These deliciously soft and moist homemade applesauce muffins will quickly become a staple recipe at your breakfast table. And the recipe can be completely oil free!
My new favorite muffin recipe
Five out of five stars
I could eat these every day
There’s no way these muffins are so healthy!!!
As some of the reader reviews above show, people seriously cannot get enough of the secretly healthy applesauce muffins!
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Above, watch the step-by-step applesauce muffin recipe video
Easy applesauce muffins
The wholesome muffins are great for packing into a lunch box, and they can be vegan, gluten free, egg free, dairy free, whole food plant based, and oil free.
It’s possibly one of the most delicious and healthiest muffin recipes you’ll ever make, and they pair well with savory recipes too.
Try the muffins for dinner alongside my favorite Lentil Soup or Mushroom Stroganoff, or this easily customizable vegetarian Coconut Curry.
You can also double the recipe if you want and freeze leftovers for a rainy day, to always have a nutritious snack or healthy breakfast on hand any time you’re in a rush or don’t feel like cooking.
Kids, toddlers, teens, and adults all love these clean eating muffins, because they taste like apple pie and are packed with nutrition at the same time.
Also be sure to try these healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Applesauce muffin ingredients
Soft and cinnamony, these classic muffins are made with just a few basic ingredients.
They have no butter or eggs, and you can customize the recipe by adding in a handful of raisins, chopped walnuts, flax seeds, or shredded coconut, or by pressing a few blueberries into the top of each muffin right before baking.
To turn them into oatmeal applesauce muffins, simply use oat flour as your flour of choice, or they can be whole grain with the benefit of extra fiber if you use spelt or whole wheat flour.
The muffins can be refined sugar free if you use date sugar or coconut sugar. Or to make them lower in carbs and completely sugar free, you can use xylitol or granulated erythritol.
For low fat or weight watchers muffins, the oil can be substituted with additional applesauce, pumpkin, mashed banana, or even peanut or almond butter.
The photos in this post are actually of the oil-free version made only with applesauce!
Leftover applesauce? Use it to make Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
How to make applesauce muffins
This healthy snack recipe is super quick to throw together.
Start by whisking all of the liquid ingredients together and greasing or lining a muffin pan with muffin or cupcake liners.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, then combine with the liquid mixture to form a muffin batter.
To ensure everything is evenly mixed, I like to use different bowls for the liquid and dry ingredients. However, it can be a one bowl muffin recipe if you prefer.
Portion the muffin batter into the lined muffin pan. It should make about eight or nine regular size muffins. Only fill each tin about two thirds of the way up, because they will rise while baking.
Place on the oven’s center rack, and bake for twenty minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out mostly clean. Let cool.
If you want to make applesauce mini muffins, follow the instructions above and bake them for only ten minutes. I recommend this mini muffin pan.
Muffin storage tips
My favorite muffin trick is to cover them overnight on the counter or in the refrigerator. The liners peel off easily the next day, and their flavor and texture will be even better the next day.
After a day, store leftover muffins in an airtight covered container. Due to the perishable ingredients, I recommend refrigerating for optimum freshness.
You can also freeze the applesauce muffins for up to three months. Thaw before eating, and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop if desired.
They will make your entire house smell like cinnamon sugar!
Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup applesauce
- 3 tbsp oil OR applesauce or mashed banana
- 2 tbsp milk of choice
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp white or cider vinegar
- 1 cup spelt, white, or oat flour (for flourless, try these Keto Muffins)
- 1/4 cup sugar or unrefined sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp each: baking soda and baking powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- optional handful raisins, crushed walnuts, shredded coconut, etc.
Instructions
- *If you want to make mini muffins, bake only 10 minutes. I recommend this mini muffin pan.Whisk all liquid ingredients together. Preheat oven to 350, and line a muffin tin. In a new bowl, stir remaining ingredients very well. Pour dry into wet, and stir until just evenly mixed. Fill each liner about 2/3 of the way, leaving a little room because they will rise. Bake on the center rack, 20 minutes or until muffins have domed and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out mostly clean. Let cool. (If you loosely cover overnight on the counter or refrigerated, the liners peel off easily the next day and flavor and texture are even better.) Leftovers can be frozen if desired. Be sure to rate the recipe below if you try it!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
Or these healthy Bran Muffins
Easy Whole Wheat English Muffins
Recipe in the Hello Breakfast Cookbook
These are EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for in a muffin! I’m so excited to make these. Just last night I was longing for an applesauce recipe with simple ingredients. These look so easy to make, and they are IBD-AID diet friendly! I’m sooo happy right now! I will comment again after I’ve made them and let you know how amazing they are! 🙂
These sound delicious. Can I substitute coconut or almond flour?
Denises
She linked to an almond flour muffin recipe in the ingredient list. I haven’t tried that one but I would probably just go with that one if I were you!
I am wondering the same thing. I know you can sub on a 1:1 ratio but when you sub out regular flour with almond flour, you generally need more binding agent. BUT w/o any egg….would that just be some extra applesauce??
The other one she links to uses flax “egg” so I’d go with that. Or maybe silken tofu blended up?
How long do they last? For instance if I make a batch and want to take 1 everyday to work, by day 5 will they still be ok? Or is this something you have to eat up in a day or two?
We’ve only ever kept them around up to 4 days and then frozen the rest. Katie likes to freeze some right away. But if you put them in the fridge, they should last at least 4 days. As with any muffin recipe (or most leftovers, for that matter), I’d think day 5 is always a risk – sometimes it could be ok, other times it might start to taste a little old.
Jason
Keep them individually wrapped and in an airtight container in your freezer. Will defrost in lunchbox or 20secs in microwave.
Just put in the frig. and they will definitely last for a week!
Thanks for posting this recipe! I will make these tonight. Finding oil-free & gluten-free recipes can be difficult. Your readers appreciate you making recipes that can work for multiple diets!!
I made them as soon as I got this email, because UM HELLO having all of the ingredients in my pantry! You weren’t kidding when you said the whole house will smell like apple pie. I know you said they’re better the next day, but who can resist hot apple muffins right from the oven? Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow because I can’t imagine how they could possibly taste better than they already do!
Note* I did the oil-free version and you can’t tell at all!
Did you use 3 tablespoons of the substitute (applesauce or banana for oil)
I have done both oil and oil free now and I honestly think oil free tastes better!
I made these tonight. I don’t think that we will have them for breakfast as we will eat them all before that. .They are delicious.
I agree with the person who wrote “these are my new favorite muffin recipe”. To make them more Fall festive, I took the suggestion to substitute pumpkin for the oil, and I also added a little extra cinnamon because I love cinnamon. It tasted like Fall in the shape of a muffin! I know people don’t like the word moist, but that’s exactly what these are!
Hi Katie,
We just had these muffins for breakfast this morning and they were delicious!
We’re not vegan, but I love how they don’t need eggs to stay together. I hate the taste of eggs alone and therefore don’t always have them in the fridge, so this recipe is really helpful to have. Thanks again! We are huge fans of your recipes 🙂
Are the nutrition facts for the oil or oil free version? Wondering if the oil free version has less than 84 calories per muffin? Can’t wait to make these! 🙂
Nutrition facts are for oil free, but with regular sugar 🙂
Made these this evening for my ultra finicky kiddo and they were an absolute smash! I made them oil free (only applesauce) and they were really wonderful.