Delicious low carb, grain-free English muffins that only take minutes to make. And this version is nut-free and can be made dairy-free and paleo too.
I have some really talented and wonderful friends. I think that this can be a critical component to success, to surround yourself with other creative, talented people. They motivate you, they push you further, and they spark your own creativity. In turn, you motivate them and spark their creativity as well. It’s all too easy to see someone in the same field as your competitor, to wall yourself off and try to beat them. But I’ve found over the years that this is the wrong approach entirely. You are both much better off if you band together to share ideas and to help each other out. You both benefit from this collaborative effort: you learn, they learn, you grow, they grow, and you don’t have that awful competitive “me against them” feeling. The rising tide raises all boats in the harbour, as they say.
So I am going to give a huge shout out to my talented friend Brenda from Sugar-Free Mom. This is really her recipe, or rather a nut-free variation of her recipe, which I am publishing with her permission. I specifically asked her permission to play with her 2 Minute English Muffin recipe because I didn’t want to steal her thunder. The original is a fantastic recipe and she deserves the credit. But the minute I tried it, I also found I wanted to adapt it and see what else I could do with it. Because hey, that’s what I do! It’s hard enough for me to follow my own recipes the same way twice. I am always tinkering, I can’t help myself. It’s a sickness, it really is.
There are a number of instant microwave English muffin recipes floating around and I’ve tried a few of them. And found them all lacking, to be honest. There is one out there that I swear on my life the photos are real English muffins instead of the actual recipe, because my results looked nothing like it (and the taste was ho-hum too). So I was skeptical that Brenda’s could be any good but I had kids to feed one evening and I needed something I could make quickly. The only change I made to her recipe at the time was to use water instead of almond milk because I had none. I was impressed right away. While what comes out of the ramekin doesn’t exactly look like an English muffin from the outside, once it’s sliced and toasted, it can easily pass for the real deal.
For my version, I wanted to try to make it entirely nut-free. I love making my own sunflower seed flour, as it’s a great alternative to almond flour. You can purchase it, but it’s much less expensive to make your own. I also love making my own Sunbutter, which is also less expensive and has fewer carbs. I did find I had to play with the amounts a little because sunflower seed butter can be goopy and more liquidy than nut butters. But the results were absolutely delicious and make a wonderful low carb alternative to real English muffins. And they can be whipped up in an instant!
Delicious low carb, grain-free English muffins that only take minutes to make. And this version is nut-free and can be dairy-free and paleo too! Adapted with permission from SugarFree Mom.
- 1 tbsp butter OR avocado oil
- 1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
- 3 tbsp sunflower seed flour Homemade Sunflower Seed Flour Recipe
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
-
Grease two medium ramekins (about 1 cup capacity each) with coconut oil spray (or brush with melted butter).
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and sunflower seed butter together on high for 30 seconds. Stir to combine.
- Stir in sunflower seed flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk in egg and water until well combined.
- Divide mixture between prepared ramekins and microwave (at the same time) on high for two minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.
- Run a sharp knife around the inside of the ramekins and flip out onto a plate. Slice in half and toast to your liking.
Serves 2. Each serving has 3.32g NET CARBS.
Food energy: 170kcal
Total fat: 14.89g
Calories from fat: 134
Cholesterol: 15mg
Carbohydrate: 5.26g
Total dietary fiber: 1.94g
Protein: 5.90g
linda says
Hi Carolyn, Do you think almond flour would work? Why sunflower seed?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
I used sunflower seed because it’s nut-free and I like to experiment. Use Brenda’s recipe if you want almond flour. 🙂
brenda@sugarfreemom says
thanks Carolyn! Here’s the recipe for the almond flour version Linda, http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/2-minute-low-carb-english-muffin/
Carolyn says
Yep and it’s linked in my post a few times as well!
linda says
My apologies Carolyn. I enjoy your musings and usually read the whole piece but English Muffins are one of my favourite things and I was hoping to make them for breakfast. I promise to read the whole piece later……
Carolyn says
That’s totally okay! I am touched you even read my ramblings…
linda says
Thank you!
Sherri says
Can this be made in the oven since the microwaved food is so hard on your body?
Carolyn says
Try 325F for 10 minutes and check on it every few minutes after that.
Stephanie says
Just a science PSA. Microwaving relaxes plant cell walls and makes nutrients more bioavailable. This is why raw foods are considered less nutritious, because your body can’t break down the cellulose walls. Microwaving does and so all the good little phytonutrients and antioxidants are now available to your body! It makes food EASIER to digest and that’s a great thing!
Microwaving is one of the weakest forms of radiation. For reference, the order of the electromagnetic spectrum (in orders of magnitude) are radio wave, microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-ray, and finally gamma ray. For reference, visible light is two magnitudes (orders of ten!) stronger than microwaves. Visible light is more harmful than microwaves! Sunburn anyone? Microwaves only superheats water molecules, causing them to rub together to generate heat. Thus, microwaved food is considered to be “steamed”. Boiling vegetables actually leaches nutrients into the water, making the food less nutritious. This is why microwaving has been one of the greatest inventions of our time for nutrition – it preserves the phytonutrients AND breaks down the plant cell walls so that we can access those phytonutrients. For more information on microwaving and how it makes food more nutritious, read Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson.
