Packed with goodness like applesauce, rolled oats and diced apple, these decadently healthy vegan apple muffins are tender, just sweet enough and ready in about 30 minutes!

apple muffins on wire rack
Bursting with apple flavour, these tender vegan apple muffins take about 30 minutes to make!

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I am definitely in my simple pleasures era. File under things that make me happy: fresh air, cozy sweaters, a good book, and sitting down to a cup of tea and a comforting treat like these cinnamon-scented apple muffins. 

Pumpkin spice might get top billing during cozy season but if I had to choose just one, I’ve got to admit that my heart belongs to any combination of cinnamon and apple (even my fave hand soap!).  And I know how much everyone loves my apple pie oatmeal, so I just know you’re going to swoon over these tender, fluffy apple oat muffins with packed applesauce AND diced apple. 

The muffin has a surprisingly tender and fluffy crumb even with the high ratio of whole grains and apples, plus they’re super quick and easy to make – just 30 minutes start to finish! – and the optional walnut brown sugar crumble topping makes them taste as decadent as a fancy bakery muffin.

Because I’m both a dietitian and a cookbook author, I’m obsessed with showing you that nutrient-dense whole grain baking can be as craveable as standard fare. These naturally vegan applesauce muffins are bursting with apple flavour, which lends a natural sweetness that lets me use significantly less added sugar than other apple muffin recipes.

It’s comfort baking at its finest: they smell incredible as they bake (baker’s aromatherapy, ha!) And my kids – my biggest healthy baking skeptics – absolutely gobble these up. You can even pack them for school since they’re nut free with a tiny swap!

How to make these tender vegan apple muffins

Loading a muffin with whole grains, apple sauce AND chopped apples and having it turn out tender and fluffy (not puck-like) actually takes a bit of skill…here’s how I do it. 

One, a blend of whole wheat and white flour for a balance of nutrition and lighter texture. Two, enough baking powder, baking soda and apple cider vinegar to add lift. And three, a higher oven temperature. Yep, that’s right…I bake these at 400 degrees for the whole cooking time as the heat of the oven helps lift the muffins higher despite all that good-for-you fibre. 

oats, apple sauce, flour and apple in bowls
Choose your favourite flour! I use 1 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup all purpose but you could do 100% of either, or go gluten free.
butter, brown sugar, walnuts in bowls
Optional – but DELICIOUS – the finely chopped walnut and brown sugar topping takes just a minute to whip up. Swap sunflower seed for nut free!

Pro Tip: Choose the best apples for a chunky texture and sweet taste: a sweet, crisp apple like Pink Lady (my fave!), Ambrosia or Gala will do nicely.

hand whisking flour and oats in bowl
You could one bowl this recipe…
hand pouring maple syrup into applesauce
but mixing the wet and dry separately helps you avoid overmixing.

Want to clean less? I cannot recommend using parchment muffin liners enough…they’re compostable and the entire reason my muffin pan looks this good after owning it for years.

hand pouring apples into muffin batter
The smaller you cut the apples, the better the structure of the muffin.
hand portioning apple muffin batter into pan
Use exactly 1/3 cup of muffin batter for 12 medium muffins.

I LOVE a quick bake: in my oven, these muffins are done in 17 minutes pretty consistently, so the whole shebang is like 30 minutes from start to finish.

hand crumbling topping onto apple muffins
If using, crumble the brown sugar walnut topping onto the muffins before baking.
hand turning over a muffin in a muffin pan
The muffins are delicate when warm, so let them sit in the pan for 10 min. Then, use a fork to help you tip them out to cool on a rack.

Even more delicious apple recipes

apple muffins on wire rack

Chunky Vegan Apple Muffins

12 muffins
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Packed with goodness like applesauce, rolled oats and diced apple, these decadently healthy vegan apple muffins are tender, just sweet enough and ready in about 30 minutes!
5 from 8 ratings
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Ingredients

Vegan Apple Muffins

  • 1 ½ cups flour, all purpose, whole wheat, or 1:1 gluten free (see note)
  • ¾ cup rolled oats, gluten free if needed
  • ¼ cup ground flax
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ cup avocado oil, or another neutral-flavoured oil
  • ½ cup maple syrup, or your favourite liquid sweetener
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup diced apple, about 1 medium apple, dice it small!

Brown Sugar Walnut Crumble Topping (optional)

  • 2 tablespoons rolled oats
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons very finely chopped walnuts, omit for nut free
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • pinch salt
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter, diced, Earth Balance works great here
Imperial – Metric

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400℉ (205℃). Line a 12-well muffin pan with parchment liners.
  • If using the topping, stir together the walnuts, oats, brown sugar, flour and salt. Then work in the cold diced butter with your fingers until it forms a crumbly mixture.
  • In a large bowl, whisk flour, oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, mix applesauce, oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and vanilla.
  • Add wet to dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Gently fold in diced apples.
  • Use a ⅓ cup measure to portion out muffins. If using, crumble the topping over the muffins.
  • Bake the muffins for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  • Let muffins cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes. Use a fork to gently lift the muffins out of the pan to cool completely on wire rack. Muffins will be delicate until they cool.

Notes

Flour note: To balance flavour, texture and nutrition, I settled on 1 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup all purpose flour for this recipe. All whole wheat works too, but the muffins are denser (I still like them!), all purpose will of course work, making a lighter, sweeter muffin and a 1:1 gluten free flour blend should work very well (but bake times may vary).
FODMAP note: because of the apples, this recipe will be higher in fructose, but if you aren’t sensitive to fructose, with a starch-based gluten free flour, the recipe will be low in fructans and GOS.
Cuisine: American
Course: Baked Good, Breakfast, Brunch, Snack
Author: Desiree Nielsen, RD

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