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If you love savory breakfasts, you must try my vegan chickpea flour broccoli muffins! The chickpea flour is similar to an all-egg batter, making these equal parts muffin and quiche in taste and texture. They are oil-free, grain-free and gluten-free, too.
Today marks day three of my vegan muffin roundup! On the cooling rack is a delicious surprise for all of you muffin traditionalists who think muffins only come in bran, blueberry and banana. Feast your eyes on my Vegan Chickpea Flour Broccoli Muffins.
I, like other food writers, overuse (torture) the phrase “these are great with a bowl of soup or a green salad!” when speaking of savory quickbreads such as this. Sorry. But it is true, these are.
Yet these are equally smashing as a savory start to your day. My husband thinks broccoli for breakfast is whackadoodle, but I’ll win him over one of these days.
Recipe Benefits
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Grain-free
- Gluten-free
- Oil-free
- Nut-free
- Quick and easy to make
- 6 grams protein per muffin
- Only 99 calories each
Ingredients
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post. Toggle between US Customary (volume) and Metric (weights) for preferred measurement option.
- chickpea flour (also known as besan, or garbanzo bean flour)
- garlic powder
- smoked paprika, or sweet paprika
- baking powder, certified gluten-free, as needed
- ground turmeric
- salt, adjustable, according to taste
- plain nondairy milk, such as cashew milk, almond milk, coconut milk
- broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
- chopped onion, about 1 small onion
Step by Step Instructions
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line 12 cups of a standard size muffin tin with silicone, paper or foil liners. If you do not need the muffins to be 100% oil-free, grease or spray the muffin cups.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the chickpea flour, garlic powder, paprika, baking powder, turmeric and salt until blended. Whisk in the nondairy milk until blended into a thick batter.
- Divide the broccoli, chopped onion and (optional) cheese evenly between the prepared cups. Pour or ladle the batter into the cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 23 to 25 minutes until just set (do not overbake). Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the muffin tin and cool completely on a cooling rack.
Tip
I prefer to divide the broccoli and onion (and optional cheese) between the muffin cups and then add the batter. It is easier to eyeball even distribution.
If you prefer, you can add the broccoli and onion directly to the batter and then divide between the prepared muffin cups.
FAQ
- How should I store the muffins? Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 1 day, the refrigerator for 1 week, or the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Can I use a flour other than chickpea flour? No, this recipe will not work with other types of gluten-free or grain-free flours.
- Can I bake this as one big loaf of bread? No, this will not work in a loaf pan. However, you can bake the batter in a 9-inch (22.5 cm) square baking tin or a 9-inch (22.5 cm) or 10-inch (25 cm) cast iron skillet. It will take 5 to 10 minutes longer, on average, to bake in these pan options.
Variations and Tips
Use fresh or frozen broccoli: You can use frozen (thawed) or fresh broccoli, so use what is most convenient for you. I have this crazy notion that quick breads should be quick, so the main thing is to keep it simple.
Use other vegetables: feel free to use almost any chopped fresh or frozen vegetables in place of the broccoli–think kale, Swiss chard, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, squash–that suits your fancy
Alternative to vegan cheese: I’ve thrown a handful of vegan cheese in here, but it is not necessary; the muffins are equally yummy without it. You can also get a noticeable, cheese-y punch by adding 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast to the chickpea flour batter.
Related Recipes
Vegan Chickpea Flour Broccoli Muffins (Oil-Free, Grain-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpea flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, or sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, certified gluten-free, as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjustable, according to taste
- 2 cups plain nondairy milk, such as cashew milk, almond milk, coconut milk
- 3 cups broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup finely chopped onion, about 1 small onion
- 1 cup shredded vegan Cheddar or Swiss cheese, Optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line 12 cups of a standard size muffin tin with silicone, paper or foil liners. If you do not need the muffins to be 100% oil-free, grease or spray the muffin cups.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the chickpea flour, garlic powder, paprika, baking powder, turmeric and salt until blended. Whisk in the nondairy milk until blended into a thick batter.
