I love trail mix. I love it so much that it’s not something I should buy or make.
But making muffins that are trail-mix inspired is totally fine.
They’re some of easiest and least fussy muffins to make. No mixer, one bowl, and literally a two minute batter.
The batch makes 9 modest-sized muffins, perfect for your cravings, but you’re not swimming in muffins for days.
The muffins happen to be vegan, but they definitely don’t taste like health food. They’re satisfying, filling, and comforting.
Frequently vegan muffin and quickbread recipes get around the egg issue by either using nut butter or bananas. I’ve also snuck in pumpkin and avocado. Anything dense, fatty, or creamy generally works to bind batter and mimic eggs.
However, in this recipe, I relied solely on the thickening power of oats to bind the batter. It worked like a charm and the resulting muffins have tons of texture and lots of chewiness from the oats.
You must use old-fashioned whole-rolled oats, not quick cook or instant. That latter is finer and behaves more like flour, which would render the muffins way too dry and dense.
The recipe is very adaptable based on what you like in your trail mix or have in your pantry. As written, the recipe is vegan, nut-free (no peanut butter), soy-free, and banana-free. I never knew how many people disliked bananas (and raisins) until I started blogging.
I used my favorite raisin medley blend from Trader Joe’s. If you prefer other dried fruit like craisins, dried cherries, dried mango, or apricots, use 1/3 cup of whatever you like.
Don’t like dried fruit and prefer nuts? Add 1/3 cup of your favorite chopped or sliced nuts like almonds, cashews, or walnuts.
I used mini chocolate chips because their small size helps them stay suspended in the batter and not sink to the bottom. I’m sure regular-sized baking chips will work. Use any chips you enjoy from butterscotch to white chocolate or peanut butter chips, noting that not all chips are vegan if that’s a consideration.
I used coconut oil and love baking with it for muffins, cakes, bread, cookies and more. I used Nutiva Coconut Oil from iHerb.com. Code AVE630 at checkout saves you $10 off your order. I love iHerb for everything like probiotics, bulk cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, liquid vanilla stevia drops, bulk white stevia powder, medicinal fancy-grade honey, chia seeds, face cleanser, nutritional yeast, and mini chocolate chips.
I cannot taste the coconut oil, but if you’re concerned, sub with vegetable or canola oil.
The muffins are hearty, sweet enough without being too sweet, and have ample texture from the raisins and oats. They’re chewy and not overly dense, a nice surprise given there’s no eggs.
If you happen to run out of eggs and butter, and have a muffin or trail mix craving, enjoy.
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Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Trail Mix Vegan Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅔ cup old-fashioned whole-rolled oats, do not use quick-cook or instant
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- ⅓ cup raisins, I used a raisin medley; substitute with your favorite dried fruit OR with 1/3 cup of chopped nuts
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips plus more for sprinkling tops, substitute with regular-sized chocolate chips or white chocolate, peanut butter chips, etc.
- ½ cup milk, rice, soy, almond, cashew, cow, etc.
- ⅓ cup liquid-state coconut oil, substitute with canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan in 9 of the cavities (I don’t prefer the cosmetic look of paper liners); set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the first 6 ingredients (through optional salt), and whisk to combine.
- Add the raisins, 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, and whisk to combine.
- Add the milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and with a rubber spatula, fold until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Using a large cookie scoop or 1/4-cup measure, evenly distribute the batter into 9 of the cavities of the pan (don’t use all 12, muffins will be too skimpy).
- Top each muffin top with a generous pinch of chocolate chips.
- Bake for about 20 to 24 minutes, or until muffins are set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling, but no batter. Don’t overbake because muffins will be prone to drying out. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 to 15 minutes before removing and placing on a rack to cool completely. Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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yummy!! These look so good, and I love that they can be consumed as a substantial breakfast item! Thanks, Averie!
I love that these are vegan! Makes it so much easier to feed them to everyone I know :D Thanks for sharing!
I love trail mix, these look like the best muffins – perfect for breakfast or an on-the-go snack!
Yay!! A vegan trail mix muffin with chocolate chips?! Amazing Averie! These look fantastiicccc! So pinned :) And I hear you about keeping trail mix in the house – it can be very dangerous!
I love that you are addicted to trail mix, lol. These look so good! Love the smaller batch. Sometimes 12 muffins is just too much.
It can be, I know. Unless you freeze them, but sometimes you just don’t even want to bother :)
We never have the problem of muffins sitting around too long. I would probably double this batch. I love muffins because they fit so many categories–breakfast, snack, dessert–and I love that these have so many healthy ingredients but still look like a treat, not health food.
Funny the lady right after you said 12 is too many and for you, you’re already going to double the batch. Everyone is so different! A treat, but not health food, and fall into so many categories – yes!
Wow, wow, wow! These look INCREDIBLE, Averie! Pinned :)
Thanks for pinning, Kelly! :)
These are clearly your most genius muffin creation yet. I love the idea of trail mix in a muffin (and of course the choc chips are a perfect touch) Absolutely gorgeous, Averie—they look so soft and moist inside! pinned.
Thank you for all the lovely compliments, Sarah, and for pinning!
These muffins are beautiful and I’m sure they taste just as good as they look!
With all your GF stuff and your last GF muffins, and these are vegan, we could open a healthy muffin bakery to offset all the other non-healthy stuff we make :)
Seriously gorgeous muffins Averie! And just packed full of flavor – yum! Pinned!
I’d gladly trade you these for your drinks :)
These look great – I love finding great vegan recipes – my brother is vegan and I love surprising him with treats!
The Macadame. xx
http://www.creamstop.com
Oh that’s sweet of you!
I love trail mix too! And these muffins would be so freaking perfect on a hike. I love them!
They are MADE for hiking, and well, trails :) They’re more hearty too and won’t squish too much in a backpack compared to a delicate blueberry muffin or something like that!
These look great!
I love trial mix! These muffins look fantastic! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Anna!
Yummo! i am big fan of trail mixers but rarely use them in baking. I think you convinced me to give them a shot in baked goods. We all can use a muffin in the morning; especially if they are accidentally vegan. I just did a vegan yellow cupcake for the blog; so ready to try another vegan wonder.
Vegan yellow cupcakes could be super tricky & yours turned out beautifully! And accidentally vegan is always nice, agreed :)
These look great, I think I am going to try a gluten free version this weekend. I love all the goodies you put inside, I love muffins that have a litte “oomph” to them!
Lmk how it goes if you try a GF version!