These Vegan Garlic Chive Muffins are gluten-free, oil-free, 1 bowl and have an incredible soft, light and fluffy texture. They are incredibly delicious dinner muffins on their own or great served with soup or stews.
VEGAN GARLIC CHIVE MUFFINS
I tested this vegan muffin recipe with so many different flour combos with varying amounts and ratios. I wanted to nail “the one”. For these savory dinner muffins, I was looking for the ultimate soft, fluffy, moist muffin texture with a firm, crispy top. These are so good, I almost cried happy tears! My husband said they reminded him of the garlic cheese biscuits from Red Lobster that we used to eat that are so popular, because they are so soft and light. I was like, wow, you are so right! Obviously, the cheese part is not here, but the garlic and texture is totally similar. These Garlic & Chive Dinner Muffins will be perfect for any soup, chili or even to go with a Vegan Bbq Lentil Loaf.
The most amazing part of this is that I only used 2 gluten-free flours! The majority of my gluten-free baked goods feature a lot of almond flour or oat flour, with a starch. Guess what, these are oat-free! So many of you tell me you can’t have oats, so these are just perfect for you. I sometimes use sorghum and brown rice flour, but not often, as they leave an off taste and texture that I’m not crazy about. Well, these muffins are a combo I’ve never tried before and the results were outstanding! I was originally doing trials with oat flour and starch and they just didn’t get that super soft texture I was after… I finally removed the oat flour and the starch and AMAZING. Soft, light, tender, fluffy. Perfection.
You just have to taste them to believe it. I am just so stoked that these muffins are so incredibly moist and soft and 100% oil-free, as well as being low-fat. I have never in my life had a dinner muffin or roll that wasn’t cooked with or spread with oil or butter. Yet, no lie, these legit taste like they have butter in them. Plus, the fact that they are only 8 ingredients (+ salt) and take about 30 minutes to make, is a huge bonus.
This my very first savory dinner muffin recipe. All of my muffin recipes on the blog, of course, have been sweet. Everything from Fluffy Blueberry Muffins to Gluten-free Cinnamon Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins, to Sweet Potato Muffins, you name it, it’s here. But, this recipe I was inspired to create to go along with dinner, particularly soups, or any type of dinner you like. My husband is not a fan of cornbread, and that is what I typically like to eat with several soups and chilis. But since he’s always left empty-handed, I figured he needed to be able to enjoy a good muffin/roll to go along with his dinner, too. He is super STOKED about these now!
I’m warning you now, I take no responsibility for you eating one right after the other. These are so incredibly delicious.
I mean, would you just look at how darn fluffy and soft these are?? Absolutely no starch added and no all-purpose flour, but I swear on my life, they taste as soft and light as a cloud.
You will want these for breakfast, lunch and dinner…maybe even a midnight snack?
One thing I did right at the very end of baking, was broil them for about 2 minutes on high, this gives them a nice crispy top with a beautiful golden color.
I hope you all love these Vegan, Gluten-free and Oil-free Garlic and Chive Dinner Muffins! Be sure to leave me feedback below after you make them and star rate the recipe! Thank you so much. You can also tag me on Instagram #thevegan8!
If you are looking also for a homemade bread to serve with your meal, then you gotta try my Vegan Whole Grain Spelt Sandwich Bread. It goes great with some delicious Cocoa Black Bean Chili!
Garlic & Chive Dinner Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-free, Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (160g) white rice flour (this is what yields such soft, light, fluffy results)
- 1/2 cup (56g) superfine blanched almond flour (see NOTES at bottom for nut-free)
- 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 2 tablespoons dried chives OR 3 tablespoons fresh
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups (300g) lite canned coconut milk, shaken well first (Lite coconut milk is what lends such a buttery taste, another milk will not work the same)
- 1/4 cup (60g) aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- 1 tablespoon (15g) apple cider vinegar
OPTIONAL VARIATIONS
- Add 1 teaspoon onion powder for a stronger onion flavor.
- Add 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or shredded vegan cheese for a cheesy note
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a muffin pan with 8 Reynolds "Staybrite" foil liners or parchment paper liners. Regular paper liners will stick BAD.
