Add a little sunshine to your day with these Orange Muffins. These glazed muffins are light, fluffy, and bursting with citrus flavor. An orange glaze adds the perfect final sweet touch.
Jump to:
Why Make These
Muffins are an easy treat to make for breakfast or brunch. The best part is that they can be made in a variety of flavors. Some of our favorites are these banana muffins, these blueberry zucchini muffins, or apple muffins.
One muffin you must add to your list are these orange glazed muffins. Fresh squeezed juice adds the perfect touch of orange sweetness to the soft fluffy muffins. It's like eating sunshine for breakfast.
- Bright Flavor - Fresh orange juice and orange zest add a delicious taste.
- Soft and Fluffy - Cake-like texture that is so good.
- Orange Glaze - A sweet mixture of sugar and juice makes a delicious topping.
Serve these muffins with a glass of pineapple orange juice for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack. If you love orange, try out these orange sweet rolls.
Love baking muffins? Try our chocolate banana muffins, carrot muffins, or monkey bread muffins.
Key Ingredients
This orange muffin recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients. Make sure to use fresh oranges for that sweet citrus flavor.
- Sugars - Granulated sugar and powdered sugar are used to sweeten the batter and the glaze.
- Melted Butter - We use unsalted butter in most of our recipes. This allows you the opportunity to control how much salt you want to add.
- Sour Cream - Gives the muffins a soft and moist texture.
- Egg - Adds moisture and binds the ingredients together.
- All Purpose Flour - Adds structure to the batter.
- Milk - Adds moisture to the batter.
- Oranges - You will need 3 Navel oranges to get enough juice and zest for the recipe.
How To Make Orange Muffins
The batter for these glazed orange muffins is easy to make in just a few steps. Get ready to bake and enjoy. The longest part will be juicing and zesting your oranges.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Stir together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in a large bowl. Create a "hole" in the center of the ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients. Whisk together the milk, orange juice, sour cream, egg, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry ingredients and mix until a batter forms.
- Bake and cool. Spoon the batter evenly into cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool.
- Dip in glaze. Stir together powdered sugar, orange juice, and fresh orange zest. Dip the tops of the cooled muffins in the glaze and let it set.
Tips and Tricks
Here are our tips for making the best orange muffins.
- The most important baking tip for muffins is Do Not Over Mix! Over mixing will cause the batter to become tough and the muffins will be bread like instead of light and fluffy.
- If you don't have muffin or cupcake liners, spray the muffin pan with a non stick baking spray. Use a paper towel to wipe out the excess before filling with batter.
- Freshly squeezed Navel oranges will give these muffins the best flavor.
- Use a zesting tool to remove the outer orange zest before juicing. Do not scrape the white pith of the orange because it is bitter.
- Want more orange flavor? Stir 1 teaspoon orange extract into the batter.
- Fill the muffin liners neatly with a large cookie scoop.
Variations
There is something so delicious about eating these orange muffins just as they are. They are also easy and fun to change up by adding other ingredients.
- Fresh Berries - cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
- Shredded Coconut
- Nuts or Seeds
- Poppyseeds
Storage
Counter - Keep leftover muffins in a loosely covered container on the counter at room temperature for 2-3 days. The glaze will start to soak into the tops of the muffins after a day or two.
Freezer - Place the muffins on a tray. Flash freeze for 30 minutes, then place them in a freezer bag or container. Freeze for 1-2 months.
FYI: Do not add the zesty orange glaze if you are planning on freezing these muffins. Add it to the top once you thaw them out.
Recipe FAQs
Do not let muffins sit in the hot pan any longer than 5 minutes. Take them out of the hot pan and set them on the cooling rack. This will release the trapped heat from under the muffin liner.
Yes, you can use Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream for the same texture and flavor.
If your muffins are baking flat, that is an indication that they are under baked or the oven temperature was incorrect.
Fruit, nuts, or poppyseeds are a great addition to these orange muffins. You can also increase the amount of orange zest for a bigger citrus flavor.
This recipe makes 12 cupcake sized muffins. Double the ingredients to make 24 muffins.
More Muffin Recipes
- Banana Pineapple Muffins
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Classic Blueberry Muffin
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Cheesecake Muffin
- Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins
- Oreo Muffins
Do you love a recipe you tried from Inside BruCrew Life?
Please leave a 5-star ⭐️ rating and a review in the comments section below.
Recipe
Orange Muffins
Enjoy a bite of sunshine with these Orange Muffins. These glazed muffins are light, fluffy, and bursting with citrus flavor. An orange glaze adds the perfect final sweet touch.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large navel oranges, zested
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 2 large navel oranges)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
For the Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 large navel orange, zested and juiced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Place 12 cupcake liners in a muffin pan.
- Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Create a "hole" in the center of the ingredients.
- Whisk together the milk, orange juice, sour cream, egg, and melted butter. Pour in the center of the dry ingredients and mix until a batter forms.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the liners. Bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool.
- Stir together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, and 1 tablespoon zest. Dip the tops of the cooled muffins in the glaze and let set.
Notes
- The most important baking tip for muffins is Do Not Over Mix! Over mixing will cause the batter to become tough and the muffins will be bread like instead of light and fluffy.
- If you don't have muffin or cupcake liners, spray the muffin tin with a non stick baking spray. Use a paper towel to wipe out the excess.
- Freshly squeezed Navel oranges will give these muffins the best flavor.
- Use a zesting tool to remove the outer orange zest before juicing. Do not scrape the white pith of the orange because it is bitter.
- Fill the muffin liners neatly with a large cookie scoop.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
*The recipe for orange glazed muffins was first published June 2012. It was updated and republished March 2023.
Shawn K
I cut the recipe in half, used CaraCara oranges and added the pink flesh into the mix also. This was a deliciously light muffin and made just 4. Perfect for a quick breakfast for 2.
Betty
This really sounds yummy. I know the sour cream is probably 1/4 cup but you might want to add it to the recipe. Thanks
Jocelyn
Thank you so much for letting me know! I have it fixed 🙂
Hayley
Yum! So simple to whip up early mornings before work & school.