Soft and delicious chai muffins made with gluten-free flours and flax meal for the ultimate fluffy healthy spiced muffin recipe (includes vegan option)!
For a chocolate treat, try my nutella muffins.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Bake Time: 18 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees F
- ⏳ Total Time: 30 minutes
- 🍽️ Yield: 12 muffins
- ⚡ Calories: 144kcal per muffin, per the recipe card
- 🥣 Ingredients: gluten-free flour mix, tapioca flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, eggs, almond milk, coconut oil, vanilla and coconut sugar
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Warm chai spice, like a chai spice cake
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, two bowls
Quick Answer
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin pan. Combine 1 cup gluten-free flour mix, ½ cup tapioca flour, ½ cup flaxseed meal, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger and ½ teaspoon nutmeg. Whisk 2 eggs, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and ¾ cup coconut sugar. Pour the wet into the dry, mix without over-mixing, fill 12 cups and bake 18 to 20 minutes.
Jump to:
These chai muffins are one of the most delicious muffins on this blog and I am so thrilled to be sharing them with you! Perfect for fall and curling up enjoying a pumpkin spiced chai latte with them. They are one of my favorite gluten-free muffins (aside from this one) because they are so light and fluffy in texture with lots of chai spiced flavors that simply melt in your mouth!
How To Make A Moist Gluten-Free Muffin
Click to see why it works
- Blend your flours. Every muffin recipe is different, but in general, a combination of dense and light gluten-free flours is the best way to achieve the fluffiest baked good.
- Moistness. These muffins achieve their moistness from the blends of dense (brown rice in a flour mix) and a fluffy flour (tapioca flour) in addition to flax meal.
- Flaxseed meal just holds these healthy chai muffins together and makes their texture light with a bakery-style muffin consistency!
- Measure with care. Measure flours using the flat side of a knife, scraping across the top of a measuring cup to get an accurate measurement at the top.
- Whisk quickly so the coconut oil does not harden.
Why You'll Love These Chai Muffins
- Light and fluffy with extra-spice-and-everything-nice.
- Tastes like a chai spice cake.
- Gluten-free with a vegan option using a flegg.
- The perfect balanced meal when using these wholesome and natural ingredients.
- Fall favorite. We eat them for breakfast, snacks and even a dessert treat.
Key Ingredients
- Gluten-free flour mix and tapioca flour - the dense and fluffy flours.
- Flaxseed meal - holds the muffins together.
- Baking powder and baking soda.
- Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg - the chai spices, with pink Himalayan salt.
- Eggs - or a flegg: mix 2 tablespoons flax meal with 6 tablespoons of hot water and use in place of the 2 eggs.
- Almond milk - or cashew milk.
- Coconut oil, vanilla and coconut sugar.
See recipe card for quantities.
These FLUFFY Chai Muffins!
It took about three tries to create these to be the fluffiest and most moist gluten-free muffins! One version with yogurt, one version with almond milk and one version adding a bit of flax meal and altering the sugar ratio. It is chemistry at its best with baking, and these beautiful muffins are the winning muffin recipe that taste like a chai spice cake!
I had all my boys test them all week to see if they like the one that is chewier, the one that is fluffier, and one that is the moistest. Fluffy with extra-spice-and-everything-nice won every day!
Muffins are the perfect balanced meal when using these wholesome and natural ingredients. We literally eat them daily for either breakfast, snacks, as a nutritious grain for lunch and even a dessert treat that I bribe my kids "If you eat all your dinner you get a muffin!" It totally works?! Especially smothered with melted butter on top (ghee or vegan butter too!).
How to Make Chai Muffins
1Prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners and spray the insides with cooking spray.
2Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl combine the gluten-free flour, tapioca flour, flax meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Mix to combine and make a well in the center. Set aside.
3Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl add the eggs (or flegg) and milk then whisk gently to combine. Add the melted coconut oil, vanilla and coconut sugar and whisk together quickly so the coconut oil does not harden.
4Combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix the batter together, trying not to over-mix it.
5Bake. Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for a minute or two until you are able to touch them then transfer each muffin to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Add-ins. To take these chai muffins even further you can add about ½ cup of fruit right before scooping into muffin cups. Favorites are chopped dried apricots, dried dates, fresh cranberries, fresh apples, figs, dark or milk chocolate chip morsels and white chocolate chips.
- Don't over-mix the batter.
- Trouble with muffins? Check out these 5 tips on the perfect muffin.
- Find more. You can get more healthy muffin recipes by searching muffins on this site or in my muffins ebook.
- Serve warm with melted butter, ghee or vegan butter.
If You Like This Healthy Muffin Recipe
You may also like my Healthy Carrot Avocado Banana Oat Muffins, Chocolate Chip Spinach Muffins, Banana Zucchini Muffins, Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Muffins, Healthy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Squash Muffins and Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins.
Baking for the holidays? Try my Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins or Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins.
Chai Muffin FAQs
A blend of a dense flour (brown rice in a flour mix) and a fluffy flour (tapioca flour) plus flax meal.
Yes. Use a flegg in place of the 2 eggs by mixing 2 tablespoons flax meal with 6 tablespoons of hot water.
18 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
About ½ cup of chopped dried apricots, dates, fresh cranberries, apples, figs or chocolate chips right before scooping.
Almond milk or cashew milk.
12 muffins, at 144 calories each per the recipe card.
More Fall Muffins
Bake Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins, Banana Zucchini Muffins or Cornbread Muffins next. If you make this recipe I would love to see it! Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a feature and more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to leave a comment below!
Gluten-Free Chai Muffins
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Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free flour mix
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- ½ cup flaxseed meal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 eggs (or flegg - mix 2 tablespoon flax meal with 6 tablespoon of hot water and use in place of the 2 eggs)
- 1 cup almond milk or cashew milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners and spray the insides with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl combine the gluten-free flour, tapioca flour, flax meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Mix to combine and make a well in the center. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl add the eggs (or flegg) and milk then whisk gently to combine. Add the melted coconut oil, vanilla and coconut sugar and whisk together quickly so the coconut oil does not harden.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix the batter together, trying not to over-mix it.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for a minute or two until you are able to touch them then transfer each muffin to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
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