Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Irish Soda Bread Muffins are fluffy, healthy whole wheat Irish soda bread muffins studded with orange zest and currants!
March is right around the corner, and I’m really getting excited about St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not Irish, but that doesn’t matter to me.
On March 17th, it’s always fun wearing green, drinking Guinness, and eating corned beef no matter what nationality you are!
I look forward to making a St. Patrick’s Day feast every year, which always includes corned beef and cabbage, and Irish soda bread in some form.
I love making Irish Soda Bread, but this year I created these Irish Soda Bread muffins for an easier, healthy option. They’re low in fat, there’s no refined sugar and there’s plenty of whole grains.
And most importantly, there’s no kneading!
Traditional Irish soda bread is very heavy, and I had a hard time deciding between making these muffins more dense like soda bread or lighter like a muffin.
I face tough decisions like this on a daily basis. 🙂
When I was testing the recipe for these whole wheat Irish soda bread muffins, I discovered that I enjoyed them more with a lighter texture.
These are more like muffins than soda bread, so I’m including a variation in the recipe just in case you’d like them to be more traditional.
These healthy Irish soda bread muffins are mildly sweet with a minimal amount of coconut sugar, and some added sweetness from dried currants. The orange zest really complements the currants, and are the two ingredients that make these muffins really special.
These muffins can be served for breakfast, snacks, or with your corned beef and cabbage.
Slather on some butter, orange marmalade or honey, or just eat as-is. They’re so delicious and so easy to make that I’ll be baking them up whether it’s St. Patrick’s Day or not. 🙂
Recipe Notes:
- If you’d like these muffins to be dense like Irish soda bread, add 1/4 cup less buttermilk. The batter will be thicker but the baking time remains the same.
- Currants are smaller and much less sweet than raisins. While you may substitute the currants with raisins, I think the currants make these muffins special.
- I used a combination of whole wheat and all purpose flours. You can substitute both with the same amount of whole wheat white flour without sacrificing texture.
- The coconut sugar may be swapped out with your favorite sweetener.
More St. Patrick’s Day recipes you’ll love!
Colcannon by Simply Recipes
Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar may be substituted with granulated or brown sugar
- 1 cup lowfat buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup dried currants
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with paper or foil liners and set aside.
- Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until combined.
- In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk the oil, egg, and sugar until frothy, about 30 seconds.
- Add the buttermilk and orange zest and whisk until incorporated.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until almost combined, then fold in the currants.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed gently. Cool on a wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you’d like these muffins to be dense like Irish soda bread, add 1/4 cup less buttermilk. The batter will be thicker but the baking time remains the same.
- Currants are smaller than raisins and are less sweet than raisins. While you may substitute the currants with raisins, I think the currants make these muffins special.
- I used a combination of whole wheat and all purpose flours. You can substitute both with the same amount of whole wheat white flour without sacrificing texture.
- The coconut sugar may be swapped out with your favorite sweetener.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
29 Comments on “Irish Soda Bread Muffins”
I love St. Paddy’s Day too! I’ll be flying on the 17th this month but may still get to celebrate it the following day 😉
These muffins sound awesome! I haven’t had Irish soda bread in years but like making it. I might need to try these!
I hope you get to celebrate St. Patty’s Day at some point Nicole — better late than never! 🙂
Thank you, Juliana!
Love that you made Irish soda bread in muffin form! The orange currant combo sounds perfect!
Thanks Jessica!
I just made soda bread the other day because I was totally in the mood for it and couldn’t wait for St Patty’s Day! haha These muffins are so fun! I love it!
We should be able to make soda bread whenever we want, and I know I’ll be making a loaf before St. Patrick’s Day too! Thanks Ashley!
I love that it is more like a muffin instead of the dense soda bread. And of course the light sweetness with coconut sugar will seal the deal. Love these!!!
Thanks Zainab! Coconut sugar is just perfect isn’t it?
I love a Irisih soda bread so I can tell that I will love these muffins. Also love the fact that you added dried currants. 🙂
Thanks, Anu! Aren’t currants the best?
What a great idea to make these in a muffin form. Love the way you lightened them up. Way to go Marcie!
Thanks so much Cheri!
Love that you made Irish Soda bread into muffins! They look perfect and the currants and orange zest sound awesome in here! So fun for St. Patrick’s Day!
Thanks Kelly! These will be year-round muffins for me! 🙂
Such a great idea to make irish soda bead in muffin form! Just the perfect serving size!
Thank you Balvinder! This is built-in portion control!
Oh my gosh, I LOVE the idea of taking Irish soda bread and putting it in fluffy muffin form! These look SO ultra-soft and moist I can hardly stand it, Marcie!! These are definitely going on my St.Patrick’s day menu!
Thanks Sarah! I’ve been making batch after batch and can’t get enough!
these would be so good for breakfast, yum!
Thanks Manali!
I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never had Irish Soda bread! Your version looks so delicious though. I love that it’s refined sugar-free and sneaks in some whole grains. I need these for St. Patty’s Day!
You haven’t?! I just love it! These are a muffin/soda bread hybrid and won’t give you the real experience, but are a great place to start…especially if you don’t like kneading. 🙂
I love that you made Irish soda bread in muffin form! I was waiting to see what those muffins were that you shared on Instagram. 🙂 The combination of the currants and orange zest sounds fantastic!
Thanks Kristine! I love the currant/orange zest combo and plan to make these often!
I love St. Patty’s day too, Marcie, even though I always forget to wear green. And I’m even part Irish! It should probably be ingrained in me to wear green that day, huh? Oh well. What’s important is I NEVER forget the corned beef! Yum! And this year I will definitely be adding these fabulous muffins to the spread!! I love me some Irish soda bread, so I’m swooning over the fact that you turned it into muffins!! And these are whole grain too! Wahoo!! Carb heaven up in here! Cheers, girlfriend!
You must get pinched a lot on St. Patrick’s Day! I always wear green to avoid that. haha Remembering the corned beef is much more important — the food (and drink) make the day what it is! Thanks and Happy Monday!
I’m looking forward to St. Patrick’s Day too and I’m not Irish, either! 🙂 I agree, it’s all about the corned beef, green bear, and soda bread. I love that you turned a classic bread into a muffin, Marcie! These look perfect! And I’m loving your video, too. What a great treat for breakfast or dessert!
St. Patrick’s Day was made for the non-Irish like us I think! 🙂 Thanks, Gayle!