Small batch Cranberry Orange Muffins make a great keto breakfast or snack. Delicious and easy, and you can bake them in your air fryer or your oven!
Air fryer muffins! Who knew that was even possible? Well, maybe you did but it took me a while to catch on, apparently.
I use my air fryer frequently, but I lean more toward the savory recipes. When it’s too cold and rainy to use my grill, you will often find me making air fryer pork chops for dinner.
And maybe whipping up some air fryer brussels sprouts for an easy side dish.
But baking in my air fryer was not really on my radar. Until now, with these delicious keto cranberry orange muffins. Quick and easy, and bursting with flavor!
Baking in Air Fryer
You really can bake up some tastiness in an air fryer. Since it’s really a kind of convection oven, it’s easier than you might think.
First, let me say that not all air fryers are created equal when it comes to baking. I have a larger Cuisinart oven that’s also an air fryer and it does a terrible job. It tends to brown things much too quickly on the outside while they aren’t cooked through in the middle.
But I recently got the air fryer lid for Instant Pot, and I am astonished at how well it works. It’s a great space saving device if you only have room for one countertop appliance.
For baking in an air fryer, you do need to turn the heat down to around 310F. That seems to be a good temperature for air fryer muffins and cupcakes.
Keto Cranberry Orange Muffins in the oven
No air fryer? No problem!
These keto cranberry orange muffins are easy to bake in the oven too. They are actually a scaled down variation of some of my keto muffin recipes.
To bake, simply preheat the oven to 325F and line a regular muffin tin with 4 silicone or parchment liners. Prepare the batter as directed, and divide among the muffins cups. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
And if you want a regular sized batch of 12 muffins, that’s easy too! Just multiply all of the ingredients by 3.
Tips for Keto Cranberry Orange Muffins
These are so easy and delicious, and just like the cranberry orange muffins you used to love! Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Silicone muffin liners are a must for baking in an air fryer. Parchment paper is just too flimsy to hold its shape when filled with batter. There are some silicone air fryer muffin pans you can purchase as well.
- Greek yogurt gives these muffins a delicious moistness and makes them lighter than muffins made with butter. Be sure to use full fat yogurt. You can also use sour cream if you prefer.
- Whisk all the wet ingredients together first, then add in the dry ingredients. If you find your batter is too thick, simply add another tablespoon of water.
- Yes, the protein powder is necessary, as it helps keto baked goods to rise and hold their shape. You can use egg white protein powder or another plant-based protein powder. Just don’t use collagen, as it makes them gummy.
- For a dairy-free version, try coconut cream instead of the yogurt, and replace the whey protein with egg white protein powder.
- I recommend chopping the cranberries in half to get more even distribution in the muffins.
- Keep the temperature of your air fryer low – 300F to 310F is all you need when baking in an air fryer. It’s very intense heat that circulates quickly in the machine so baked goods can get overly brown if you go any higher.
That’s it, friends! That’s all there is to making keto muffins in your air fryer. Feel free to play with the flavors and additions, and come up with some wonderful air fryer muffins of your own.
More delicious keto air fryer recipes
- Easy Keto Crab Cakes
- Keto Lamb Kofta
- Crispy Keto Fish Sticks
- Keto Air Fryer Pretzel Bites
- Air Fryer Sausage Balls
- Air Fryer Brats
Keto Air Fryer Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (50 g) Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp orange extract
- 1/2 cup (50 g) almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tbsp unflavoured whey protein powder, (or egg white powder)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries, chopped in half
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, water, sweetener, orange zest, vanilla extract, and orange extracts until well combined.
- Add the almond flour, coconut flour, whey protein, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the chopped cranberries.
- Divide the mixture among 4 silicone muffin cups. Place the cups in the bottom of an air fryer.
- Set the air fryer to 310F and bake 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch. Remove and let cool in the cups before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Another absolute brilliant recipe! I don’t have an air fryer so I followed the oven instructions and also scaled up to batch of 12, and everything worked perfectly! For added decadence, I frosted these with keto cranberry buttercream (courtesy Elviira from Low Carb So Simple – if I’m allowed to mention that here), and these were an absolute joy to eat – a fantastic blend of orange-ey-ness, lovely little bursts of tart cranberries, and a gorgeous crumb. Thank you so much, Carolyn, your recipes are ALWAYS better than the “real thing”!
The Nutritional Facts do not include “Fat”. Did you have those, or should I try and figure it out? Waiting to try the recipe till I know if they fit in my plan. They sound delicious and because it’s a small batch,will it help with portion control.
I’m curious about the differences between the cranberry orange loaf/bread and the muffins. I’ve always thought of those as being pretty much the same in a different form. The loaf uses coconut flour though. Should I stick with the muffin recipe for muffins and the loaf recipe for a loaf?
In terms of bake time, and consistency, I vote stick with each as each, if that makes sense.
Can I substitute vital wheat gluten for the whey protein?
Actually, I’m about to find out because I only had half a tablespoon of whey protein 😐
Hello Carolyn,
If I use dry cranberries (your recipe), will it work ?
Thank you. You are my favorite reference for Keto desserts.
Sure, I can’t see why not!
Sorry Carolyn, accidently posted my review for the orange cranberry scones on the muffins..but the muffins are just as wonderful. Soft, tender and delicious. Love the orange and cranberry flavours together…a match made in heaven.
OK, I have to say, I thought the blueberry and the strawberry cream were my faves until I made these! Hands down these are my favourite scones!!! So delicious and bright. They are especially wonderful at Christmas….but I love them so much I make them all year round!
these are AMAZING!!!
thank you 4 this and all of your other recipes!!! and your low-key attention 2 details!!!
🙂 it looks like your real lovely personality shines thru!!!
i added choc chips (to the tops as u would suggest) & frozen raspberries.
this was such a great paring with the orange & cranberry concoction!!!
i like how the recipe makes 6 muffins!
Happy New Year! and wishes 4 your continued success!
warmly,
Naomi
😄
Carolyn – as ALWAYS, perfect results. I made a couple of modifications to fit what I had on hand. I used 0% fat Icelandic yogurt (I’m in maintenance phase of keto so I’m watching my fat intake). Instead of orange/cran, I made blueberry./lemon/almond (I used vanilla and almond extracts instead of orange and I used lemon crystals from True Lemon because I didn’t have lemon on hand). It adjusted my macros (based on Carb Manager) to 7.5g of net carbs, 9.6g of protein, 9.4g fat, 163 calories), but I’m good with that. As a single person, baking a dozen muffins is bad news – I either feel like I have to eat them all within the week, or I put them in the freezer never to see the light of day again, or I throw them out 🙁 This is the PERFECT recipe and kitchen appliance because I can make small batches, change the flavours frequently, and I don’t have to heat up 5 cubic feet of hot air for 4 muffins. BRILLIANT! Going to try a few other flavour combos too. THANK YOU!!
Hi Carolyn, I made these in my countertop convection along with the lemon cream cheese muffins. The lemon were very good but I think I will add more zest next time. The orange muffins were crumbly, not sure what I did wrong. I made the margarita cake and it tasted good too, but I overcooked it as it was dry. I have three of your books and keep printing off other recipes. Zucchini bread and pumpkin bread is next, then I want to try the carrot cake. What would happen if I added a little crushed pineapple to the recipe? Hoping to make it for Easter.
Love the videos!
Yes it does sound like you are over baking things. Every oven is different so please make sure to keep your eye on your baked goods and use the visual cues in the recipe to test for doneness.
Love these! If you haven’t made these yet, today is the day. You won’t regret it.