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I am super excited to share this keto muffin recipe with you guys! These muffins are one of my family’s favorites and I love the flavor! These are like little bites of sunshine! Fennel and orange are a really spectacular combination that doesn’t get enough love. So let’s get baking these keto fennel orange muffins, shall we?
Keto Fennel Orange Muffins
Are you familiar with fennel? Fennel is a plant in the carrot family, actually. But it doesn’t taste at all like carrots, and it’s not actually a root vegetable. The “bulb” is actually the base of the stalk that grows above ground. Typically, recipes call for fresh fennel bulbs or dried fennel seeds. But the leafy fronds are also edible (I use them in my Lemony Fish & Asparagus sheet pan recipe.)
Fresh fennel has a texture similar to celery, but a completely different flavor. The taste is somewhat like licorice, but before you freak out, I need to tell you that I abhor black licorice and anise with the fire of a thousand suns, but I really enjoy fennel. I know that might not make sense, but the flavor is not the same.
You can find fennel in the produce section of most grocery stores. You can see what it looks like in the photo below, next to the oranges. I’ve seen them sold with the fronds intact, and also trimmed so it’s just the bulb.
Ingredients
Ok, so we talked about the fennel. But what about the rest of the ingredients?
Orange– For this recipe, we’re using orange segments that we blend up. I prefer this to using orange juice as it retains some of the fiber that helps to slow down the absorption of the sugars naturally present in the orange. We also use the zest of one orange. Zest the orange (I use a microplane) before you segment it.
Almond flour– The base of this recipe is almond flour. Make sure to use an almond flour that is finely ground blanched almonds, not almond meal, which is coarser and contains the skins. If you are allergic to almonds, you can substitute the same amount of sunflower seed flour. Do not substitute coconut flour, as it behaves very differently.
Whey protein isolate– Using whey protein helps with the structure of these muffins. Make sure you get If you can’t do whey, I think you can probably substitute egg white protein powder, but I have not tried it myself so I can’t say if it produces the same result.
Swerve Brown– I use a brown-sugar alternative here because the deeper flavor of brown sugar complements the orange and fennel flavors really well. I think other low carb brown sugar alternatives would work here as well, but I have only used Swerve.
Xanthan gum– Xanthan gum helps with the texture of gluten-free baked goods. That being said, you can leave it out if you can’t have xanthan gum.
Butter– This recipe uses melted butter. It’s important to let the butter cool somewhat before adding it to the batter, so melt the butter first and let it sit for a bit. I think you could substitute coconut oil for the butter to make this dairy free, but I have not tried it myself so I can’t give any firsthand knowledge.
In addition to these ingredients, you’ll need some basics like eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt.
Segmenting the Orange
If you have never segmented an orange, it involves cutting off the skin and the pith down to the fruit, and then cutting out the orange segments (called supremes) from in between the membranes. Segmented citrus is also a great addition to salads.
It’s difficult to explain with just words and one photo, so I’ve included how to segment an orange in the video of the recipe below.
Instructions
Make sure to watch the video for all the instructions!
In case you’re wondering if this flavor combination will fly with your kids, I can tell you that my kids absolutely love these muffins. Even though they’re keto, even though they’re free of all the bad stuff, and even with fennel in them! They’ve eaten them for breakfast almost every day for two weeks as I’ve tweaked the recipe.
Hello, sunshine! 😍
These are just perfect with a smear of good quality butter on them! You can eat them warm without worrying about them falling apart (which is sometimes a concern with gluten-free baked goods.)
These keto muffins will keep at room temperature for three days, in the fridge for a good week, and in the freezer for up to three months. We like to throw ours in the toaster oven to warm them up before eating them.
Give them a try and let me know what you think!
Keto Fennel Orange Muffins
Bright and sunshiny low carb muffins that are perfect for breakfast any day of the week!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (250g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (75g) packed Swerve brown sugar alternative
- 1/4 cup (20g) whey protein isolate
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- zest of one orange
- 3/4 cup (100g) grated fennel bulb (about 1 medium bulb)
- 4 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
- 1/3 cup pureed orange (see video for instructions)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF (163º C) and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine almond flour, Swerve, whey protein, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
- Segment an orange (see video for instructions) and puree segments with an imersion blender or regular blender. Measure out 1/3 cup pureed orange.
- Grate fennel bulb and measure out 3/4 cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Add eggs and cooled, melted butter, and combine.
- With mixer running, add pureed orange and vanilla.
- Divide batter evenly amongst the lined muffin cavities.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 muffinAmount Per Serving: Calories: 183Total Fat: 15.6gSaturated Fat: 3.5gSodium: 176mgCarbohydrates: 5.7gNet Carbohydrates: 3.2gFiber: 2.5gSugar: 2gProtein: 7.4g
