Grain Free & Dairy Free Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Here’s a fun, new recipe for you, just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day! My Facebook memories reminded me that this time last year, I was living it up in Dublin for the first time! It was such a fun, festive atmosphere as the city got ready to host probably the most well known Irish holiday on the planet! Streamers and lights lit up the night and all the pubs were getting into the spirit! It was always on my family’s bucket list to visit Ireland. Hey, with a surname of Finnegan, how could you not venture to your native homeland at least once in your life?! We didn’t intend to be there during St. Patrick’s Day and didn’t even remember that the holiday would be happening during our visit until about a month before our visit. But how fun to be there to celebrate!
We tried several new foods while in the British Isles. And while I wouldn’t claim British or Irish food to be among my favorites (I was definitely tired of “pub” food by the end of our 13 day trip), a couple of food have definitely stuck in my memories! One of them is Irish Soda Bread. It was a staple in Ireland pubs and most served it along with a dark brown bread made of Guinness. I’ve found American versions to be lacking. They’re way drier and crumblier than the Irish original. At least the one’s I’ve tried. And of course, I’ve never seen a gluten free version offered. Granted, I didn’t see a gluten free version in Ireland either. London had gluten free crumpets (which I can’t find here in the States)! Why not Irish soda bread? Oh well, I made my own and they’re fantastic! Moist and tender, I found the secret was a mix of flours. Actually, I find that to be key for any gluten free or grain free baking. If you only use almond, or coconut, or tapioca, it will fall apart. Just FYI. Use several different flours combined and you get a much better texture. For this recipe, I used Otto’s Cassava Flour, Thrive Market’s Almond Flour, and Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Mix. And they’re literally perfect. You can’t even tell they’re gluten free! And dairy free, refined sugar free, and Paleo approved. The best of all worlds! Try them with a big dollop of Kerrygold butter (might as well stick with Irish products!) if you don’t need dairy-free or current jelly. We’ll be having these on St. Patty’s Day for sure!
- 1/2 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
- 1/2 cup Almond Flour (NOT Almond Meal, it’s too coarse)
- 1 1/4 cup Gluten Free Flour Mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill Paleo blend)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2/3 cup raisins or currents
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup dairy-free plain yogurt (I used Kite Hill’s but you could use Coyo’s too)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil or 6 Tbls ghee (I tried both and either works well!)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray heavily with coconut oil cooking spray.
- While oven is preheating, in a large mixing bowl or kitchen aid, mix dry ingredients together (flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and raisins).
- Separately, combine wet ingredients and whisk to combine (eggs, yogurt, and oil).
- Add wet to dry and stir to combine. Pour 1/4 cup sized scoops into each muffin cup. Dough will be very thick so an ice cream scoop worked well for me! Sprinkle with more coconut sugar.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until muffins are firmly set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm with butter.
- Originally, I said this recipe was vegan and was corrected because, duh! It has two eggs in it! I deleted the vegan and replaced it with dairy-free. But if you wanted to make these vegan, I would substitute Follow Your Heart’s VeganEgg. I’ve not tried it in this recipe yet but have had success in other baking with it! I’ll let you know once I’ve verified it works!
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