Today's vegan muffin recipe: Pumpkin Chai Spice Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins. Wait, what? That is all ONE muffin flavor? Yes. This is what happens when I go into starting a recipe without a clear plan in mind and two different cravings running through my head...
Blueberry Oat Muffins + Pumpkin Chai Spice Muffins.
I wanted to make one, but midway through making my pumpkin muffins I was filled with blueberry love and just decided to fold in a mega dose of giant organic blueberries. Then as I was scooping these crazy hybrid muffins into their cups - thinking that I had just wasted a baking session - I could admit that I was really curious to see what blueberry + pumpkin muffins would taste like. Swirled flavors. Hybrid muffins. Hm, if Ben and Jerry can do it with ice cream - I can do it with vegan muffin recipes!..
Two muffins in one.
So this is a nice sweet photo of the lovely muffins...
BUT..
I feel like you can't really judge a muffin until you crack that baby open..
....
And then the blueberry bliss explodes..
So the review.. LOVED THESE. One bite and I seriously thought I was in muffin heaven. I actually had this thought as I dove into my first warm, blueberry-filled, chai-spiced bite:
"Omg. This might be the best muffin I have ever tasted."
Best ever?... (one of the best for sure. they do kinda glow.)
So yes, try these. And knock out two muffin cravings in one blissful bite.
Healthy Points! Besides only being 129 calories per muffin, these muffins are LOADED with good stuff. Chia and flax seeds, rolled oats, a few sliced almonds, pure pumpkin, applesauce, warming spices, chai tea and VERY minimal (optional) oil. I just added in about one teaspoon just out of habit - but you can probably omit it altogether. Oh and did I mention the oodles and oodles of giant organic blueberries? I used frozen - but fresh would also be super.
You can use any flour you'd like - I just went with a basic unbleached organic white flour - soft and silky to even out the rustic quality of the other main 'grain' - whole rolled oats. Gluten free flours would be great in this recipe too.
Nutrition Facts (per muffin)
Calories: 129kcal, Fat: 2g, Carbs: 25g, Fiber: 3g, Proetin: 3g, Iron: 7%, Vitamin A: 48%
Pumpkin Chai Spice Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins
VEGAN, makes 12 small muffins
dry:
1 ¼ cups rolled oats
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon white flour, organic
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, organic
wet:
⅓ cup applesauce, unsweetened
¾ cup pumpkin puree, unsweetened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon vegetable oil (optional)
Seed Mix - "egg replacer":
½ cup boiling water + 1 chai tea bag (I used pumpkin spice chai) - strongly brewed
1 teaspoon chia seeds + 1 teaspoon flax seeds (or just use one variety)
fold ins:
¼ cup sliced almonds (or any nuts)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen + thawed)
spicy kick: add a few dashes of cayenne! (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease muffin cups.
2. Boil the water and steep the tea bag for a few minutes. Squeeze out as much chai flavor as you can and toss the bag. Then add the chia + flax seeds to the tea. Stir well and set aside for a few minutes.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add in the wet ingredients. Stir well - batter will be very thick at this point.
5. Fold in the tea + seeds to loosen the batter.
6. Fold in the berries and nuts.
7. Pour batter in muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for about 18-22 minutes - a bit longer if you use very frozen blueberries.
8. Cool. Eat. Big smile.
Tracy says
There is 1/2 cup of liquid in the egg replacer but part of it is the tea so depending on how much tea you add you may need 1 or 2 eggs but flax is pretty easy to find too. How that helps...
Tracy says
I have to agree...some of the best muffins I've ever made! I had to sub a few things because of what I had on hand...type banana instead of apple sauce, black tea but added cinnamon, nutmeg, & vanilla while steeping...basically homemade chai, & sprayed tin with coconut oil instead of song to batter...oh and pecans instead of almonds...but sooooooo good! Thanks for sharing your great recipes...this was the perfect jammies with Jesus Sunday morning breakfast!
Amy Boyer says
I just made these (with a few changes) and it worked great! Chopped strawberries replaced blueberries, a banana replaced applesauce, blueberry tea replaced chai (I added extra cinnamon to make it more chai-y). The batter was perfect and the muffins are delicious. Thanks for a wonderful pumpkin muffin that has built-in flexibility.
Sarah says
Can I used 1 egg instead of the egg replacement? I am not vegan.
vronniej says
Do you think lemon tea would work well?
Jessica Marie says
I kind of made these yesterday 😛
I didn't have any pumpkin on hand, but I did have some spotty organic bananas! Used the bananas in place of both the pumpkin and the applesauce. I also elected to use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/4 white flour. And I buy my oats mixed with flax and bran for some extra goodness. Turned out absolutely delicious.
Jen says
I'm an awful baker and really bad at finding vegan recipes that i love...THIS CHANGED MY LIFE!! Thanks for sharing!
Brooke Thompson says
Love this recipe! I added pumpkin pie spice, used large muffin tins with parchment paper and topped with extra sliced almonds. Fantastic breakfast on the go!
stacey says
I'm on a pumpkin kick and just made these with spelt flour. Oh so tasty! Thanks for sharing
Hilary says
These are Fabulous!! Used homemade canned apple-butter in place of the applesauce and added a bit less sugar (apple-butter was sweetened). This has inspired me to bake with more adventurous flavor combinations.
Kathy Patalsky says
Either works!
caitlyn says
do i have to use whole flax seeds or is ground flax ok?