- To a large bowl, add the rice flour, almond flour, baking powder, chives, garlic powder and salt to a medium bowl and whisk really well to make sure there are no lumps.
- Add the coconut milk, aquafaba and apple cider vinegar directly to the dry ingredients (no need to use a separate bowl) and whisk for about a minute or so until the batter is very smooth. Pour evenly among your 8 liners. The batter will fill up each liner all the way to the top. I used an ice cream scoop, it helps to divide the batter evenly and keep it mess-free.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the tops are firm and spring back, then immediately turn the broiler on high (while the muffins are still in there) and cook for a couple of minutes just until the tops turn a golden brown color. Don't leave them unattended, as it will happen quickly. Let them cool about 10 minutes before eating. Store them in a container or ziplock bag. To reheat them, I slightly toasted them and they become crispy again perfectly. These muffins are insanely delicious just as much the next day, as they are fresh.
This was my first time making these muffins and they are amazing! When I was mixing the batter, the consistency reminded me of mashed potatoes! I used the fresh chives and will definitely be making them regularly! They are a great pairing to soup as well.
Wow!!!! The texture and flavor of these muffins are to die for!!! I was a little worried making this recipe because it’s so different than anything I have tried! Run to get the ingredients and make these! I used a silicone muffin pan and it worked perfectly. Thank you Brandi!!! ❤️
Is there a substitute for the apple cider vinegar?
You can try lemon juice.
Hi, Brandi! I want to make these for my birthday next week along with lasagna and salad (to serve as a garlic bread) and I was wondering if there would be a way to incorporate (either substitute part of something or just add) some nutritional yeast into these, for the b vitamins and cheesy flavor. If not, I understand, but just thought I’d ask!
Oh, I just saw under variations where you included this. Oops, sorry!
Can’t have anything coconut. Have you tried substituting?
No I have not, but the coconut milk is a very key ingredient to how fluffy they are. So, if you want to try subbing, make sure you are using another really cream/high fat milk like high quality Oatley or something, otherwise they won’t be as fluffy.
Just made these and they are delicious fresh out the oven. Only thing I changed is I used fresh chives – also added one tablespoon nutritional yeast. I used a bit of cooking spray and parchment paper on the bottom of the muffin tin and they all came out very easily. The taste reminds me of those cheddar biscuits from Red Lobster! The texture is so light and fluffy! Will be making again for sure!
Awesome Emma! Yes, that was my inspiration for the biscuits, so I’m SO glad they reminded you of them!!
Oooh I’m going to make these for Thanksgiving, they look wonderful Brandi, I don’t recall ever seeing dried chives – where do you get this ingredient. Fresh chives are readily available in the stores right now, I think that should work. I welcome comments.
Hi! Oh fresh is totally fine, would be delicious! Just for reference, dried is in the spice isle.
These were amazing, Brandi! I am often hesitant to make gluten free muffins and bread but the texture and taste of these were perfect. So quick to pull together as well!
I didn’t have foil liners but cut aluminum foil into squares. If you shape them on the back of the muffin pan, they work nicely in a pinch. I waited the 10 minutes for the muffins to cool and the foil came off perfectly. Can’t wait to make these muffins again, thank you for a great recipe!
So glad to hear this Anne, thank you for sharing!
Sounds yummy! Thank you for an oil-free recipe!
Can I use rice milk instead of coconut milk? I was thinking to add 3-4 tsp of olive oil to make up for the lack of fat. Would that help?
Hi there! I honestly can’t answer that without having tested it. But my hunch is it’s just not going to be the same. Rice milk is extremely watery and thin and low fat, whereas the coconut milk is thicker and creamier does replacing all that milk with a thin watery one, even adding oil, I think would make them dense and chewy and not near as fluffy. You are of course welcome to experiment though! But I would stick with the coconut for best results.
Brandi, I made your muffins and they were absolutely delicious. Thank you.
I am looking for the nutfree version.
Hi Nancy! It is listed under Recipe Notes at the very bottom of the recipe card.