Grab your rolled oats and bake up a batch of these Oatmeal Citrus Goji Berry Cacao Chip Morning Muffins and enjoy them all week long!..
If you love blueberry muffins, try these plump-goji-berry muffins with tender antioxidant-rich goji berries in every bite! Rich chocolate (cacao nibs!) and bright citrus flavors accent the sweet-tart pink goji berries. Nutty oats and a sprinkling of flax seeds bring these tender, moist muffins together. A hint of coconut, vanilla and cinnamon too! These exotic superfood muffins gives me a sunny, tropical feeling with each bite. Perfect for your culinary transition to brighter spring flavors! Vegan, wheat-free recipe ahead..
Monday mornings bring me into the kitchen. And morning muffins are always wonderful to make towards the start of a work week because you can pop them in baggies, store them in the fridge or freezer and nibble them all week long. These superfood-infused oatmeal muffins baked up fluffy and moist with bright goji berry sweetness, bittersweet rich cacao nib flavor (though you can substitute dark chocolate chips if you'd prefer) and rustic, earthy tones from the plentiful rolled oats in each bite. These muffins are "flour free" and quite a healthy-delicious way to start your day. Pair with a latte and happiness finds its way to your taste buds!..
The soaked goji berries. Soaking softens them up and plumps them to a more fresh and moist state rather than hard and chewy:
The blender-processed rolled oats to make one-step "oat flour"..
Before going into the oven..
Chocolate and berries. Count me in. Pair a muffin with a spicy non-dairy chai tea latte, matcha latte or espresso latte and swoon your way to a happy day. Those cacao nibs get even better when they soften up, so serve these muffins warm for the most flavor. And feel free to use dark chocolate chips (or CAROB!) in place of cacao nibs if the bitter rich nibs are a bit too strong for your tastes.
Oatmeal Goji Berry Cacao Chip Morning Muffins
vegan, makes 14 muffins
½ cups rolled oats (kept whole)
1 ⅔ cups rolled oats, blended into "oat flour"
*not as fine as wheat flour, but a nice dusty, crumbly texture
2 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon pink salt (any salt will work)
1 cup coconut sugar (or basic organic dry sugar)
a few dashes cinnamon
Wet Goji Mixture:
½ cup goji berries
⅔ cups boiling water
2 ½ tablespoon organic coconut oil
2 tablespoon orange juice
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 ½ teaspoon flax seeds, whole or crushed
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Fold in:
⅔ cup almond milk, room temperature (so you do not harden the coconut milk when blending)
1 small banana, mashed
¼ cup coconut flour (or substitute with more oat flour or any flour you'd like - wheat flour works if you want to use that)
⅓ cup raw cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips
optional ideas:
* ¼ cup chopped or finely processed pecans
* 1-2 scoops vanilla or plain vegan protein powder for a boost of protein
* substitute the almond milk with silken tofu or soy yogurt for added protein
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking muffin cups.
2. Boil ⅔ cup water and add to a small bowl with the goji berries, flax seeds. Allow to soak until berries are very tender. Also add to this bowl: orange juice, zest, vanilla and coconut oil. The warm liquid will melt the coconut oil.
3. Process the rolled oats. I used my Vitamix (wet blade worked fine.) Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Fold the wet goji mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until a thick oat-y mixture forms. Fold in the banana, almond milk, coconut flour and cacao nibs.
5. Add batter to muffin cups. Bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool and serve warm. These taste really yummy with a tiny slather of vegan Earth Balance spread.
Calories per muffin: around 160, fat: 4g, protein: 4g - good dose of vitamin A from the gojis and antioxidants from the cacao and berries.
Catherine says
Made these tonight! Such a great recipe. Added 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds to mine and they came up beautifully.
De says
How long would these need to be baked as mini-muffins?
De says
You never responded to the requests for the best substitute for banana.. I only have frozen bananas currently. Would a frozen thawed banana or something like applesauce be better?
jedansenu says
is there anything you can use besides banana? because i really hate them! or is the flavor not too noticeable?
Natural Source Biotech Co., Lt says
Hi Kathy!i am in Ningxia,China,and love your site very much.although we also offer goji in Ningxia for many years,it is has a lot of different.
Marlies Hager says
i just made these and they are wonderful! i ended up adding another 1/4 cup of coconut flour because they seemed a bit too wet, and they came out perfect! thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Lynda Bascelli says
Love everything you make -- truly. If I was to use oat flour that is already ground, about how much would I use? Thanks!
Kathy Patalsky says
Steel cut would not work (in my analysis) because they are too dry and hard to process into fluffy flour. Just my first thought anyways..
Lisa @ The Meaning of Me says
OK, rolled oats it is! Can't wait to try these - daughter loves goji berries.
Kathy Patalsky says
Baking usually reduces antioxidant capacity a bit )with some exceptions like carrots and tomatoes etc..) but still healthy and worth using! Any berry in a baked good will do the same.
Lisa @ The Meaning of Me says
Kathy, how about using steel-cut oats in this? Would it make any difference? Happen to have a box that needs to be used.
RockMyVeganSocks says
These look awesome Kathy! I can't wait to try them out. I love that they are gluten-free (and have so many fun ingredients!)
Charity says
These looked so amazing, I had to make them right away! They are beyond delicious!! The batter seemed a bit wet but they turned out fine! Maybe I'll try a 1/4 cup more flour next time. Also, I had a bit of trouble getting them out of the tins (no papers) so next time, I'll dust the tin with some oat flour after spraying them...Thanks so much for this! I have breakfast ready now for the rest of the week 🙂
Lara Cook says
Is there a way of substituting the mashed banana? Bananas make me nauseated 🙁
Kathy Patalsky says
Soy works great! I should really always say almond or soy or rice aka any non-dairy "milk" for my baking recipes because they can be used quite interchangeably
john Hartil says
Definitely seem worth giving a bash
Poemfish says
These look yummaaaay! I'd love to make these for my 3 year old but he can't have almond milk. Would soy milk work or is there a better replacement for the almond milk? Thank you!
Heather McClees says
I LOVE this recipe!!! SO creative Kathy...thanks for the inspiration!:)
Kathy Patalsky says
Great question!!! I measured them before blending
Leslie Bennett says
Hi Kathy! I love your site. I look at it every day and have LOVED everything I have made. My husband is so hooked on mint matcha latte's! I am wondering if you are measuring your oats before or after you throw them in the blender...
(1 2/3 cups rolled oats, blended into "oat flour")
Thanks!
Kali Johnson says
I am a totally sucker for any type of muffin that I can have for breakfast and mmmm these look good.
The Vegan Cookie Fairy says
I could use some of these to brighten the mood here in wintry London! Good tip about soaking the goji berries, I always disliked them because they're so hard and chewy.
Natural Source Biotech Co., Lt says
We love goji berries and know it is the best super food.Because we aslo offer goji berries in Ningxia,China.If you are interested pls let me know!
Marlies Hager says
i just bought cacao nibs and goji berries (for the first time - super excited!), so clearly this recipe was meant to be 🙂
FoodFeud says
Do you know if baking the gojis has any effect on their antioxidant power? These look delicious and I'd love to make them!