Katie says
I just made these and they are sooooo delicious! I just ate 2 of them! The only sad part was that they stuck to the paper liners 🙁 But I was scraping off every little bit with a fork!!! Any tips for that? Seriously amazing recipe I will be making these many times this fall.
Abby says
I've already made these twice and my sister and I absolutely LOVE them! They're very delicious and low in sugar compared to other recipes with pumpkin in them that I see. I'll definitely make these again soon. 😀 Thanks!
Lynda B says
These are wonderful! I subbed sweet potato for the pumpkin because one of my guests does not like pumpkin, and I did not have any chai tea so I used a vanilla and cinnamon black tea instead. These will now be in my regular rotation of muffin-making! I think that your blog is beautiful and look to it for inspiration every day. Thanks for all that you do.
Juutnl says
I just made these muffins. Although I've replaced halve of the ingredients, the basic recipe is yours and these muffins are great!! I ate three in one sitting. I didn't have pumpkin, blueberries of chai spice, instead I used more applesauce, dried cranberries and applechunks with lots of cinnamon. This was the first time I made vegan muffins.
Kathy Patalsky says
You can keep covered on counter for a day or so. In fridge covered for about a week or freeze for as long as you'd like.
Elle says
How should these be stored? And how long do they last?
emily_lauren says
this is muffin has made me "fall" back into the mood for soon-to-be autumn! How delicious these are. My roommates loved as well! thank you!
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes, for sure. Just note that the amount may need to be tweaked a bit. If the GF flour is very fine, you may want to add in more oats or less water to balance out the moisture.
Thanks for reading!! And commenting 🙂
Rebecca says
I've been a long time blog reader but never commented, these are just too good not to comment! I love all things pumpkin expecially baked goods, do you think I could use gluten free flours instead?
lil bear says
Hi, I just felt I had to tell you I have been desperate for a rolled oats, vegan muffin for the longest time and I just found this and made them. I made a few changes though, since I didn't have pumpkin I used the pulp of beetroot, apple and carrot juice I made earlier, I was out of apple cider vinegar so I used ume boshi! And I used frozen raspberries instead of blueberries. I also added a bit more oil (I'm going for a run tomorrow!). Thanks, they turned out amazing!!
Kathy Patalsky says
Well the pumpkin is a special ingredient because of the texture. A mashed sweet potato or even banana would be a better substitute.
Brittany Black says
I have everything but the pumpkin! Using more applesauce could replace that right?
Erin Haslag says
So many things to love in this recipe - I'm ready to try my hand at vegan baking! What brand of tea sells pumpkin chai? Thank you!
Christina says
Holy yum, I am now drooling! I just made mini pumpkin muffins yesterday and can not believe I did nnot see this recipe until today 🙁
Hanna says
I baked these yesterday, they are good! Mine came out a little "too wet", but I like them anyway. I have to be more careful eith the measurements next time. This was my first time baking vegan, but definately not the last!
Kathy Patalsky says
The tea just adds flavor from the spicy chai. You can add pumpkin pie spice, more cinnamon, nutmeg..
The flax + chia adds varied nutrients and binding power. You could easily use one or the other - I just like to use both.
Hope that helps!
Jasmine says
Yes, that helps a ton! Thank you so much! I can't wait to make them!
Jasmine says
Wow these look great! I have two questions:
-If I don't want to use tea, can I just leave the tea out? Or is there something else I can replace it with?
-What is the benefit of using chia seeds and flax seeds together (as opposed to just one or the other)?
Meagan says
We're having guests over today. I'm planning to make these for them. Thanks!
Roxanne Ahmadpour says
oh awesome! perhaps I will just have to make both versions 🙂
Roxanne says
These totally worked out with the bran, realllllyy tasty! The bran makes them moist and dense. I bet a mix of bran and oats would be great too. Great muffin recipe, thank you!
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes! But I was eating mine this morning and realizing how much it reminds me of a bran muffin - so nutty and rustic in texture. Let me know how bran goes!
Roxanne says
Yummmmm... I have been craving a loaded bran muffin lately, do you think it would be okay to sub bran cereal for the oats in this recipe?
Nicole says
These look amazing! I love all these flavors. Yum!
Kathy Patalsky says
Oh good! Thanks for comment! 🙂 glad to know maple or probably agave would work too. I couldn't decide on a sweetener, but went with dry sugar since most common. Maple must be amazing!!
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes that would work to sub instead of chai tea hot water! But I would reduce added sugar to 1/4 cup since chai is sweet...
Maria says
Perfect, thank you 🙂
Vanessa says
Just made these and they are amazing!!! I substituted maple syrup for the sugar. Sooo good!! Thank you for your fabulous ideas!
Maria says
What about a liquid chai concentrate? About how much should I use instead of the tea bag?
Nikki says
Yum, I think all of these flavors sound brilliant together!
Warm Vanilla Sugar says
These sound delightful! I still haven't used tea with baking, but I loooove chai and totally have all these ingredients on hand. Thanks!
Hanna says
Use another kind of tea bag, just choose your own fave flavour.
Ela says
I don't have chai tea though I am a tea junkie. Can I just use an egg? Or something else? I am not vegan...
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes for sure!
Stephanie Moram says
thanks!
Stephanie Moram says
Yum! I have so many blueberries in the fridge. Do you think a mashed banana would work to replace the apple sauce?