Fluffy, perfectly textured vegan apple muffins that are so delicious and easy to make you won’t be able to get enough! Gluten-free and made with simple whole food ingredients.
These are the best apple muffins out there! Not only do they taste amazing but they are also super healthy.
This post was originally published on August 29, 2020.
These vegan apple cinnamon muffins are perfect as a breakfast, snack or even dessert. The flavor is incredible and the texture will leave you shocked, you won’t believe they are vegan and gluten-free! If you love these, you should most definitely try my vegan banana muffins too!
In order to make apple muffins vegan I needed to find a way to substitute the milk, eggs, and butter. With a bit of creativity I was able to make these quick and easy muffins with all plant based ingredients! And, becuase I love simplicity, the fanciest piece of equipment you need for this recipe is a muffin tin, no mixer required!
Ingredients
The ingredients in this recipe are simple, easy to find and whole food based. They also don’t include any dairy or gluten!
- Apples
- Apple sauce
- Dairy free milk
- Maple syrup
- Oat flour
- Almond flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Apple cider vinegar
How to Make Vegan Apple Muffins
Gone are the days of spending hours upon hours baking delicious homemade muffins, these bad boys are ready start to finish in only 30 minutes! Here’s what you’ll need to do for this easy recipe:
- Mix up the dry ingredients.
- Stir in the wet ingredients.
- Fold in the apples.
- Pour into the muffin tin and add toppings.
- Bake, cool, enjoy!
Preparation Tips
For best results when making this vegan apple muffin recipe, keep the following in mind:
- Make sure to peel your apples, no one wants skin in their muffins! The easiest way to do this is using a vegetable peeler.
- When chopping the apples, try to keep the pieces a uniform size, that way they’ll cook evenly.
- If you’re not using muffin tin liners make sure to prepare the pan. I prefer to use some coconut oil spray to coat the tin so the muffins don’t stick.
- For the best texture you need accuracy with the flours, especially when making gluten free muffins. Which is why I include precise weights. If you don’t have a scale, then you can purchase this fairly inexpensive one.
- If you prefer to measure, then measure the flours by scooping your measuring cup into the flour versus spooning it into it. This is how I measured when getting my weights.
Topping suggestions
If you’re a plain Jane, these muffins are perfectly delicious all on their own. However, if you’re an elaborate Janet and want to dress them up here’s some optional topping ideas:
- Sliced apples
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Streusel
- Cinnamon
- Coconut sugar
How to Store Apple Muffins
- Allow the muffins to cool completely.
- Place in an airtight storage container or zippered bag.
- Keep at room temperature for up to 3-4 days.
- You can also refrigerate them for up to 7 days.
- Or, store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat the muffins in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds for a warm treat!
Common Questions
Choosing the type of apple to use is a personal preference. If you want a sweeter result, use a sweeter apple like a Fuji or Gala.
Some are juicier than others so they may release more liquid as they bake. Since the texture of baked goods relies heavily on ratio of liquid to dry, dab your chopped apples with a paper towel if they release too much liquid as you chop.
This recipe goes to show, yes you can! Applesauce adds wonderful moisture to muffins. It also helps to sweeten the flavor so you can avoid refined sugar!
It depends on the recipe you use. Muffins that contain a lot of oils or refined sugars are not healthy. Because this recipe avoids those ingredients, it’s a healthy alternative to your standard muffin.
Yes! You can freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, wrap each cooled muffin in foil or freezer wrap before sealing in a freezer safe bag or container.
Frozen muffins can be thawed on the counter. Or, place unwrapped muffin on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds. You can also wrap in foil and bake at 350° F / 177° C for 10-15 minutes.
More Vegan Apple Recipes
If you love this healthy vegan apple muffins recipe and want to bake more with apples, here are some other gluten free, eggless, dairy free ideas!
- Healthy Vegan Apple Crisp
- Apple Cobbler
- Healthy Vegan Baked Apples
- Vegan Apple Cinnamon Roses
- Vegan Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Scones
- Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Oat Blender Muffins
The Best Healthy Vegan Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups oat flour
- 1 ½ cups fine ground almond flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup dairy free milk , I used cashew milk
- 1/4 cup apple sauce
- 8 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups chopped peeled apples
Optional Topping:
- 24 long slices of apple
- 8 teaspoons coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F/ 175 C.
- Put flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Whisk well to remove clumps and combine.
- Make a well in the middle and add milk, apple sauce, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.
- Stir to get everything mixed well.
- Add apples and fold in.
- Pour into a prepared muffin tin (I use a little coconut oil spray and rub it around).
- If using toppings, sprinkle on the sugar and place the sliced apples in (see photos).
- Bake for 18-20 minutes. Until they are just browning on the edges and a toothpick comes out dry with crumbs on it.
