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
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- 2 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon orange extract
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 2 tablespoon unflavoured whey protein powder (or egg white powder)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ 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.
Wendy says
Love these! If you haven’t made these yet, today is the day. You won’t regret it.
Michelle says
Is there a reason for the egg powder? Is it possible to use the eggs we have on hand?
Carolyn says
Please read the How To section as I addressed this.
Mori says
Been making egg bites in my air fryer with silicone liners and can’t believe how easy it is using the silicone. A real gamechanger. Excited to try actual muffins that way. I may try to sub the orange extract with maple extract (which I love, thanks to you) and sub the cranberries with walnuts. And maybe some Lily’s dark chocolate chips…
Alice G Kaspar says
make recipes fit ONE page
Carolyn says
Hi Alice. The recipe DOES fit one page, especially since it’s a shorter recipe. I just tried it myself, so I suspect it’s an issue with your print settings.
FYI… there are much nicer ways to express that you had an issue.
Take care and have a lovely day.
Teri says
Hi Carolyn. I will be making these today, they look great and I want to try a recipe with protein powder. I’ll be making them in the oven though. Also, no, your recipe does not fit on one printer page.
Melinda says
In general, can you substitute Collagen protein powder for egg white protein powder?
Debra says
Great recipe. Just one question….does anyone know the fat content?
Leigh Rollins says
Hello, As a Type 1 diabetic following a keto lifestyle, I absolutely love all of the recipes I’ve tried! However, I’ve just learned I have an allergy to coconut. Major loss! Is there a flour that might work decently as a substitute? Many thanks!
Carolyn says
I have tons and tons of muffin recipes made with other flours. Always use the search box, you’ll find something good! This is probably a good coconut free one: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-low-carb-cranberry-muffins/
Leigh Rollins says
Thank you very much! I was so focused on a substitute that I didn’t think of that.
BTW, you are highly thought of in the keto T1d community.😄
Happy Holidays!
KC Texan says
You could try lupin flour or oat fiber (or a combination) instead.
Melissa says
Yum – delicious recipe. I can’t wait to make it again!
Matt Taylor says
I love muffins with cranberries. I can’t wait to try this keto version, looks incredible.
Toni says
I love how easy this is to make! Everyone at my house loved it!
Isabel says
Made these tonight and they are delicious! I didn’t have full fat yogurt so I used sour cream instead. I also added sugar free white chocolate chips. I love the combination of coconut and almond flours in baked goods. I did the calculations to make sixteen figuring my husband would want to take some to work throughout the week. This will definitely be going into the recipe box.
Alisa Jacobs says
Love these! Realized once baking I used fat free yogurt (oops) but still delish. A double batch fit in my InstantPot and I added lily’s white chocolate chips – super yum. My kids couldn’t tell they were keto (score!) Thanks for another winning recipe!!!
Elaine says
These are amazing. I love this website
Jocelyn Barnhart says
I don’t know why this recipe doesn’t have 1000 5-star votes. I tried it, exactly as it is written (except I used Lakanto Monk fruit sweetener instead of swerve) and the result are outstanding! I would bet money that NO non-keto human would detect the fact that these muffins are gluten and sugar free. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Sarah K says
Fantastic! Moist and light texture. Can’t believe no butter in it but still taste so good with tangy cranberry. My husband and son say this is the best keto baked goods ever!
Carolyn says
So happy to hear that!
Monica says
These were easy to make and turned out delicious. I tripled the recipe to make 1 dozen regular size muffins. Using silicone muffin cups to line my muffin pan, they released the muffins perfectly and clean up was easy. This recipe is a keeper!
Christy Tonn Westbrook says
Thank you for doing all the heavy lifting for me! It is such a pain to reduce a muffin recipe down for single person portions. This is perfect! They are delicious! Being a new air fryer owner, I had been wondering if I could use it for baking and you provided an answer. Mine turned out a little brown so I may need to adjust the timing, but overall, I call this recipe a success!
Penny Frick says
What about lining your silicone muffin cup with a parchment muffin liner. Would that work?