Pistachio Cardamom Muffins
Pistachio Cardamom Muffins- naturally sweetened and made with wholesome ingredients. (vegan + gluten-free)
Did you guys remember that St. Patrick’s Day is this Friday?
I usually don’t participate in green beer activities but I do like to celebrate with green food. Specifically pistachios. I know they have nothing to do with the tradition of St. Paddy’s Day but they’re so dang tasty, I can’t help myself.
I had originally planned on making these as cardamom cupcakes with a green pistachio icing but the color of the “cake” was golden brown and the little pieces of pistachios got stuck in the frosting tip. Sadly they just weren’t sexy enough to be cupcakes so I settled on muffins instead.
While I already have this Secret Ingredient Pistachio Muffin recipe that I shared for St. Patrick’s Day a few years back, this one is entirely different because it uses a unique ingredient called aquafaba. If you’re never heard of it, it’s basically just the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans.
I know it sounds strange but I promise you can’t taste the bean flavor at all. When you whip the aquafaba with a hand mixer it gets light and foamy just like egg whites, making it a great substitution for eggs.
I also experimented with sorghum flour in place of my go-to brown rice four and the resulting texture is much lighter than what I’m used to when baking vegan and gluten-free.
Sometimes I’m hesitant to branch out and play with new ingredients but in this case, it was definitely worth it. It’s all about taking those baby steps, right? ;)
I hope you have a happy St. Paddy’s Day!
Pistachio Cardamom Muffins
Yield: 8 muffins
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 20
Total Time: 30
Ingredients:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons oil (I used Thrive Algae Oil)
- 1/2 cup aquafaba*
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F then lightly grease or line a muffins tin for 8 muffins.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (almond flour to coconut sugar). Add 3/4 of the pistachios to the bowl then set aside.
In a measuring cup, combine the almond milk, vanilla extract and oil. If using coconut oil, wait to add it with the aquafaba.
In a separate large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the aquafaba until white and frothy, as pictured above. Pour the almond milk mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add the aquafaba and fold the ingredients together until a smooth batter forms.
Scoop the batter into 8 muffin tins, filling 3/4 of the way full. Top with remaining pistachios and bake for 18-20 minutes, until light golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.
*Aquafaba is the liquid from canned garbanzo beans. You should be able to strain out 1/2 cup from a 15-ounce can.
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback! 
O I love it! I always neglect my (expensive!) bottle of cardamom in the back of my spice cabinet :P
It’s one of my favorite spices to bake with! Thanks Rebecca! <3
Whaaa? I’ve never heard of aquafaba before, but that’s so neat. I don’t usually do anything for St. Patty’s day, either. I’m really not into Irish food and I’m not the biggest beer fan, so that doesn’t leave a lot for me to do, lol.
Yeah it’s just another day for me too, lol!
AH aquafaba is MAGICAL! And pistachio + cardamom These look incredible Sarah!
It’s one of my favorite flavor combos. Thanks Karlie!
I have yet to use aquafaba or sorghum flour! I need to get on both, and these muffs are making me drool so I should probably make them this weekend!!
I’m not into green beer either…it seriously grosses me out…but pistachios?! Oh yes, I can do those. And between you and me, these muffins are damn sexy ;)
I’m surprised to hear you haven’t experimented with sorghum yet! The texture is a little lighter than rice flour. I really like it!
Since you said that aquafaba is like eggs does that mean i can use flax eggs in place of it?
Also, besides rice flour and sorghum flour, is there any other flours that youve tried with this recipe?
I haven’t tried any other flours but usually oat flour and almond flour work well with GF recipes. As for flax eggs, the muffins will likely be more dense than if you use aquafaba. When you whip the aquafaba it creates pockets of air that give the muffins a lighter texture. So I can’t guarantee results but it’s worth a try!
I have some sorghum flour in my pantry that I’ve been needing to use! Muffins sound like the perfect way to use it. <3
It’s pretty awesome! Hopefully you get around to playing with it soon. After you finish your exams, of course. ;)
I’m so glad that you explained aquafaba! I had no idea it made a great egg replacement. I can’t wait to try it, thanks!
Thanks Alison! I’m excited to experiment with it more. :)
Aren’t these just the prettiest things? I love the color of pistachios, and Irish or not, they’re perfect for St. Paddy’s Day! Love how fluffy these muffins look and I LOVE cardamom. No green beer for me…just a dozen of these muffins please!
Right! I much rather eat muffins than drink green beer. Now if they had green wine that would be another story. ;)
Wow these muffins look absolutely perfect!! The flavor combination of pistachio and cardamom sounds absolutely delicious :)
It’s such a good combo. Thanks Sarah!
Oh these are so pretty! I love the combo of pistachio and cardomom! I haven’t cooked with cardomon much before, but I love the flavour of it!
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of aquafaba before but it sounds so interesting! YAY for green St. Paddy’s Day recipes, especially healthy ones – even if it actually doesn’t have much to do with the holiday itself ;-)
I love how the pistachio bits looks so good on top of the muffins. I want to eat it right now!
Hello,
Thank you for the recipe! it looks really great! I’ve tried some of your muffin recipes and they always taste so delicious!! But I was wondering is it possible to replace the coconut sugar with maple syrup or honey?
Hi Hillary! I think you could get away with subbing either of those. It might make the texture a little more dense but it should work. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Hello Sarah,
Wondered whether I can use regular egg white and obtain the same results, texture? If so, what quantity would you r3commend?
Looking forward to trying this recipe!
Merci
Hi Chantal! Egg white would probably work even better. I would recommend using 2 egg whites or 1/2 cup. I hope that helps!
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for the recommendations. I tried them and they turned out great! Love this recipe, thank you. I will add more cardamom next time as I love this spice in bake goods.
Also tried the butternut squash muffin, very tasty.
Still getting used to the dense texture of GF baked goods. I miss the fluffiness but will get use to it :)
Thanks for the feedback, Chantal! You’re right, it does take some time to get used to the texture. My gluten-free recipes are going to be more dense because they use whole grain flours. You can always get a lighter and fluffier texture by baking with starches and gums but they are nutritionally void. I feel so much better when I’m getting all of that good fiber and protein so to me it’s worth it to have it be a bit more dense. But you always have options if you prefer a lighter texture! :)
Tasty enough but super crumbly. Was it the sorghum flour? I have not cooked with it too much before. Or was it the aquafaba? Which totally fascinates me!
Thanks!
It could be the aquafaba. I’ll need to play with this recipe more to help troubleshoot where things might have gone wrong. Sorry they didn’t turn out for you!