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  • Prep-time: / Ready In:
  • Makes 12 muffins
  • Serving size: 1 muffin
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Start your morning on a sweet note with these tantalizing vegan cinnamon muffins from Dreena Burton. A blend of spelt and oat flours creates a fluffy texture that locks in the warming flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup, while raisins add pockets of natural sweetness throughout the batter. Vegan yogurt ensures a perfectly moist end result, but the best part of these baked goodies is the cinnamon-sugar date paste topping. Sprinkled on top just before going in the oven, this gooey, melt-in-your-mouth garnish is the perfect whole-food, plant-based way to enjoy a cinnamon roll without all the processed ingredients. Enjoy this recipe as a light breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert!

Recipe by Dreena Burton for forksmealplanner.com 

For more vegan muffin recipes, check out these tasty ideas:

By Dreena Burton,

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups spelt flour
  • ½ cup oat flour
  • 2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup plain vegan yogurt
  • ½ cup pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
  • 2 tablespoons raisins
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup chopped pitted dates
  • 2 tablespoons pure cane sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line twelve 2½-inch muffin cups with paper liners or use silicone muffin cups. In a large bowl combine flours, 1½ teaspoons of the cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Sift baking powder and baking soda into bowl; mix well.
  • In a medium bowl stir together the next five ingredients (through vanilla). Add to flour mixture. Stir just until flour is moistened. (Do not overmix.) Spoon into prepared muffin cups.
  • In a small bowl stir together dates, sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoons cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt. Rub mixture together with your fingertips until small clumps form. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons date mixture over batter in each muffin cup.
  • Bake 20 minutes or until muffins are set to the touch. Let stand in cups 10 minutes. Remove muffins from cups and cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with any remaining date mixture.
Nutritional Information:

Per serving (1 muffin): 154 calories, 33 g carbohydrates, 4.1 g protein, 1.1 g total fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 233 mg sodium, 3 g fiber, 16 g sugar

Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.

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Comments (19)

(5 from 7 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Cynthia

So my husband is diabetic, has high blood cholesterol, and has had three kidney stones removed so he is in a low oxalate diet but all the foods he can have are bad for his diabetes and or his cholesterol. He was told no nuts, dates, and no spelt flour or almond flour so will coconut flour work or flaxseed meal in place of the spelt?

Valerie

Can I substitute applesauce for the vegan yogurt?

Laura Kaprelian

I can’t wait to try this recipe!

S.Lakshmi Shanthini

Hi Marlene,I too would like to make it gluten free but have found that whenever I use oats for baking it becomes very sticky in my mouth.Do you have any tips for this ?

Hilda

Question: Would silken tofu work as a substitute for vegan yogurt?

Lisa, Forks Over Knives Support

Hi Hilda, While we haven't tried this, we suspect that tofu will be a good substitution. If you decide to try it, let us know how it goes!

Marlene

Ive made these muffins for my granddaughters and myself many times with ground whole flake oatmeal, added 2 heaping tablespoons of organic ground flax seeds, a small container of unsweetened apple sauce instead of vagabond milk, didn’t add the sugar and used less maple syrup and added a small container of fresh blueberries, added cinnamon, vanilla, topped with walnuts or pistachios. My recipe is gluten free. Didn’t add the cane sugar nor any dates since it’s too much sugar for me.

Lesia Hughes

Marlene, I'm also gluten free, and would like to know more about your recipe. Did you use 2 cups of oat flour? Would you share your entire recipe with me?

Nora

They may be delicious, but please be honest that the "pure cane sugar" in the "delicious" topping is not a whole food.

Eile

Can date sugar be used?

Lisa, Forks Over Knives Support

Hi Eile, Yes, date sugar could be used here.

Lisa, Forks Over Knives Support

Hi Nora, Thanks for your feedback and interest. In this instance, the total amount of sugar for a batch of 12 muffins is 2 tablespoons, which is about 1/2 a teaspoon per muffin,. For anyone who needs to be extra careful about even a small amount of sugar eaten occasionally, feel free to leave it out. Many of our recipes use whole food sweeteners such as banana, sweet potato, and dates; however, on occasion, we do include small amounts of pure cane sugar where we think the effect is worth it. Happy baking!

Allyson

Made these this morning, and they have so much flavor. Yum! I also used whole wheat flour instead of spelt flour. The crumble on top is so good! Next time I may add some nuts to the batter or crumble too.

Cori T.

These are REALLY good. Quick and easy. I didn't have spelt so I used oat and wheat flours. The crumble topping is this lovely cinnamon-y moment. You should definitely make this recipe!

Pat

I just made these and in fact substituted whole wheat flour for the spelt & unbleached white for the oat. I cannot wait to make them again with the oat flour and more topping. It all explodes, then melts, in your mouth with tender wheaty goodness. Thank you !!

Michelle

THANK YOU‼️for this recipe….One ☝️ of the BEST things that I have ever baked‼️ FYI - I didn’t do the crumb topping because I don’t eat refined sugar. So I made MY FAVORITE FROSTING 1) Tahini 3) Date Syrup 3) Carob power

Valerie

Your frosting sounds great! What are the measurements?

Nancy Wooten

I haven’t tried these, but I would swap out the flours for nut flour. I would also swap out dried unsweetened cranberries for any sugar or unsweetened applesauce and no yogurt which probably has dairy.

robin armstrong seeber

vegan yogurt doesn't have dairy

About the Author

Headshot of Dreena Burton

About the Author

Dreena Burton

Dreena Burton has written six cookbooks charting her journey as a plant-powered cook and at-home mother of three. Always passionate about creating nutritious recipes, she is an advocate of using the “vegan basics” (beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables) to create dishes that are healthy but also very satisfying and delicious! For more on her plant-powered recipes and newest cookbook, Dreena’s Kind Kitchen: 100+ Whole-Foods Vegan Recipes to Enjoy Every Day, visit dreenaburton.com, and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
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