There's something about the dead of winter that makes me crave tropical fruit. I've been slicing up fresh pineapple and grapefruit almost every day for the last few weeks. Although the weather outside is frightful (in Colorado at least), I can munch away on sweet, citrusy fresh fruit and imagine that I'm someplace tropical and warm.

This morning, as I pondered what to make for breakfast, I looked at the couple of pineapples sitting out on the counter and thought that Pineapple Muffins sounded like just the thing. Being January, we are trying to recover from the decadence of the holiday season in this family. So, I decided to see what I could do to make these pineapple muffins a bit healthier than your typical sweet morning treat.
The first thing I did was to substitute white flour with a healthier blend of brown rice flour, oat flour, sorghum flour and flax meall. This made them not only gluten-free, but also much higher in fiber. Then, I opted for coconut oil and homemade, sugar free applesauce instead of butter or oil, which makes these muffins incredibly moist and gives them just a hint of coconut flavor. Finally, I substituted half the sugar with Stevia.
And, presto!
Delicious little tropical tasting muffins that taste like pure indulgence, even though they are quite good for you.
I promise, no one you serve these to will detect that they are gluten free, low sugar or high fiber. Even you might doubt it.
More Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes:
- Gluten Free Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- Gluten free Chocolate Almond Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
- Gluten free Double Chocolate Cinnamon Ricotta Muffins
- The Best Gluten Free Banana Muffins
📖 Recipe
Low-Sugar, Gluten-Free Pineapple Muffins
These delicious little gluten free pineapple muffins are incredibly moist and decadent tasting, even though they are high-fiber, low-sugar & gluten free.
Ingredients
FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING:
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon stevia
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
FOR THE MUFFIN BATTER
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup stevia
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup sorghum flour
- ⅓ cup ground flax meal
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups fresh or canned pineapple, cut into small chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, blend the cinnamon sugar topping ingredients and set aside.
- In a standing mixer, beat the sugar, stevia, eggs and coconut oil with the whisk attachment for about 2 minutes, until thickened and light in color. Beat in the applesauce, buttermilk and vanilla just until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients with a wire whisk until blended. Add the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined.
- With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the pineapple.
- Distribute evenly in the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out mostly clean.
- Remove to a wire rack and let cool in the tin completely. (The muffins are very tender and difficult to get out without smashing if they are still warm.) These are best the day they are made, but can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 94Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 188mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g
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Anonymous says
Thanks for finally writing about Healthy, Gluten Free Pineapple Muffins. Loved it!