Sweet Gluten-Free Vegan Muffins with Olive Oil and Rosemary

It took me 3 days to perfect this recipe. Not because it's particularly complex, but I simply craved a sweet muffin made from chickpea flour that was airy and had a Mediterranean aroma.

I wanted to utilize all the nutritional benefits that chickpea flour brings while leaving behind the density and strong flavor that some people find overwhelming.

You know what? I think I did it!

This is an airy, vegan, gluten-free pastry with light notes of olive oil and lemon.

There is such a pleasant softness to these muffins, and you would never guess they contain chickpea flour.

Regarding the combination of rosemary and olive oil in a sweet pastry: in regions like Greece, Turkey, Albania, and Macedonia, there are many sweet treats that make extensive use of olive oil, rosemary, and even chickpea flour in desserts.

It’s a whole world of flavors that pairs beautifully in a sweet version. Give it a try—you might just fall in love!

A bit about these Vegan Muffins

• The base of these muffins is chickpea flour. You can substitute it with lentil flour and it will still be delicious. If you swap it for other legume flours like pea or mung bean flour, it might be less tasty. As they say—that’s on you! 🙂
• There’s no way more Mediterranean to sweeten these muffins than with a bit of Silan (date syrup). Note that these muffins aren't overly sweet. If you want them sweeter, simply increase the amount of Silan.

  

  You can also substitute it with an equal amount of maple syrup.

• A wonderful aroma and healthy fatty acids are added thanks to the olive oil. It truly elevates this pastry. Don’t worry; the fatty acids are not destroyed during baking at 170 degrees Celsius.
• Don’t skip the rosemary. It gives a wonderful boost of Mediterranean aroma. If you want to switch it up, you can use za'atar, thyme, oregano, or even mint or basil.
• Extra Mediterranean flavor and depth are achieved thanks to the almond milk. It provides plenty of flavor with minimal calories. You can substitute it with water, soy milk, or oat milk.

Nutritional Values per Sweet Gluten-Free Vegan Muffin

One muffin out of 12 contains:

• 75 calories
• 8g carbohydrates
• 2.8g fat
• 2.8g protein

Print

Sweet Gluten-Free Vegan Muffins

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 12 muffins

Calories 75 kcal

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 2 tsp flaxseeds + 2 tbsp water

Wet Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup almond milk one and one-third cups
• 1/3 cup olive oil one-third
• 1/3 cup Silan (date syrup) one-third
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• juice from half a lemon

Must-Have Upgrades

• pinch chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Decorations

• rosemary leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to a medium heat of 170°C.

2. Using a spice grinder, grind the flaxseeds and mix with 2 tbsp of water until a uniform paste forms. Set aside for 5 minutes.

3. In a deep bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: chickpea flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

4. In another deep bowl, pour the almond milk, olive oil, vanilla extract, and Silan.

5. If the Silan is very solid, microwave it for a few seconds to make it liquid and easy to work with.

6. Do not add the lemon juice yet.

7. Whisk well and slowly add the flour mixture while continuing to stir.

8. Add the chopped rosemary and lemon zest, mix, and let it sit for half an hour or until the batter is smooth and lump-free.

9. Add the lemon juice and stir.

10. Transfer the batter to a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners, filling each cup to the top.

11. Decorate with a few rosemary leaves on top.

12. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out dry.

Notes

Enjoy!