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
I love these!
This is a great recipe….the muffins are delicious, very moist and flavorful!!
Thank you so much for trying them!
Made them today, the taste was incredible and cosy! I added the walnuts for the crunch and they turned out brilliant.
I’m just a bit confused when it comes to the nutritional info… the calories per muffin are so questionably low, only around 80-90 kcal (even without the walnuts), is that info accurate? I didn’t go ahead and count them up myself, still I’m curious if it’s true.
Anyway mindblowing taste AND nutritional values!
xx
Thank you for making them! Nutrition stats are correct, but of course it will vary depending on what specific ingredients you use.
I LOVE the taste of these muffins but i think i’ve done something wrong. my muffins were still moist and failed to rise after 30 minutes on 350F. i think i’m reading the recipe wrong but don’t know where. i added 1 cup of apple sauce, three tablespoons of olive oil,2 tablespoons of lactose free milk, 2 tsp of vanilla, 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp of salt, baking powder and baking soda. Please help!!! i really need these in my life!
So glad they taste good 🙂 As for the denseness, these should definitely rise (like in the video – so not a ton, but they do rise). How old is your baking soda? Are you in a humid climate or high elevation? And is your oven calibrated? All of these things can mess with baked goods!
Thanks so much for this! I have severe GERD, gastric issues and can’t have oils, eggs, dairy, etc. I also am intolerant to a lot of food and haven’t been able to eat much of anything in the last few months. Just put these muffins in the oven (minus the cinnamon), and they smell divine! I can’t wait to eat them! Thank you!
I made your carrot cake cupcakes last week and as lovely as they were, they left a taste of vinegar afterwards. These look really nice but can you please tell me what I can substitute the vinegar with in this recipe and your carrot cupcake recipe? Would an egg work to give the batter some lift for example?
Thank you for your healthy recipies Katie!
Thank you for making them! Did you by chance sub balsamic vinegar? The flavor of white or apple cider vinegar disappears into baked goods so you shouldn’t taste them at all 🙂
Superb!!! I have loved all the recipes from this wonderful vegan baker which I have tried. This one was really good, quick, moist, tender and flavorful. Since I had just made applesauce from my abundant apple tree…I decided to try this today. I added walnuts and chopped dehydrated apples as well. Then because I had some frozen streusel I sprinkled a bit on top. And even with the topping they domed! Thanks again Katie for a great recipe! P. S. Yes, I just had to have a taste today, but the rest will be refrigerated for another day. 😁
So good!!! I made these for the first time. I used extra applesauce instead of banana, oat flour, made my own by grinding oatmeal, coconut sugar and added some chopped walnuts. I mixed the dry ingredients first then wet all in the same bowl. The muffins are moist, flavorful and perfectly sweet. Best homemade muffin recipe I’ve tried so far. I’ll try the suggested add ins next time.
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
Thinking of subbing pure pumpkin for pumpkin muffins…..
Hi, just use this one 🙂 https://lett-trim.today/pumpkin-muffins/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Very yum. Ran out of non-dairy milk, so I subbed water. Still yum.