I’m just going to come out and say it. I’m totally ok with eating a traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner without having cranberry sauce on the side. However, there are other people in the family who just can’t imagine not having that option! So I carry on the tradition of adding a can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce to the turkey dinner grocery list.
But guess what? We always have leftover cranberry sauce and I feel bad throwing it out. But not anymore! I decided that throwing out the leftover cranberry sauce wasn’t a tradition I wanted to keep. So I came up with these easy to make, moist and delicious cranberry orange muffins, topped with a delightful oat streusel!
So now I love buying that can of cranberry sauce!
Are cranberry orange muffins healthy?
This cranberry orange muffin recipe only requires a half cup of sugar. However, that is because the cranberry sauce itself, as well as the orange juice have their own sugar content.
If you would like to make these cranberry muffins healthier, you can do the following:
- replace the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour
- use apple sauce instead of oil
- use freshly squeezed orange juice instead of store bought orange juice
- omit the streusel topping
Try these other moist and delicious muffin recipes!
Caramel Apple Muffins with Streusel Topping
Why make the cranberry orange muffins with oil?
I wanted to give the option to keep this cranberry sauce orange muffin recipe dairy free, so I use oil instead of butter. However I do use butter to bind the streusel topping, so you will have to omit the streusel for dairy-free cranberry muffins.
Can I replace the cranberry sauce with fresh or frozen cranberries?
With this recipe, we can only make these cranberry orange muffins using cranberry sauce. The reason for this is because the sauce contributes to the moisture in the muffin mix. If we just replaced it with dried or frozen cranberries, it would alter the texture and we would need to add more of a liquid to help keep the muffins together.
How do I store these muffins?
To keep these muffins fresh, I like to cool them completely before placing them in an air tight container. I prefer to keep them out at room temperature however for no more than for 2 days. After that they can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze them in freezer bags or air tight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature.
I hope you enjoy these leftover cranberry sauce orange muffins as much as I do!
This recipe makes 12-14 muffins. Preheat oven at 400 degrees F
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups of canned sauce like Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup oil
Ingredients for the Streusel Topping:
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp oats
- zest of 1 orange
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter melted
Directions:
1. Combine the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the the wet ingredients: eggs, cranberry sauce, orange juice and oil
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine just enough until the ingredients are blended. Try not to over mix
4. Add batter to muffin liners
5. Combine the oats, orange zest and melted butter in a bowl
6. Sprinkle the streusel on top of each muffin and press it down a bit to make it stick to the batter
Bake muffins for 20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins with Streusel Topping
Use your leftover canned cranberry sauce to make these moist cranberry orange flavored muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups of canned sauce like Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup oil
Streusel Topping
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp oats
- zest of 1 orange
- 3 tbsp unsalted melted butter
Instructions
Preheat oven 400F
1. Combine the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the the wet ingredients: eggs, cranberry sauce, orange juice and oil
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine just enough until the ingredients are blended. Try not to over mix
4. Add batter to muffin liners
5. Combine the oats, orange zest and melted butter in a bowl
6. Sprinkle the streusel on top of each muffin and press it down a bit to make it stick
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