Notes
- The topping is optional but makes a pretty end result. You can use one or the other or both.
- Nutrition facts don’t include the optional toppings.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Sarah says
These were so perfect with a cup of coffee!
summer says
these are the best muffins i’ve ever had! so healthy too
veggiesdontbite says
Yay! So happy you loved them Summer!
Lauren says
I am going to make these soon, but I monitor the amount of sugar my kids consume. I would like to cut the maple syrup to 1/4 cup, but would I need to add additional milk or applesauce?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Lauren, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure how much the texture and flavor would change. They’d obviously be less sweet but texture is more my worry. You could try adding a little but more of each and look at the batter in the photo to make sure you have a similar thickness. But again, I can’t say for sure how they will bake up. Let me know if you try it!
Helen says
What size muffin pans are you using?? Have these in the oven….all 13 of them…using a regular what I consider large muffin tin! Followed recipe exactly except replaced maple with homemade date syrup. Fingers x….
Helen says
Update….turned out delicious!!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Helen! Glad to hear they turned out great with the date syrup! I use a standard muffin tin.
Cara says
I’ve never made a recipe with 8 teaspoons apple cider vinegar. Usually it’s a few teaspoons to curdle the milk. What is the function of so much vinegar?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Cara! With vegan and gluten free baking we need to get creative to get the baked good to rise. The vinegar here reacts with the baking powder to get these nice and fluffy!
Clair says
Fantastic recipe! I had some leftover blueberries and searched for a simple vegan muffin recipe as an inspiration. This was was spot-on. I used 100% whole grain Einkorn flour as opposed to the flours used here. I halved the ingredients and made the following ingredient modifications: 165 g Einkorn flour, 104 g Erythritol, 104 g unsweetened Almond milk (needed more liquid here since I did not use the maple syrup), 90 g fresh blueberries, and 13 g golden flaxmeal. Topped them with a cinnamon-Erythritol mix. The other ingredients remained as specified. These muffins are so fluffy and good. Made 6 nice-sized super-delicious muffins. Can’t wait to make these with apples.
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy you liked it Clair! Thank you so much for the comment and great review!
Lisa says
I made this with mostly whole wheat pastry flour and a little almond flour. I had to cook them for a lot longer but they came out delicious. The smell and taste of the vinegar is a little overpowering. I wonder if that could be reduced without affecting the way the muffins rise? Thanks.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Lisa! So happy you liked them! The vinegar is meant to work with the gluten free flours I use to help with rise. Since I have never used whole wheat pastry flour I do not know how much you’d need to get it to rise. You can definitely try cutting it in half! Let me know if you try it.
Chelsee says
This was such a great way to use my apples up! My kids loved them.
Jan says
This is our new favorite way to use up apples! So easy and the flavor and texture are delicious!!
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy you liked them Jan! Such a great flavor combo!
Natalie says
Do not make these! Made them exactly and the muffins completely fell apart once I tried to take them out of tin! Will use a new recipe for the rest of my apples for muffins-super sad.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Natalie, it sounds like you either didn’t prepare your muffin tin with a touch of oil so they stuck while trying to remove them or you tried to take them out of the tins when they were still hot. Not allowing them to cool would cause them to fall apart, much like when you make cookies and you try and take them off the pan while they are still hot. These have been made many times without them falling apart, the texture is not that delicate. There are many reasons that a recipe doesn’t work out but I can assure you that these muffins do not fall apart, you can look at the photos for what each step is supposed to look like. And also see the texture right out of the tins.
Ali says
Hi! This recipe looks wonderful! I looked at the metric measurements because I prefer to weigh the flours. I noticed the amounts for all the other ingredients changed: baking powder went from 4 tsp US customary to 2 tsp metric. Should I follow the US customary for everything other than the flours? Or is the whole recipe scaled differently in metric? Thanks for any info!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Ali! Thank you so much for catching this. I just went and looked and the recipe card didn’t update the metric side when I updated the full recipe to double it. I originally created this for 4 muffins, which I sometimes do when baking to keep it easier to create. Just a glitch but it’s fixed now!
Dana says
Thank you for this recipe!
I need to make it without the almond flour and it doesn’t have to be GF.
Is it best to use more oat flour instead of the almond flour or should I use white wheat flour (or whole wheat)?
Should I use the same quantity as the almond flour for the substitue?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Dana! Unfortunately the almond flour is a big part of the recipe and to alter that you’d need to basically alter the whole recipe. Baking, especially vegan and gluten free baking, is a science and you can’t easily sub a main ingredient (or really most ingredients). Almond flour adds whole food fat to the recipe so other fats or oils are not needed. So the texture will definitely be affected if you don’t use it. You are welcome to play around with it but I can’t vouch for the end result. Let me know if you try anything and how it turned out!