Whole wheat cranberry sauce muffins are a beautiful and fun way to use extra cranberry sauce! Top with a smear of butter and enjoy for a delicious, festive holiday breakfast!

This post first appeared on Real Housemoms, where I am a contributor.

It has been raining for DAYS here, you guys.

I love a rainy day. Really, I do.

I love wearing comfy sweaters, boots and when inside, curling up with a blanket.

(Ideally with a book but usually with my computer as I power through some work.)

But Monday’s rainy day coincided with both kids being home (Veteran’s Day holiday) and me trying to work while they bounced off the walls.

Then Tuesday was more all day rain. And Wednesday was even more rain along with a big drop in temperatures. Brrr!

Today is rain again but tomorrow we at least have the hope of seeing the sun. Whew… I need it!

So I’m hanging in there and holding out for some sunshine and blue skies. 🤞

But we’ll get on to the food cause these pretty little muffins deserve the spotlight.

First, quick confession.

Cranberry sauce is one of those Thanksgiving staples that I never ate as a kid. Ever.

I skipped over that bowl year after year after year.

Finally, as an adult, I tried it again. And discovered I loved the stuff!

So in a total 180, I started making and using my easy homemade cranberry sauce throughout the holiday season, with sautéed or slow cooker chicken or on turkey sandwiches.

I also use it to make salad dressings and marinades. (Such as on my Thanksgiving leftovers chef salad.)

I must be making up for lost time because I can’t get enough of the stuff!

And now I can enjoy it at breakfast with these whole wheat cranberry sauce muffins!

They are easy to throw together and make such a pretty pinkish and red-colored muffin! Even the batter is gorgeous!

Check this out:

These cranberry muffins are the perfect balance of sweet and tart and they pair fabulously with a small smear of butter in the morning.

Add coffee and your day is off to a great start! ☕️❤️🙌

You could serve these as part of your Thanksgiving or Christmas morning breakfast spread as well.

They are so very pretty and festive for company!

Notes on whole wheat cranberry sauce muffins:

I use a homemade cranberry sauce that’s pretty thick. If yours is a very liquid or runny cranberry sauce, you may want to increase the amount of flour by 3-4 tablespoons to balance it out.
If your cranberry sauce doesn’t have orange zest in it like mine does, I would suggest adding a teaspoon of orange zest to the muffin batter, along with the wet ingredients.
I use white whole wheat flour, but you can substitute regular all-purpose flour if you prefer.
These muffins are dairy-free and naturally sweetened. 🙌

Oh, and PRO TIP:

I always use muffin liners. And I always spray my muffin liners with cooking spray.

That way, nothing sticks. You don’t lose your gorgeous muffins to those paper liners!

(Also, clean up is much easier!)

Though I do highly recommend you serve them with a spread of a little butter. You could use a non-dairy butter if needed.

If you love cranberry sauce — or want a new way to use up some leftovers — I hope you try these whole wheat cranberry sauce muffins.

(And if you have a muffin-loving family like I do, check out some of our other favorite healthy muffin recipes!)

Happy baking!

XO,

Kathryn

Yield: 12 muffins

Whole wheat cranberry sauce muffins

Name: Whole wheat cranberry sauce muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 12 muffins
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or sub all-purpose flour); 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 large eggs; 3/4 cup cranberry sauce (homemade or store-bought); 1/2 cup honey; 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce; 1/4 cup canola oil; 1 teaspoon vanilla

Whole wheat cranberry sauce muffins are a beautiful and fun way to use extra cranberry sauce! Top with butter and serve for a beautiful, festive holiday breakfast!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or sub all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup cranberry sauce (homemade or store-bought)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs and add cranberry sauce, honey, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups. The cups will be nearly all the way full.
Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Notes

I use an easy homemade cranberry sauce that’s pretty thick. If yours is a very liquid or runny cranberry sauce, you may want to increase the amount of flour by 3-4 tablespoons to balance it out.

If your cranberry sauce doesn’t have orange zest in it like mine does, I would suggest adding a teaspoon of orange zest to the muffin batter, along with the wet ingredients.

I use white whole wheat flour, but you can substitute regular all-purpose flour if you prefer.

These muffins are dairy-free and naturally sweetened. Though I do highly recommend you serve them with a spread of a little butter. You could use a non-dairy butter if needed.