manitoba Harvest). These little morsels are a textural delight. If you don’t have any hemp hearts on hand, the muffins will still be good, but not quite as powerful. Second is my husband’s favorite ingredient, dark chocolate chunks. And finally, the hearty whole grains. I was actually a bit surprised at how the buckwheat almost mimicked the earthy flavor of spelt, but without gluten.

    Beyond breakfast, we’ve found these plant-based power muffins to be a great portable snack. They go well in lunch boxes or supply packs for a day out hiking or on the ski slopes. I’ve included a few notes on how to adapt these muffins, if desired, but we love them as is. Enjoy!

    Healthy Vegan and Gluten-Free Power Muffins Recipe (also nut-free, soy-free, hearty, and delicious!)

    Special Diet Notes: Gluten-Free Power Muffins

    By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, optionally vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.

    4.8 from 4 reviews
    Healthy Vegan & Gluten-Free Power Muffins
     
    Print
    Prep time
    10 mins
    Cook time
    30 mins
    Total time
    40 mins
     
    These are very hearty muffins, just the way we like them. If you prefer healthy muffins that are a touch lighter, and you aren't vegan or allergic to eggs, you can blend in 1 large egg with the wet ingredients. But truthfully, we prefer the egg-free version. For us, wholesome and hearty is what usually hits the spot!
    Author: Alisa Fleming
    Recipe type: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Serves: 9 hearty muffins
    Ingredients
    • 1¼ cups buckwheat flour
    • ¼ cup tapioca starch
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda (reduce to ¼ teaspoon above 3000 feet)
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1⅓ cups mashed banana (3 to 4 bananas)
    • ¼ cup coconut oil (or your favorite baking oil)
    • ¼ cup honey or maple syrup (for vegan) (see notes)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ⅓ cup hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds)
    • ⅓ cup chopped dairy-free dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips, cacao nibs, or a combination (we've liked all three!)
    Instructions
    1. Preheat your oven to 375ºF and grease or line 9 muffin cups (unless you are using silicone muffin cups; they work best ungreased).
    2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the buckwheat, tapioca, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    3. In a mixing bowl, blend the banana, oil, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla until relatively smooth with just some small banana lumps remaining.
    4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
    5. Stir in the hemp seeds and chocolate.
    6. Divide the batter between the 9 muffin cups, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until slightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (well, aside from possible a little melted chocolate!).
    7. Serve with hot tea or pack along in lunch boxes.
    Notes
    We use just ¼ cup liquid sweetener in this recipe, which makes them just sweet enough, and not too sweet for enjoying in the morning. If you like muffins a touch sweeter then you can increase the honey or maple syrup to ⅓ cup.
    3.5.3229
    POWER Muffins Recipe - healthy, easy, naturally gluten-free, nut-free and vegan!

    Alisa Fleming
    • Website

    Alisa is the founder of GoDairyFree.org, Food Editor for Allergic Living magazine, and author of the best-selling dairy-free book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living, and the new cookbook, Eat Dairy Free: Your Essential Cookbook for Everyday Meals, Snacks, and Sweets. Alisa is also a professional recipe creator and product ambassador for the natural food industry.

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    76 Comments

    1. Ash on May 25, 2015 4:47 am

      Great recipe! My husband has a buckwheat allergy so I used quinoa flour and they turned out amazing! Best allergen free muffin recipe thus far!

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on May 25, 2015 1:15 pm

        That’s fabulous! Thanks for letting us know another viable flour option for my muffin recipe Ash!

        Reply
    2. Megan Todt on May 21, 2015 10:59 am

      I loooooove these. Really the best allergy friendy muffin I have made. I have been making these for years now. My favorite flour to use is food for life sprouted buckwheat flour because it is just a touch lighter than regular buckwheat flour. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on May 22, 2015 6:41 am

        Fantastic!! And thank you for the flour recommendation – I wasn’t aware they made sprouted flour!

        Reply
    3. Laura on March 21, 2015 6:57 pm

      You can make a flax “egg” or chia ” egg” by soaking 1 TBS chia or flax meal with 3 TBS warm water (per egg) for 10 minutes instead of using chicken eggs.

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on March 21, 2015 8:29 pm

        Hi Laura, this recipe doesn’t contain any eggs – it’s vegan – so you don’t need to use an egg sub!

        Reply
    4. Stacy @Stacy Makes Cents on February 7, 2015 1:30 pm

      These are AWESOME!!!! I made them with fresh ground wheat flour. My kids gobbled them down – and I was kinda sad because I didn’t want to share. 🙂

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on February 7, 2015 5:40 pm

        That’s great! So glad your family is enjoying my recipe Stacy 🙂

        Reply
    5. Sarah on December 3, 2014 7:54 am

      Hi there

      Great recipe, the very first that stands up to gluten-containing cakes that I’ve tried.

      One question, if using nibs, do I grind down completely, partially or leave whole?

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on December 5, 2014 8:19 am

        I use them whole – depends on if you like the crunch!

        Reply
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    11. Tatyana on December 10, 2013 8:09 pm

      Surprisingly good even without the chocolate! Made 12 regular size muffins. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on December 11, 2013 1:45 pm

        Glad you liked them Tatyana!

        Reply
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    13. Rachelle on October 31, 2013 9:58 pm

      BLESS YOU! I needed an allergen-free muffin recipe for my 5 year old free of wheat, dairy, egg and cane sugar and the texture is better than any I’ve found so far. I like the fact that there is a not a super strong banana flavor. I can’t wait to try different variations (swapping in pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice… applesauce…. peach puree… peanut butter and cocoa powder….) For other cook’s reference, I got great results swapping out the hemp hearts for ground flax seed I had on hand and arrowroot powder for the tapioca flour.

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on November 1, 2013 2:38 pm

        Yay! Glad my recipe has been so wonderful for you! I appreciate you sharing your modifications and hope that you equally enjoy those flavor variations!

        Reply
    14. Sue on October 17, 2013 12:27 pm

      HI Alisa: These look really great. And I agree that Whole Foods has made these muffins too sweet, and overall heavy, so that afterwards one feels sick, rather than empowered!

      One question: I would like to know a good substitute for tapioca, that is not corn starch, which I do not use. Would arrowroot flour work? Or something healthier than that? I’m not averse to using eggs. Also, would apple sauce work as well as bananas/

      thanks, Sue

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on October 21, 2013 11:23 am

        Hi Sue, in general, any starch (arrowroot, corn or potato) should work in place of the tapioca with slight variation – we just like the tapioca best as it is lighter than cornstarch and less expensive than arrowroot.

        Applesauce “should” work well, but it does tend to be more watery than bananas (and less sweet), so I would keep an eye on the consistency and taste test. I like pureed pumpkin better as an alternative. If you wish to use eggs, you could trial reducing the fruit puree to 1 cup and adding 2 medium to large eggs.

        Reply
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    19. Melissa on July 15, 2013 2:43 pm

      This is definitely a winner, Alisa. I love the idea of these power muffins and I’m thinking I have all the ingredients on hand. We’re headed out of town for a very short road trip Wednesday. These will be in our cooler! Thanks. What a great recipe!
      Melissa

      Reply
    20. Lana on July 2, 2013 7:30 am

      Hi Alisa:

      I would love to try these muffins. What is a good replacement for the tapioca flour? I’m not gf, so do not stock these gf ingredients. I also do not use eggs.

      Has anyone tried subbing a flaxmeal goop for the tapioca flour?

      Many thanks

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on July 2, 2013 7:41 am

        Lana, cornstarch (preferably non-GMO) is the perfect substitute. Flax will be too heavy.

        Reply
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