Enjoy these delicious healthy strawberry muffins made with almond and cassava flours, fresh and freeze-dried strawberries, and natural sweeteners. They’re gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free, too!
Healthy and gluten free strawberry muffins!
This delicious strawberry muffin recipe is for strawberry lovers everywhere! These strawberry muffins are supercharged with strawberry flavor because the batter is infused with both freeze-dried strawberries and diced fresh strawberries! I was hoping that the freeze-dried strawberries would result in a bright pink-colored crumb once baked, but no dice. But it’s not a big deal because I prefer flavor over flash any day—and these muffins are crazy delicious.
Ingredients
- Freeze dried strawberries: I blitz the freeze dried strawberries into a powder that add a supercharged strawberry flavor to these muffins. You can find these in sealed ziptop packages in the dried fruit section at Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores.
- Fresh strawberries
- Super-fine blanched almond flour: In place of all-purpose flour, I use a combination of almond flour and cassava flour to get the perfect tender crumb.
- Cassava flour: My favorite brand is Otto’s cassava flour.
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Ghee or coconut oil, softened: To keep these dairy-free, feel free to use softened refined coconut oil. Butter also works, if you aren’t dairy-free!
- Maple sugar or coconut sugar: In place of brown sugar, I like to use maple sugar or blonde coconut sugar.
- Eggs
- Almond, cashew, or coconut milk
- Lemon zest and lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
Can you substitute any of the ingredients?
As I’ve told you in the past, I’m not a paleo baking expert, so I have no idea if you can use an egg substitute or use another flour in place of almond or cassava flour recommended in this recipe. I haven’t tried these muffins with a keto sweetener, but I bet Swerve or allulose would work.
You can definitely substitute other fresh, seasonal fruit (e.g., blueberries, raspberries, diced peaches, etc.) in place of the strawberries and the muffins will taste amazing. If you must, you can also leave out the freeze dried strawberries, but the muffins won’t have as much concentrated strawberry flavor.
Please let me know in the comments section below if you have success with any ingredient substitutions!
Aren’t these just strawberry cupcakes?
Uh, kinda. For this recipe, you cream the ghee and maple sugar together in a mixer, before adding in the dry ingredients—similar to how you make cupcakes. However, I call these treats muffins because I don’t slather frosting on top, and the sweetness level is closer to that of a muffin. In all honesty, I don’t care if you call them strawberry cupcakes or muffins—just make them already!
How to keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom
One of the most annoying things about baking fruit-filled muffins is that the fresh fruit normally pools at the bottom of the muffin, creating a soggy mess. Although many recipes claim that coating the fruit in a little flour will keep them suspended in the batter, it just doesn’t work!
The only tried-and-true secret is to spoon some fruit-free batter at the bottom of the muffin liner before adding the fruit-filled batter on top. Don’t believe me? Stella Parks explains why this method works in this helpful article.
How to make gluten-free strawberry muffins!
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 175°C with the rack in the middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin cups (I prefer parchment paper liners).
Dump the freeze dried strawberries into a small food processor or blender.
Blitz the freeze dried strawberries until they transform into a fine powder.
In a medium bowl, stir together the strawberry powder, almond flour, cassava flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside.
Plop the softened ghee and maple sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you’re using a hand mixer).
Use the paddle attachment to blend the mixture on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until it’s fluffy and lighter in color.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, milk, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla.
Beat the mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds or until combined. Don’t worry if the batter isn’t smooth yet—you’ll keep mixing it shortly!
Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed, scraping down the sides as needed.
It should take only a minute or so until the batter is ready.
Scoop a small spoonful of batter into the bottom of each lined muffin well.
Use a small spatula to evenly smooth out this bottom layer of batter.
Fold the diced strawberries into the remaining batter.
Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter into the muffin pan.
Pop the pan into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, rotating the pan 180° at the midway point.
The muffins are ready when they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
Grab one for breakfast or as a sweet treat!
How do you store these strawberry muffins?
The best way to store leftovers muffins is to freeze them in a sealed airtight container or freezer bag for up to four months or refrigerate them for up to four days. You can heat them up straight from the freezer by microwaving them for about 40 seconds or until they’re heated through. Alternatively, you can thaw the frozen muffins in the refrigerator overnight and then pop them in a toaster oven at 300°F or 150°C for 5 minutes or until they’re heated through.
More healthy strawberry dessert recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
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Preheat the oven to 350°F or 175°C with the rack in the middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment muffin liners.
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Dump the freeze dried strawberries into a small food processor or blender. Blitz the freeze dried strawberries until they transform into a fine powder.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the strawberry powder, almond flour, cassava flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside.
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Plop the softened ghee and maple sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you’re using a hand mixer). Use the paddle attachment to blend the mixture on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until it’s fluffy and lighter in color.
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Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, milk, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla. Beat the mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds or until combined. Don’t worry if the batter isn’t smooth yet—you’ll keep mixing it shortly!
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Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed, scraping down the sides as needed. It should take only a minute or so until the batter is ready.
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Scoop a small spoonful of batter into the bottom of each lined muffin well. Use a small spatula to evenly smooth out this bottom layer of batter.
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Fold the diced strawberries into the remaining batter.
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Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter into the muffin pan.
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Pop the pan into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, rotating the pan 180° at the midway point. The muffins are ready when they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
The best way to store leftovers muffins is to freeze them in a sealed container for up to four months or refrigerate them for up to four days. You can heat them up straight from the freezer by microwaving them for about 40 seconds or until they’re heated through. Alternatively, you can thaw the frozen muffins in the refrigerator overnight and then pop them in a toaster oven at 300°F or 150°C for 5 minutes or until they’re heated through.
Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
