Buttery, soft and moist, cranberry yogurt muffins are packed with cranberries in every single bite. They are perfectly golden on the outside, yet fluffy, cakey and super moist inside. These muffins are the perfect tarty and sweet breakfast, snack or dessert to make this fall and winter season. Plus, they are quick and easy to make with just a few simple ingredients, and ready in under 30 minutes.
I love baking cranberries, especially when they are in season. But you can even make this recipe with frozen cranberries, so you don't have to wait all year to make it. Cranberries are also pretty amazing in cranberry scones with orange glaze, or turned into cranberry sauce and then added to baking recipes such as cranberry sauce muffins, cranberry sauce oat bars, and cranberry sauce swirl pound cake.
Ingredients in Moist Cranberry Yogurt Muffins
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder + baking soda - helps the muffins rise.
- salt - adds flavour.
- butter - I prefer using unsalted butter, but salted butter will work fine.
- brown sugar
- egg
- yogurt - this is the secret ingredient that makes these cranberry muffins super soft and moist, just like in blueberry yogurt muffins or festive yogurt fruitcake. I used whole fat plain yogurt. Greek yogurt or sour cream also work as good substitutes.
- vanilla extract
- cranberries - I used fresh cranberries as they are currently in season. You can also use frozen cranberries directly from the freezer, do not thaw them.
- sugar - adds sweetness to balance the tartness of fresh cranberries. You can leave this out, but then expect a more sour muffin.
You will also need a 12-tin muffin pan, cupcake liners, mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, a hand mixer or a stand mixer, a cookie scoop (or a spoon) for scooping out the batter, and a wire cooling rack.
How to Make the Best Cranberry Yogurt Muffins
These cranberry yogurt muffins are so quick and easy to make, with just 10 minutes of prep.
- Do some prep:
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a 12-tin muffin pan with cupcake liners, or spray with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine cranberries with granulated sugar, and toss to combine until coated. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Use a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, then add yogurt and vanilla and beat until combined. The batter will be lumpy.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until just combined, and no dry flour particles are visible. Fold in the cranberry-sugar mixture.
- Scoop batter into muffin pan: Use a medium to large cookie scoop and divide batter evenly into the liners, filling them all the way to the top.
- Bake: Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to continue cooling.
Tips for Making Cranberry Muffins
- How to store cranberry muffins: Store freshly baked cranberry muffins, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- How to freeze cranberry muffins: To freeze, place baked and cooled muffins into a freezer bag or airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To eat, first let them thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Once thawed, you can also warm them up in the microwave, oven, or air fryer at 300F for 5-10 minutes until warmed through.
- How to make jumbo muffins: To make 6 jumbo muffins instead, bake for 22-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
More Cranberry Recipes
- Easy Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Scones with Orange Glaze
- Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins
- Roasted Balsamic Chicken with Cranberries
- Cranberry Sauce Oat Bars
- Cranberry Sauce Swirl Pound Cake
Tried this recipe?
I'd love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and rating below to share your feedback. Your reviews help others discover this recipe and help me keep creating more free recipes for you. Snap a photo and tag me on social media @aheadofthyme too.
Recipe
Cranberry Yogurt Muffins
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Buttery, soft and moist, cranberry yogurt muffins are packed with tarty and sweet cranberries in every single bite. Great for breakfast, snack or dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 + ½ cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ½ cup granulated sugar (optional)
- 1 + ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¾ cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a 12-tin muffin pan with cupcake liners, or spray with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine cranberries with granulated sugar, and toss to combine until coated. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Use a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, then add yogurt and vanilla and beat until combined. The batter will be lumpy.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until just combined, and no dry flour particles are visible. Fold in the cranberry-sugar mixture.
- Use a medium to large cookie scoop and divide batter evenly into the liners, filling them all the way to the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to continue cooling.
Notes
Equipment used: 12-tin muffin pan, cupcake liners, mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, a hand mixer or a stand mixer, a cookie scoop (or a spoon) for scooping out the batter, and a wire cooling rack.
How to store cranberry muffins: Store freshly baked cranberry muffins, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
How to freeze cranberry muffins: To freeze, place baked and cooled muffins into a freezer bag or airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 momths. To eat, first let them thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Once thawed, you can also warm them up in the microwave, oven, or air fryer at 300F for 5-10 minutes until warmed through.
How to make jumbo muffins: To make 6 jumbo muffins instead, bake for 22-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Krissy says
Super easy and delish! Exactly the taste of cranberry our breakfast needed!
Loretta G. Tice says
This recipe makes the best muffins I ever had, seriously. A little difficult mixing at the end it kept going up the beaters. I made it 3x recently. I do have a question though if I were to use dried cherries or blueberries when it calls for fresh or frozen how would I adapt the recipe as it calls for fresh or frozen? Love them! I used vanilla Fage yogurt instead of plain.
Beth says
Just made these using mini muffin pans, and added a half cup of blueberries to the cranberries. I baked them for 15 minutes due to smaller size. With the extra berries added, it made 30 mini muffins. They are delicious!!
pamalla haug says
I love cranberries and always have them on hand for smoothies and cranberry sauce. Today I tried these muffins. Perfect since I always have yogurt as well. Also, instead of white sugar I added a quarter cup of orange marmalade. They were delicious. I made them in my counter top oven in a store bought cupcake tinfoil pan. It was a test as I did not know if it would work well in a little oven. The only thing I did was turn down the temp to 380 and cover with tinfoil once they were brown on top. I also used almond extract instead of vanilla. They turned out really good! A great recipe. Thank you.
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Pamalla! So happy you liked the recipe.
Connie says
Sam, I absolutely love anything with cranberries. I buy them every year about now and keep the bags frozen until needed. This muffin recipe is over-the-top deliciously tasty and so soft. Have made this recipe at least 10 times already. They even taste good with 1/4 cup of finely chopped pistachios and 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest...can you tell I'm totally addicted to these tasty morsels??
Love your recipes..keep them coming..
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Wow thank you so much Connie! Pistachios and lemon zest would be a really nice touch, I will have to try that next time. 🙂