FYI, I’m an oral surgeon who also has a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a minor in physics. I’ve been keto for 2 years and lost 75 pounds. Even though I’m in maintenance, I stay low carb because there’s strong research behind it. Just like how the science behind microwaving is there!
Carolyn says
This is SUCH interesting information. Thank you!
Kathy says
Thank you! Can’t wait to try these for breakfast this morning. I found out last month I’m allergic to almonds & my husband was just recently diagnosed with coconut allergy. There went my go-to GF flours. I’ve been looking for recipes using sunflower seeds. Does this turn greenish using baking powder? I know baking soda reacts with the chlorophyll of sunflower seeds & turns baked goods green.
Carolyn says
That’s what the lemon juice is for. 🙂
Carolyn says
I have more recipes here for sunflower seed flour: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2015/12/how-to-make-your-own-sunflower-seed-flour.html
Kathy says
Bless you!!
Michele says
Looks great, do you know how long I’d bake them in the oven, what temp?
Carolyn says
I don’t know for sure but I’d try 325F for 10 minutes and keep checking after that if it’s not done.
Michelle Du Preez says
I don’t have a microwave scold you tell me what oven temperature would be good and for how long?
thanks for your wonderful recipes.
Michelle
Carolyn says
I don’t know for sure but I’d try 325F for 10 minutes and keep checking after that if it’s not done.
Vicky says
Can’t wait to try these. Had previously given up on ever having low-carb English muffins that tasted like cardboard.
Really love your post including your comments about being friends and encouragers rather than enemies and competitive with each other. I’m in a highly competitive profession and would love it
if things were better that way. The smart ppl catch on!
V
Karen says
Envisioning healthy, low-carb versions of my favorite fast-food breakfast sammys. CanNOT wait to make these. =))
Janice says
Mine turned out a little gushy on the bottom…..any suggestions?
Carolyn says
Flip it out, let it air dry a bit or stick directly into the toaster. Mine seemed a little “wet” on the bottom too, but dried and crisped up in the toaster.
Shef says
Hello,
was wondering if I could substitute sunflower seed flour for flax seed flour?
Carolyn says
Flax seed flour is a lot thicker, I am not sure it would work. You can certainly try.
Sunitha Lokesh says
Hi Carolyn,
I have only recently joined the low carb wagon and i really miss my piece of bread… this seemed just the right thing to try out…so I did end up trying out the recipe with almond flour, while everything turned out perfectly during the cooking process, I felt like I could taste the egg while eating that did not seem too palatable? Any idea why that could have happened? Can I use an egg substitute (may be flax seed meal?).
Carolyn says
I really don’t know. For me, these are MORE than palatable. I love them. Not really sure what the deal is for you?
Terry S says
Maybe make them the day before. I’ve found that many low carb/keto baked items taste better after the flavors have mingles over night.
Terry S says
oops, mingled over night.
Tania Aveling says
Hi Carolyn, I’m not sure whether sunflower seed butter is readily available in my little town in Australia. Do you think I could just use butter instead?
Carolyn says
No, butter is not a good replacement for nut butter or seed butter. Any nut butter will do, though.
Marie says
I’m sorry to do this, because the endless “what can I substitute” questions in recipe comments drive me crazy; I know blog authors haven’t tried every conceivable combination and substitution.
All that said… do you think the cinnamon is necessary? Is it there to mask the flavor of the baking powder and lemon, or does it enhance the whole recipe? I was thinking of making sausage/egg muffins with these and don’t really want cinnamon with it.
I suppose this recipe is quick and easy enough that I should just try it myself. =) Thank you!
Carolyn says
Cinnamon is not necessary. It doesn’t mask anything, I just like it in my English Muffins!
Argia says
I just made these, but using peanut butter and PB2 peanut powder, because that’s what I had in the pantry. AMAZING!!!
My containers were slightly larger than one cup, so the end product was too thin to slice. But, we toasted
and buttered them, and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.
Thanks again for another fantastic recipe!
Jan says
Oh that sounds good! I always have a hard time with these low carb recipes because I don’t have all the ingredients, but I do have PB powder and PB! Yay! It’ll be like dessert for breakfast!
Marilyn says
Do you have pumpkin pie? Is there a less cosmetic sweetener than erythromycin? It plays havoc with IBS…THANK YOU…PS
CAN ONE DO PALEO WITH FOOD COMBINING??
Carol Owens says
At what point does the lemon juice come into play? Sounds yummy!
Carolyn says
It’s mixed in with the rest of the wet ingredients.
martine says
I really enjoyed this version of English muffins. I think it’s going to be a new favorite. I prefer them over muffins made with almond or coconut (or a combo of both). The only thing is that making sunflower seed flour was a PITA, because my mesh sieve was too fine.
PS. You forgot to add the lemon juice to your instructions. I whisked it into the mixture, just before I was ready to pour it into the ramekins
Amber says
Your video says to use baking Soda but your recipe says baking powder….which one should we be using? Thank you!
Carolyn says
Baking powder.