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.
Brandi, I discovered your blog this summer, as an illness has led me to eating a WFPB diet. I LOVE your recipes. They fit my new eating habits perfectly. I’ve made a few recipes thus far. I wanted to share that these muffins are so yummy that I mix up multiple batches at a time of the dry ingredients, store them in the fridge in mason jars, and then they are are a snap to mix up. I also keep aqua faba frozen in cubes so I can have that ready for these muffins!
Hi Maria! Thank you so much for such a kind comment! That’s a really great idea and I’m so glad you love the muffins. Would you mind clicking the star rating as well, thank you!
Amazing, perfect, delicious… as everything Brandi does!!!!
Yay, thank you so much Tatiana for the wonderful review!!
These were lovely! I made them with the nutritional yeast, for a nice cheesy flavor. I used If You Care paper baking cups (https://www.ifyoucare.com/baking-cooking/baking-cups/) and they didn’t stick at all; in fact, they stuck less than anything else I’ve ever made in them! They look unused. I wonder if I inadvertently did something different?? Anyway, thanks for another fun recipe!
Oh, awesome! I will definitely have to check out those paper cups. I have actually started using the brown parchment paper baking cups from Sprouts and they are amazing!! No sticking at oil and healthier than foil. Thanks so much Thera, so glad you enjoyed these!
These are amazing! I forgot to get cupcake liners at the store, but I used a little spray oil on the muffin tin and they came out just fine. I must admit I was apprehensive, muffins with no oil or dairy? They are so delicious and tasty. I think I could have these muffins and your alfredo pasta for dinner every night. Thanks Brandi!
That is the best feedback Tom, thank you so much for sharing! I loved reading it!
Made these tonight.Absolutely delish!!!
WOW!!! Absolutely wonderful!
Awesome! So glad you loved them Linda!
For those that don’t have aquafaba on hand, I just tested these with a flax egg instead and they turned out great! I have tried them with the aquafaba too and they taste just as good! In order to make the flax egg equivalent to the 1/4 cup of aquafaba, I used 4 Tbsp water with 1 Tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. flax seed meal. I was so happy they turned out as storing cans of chickpeas in the fridge just to use the aquafaba is kind of annoying.
So glad to hear they turned out for you with the flax Alicia! Thanks for the feedback!
These were absolutely delicious, thank you for the recipe! 🙂 Next time I’d like to make a double (or triple or quadruple….) batch – have you (or anyone) tried freezing these? It would be great to make these on the weekend, freeze them, and then thaw and reheat these during the week when we have limited time….
Hi Keri! I’m so happy to hear you loved these, thank you so much for the feedback! I have never tried freezing them, we eat them so fast, haha. I don’t know if they would become soft again, but it works well with my bread I make. But I would suggest trying it and see. Just wrap them really tightly in plastic wrap and then enclose them in a ziplock bag as well and I would lightly reheat them on a very low heat in the oven to bring them back, hope it works!
Just an update: these muffins freeze and defrost beautifully! I froze them in a Glasslock-type container then defrosted in the microwave (!!) a month later and it was like they were just made fresh. It’s taken me until now to have some left to experiment with freezing because they kept disappearing….. into my belly….. I may or may not have eaten a half dozen in one sitting…… LOL, and by the way, the foil liners are super expensive where I live, so I use PaperChef parchment paper liners with success (I got them at Kroger, but are also on Amazon). Thanks again!
I made these last night to pair with chili and they were amazing!!! Posted them on Instagram! They are light and fluffy and easy to make! Out of all the vegan blogs there are, yours is my favorite and the one I make most of my meals from. I can’t wait to reheat the leftover muffins for lunch today! Thanks, Brandi!
So so happy to hear that, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Gale!
I keep forgetting to leave feedback here!! Note to self, be very specific when sending hubby to the store for white rice flour. He came home with sweet rice flour and I didn’t have the heart to send him back to the store…especially since I was the one who forgot to pick it up in the first place. Anyways…the texture was a bit off, but the taste…omg. SO GOOD!!! They got devoured really fast. I plan on making them the proper way soon! As always, fantastic recipe!!! xoxoxo
hahaha! Oh yes, sweet rice flour is definitely NOT the right flour for these! The regular rice flour makes them ridiculously soft and fluffy and perfect 🙂 Definitely try them again with that one, you will see what I mean, thank you so much Mandy!! So glad you loved the taste, thank you!
