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Easy Orange Pistachio Muffins

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Bake soft and flavorful muffins kissed with real orange and the crunch of pistachios for a perfect breakfast treat. The come together quickly and taste amazing.

ready to eat orange pistachio muffins with orange half and pistachio pieces.

Take the patron citrus of the breakfast table, the orange, and enjoy it in delicious muffin form. These orange and pistachio muffins are easy to make and fun to eat.

They will be at home on a holiday brunch spread but also make a great grab and go breakfast on a busy morning.

Muffins are the swiss army knife of breakfast foods. They can be almost anything you want them to be.

They can be really healthy, or not. They can be sweet or savory.

Muffins are perfect for enjoying leisurely with a cup of coffee. They can also be great for grabbing as you rush out the door.

The holiday season is a perfect time to add more muffin recipes to your collection. They are great for holiday mornings and house guests.

A basket of fresh baked muffins also makes a great hostess gift. It takes the burden of figuring out breakfast off the host’s shoulders after a night of festivities.

stack of freshly baked orange pistachio muffins.

There are quite a few delicious muffin recipes here on the site, but almost all of them use sourdough discard as part of the mix. After making some fabulous oatmeal chocolate chip sourdough muffins I fell in love.

So I started creating muffin variations around that basic recipe. They are all delicious and I highly recommend them if you maintain a sourdough starter.

I recognize that not everyone has a sourdough starter, so I thought it would be fun to bake more muffins that don’t require one. These orange pistachio muffins are a perfect place to start.

To me orange and breakfast go hand in hand. Having orange juice available for any breakfast event seems like a must.

But if you prefer coffee or tea, maybe a muffin is the perfect way to get your morning dose of orange! These muffins have a healthy dose of orange juice along with some zest to really make the flavor shine through.

The pistachios add a nice crunch and flavor. It is refreshing to see a different nut other than the classic walnut or pecan in a baked good. However you could totally use one of them if you prefer.

If you want a little spice in the mix, feel free to add a dash of cardamom. We really enjoy orange and cardamom together, but I didn’t want it being in the recipe turning into a deterrent for those of you who don’t have it on hand.

The orange and pistachio are definitely tasty enough that they don’t need any embellishments. Whip up a batch and see for yourself.

using ice cream scoop to transfer orange pistachio muffin batter into cupcake liners.

An ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop is a great way to transfer the batter to the pan. It is just about the perfect amount of batter for each well.

You can make your muffins in cupcake liners if you like. They make it super simple to remove your muffins and there is virtually no clean up needed of the pan.

They are not completely necessary however. You can just spray the wells of the muffin pan and they should pop out nicely when they are done.

Baked muffins freeze really well. Put them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer.

They can remain frozen for several months. Just grab a muffin when you need one and pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. You’ll have a tasty breakfast or snack at a moment’s notice.

orange muffin with chopped pistachios on top with bite missing

After you get a batch of these in the oven, head down to the comments and let me know your favorite muffin flavor combinations. I am suddenly inspired to fill my freezer with muffins of all kinds!

Love this recipe? Give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review in the recipe card below!

ready to eat orange pistachio muffins with orange half and pistachio pieces.

Easy Orange Pistachio Muffins

Carlee
Bake soft and flavorful muffins kissed with real orange and the crunch of pistachios for a perfect breakfast treat. The come together quickly and taste amazing.
5 from 8 ratings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 417 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • 1 Tablespoon orange zest
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • teaspoon ground cloves or cardamom
  • ½ cup pistachios finely chopped
  • ½ cup pistachios roughly chopped for topping

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F and either place liners in muffin pan or spray with nonstick spray.
  • Mix together eggs and milk until lightly frothy. 
    1 cup milk, 2 large eggs
  • Add melted butter, orange juice, sugar and zest and stir to combine.
    ½ cup melted butter, ½ cup orange juice, 1 Tablespoon orange zest, ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and cloves. Stir until just incorporated.
    2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
  • Stir in finely chopped pistachios then scoop into prepared muffin tin.
    ½ cup pistachios
  • Sprinkle rough chopped pistachios over batter and bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    ½ cup pistachios

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 417kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 9gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 410mgFiber: 3gSugar: 21g
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Recipe Rating




Carlee

Wednesday 18th of December 2019

Thanks!

Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen

Thursday 5th of December 2019

These sound so good! I love pistachios AND orange! I'd love one with my coffee right now!

Carlee

Wednesday 18th of December 2019

I wish I could give one to you. I hope you whip some up!

Family Around the Table

Thursday 5th of December 2019

Sounds like such a delicious combination. Perfect to have on hand for holiday guests.

Carlee

Wednesday 18th of December 2019

You can never have too many muffins on hand when there are guests around.

Andrea Nine

Wednesday 4th of December 2019

These look amazing and I want one with my coffee this morning. And great combo, because I just bought some orange pistachio hand cream yesterday.

Carlee

Wednesday 18th of December 2019

I wish I could share one with you!