Raspberry Lemon Chia Buckwheat Muffins

August 6, 2018 / Updated on August 15, 2019 By Leanne 32 Comments

Raspberry Lemon Chia Buckwheat Muffins are wholesome and grain-free, made with almond flour, buckwheat flakes, coconut sugar, olive oil, eggs, lemon, chia and raspberries. They make a great snack for an end of summer road trip or back to school lunches!

Yes, I know, I referenced end of summer and back to school in one sentence! While we are still in the early days of August, this summer is just flying by. Back to school signs and commercials are already popping up, and if you’re anything like me, you’re thinking about how to take advantage of the remaining weekends of summer.

While I’m still busy making nice cream pops and other frozen treats, my mind is slowly shifting to fall and the healthy, hearty snacks that go along with the season. So these Raspberry Lemon Chia Buckwheat Muffins are a nice compromise – an in-between recipe, if you will. Muffins are totally fall appropriate, but this recipe still has all the refreshing and fruity flavours of summer.

What are buckwheat flakes?

So I tried a little something new in this muffin recipe and added buckwheat flakes instead of oatmeal. Buckwheat flakes come from hulled buckwheat and resemble oatmeal or quinoa flakes, so they make a great substitute in baking.

And while buckwheat looks like a grain and has ‘wheat’ in its name, it is not actually a grain but a seed from a plant related to greens like rhubarb. So it’s gluten-free and perfect for grain-free diets. And as a bonus, it’s also a good source of fibre. For more information on buckwheat, I found this article by Huffington Post super helpful.

While I love to use oats and whole wheat flour in baking, sometimes I like to go grain-free. So when I saw buckwheat flakes at my local bulk food store, I picked them up and started experimenting with them. After a few trials, I came up with these Raspberry Lemon Chia Buckwheat Muffins, made with almond flour and buckwheat flakes as the base.

Tips for making Raspberry Lemon Chia Buckwheat Muffins

While this recipe calls for fresh raspberries, you can also use frozen. Just let them thaw for a few minutes before adding them to the muffin batter. I’ve also tried this recipe with a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, and it worked really well.
I like to break up the berries when I mix them into the muffin batter, so there are no whole berries and more berry coverage throughout the muffins.
For the lemon zest, I usually refrigerate the lemon before zesting or grating it. This makes the lemon firmer and easier to grate.
Due to the higher moisture content in almond flour, these muffins will grow mold faster than muffins made with regular flour. So if you don’t plan on eating them within 2-3 days, I suggest storing them in the freezer.
If you don’t have almond flour, or prefer muffins with grains, you can use one cup of whole wheat flour instead of the 1-1/4 cup of almond flour. If you do this, you will also need to reduce the baking soda to 1 tsp and the baking time to 15 minutes.

If you’re in the mood for more muffins, you’ll be happy to know I’m sharing this recipe as a part of Muffin Week, which has been organized by Madison at a A Joyfully Mad Kitchen. If you head on over there, you will find a full spread of savory, sweet, healthy and indulgent muffin recipes being shared by some awesome bloggers. And be sure to check that page throughout the week for new muffin recipes!