Haha!!! That’s partly why I hesitated to comment because you wrote out this perfect recipe and I go ahead and stray from the recommended ingredients! You even state clearly NOT to substitute the flour…I’m laughing so hard still. Oh, I will most definitely make these again and then I’ll share a pic on IG! xo
Crazy Good!! I didn’t have anything but paper liners but they didn’t stick to bad. My husband was trying to get every last bite off the paper liners. I substituted lemon juice for the vinegar as I can’t have. Thanks.
Haha, that made me laugh picturing your husband trying to remove every last bite…that was totally me when I made a batch in the paper liners! Some of them may vary because my trial was just awful, like half of the muffin was only left after peeling the muffin out. The foil interior-lined ones are seriously magical! So happy you loved these, thank you so much for the feedback Debbie!
OMG! These are SO GOOD!!! Thank you so much for this recipe! I always like to make rolls or biscuit with my soups and have never found one that is a repeat until now!
I’m so happy to hear that Alicia, thank you so very much for the amazing feedback! So glad they were a hit!
Hey lady!! You rock!! Get in my belly muffins!!
Lol!!! Belly muffins!
These were delicious! I made them in my silicone cupcake pans and that worked well! I think I needed to cook them a little longer. Not sure if that was a result of the pans or my oven. Love that you include weights as well as amount. I also got a little carried away with the garlic? Will make them again!
So happy to hear that, thank you so much for the feedback! Yes, silicone I believe may take a little longer to cook through, a few minutes should do it, thank you1
I think I’ve never had savory muffins, but these look amazing, Brandi! 🙂 I love that you used almond flour.
Thanks Sina!
I highly recommend this muffin! A staple recipe! It’s fluffy, soft, a perfect accompaniment to almost any meal, and versatile to meet whatever taste your in the mood. Can be adapted to fit your table with almost no effort, from savory herb, to cheesy, simply bread-y, or seasonings that range with your tastebuds: garlic, rosemary, chives, etc. And I cannot overlook the fact they can even be made less savory and more sweet by replacing the herbs and spices with cinammon, vanilla, &/or nuts, and although I have not tried it yet, I can only imagine how good a maple flavor would be with a little maple syrup to sweeten the deal. Gluten free? No problem. Nut allergy? Brandi took care of that as well with an option sub of flax, which I can vouche for personally (multiple times now). Overall this muffin deserves five stars all the way and two thubs up! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ??
Thank you so much Jenna for the amazing feedback! I love that you made some with rosemary and then a sweet version, yum! Loved your pics on Instagram too, thank you again very much!
has anyone tried making this recipe in silicone liners or greased metal rings? looks amazing- thanks for the recipe!
Hi Noosh! I haven’t but as long as you grease the cups you use, I would think you’d be fine. I do know another reader use a silicone muffin pan and it worked fine, I just haven’t tried it personally. They did stick horribly to paper liners when I tested a version.
great thanks! i made them in my silicone muffin liners and they turned out well! i think they were a little underdone so did need additional time. oh and you have to take them out of the liners to broil them since they can’t go under the broiler but i did grease them a bit before and absolutely no sticking. thanks so much again for the lovely recipe!
I love savory muffins and these are such an amazing flavor combination. I love that you used almond flour in them!
These are gorgeous!!! I’m pretty sure I could make a meal out of these alone. Wow! They look so buttery, fluffy and heavenly! I’ve never had a savory muffin before so I’m super excited to try these. It’s so amazing what happens when you switch up a flour or two…I’ve become rather obsessed with almond flour these days, but I’ve never tried this flour combo! Definitely putting these on our menu for next week!!!
You know what, I don’t think I have ever made savoury muffins! I don’t know why, because I do love them. These sound great, love the photos!
The muffins look so tasty! That’s fun that they’re like a gf, vegan Red Lobster muffin. I remember really enjoying those back in the day. Thanks for the great recipe!
These muffins look so light and fluffy, and the flavors sound absolutely delicious!
Wow, these look absolutely incredible!