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
The applesauce muffins taste absolutely delicious. I added pumpkin and chai seeds, as well as the walnut pieces. Next time I will add flax seed and hemp hearts (and maybe dark chocolate chips) – fabulous breakfast to take when on the go.
Your version sounds fantastic!
These are absolutely amazing!
I made mine with regular applesauce (2 lunch box tubs was just under 1 Cup), mashed banana instead of oil, oat milk, imitation vanilla (because I couldn’t find my pure stuff!), apple cider vinegar, King Arthur measure-for-measure GF AP blend, plain old sugar, and 1 capsule of cinnamon (which was more like 1/3 tsp).
I also totally misread the first part of the instructions, missing “liquid” — so I whisked all the ingredients together at once and then realized my mistake! Still, I mixed it up and got it into my muffin pan and made 12 delicious little taste bombs. We actually ate a couple of them while they were still warm, and I definitely agree that while nice right away, it’s worth waiting until they’ve been chilled. I’m really just blown away.
So happy to have this recipe in my arsenal now!
This makes us so happy 🙂
They turned out ok. They taste too much vinegar, would skip one spoon! Goji berries inside were a treat 🍒
These are delicious. Fabulous actually. We used applesauce made with Honey Crisp apples, a little bit of water and no sugar. The applesauce was mashed but there was the odd slightly larger chunk of apple. We used 3 tbsp of coconut oil. We forgot to add walnuts, but we pressed some into the top of each muffin. We couldn’t leave them alone right out of the oven. Same day. No need to refrigerate to achieve delicious results. The remainder have been put in the fridge for tomorrow morning. I do not normally look for ‘healthy’ muffins. I simply just get a recipe and cut the sugar. This recipe is already low sugar so I followed the recipe exactly. Wonderful.
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
I used 1/2 whole wheat flour and they were heavy. I bake with 1/2 wwf a lot so I’m not sure what happened. It does say in the notes “or they can be whole grain with the benefit of extra fiber if you use spelt or whole wheat flour”. Maybe not?
My adaptation for a Choc chip muffin recipe
Oven at 180c / Gas mark 4
Line a muffin tin (makes 10 ish)
INGREDIENTS
1 cup Applesauce (1 x 270g jar)
3 Tbsp oil
4 Tbsp milk of your choice .. (cow’s, oat, soya etc)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp of a white vinegar .. (cider, white wine etc)
1 cup plain flour (or your choice if Gluten Free)
2 Tbsp coca powder
1/4 cup soft brown sugar or coconut sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each of baking powder, bicarb of soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
100g Dark choc chips
METHOD
Mix/whisk all wet ingredients in a bowl
Sieve and mix all dry ingredients into another bowl
Combine the 2 mixes .. add dry to wet .. don’t over mix!
Gently stir in choc chips
Dollop into muffin cases
Cook in centre of oven for 18-20 mins (check with a cocktail stick after 18 mins, should come out slightly sticky / mostly clean ish)
Cool and eat
They were Delicious!!
So easy to make and very good. I used applesauce instead of oil. I added a little extra cinnamon and some chopped nuts. Will definitely make again! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thank you for trying the recipe 🙂
I recently recommitted to weight loss, specifically WW and have been looking for an applesauce muffin that didn’t blow my points budget. Did you ever deliver! Don’t know why I start anywhere but your site first.
And you are so right! Even better after a day or two or straight from the fridge. Love these and thank you!!
Yum! Made a double. I had a little batter left over and turned it into a pancake. The pancake was extremely delicious I might just make this a pancake recipe too. I also added pumpkin pie spice and extra cinnamon.
I modified the recipe slightly, but it made a wonderful muffin! Thank you