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3-ingedient vegan oat muffins made from oats, raw cashews and baking powder! They are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, sugar-free, and perfect.
I have another super-simple bread recipe to share, and it is a winner.
Made in muffin form, it requires no more than 3 ingredients, a blender, and about 30 minutes worth of your precious time.
Further, the muffins are:
- Vegan
- Oil-free
- Sugar-free
- Gluten-free
- Yeast-free
- Frugal
- Endlessly versatile
- 117 calories apiece
Most importantly, they are ideal for slathering with jam (one of my favorite food groups).
Hello, 3-Ingredient Oat Muffins!
Ingredients for the Oat Muffins
The three ingredients required for the recipe (beyond water and optional salt) are
- Rolled oats
- Raw cashews (I have options for alternatives)
- Baking powder
Homemade bread, even gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and oil-free varieties should be this simple.
Make the Muffin Batter in a Blender
I designed the recipe to make 6 muffins at a time, but it can be doubled to suit your needs. In a blender, process the cashews (1.5 ounces, or about 1/3 cup) and water (1 and 1/4 cups) until completely smooth (it will look like cream).
Next, add the oats, baking powder and (optional) salt. Blend the cashews first to ensure they are completely broken down (for even fat distribution throughout the muffins). The oats are added next so that they can be partially blended.
I have tested the muffins with the oats (a) partially blended and (b) completely blended; the former have both a better texture and rise. It’s worth it.
Pulse the batter in the blender until the oats are mostly broken but still have a some bits and pieces throughout, like so:
Time to Bake
Divide the batter evenly between 6 sprayed or greased, standard size muffin cups. The muffins get a significantly better rise when baked without paper or foil liners. Additionally, the muffins stick (profoundly) to liners, but slide out easily from sprayed/greased cups (even while still warm).
The batter will be close to the edge of each cup.
Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 17 to 20 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted near the center of a muffin comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
The muffins produce lovely peaks but are relatively pale in color.
Now, on to the burning question many of you may want know:
Can I make these muffins into a loaf?
Alas, no. I tried. I doubled the recipe (to fill a 9×5-inch loaf) and tried, 5 times, with varying adjustments to ingredients, temperature and time. All failed, in various ways.
Pictured below is a slice from the most succesful loaf. It look pretty good post bake (not much rise, but not a massive post-bake slump, either). Upon cooling and slicing, multiple problems were apparent. Most notably, massive goo!
You can probably make this recipe in 2 very small loaf pans (e.g., 5×3-inches), which would allow for lengthwise, horizontal slices (for sandwiches and toast). Baking the bread in an 8- or 9-inch square or round baking pan is also an option.
Considering how perfect the recipe is in muffin form, your best bet is making the recipe as is :).
Happy baking, everyone!
3-Ingredient Oat Muffins {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, sugar-free}
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 muffins 1x
Description
Healthy, 3-ingredient oat muffins made with oats, cashews and baking powder (plus water and salt). They are vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, sugar-free and 117 calories each.
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces raw cashews (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 and 1/4 cups (310 mL) water
- 1 and 1/2 cups (135 g) rolled oats (certified GF, as needed)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- Optional: 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Spray or grease 6 cups of a standard size muffin tin.
- In a blender, process the cashews and water until smooth.
- Add the oats, baking powder and optional salt to blender; process, using on/off pulses, until mostly smooth but with some texture remaining with the oats (batter will look slightly lumpy).
- Divided the batter evenly between the prepared cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 17 to 20 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted near the center of the muffin comes out with only moist crumbs attached.
- Cool muffins in tin for at least 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completley.
Notes
Storage: Store the cooled muffins in an artight container at (cool) room temeprature for 3 days, the refrigerator for 1 week, or the freezer for up to 6 months.
Cashew Alternatives: Other nuts, such walnuts, pecans or peanuts, or seeds, such as pepitas or hemp hearts, can be used in place of the cashews. Sunflower seeds work, but will turn the muffins green (safe to eat; it’s a natural chemical reaction).
Sprayed Cups vs. Lined Cups: The muffins get a significantly better rise when baked without paper or foil liners. Additionally, the muffins stick (profoundly) to liners, but slide out easily from sprayed/greased cups (even while still warm).
- Category: Bread, Muffin
- Method: Baking
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 117
- Sugar: 0.9 g
- Sodium: 170 mg
- Fat: 4.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.3 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: 3 ingredient muffins, vegan, oil-free, sugar-free, egg-free, dairy-free, blender, gluten-free, oats, cashews, healthy bread, easy, 3 ingredients
i was so pleased with these for a healthy quick snack. I used sunflower seeds, and added agave to half the batch to compare, and a littler sweetener made all the difference if you eat them plain. Thanks for the recipe will definitely make again
★★★★★
Oh, that is excellent, Joy! Your additions sound wonderful, how cleave to do half batches to compare 🙂
Can I turn these into raspberry muffins and add a little honey or maple syrup?
Yes, definitely, Janice!
Could I use a donut pan?
Hi Vanessa,
Yes, definitely! Great sub for a bagel! I would cut the baking time by about 5 minutes, maybe more depending on the size of the donut pan.
Hi! These look yummy. I’m excited to try these. I just made a batch of cashew milk yesterday. Can I just add that instead of blending the cashews & water? What should the consistency be like? Thanks!
Hi Christina,
I do not know if that would work without trying it the way I wrote it first and taking notes along the way. I did not measure the volume of the blended cashews and water, so I cannot give specific amounts for how much to sub to replace the measurements for cashews and water. Also, I do not know if your cashew milk recipe is the same ratio of cashews to oats that I use in the recipe. So you would need to guesstimate if you want to try it that way. Were you planning on skipping the step of blending the oats? Since it is such a minimalist recipe, it is hard to know how small changes will affect the outcome.
What other grain could I use in place of oats? I have developed a intolerance to oats even gluten-free ugh .
Thanks,
Arlene
Oh, how frustrating, Arlene! I know of two options that you can use measure for measure to replace the oats. Both are hard to find in stores, but you can order them quite easily. They are rolled and steamed, just like oat groats. One is quinoa flakes (You get the added benefit of complete protein!) and the other is rye flakes (these are no gluten-free, but I was not sure if you need a gluten-free option). The quinoa flakes are definitely more expensive, but the rye flakes are very reasonable. Cheers!
According to several sources, rye contains gluten (secalin).
Thanks Ken–I added a clarification to my response to Arlene. Since she mentioned she has an intolerance to regular oats (as well as gluten-free oats), I was not certain that she was specifically looking for a gluten-free option, but rather an oat alternative more generally. But you’re right, I don’t want anyone to think that I was saying that rye flakes are gluten-free, so I have updated my reply to her 🙂
Buckwheat flour makes a good alternative to oats with a little starch added to the mix to mimics the oat texture. Buckwheat is also gluten free despite the name
Thanks, Cara.