- Divide the broccoli, chopped onion and (optional) cheese evenly between the prepared cups. Pour or ladle the batter into the cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 23 to 25 minutes until just set (do not overbake). Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the muffin tin and cool completely on a cooling rack.
Hi there,
Can I sub the chickpea flour into a corn flour or oat flour?
Regards,
Annie
Hi Annie,
No, this one needs to be made with chicles flour— it acts as both flour and egg replacement, whip grain flours like corn and oat cannot do.
Could I use water instead of an alternate milk -no milk? If so, what adjustments if any do I need to make?
Hi Natalia! Yes, that should work great. The chickpea flour + water will add plenty of creaminess, you do not need to make any other adjustments :).
I decided to use bobs red mill black bean flour because that is what I had on hand. They looked odd, but tasted delicious! It worked great! Thanks for the recipe.
I absolutely love these. My son is allergic to eggs and so many muffins require an egg or two or are just plain awful and hard. This one is so good!! I
That is such wonderful news, Elvira!
These were so tasty!! I made these for my children’s snack for school. Instead of vegan cheese I used 6 tbsp of nutritional yeast. It was a winner with all 5 of my children ranging in ages from 1 1/2 years to 10 years. This has been added to one of our go to recipes. Thank you x
That is fantastic , Stacy–what a feat, pleasing all the children, go YOU! 🙂 Flattered that this is new to your rotation of go-to recipes, thanks, Stacy 🙂
Hey, I made them yesterday (without the vegan cheese) and I loved it. I brought some to friends and everyone really liked them! Great recipe. 😀 (I posted pictures on my blog: )
Thanks, Tia!!! 🙂
Just made these for the first time. They came out amazing!!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks for posting, Marshall!
These are awesome! I was looking for an easy recipe for a muffin with vegetables. I made them according to the instructions and added two handfuls of grated zucchini. Fantastic and easy!
So glad, Jesica! 🙂
These turned out great! I was running low on chickpea flour so I blitzed some yellow split mung beans (yellow lentils) into a flour in the vitamin. About 1 and 1/4 cups chickpea, 3/4 cup mung bean flour. And we sauteed the broccoli first before adding to batter. We had to cook the muffins longer though – about 35 minutes. Not sure if needed for others using GF flour. Used more salt than was called for our batch – we like savory! .Had nice flavor when warm but was even better when completely cooled. We didn’t use vegan cheese and we thought it still had a cheesy taste to it! Thanks again…this was awesome!
I am so happy you enjoyed them, Nina! Great modifications 🙂
We made again same as last time but with a couple of slices of finely diced jalapenos and a 1/2 tsp. of onion and garlic powder. Told you we like savory:) We also put a tiny little broccoli floret (sauteed first) in the center so when you cut in half there is a little tree! Such a great recipe. We love it! Thanks again.
YUM! I jalapenos 🙂 What a great idea with the broccoli “trees”!
Oh wow! Yep, it works! I also added a tablespoon of extra yeast flakes for added cheesyness and used two teaspoons of onion powder because I didn’t have onions on hand. Oh my, these are the best savoury muffins I’ve ever eaten!
whoohoo!!!! Thanks for your experimentation! I am sure this will really help a lot of other readers, too!
I am excited to try chickpea flour. I am less excited about some of the ingredient in gf flour blends. will let you know how they turn out!
sounds great!
These are yummy! My 5 year old son loved them, especially with extra nutritional yeast added. so healthy and good!
That sounds wonderful, Nicole 🙂
I do not have chickpea flour–can i substitute almond or flaxseed flour for the chickpea flour???
Hi Richard!
Alas, these will not work with those flours.
Hi, I just made these following your recipe exactly and they turned out so good! I am not a baker so this was very exciting for me. Thank you!
Hi Shelly!
I am so glad that you like the recipe!