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.
OMG! these were so delicious…the batter smelled so amazing before baking….afterwards, they tasted so delicious….Thank you!
Thank you so much Elilta for making them and I’m so happy to hear you loved them so much!!
Hello Brandi…chiming in again!! I can never get good muffin photos…they look so good…garlic and chive is a great combination?
Thank you so much, so glad you like the photos of these! 🙂
They look so cute! Love the flavors too. 🙂
These were delicious! It was such an easy recipe–just the thing to get me out of my baking rut. I was running low on chives, so I added freeze dried shallots. I added nooch as suggested and half of the optional onion powder.
SO wonderful Rachel to hear! I’m so happy you loved these, thank you so much for making them and leaving feedback! Freeze dried shallots sound delicious!
You might not believe this but I have never had a savoury muffin. I know, where have I been?
They sound delicious and look so soft & fluffy inside. I would love a couple with a nice bowl of soup. Yum!
Oh wow, yes they are so great to go with soup, thank you Mel!
Looks so good and yummy!
Those photos are beautiful. They almost look too pretty to eat.
That’s so sweet, thank you so much Nicole!
These look so delicious! I only wish I had white rice flour in my pantry! Do you know if they would work with brown rice flour?
Yes, brown rice flour does work, but they are slightly less fluffy and have a very slight brown rice taste, the white has none, but they are still delicious. Let me know if you try them!
YUM! I could eat like 5 of these with dinner! 😉 and this flavor combo garlic and chive sounds DELICIOUS!!!
I’m glad you kept working on the perfect recipe. Aquafaba to lighten–love it!
Thanks Letty!
There is something rather nice about savoury muffins. I made recently carrot and courgette and kids loved it. Also I love fresh chive, it has such a lovely and distinctive taste. Another bombastic recipe Brandi!
Oh those sound yummy Hedi, thank you!
Wow! These look soooo moist. I would have never guessed that they were gf and oil free! Absolute perfection! sharing!
Thank you so much Vanessa! They are some of the best muffins I’ve ever had and I love that they are healthy too!
love your photos!!!!! i am not very familiar with gf baking but from what i see, these look so fluffy and love the addition of chives.
Thank you so much Dixya! So kind of you to say that!
Oh man, I used to LOVE those Red Lobster biscuits! The texture on the inside of these looks insane! Well done, girl!! And I love that you used aquafaba again!
Thank you so much Jenn! I didn’t even plan them out to taste like them, but they did, it’s amazing, haha! The texture is truly like a cloud!
These are absolutely fabulous and have that familiar Red Lobster cheddar biscuit familiarity. They are like little pillows of wonderfulness. My 14 year old can’t keep his hands off them either. I used half soy half coconut milk, the 1tsp of garlic and 1 Tb of nutritional yeast. Next time I’ll use 2 Tb of nutritional yeast. Thanks for a dinner muffin to eat with soup.
Oops I meant I added the 1tsp of onion powder. Sorry for the mistype.
Thank you so much Estee for such wonderful feedback! I’m so happy to hear you and your son love them so much! I really appreciate the feedback! I told you they are addictive, haha!
Can I use regular full fat coconut milk instead of the lite version?
You can try it, I’ve never tried it, but you will have to dilute the milk first since it’s much thicker and has more than twice the amount of fat than lite. To do this, empty the container of milk and water from the can into a blender and fill up 1 full can of water and blend that all together until smooth. Then use the amount called for in the recipe.
Be still my heart…and tummy!
I love savory muffins and they are so rare…these look just fabulous . May try them with fresh chives ?
I love savory muffins. I think I make savory more than sweet. These would be great for breakfast!
Is there anything to sub in place of the chickpea water? Will regular water work here as well?
Hi Kate, no water will not work. The aquafaba acts as the “egg”, it is very sticky, nothing like water, so it helps the muffins to bind, as well as making them fluffy. There isn’t a sub. It’s incredibly easy, just drain a can of chickpeas and use 1/4 cup of the liquid. I have other recipes on my blog using chickpea liquid as well, if you wanted to reserve it. 🙂
Love the flavor of this muffin
Wow, these looks so soft and fluffy and I want one right now!!! <3 I need to try that flax version, that sounds really intriguing! Thanks so much for putting all the effort into nailing these, I know how frustrating it can get at times 🙂
Well these look interesting! I do love chives and these are the perfect addition to the “bread basket” that no doesn’t have to be passed up at the dinner table 😉
Interesting, yes, and delicious! Have you tried a garlic muffin before? They are super popular at restaurants, as they go perfect with any dinner meal, soups are my favorite!
That shot right after the words “…midnight snack?” OMG the fluffiness!!! Okay I need to get my hands on some white rice flour asap! I know I’m not usually a savory person, but I am a huge muffin person so I am still loving these little guys. The first thing I thought of when I saw these is cornbread, the flavors and purpose sound similar, but this light fluffy alternative sounds like a nice change. (although your husband doesn’t like cornbread?? how?) You are a perfectionist, but it always pays off with perfect recipes like this <3 And love how you leave a nice big note in the recipe to try to stave off people asking about a million substitutions haha, I need to do that 😀 You could probably win me to the savory side with these!
Haha, thank you so much Natalie! I do that because I hate to have people waste time or ingredients on subs that I know won’t work..there is a reason I test my recipes so much and when you make it as is, you get this result! Plus, the recipe is ridiculously simple and so few ingredients. Every single flour behaves soooo differently in baking.
Yes, I know, hubby is very strange in the things he doesn’t like. I personally love cornbread but for some reason, he is not a fan, but he is a HUGE fan of these! Big, big hit!
So sweet muffins are good. I like them. I’ll eat them. But savory muffins…omg I will chase you down, take your muffin and run as I’m stuffing them in my mouth!!! These look insane. I’ve been wanting to work on a savory muffin forever (tex mex is what’s on my list), put it on my long list of recipes I need to do that is so long who knows when it’ll be done. LOL. But first, I must take a break and make these. They look amazing!!!
Hahahaha! I hear ya girl! Savoury muffins are scary addictive, because you don’t get tired of them, since they aren’t sweet. These are the best savoury muffins I’ve had in a really long time, and the fact they are healthy is just a huge bonus! Thank you Sophia!
I’d eat like 2 dozen in one sitting. Seriously.
Wow I’m in love with this flavor combination! Garlic and chives pairs perfectly! Love that you use white rice flour here and almond flour! Adding coconut milk is a genius idea, I did the same with my vegan caramel short bread and other recipes and it adds such an awesome buttery flavor to the recipe. A big batch for me please! 🙂
Thanks Florian! Yeah, coconut milk is my go-to milk! Been using it in my recipes for the last 3 years 🙂 I love that I don’t need to add oil, it just makes them taste amazing!
Those look incredibly delish!! I need to try them! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much Brandie! Let me know when you do!