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Vegan Pink Bean Muffins

By: Christine F

Hey there guys!  It’s Christine here with for Sweet-Tooth Friday!  Today’s recipe is for Vegan Pink Bean & Berry Muffins.  These muffins are moist, delicious, and super easy!

Woman placing muffin tin into overBefore I get to the muffins, I have two updates to share.  First of all, I have a new job!  I just started coaching Middle School Field Hockey.  It’s a ton of fun, and since it’s after school it doesn’t interfere with my morning baking.  I’m excited to have a scheduled workout session daily, especially now that Camogie is over for the summer.  It’s definitely a different experience working with 12, 13, and 14 year olds!  Who would believe that getting 20 hormonal girls to do sprints would be so trying—especially when the boys soccer team goes by!?

My second piece of news is that I have decided not to cook meat anymore at home.  I usually only fix meat (chicken, tuna, or ground turkey) about two times a week, but this is still a big change for me.  I’ve had my toes in the vegetarian water for awhile now.  What started as “Meatless Monday” ended up so yummy, doable, and inexpensive that I think it can easily fit into the rest of the week.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan book coverPlus, I finally got around to reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma while on vacation.  I expected to enjoy the book, but I thought I knew enough about healthy eating that I wouldn’t take much from it.  Boy was I wrong!  The chapters about corn, corn syrup, and every other thing fed with corn made me feel sick and like a big ear of corn myself.  It also got me thinking more about meat being treated like a delicacy, as it was in the past.  So, I am ok with occasionally ordering meat at a trusty restaurant, but for the most part it’s veggies and beans for me!

Now back to the muffins!  I knew I was in the mood for muffins this week; they are one of my weaknesses at work but I always feel guilty about starting my day with all that dairy, fat, white flour, and sugar!  I found a great recipe from the US Dry Bean Council.  I veganized their recipe by using egg replacer for the eggs and juice instead of the milk.  I also cut down on the sweetener, used whole wheat pastry flour, and swapped an assortment of berries for the raisins and spices.

The recipe called for 1 cup of cooked pinto beans.  At the store I was delighted to stumble upon PINK beans!  Sorry, but sometimes my girly side gets the best of me!  In my excitement, I misread the recipe and used a whole CAN of beans instead of a CUP.  My muffins still turned out great, but I think they would but a little fluffier and have a better texture with the correct amount, so that’s what I’ve listed here.

Close up of 2 Vegan Pink Bean & Berry Muffins, one cut in half

Vegan Pink Bean & Berry Muffins

  • 1 cup cooked pink beans (rinsed if from a can)
  • 1/4 cup walnut oil
  • 2 tsp Ener-g egg replacer mixed with 3 tbs water
  • 3/4 cup real fruit juice (I used pomegranate-blueberry)
  • 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (+1 tbs to coat berries)
  • 1/3 cup sucanat
  • 1 tbs baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mixed berries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the 1 1/2 cups of the flour, sucanat, baking powder, and salt together, set aside.

Mix together the beans, oil, and egg replacer.  Beat until the beans are just about smooth.  (You can also puree this in a food processor if you prefer.)

Alternate adding the dry mix and the fruit juice to the bean mixture.  Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl and scrape the bottom to get everything mixed evenly.

Toss the berries in the tablespoon of flour to coat, then stir in.  It’s better to stir in the berries by hand so that you don’t crush them.

Divide batter into 12 lined muffin cups.  Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a knife comes out clean and the tops are springy.

Vegan Pink Bean & Berry Muffins on table

Even with the extra beans I added, my batch of muffins turned out surprisingly delicious!  I was worried they would be super-dense-hockey-puck-style muffins, but they still rose and domed nicely.  Finally I have an easy fix for my pesky muffin craving!  I can’t wait to do these Pink Bean & Berry muffins again with the correct bean measurements- and I’d love to hear how yours turn out!

Hope you enjoy this protein and fiber-rich vegan breakfast!

Stay Sweet!

xoxo, Christine



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  • CONGRATS on the new job!!! That is exciting. And I think its wonderful that you’re moving towards a more veggie friendly diet. So good for you and the environment! These muffins look awesome. I love that berries basically explode when you cut or bite into them. Hope you have a nice weekend
    .-= Erica´s last blog ..Hodgepodge =-.

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  • That is a really good book. It really made me look at ingredients on anything I buy now looking for corn products. I just gave my copy to your brother and am interested in hearing his take on it as well. I also am with you on eating meat. I have pretty much taken it out of my diet, except for limited occasions where I know where the meat is coming from and how they are fed. Our farmers market has a few meat vendors that are local farms that have some good options. They also sell to a couple local restaurants. Also, nice post as always!

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  • yay for new changes and jobs – that makes life exciting! lovely recipe as always – i love how so many of your recipes incorporate beans. i need to start doing this!
    .-= Holly´s last blog ..Halo =-.

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  • I’ve just read The Omnivore’s Dilemma myself and even though I thought myself to be well-educated about these issues, I learned a great deal. It’s a good read!

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  • Yes – that book TOTALLY turned me off to the whole corn industry. Ugh – just turned my stomach. It’s also what really started me to question the amount of meat I was putting in my mouth. Great post and yummy recipe. I’m baking this weekend, so adding this to the list!
    .-= Jennifer Z´s last blog ..How do you define a runner? =-.

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  • I used frozen berries- I find they can hold up better in thick batters and don’t smoosh as much as fresh. It’s true that tart berries stand out better in a sweet muffin. Lots of perfectly sweet blueberries will just fade into the background of a perfectly sweetened muffin. My frozen mix had blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. The raspberries and blackberries added a good punch of tartness.

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  • Just curious—why did you sub out the original raisins and spices?? Was it for personal taste? Certainly both are very healthy and beneficial in recipies. just wondering! The muffins look great, love the idea of using beans!

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    1. Hey Jaime-
      Yep I was just in the mood for a berry muffin! I also try to keep my ingredient lists to less than 10 items so readers don’t feel overwhelmed and decide not make something just because they don’t have allspice or something. But there are antioxidants in cinnamon, and raisins are a great natural way to get some concentrated sweetness. I full-heartedly recommend the raisin and spice version! Like most basic muffin recipes, I think it will take well to substitutions with berries, dried fruits, nuts, spices, extracts, etc. I’d love to hear which way you try it!

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  • hi. I made the chickpea oat bars today and love them. I used half tahini and half p-butter. Also I used a lot of dates because I had some that needed to be used up. Next time I’m going to use all tahini and add some sesame seeds (I love sesame flavor). I made in a 9×9 pan and baked them a little bit. But they still weren’t quite cripsy enough for me so next time I’m going to use a 13×9 and see if I can get them really thin and crispy. These are going to be a staple for me. I gobbled them up!

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