Applesauce Muffins (One Bowl Recipe)
These healthy applesauce muffins are incredibly moist and delicious. They are naturally vegan and perfect for breakfast or snacking.
Thanks to the heaping 1/2 cup of applesauce in each batch, these applesauce muffins are moist and tender. We love them in my family as a snack, but they are wholesome enough to enjoy for breakfast or packed in a lunchbox.
Why I love this recipe
These applesauce muffins are exactly like they sound, made with applesauce and a mix of regular flour, rolled oats and whole wheat flour.
They are lower in sugar than other bakery muffins, with only 1/3 cup of brown sugar in the batter. Especially being lower in sugar.
Make a batch for the week as they are great to throw in lunchboxes or for an afternoon snack.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Applesauce: Of course! That’s where these muffins get both flavor and moisture from. I use homemade applesauce, but can applesauce works.
- Milk: I usually bake with oat milk because it’s higher in carbohydrates and therefore browns just as well as dairy-milk. You can also use cow’s milk or soy milk.
- Oil: I prefer a neutral oil for these, but if you want to keep them oil-free, then you can sub in pumpkin puree.
- Brown sugar: Please don’t try to sub out the sugar! You need some of the sugar to help tenderize the muffins. I tested this recipe several times and brown sugar adds in more moisture and is recommended over white sugar.
- Rolled Oats: Regular or even instant oats work. I prefer baking with oats because it adds in extra protein and fiber and adds a nice texture to these applesauce muffins.
- Flours: I do both all-purpose and whole-wheat for these. You can use just all-purpose. Only whole-wheat flour will work but will make for a more dense muffin.
If You Want to Add in Sauteed Apples
This applesauce muffin recipe has an optional add of sautéed apples, if desired! Because this is an extra-step, I made this optional. If you want to do this then sauté 1 peeled and diced apple with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon until softened, then fold into the final batter.
How to Make Applesauce Muffins
Whisk together the dry ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. This recipe is a one-bowl muffin recipe, so make sure you are using a large bowl so all of the ingredients can fit.
Add in the wet
Stir in the oil, applesauce, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until just combined, taking care not to overmix. Overmixing muffins makes for a more dense muffin, so stir just until you no longer see white streaks of flour.
Optional: Add in Softened Apples
For a very rich apple taste (and fun texture), soften 1 peeled and diced apple with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon until softened, about 10 minutes. Fold into the batter. This step is optional and I do it when I have time and extra apples, but I’ve tested this recipe both ways and the muffins are great with or without it.
Bake
Divide batter into a lightly greased muffin tin and bake for 16 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. If you added the apples, bake for 14 minutes instead. Remove from oven and let cool in the tin before removing to a cooling rack (affiliate).
Things to Know Before Making
- To make scooping the muffin batter as easy as possible into the tins, I use a large cookie scoop. This divides the batter easily for baking.
- To make these as mini muffins, use a mini muffin tin and decrease the baking time by 10-12 minutes.
- The oil is replaceable with 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree, if desired. I know not everyone wants to use just a 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree, so I left that as optional depending on preference.
- My oven cooks these perfectly at 16 minutes. When they are done, they just spring back lightly to the touch and have a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean.
- These muffins can be oil free if you substitute pumpkin puree for the oil. To add crunch and a bit of protein, you can stir in chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter before baking. Or for extra fiber, add in raisins if you prefer a sweeter chew.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I choose to add the apples, when do I add them to the batter?
If you decide to add in the softened apples, let them cool slightly then gently fold them into the finished batter just before dividing the batter into the muffin tin.
Why do you need to let them cool in the tin before moving them to the cooling rack?
Letting the muffins cool in the tin for a few minutes allows them to set and firm up slightly. Right out of the oven, muffins are very delicate and can break easily if you try to remove them immediately. This cooling period helps the muffins firm up so they can be transferred to a wire rack to finish cooling.
How long should I mix the batter after adding the wet to the dry?
Only mix the muffins until the ingredients are just combined, taking care not to overmix. A few lumps are okay! Overmixing develops the gluten too much, which can lead to dense or tough muffins. Stir until you no longer see streaks of flour.
Storage Notes
Store muffins at room temperature for 24 hours, or in the fridge for 3-4 days. To store in the freezer, place applesauce muffins in freezer-safe bags for up to 3 months.
When ready to enjoy, thaw at room temperature for an hour, or in the fridge. I find that the freezer changes the texture of the muffins slightly, so I like to pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds or so just to warm through, then add a little butter or apple butter to remoisten.
More Vegan Muffin Recipes
These applesauce muffins are delicious as is, but even better with a smidge of butter (we’re obsessed with Earth Balance) or apple butter. My kids love them most with both butter and almond butter!
If you try this recipe, make sure to come back to leave a rating and a comment! Your feedback helps other readers and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!
Applesauce Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, or more AP flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup unsweetened milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup neutral oil*, like canola
**Optional: Softened apples into the batter. Not necessary, but incredible. For this, you will need 1 peeled and diced apple, 1 tablespoon brown sugar & 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a muffin tin and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flours, oats, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
- Add in the liquids: oil, applesauce, milk and vanilla extract. IF adding in softened apples, fold them into the batter.
- Divide into a lightly greased muffin tin and bake for 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (14 minutes if you’ve added in additional apples). Remove from oven and let cool in the tin before removing to a cooling rack.