It’s apple muffin time! You all really seem to love my banana muffins, pumpkin muffins and carrot muffins and the blueberry muffins in my cookbook. Today, apple muffins are joining the club.
Like the others in the bunch, these muffins are made with 100 percent whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey. They are nice and fluffy, with just enough sweetness to be irresistible.
Granted, I already have an apple oatmeal muffin recipe on the blog from four years ago, but I have significantly upped my muffin game since then. These muffins are the better of the two, by a long shot.
I based these healthy apple muffins off my carrot muffins, replacing grated carrots with fresh apple, and replacing half of the Greek yogurt with applesauce.
These muffins contain apple, three ways: freshly grated and chopped apple for the perfect texture, and applesauce for infused apple flavor. They’re the best apple muffins I’ve ever had.
Healthy Apple Muffin Notes
- These apple muffins taste even better after resting for a few hours, if they last that long.
- I particularly enjoy them with a spread of peanut butter.
- Check my recipe notes for how to use honey instead of maple syrup, and some ideas for how to make the muffins vegan.
I think it’s time for another! Please let me know how you like these muffins in the comments. I love hearing from you.
Baking Tips for Success
How to Measure Flour
How you measure your flour is important. Why? If you measure incorrectly, you could end up with up to 50 percent extra flour, which will make your muffins dense, dry and flavorless. Use the spoon and swoop method:
- Gently stir your flour to loosen any clumps.
- Spoon your flour into the measuring cup with a big spoon or a flour scoop. Do not scoop up the flour directly into the measuring cup.
- Level off the top of the cup with a knife. Repeat as necessary.
Baking Powder & Baking Soda Are Not the Same Thing
…and they are not interchangeable. Both are leaveners that help your baked goods rise (baking powder contains some baking soda, but that’s a long story).
This recipe relies on a combination of baking powder and baking soda to produce light and fluffy muffins. For ideal results, always follow the recipe and measure carefully.
How to Stir Your Batter
This muffin batter is super simple to stir together by hand, and that’s how I recommend making these muffins. Why? Whipping your batter will make the flour’s gluten protein too strong, yielding tough muffins.
I know it can be tempting to use a stand mixer or hand mixer when it’s within reach. Please don’t! Follow the instructions below and you’ll end up with light, fluffy muffins.
Watch How to Make Apple Muffins
Healthy Apple Muffins
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 13 mins
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Amazing, healthy apple muffins made with maple syrup and whole wheat flour! No one will guess that this simple cinnamon apple muffin recipe is good for you, too. Recipe yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup grated apple
- 1 cup apple diced into ¼” cubes
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey*
- 2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used full-fat but any variety should do)
- ½ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and doesn’t require any grease).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Blend well with a whisk. Add the grated apple (if it is dripping wet, gently squeeze it over the sink to release some extra moisture) and chopped apple. Stir to combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil and maple syrup and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the yogurt, applesauce and vanilla and mix well. (If the coconut oil solidifies in contact with cold ingredients, gently warm the mixture in the microwave in 30 second bursts.)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a big spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). The batter will be thick, but don’t worry! Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with turbinado sugar. Bake muffins for 13 to 16 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my healthy carrot muffins.
*If you are baking with honey: Honey tends to brown quickly, so to avoid overdone muffins, bake muffins at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 23 to 25 minutes.
Make it vegan: Replace the eggs with flax eggs and replace the yogurt with vegan buttermilk—try mixing 1 ½ teaspoons vinegar with a scant ½ cup non-dairy milk. Let it rest for 5 minutes before adding it to the other liquid ingredients. (You could also try using more applesauce in place of the yogurt but I’m not sure it’s acidic enough to counteract the bitter taste of the baking soda.)
Make it dairy free: See “buttermilk” option above.
Make it egg free: Use flax eggs instead of regular eggs.
Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour make gluten-free all-purpose blends that work well.
If you love this recipe: You will also love my zucchini muffins, carrot muffins and banana muffins! Here are more apple recipes for you, too.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Kez
These are incredible. I’ve made them a few times now and they have never failed me.
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear Kez! Thank you for your review.
Nora
I made these for the first time and they were really tasty! My husband and kids even loved them! I love that all the ingredients are healthy. I will definitely make these more often in the future :)
★★★★★
Phyllis Goldberg
The apple muffins got RAVE reviews (husband, friend, teenage neighbor), and I loved them too. I used a slightly different combo of less grated apple, more apple sauce, which worked perfectly. I so much appreciate all the ways that you help me to make so many things that are more nutritious than their counterparts and more delicious too.
Thank you!!
★★★★★
Sara
This is now my go-to apple muffin recipe. Made recipe as is. Muffins came out perfectly, not too dry, wet, or the dreaded “stodgy.” Nice and light with perfect apple taste coming through (which is very hard to achieve in other recipes I’ve tried!). Thank you!
★★★★★
Lynn
These apple muffins came out perfect, just as you promised! I made them today for my birthday and even put peanut butter on them as you suggested! Heavenly. I used 1C. of spelt flour and 3/4C of ww, didn’t have yogurt so I subbed with sour cream. I will be making these forever. Thank you Kate!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Lynn! Thank you for your review.
ClaudiaCN
Loved it! Quick to make and delicious – the perfect level of sweetness.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Claudia!
Candice
I don’t normally leave reviews on recipes but had to for these muffins.
I bit into one after they came out of the oven and said “holy &@&@ these are good!!”
I followed the recipe to a T. My kids also love them!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Candice! I appreciate your review.
Annie
These are just absolutely perfect. To quote my husband, who took one to work today: “These muffins are amazing… if this is the only kind of muffin I get for the rest of my life I’ll be a happy man” Ha! Thanks!!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! I love to hear that. Thank you for your review.
Barb
I added 3tablespoons of mincemeat that was leftover from the holidays. The family gave them 2 thumbs up!
★★★★★
Heidi
This recipe turned out very well- not too sweet and even though it used only wheat flour it was quite moist. Love that there’s yogurt in it! I added a tablespoon of ground flax to boost the nutritional value and baked the muffins at 375 instead of 425. They came out toothpick clean in 13 minutes. I must have a smaller than normal muffin tin- the recipe made 18 good sized muffins. Thank you for posting this recipe, I’ll have to check out what else you’ve got!
★★★★★
Lexi
These are the best muffins I have ever made!!
I followed the recipe and made 12 muffins with maple syrup baking them at 425 degrees F, and they were still gooey at 13 minutes. Still trying to perfect how long to cook them, but hands down the best muffin recipe!
★★★★★
Meg
these are absolutely DELICIOUS 10/10
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Meg! I appreciate your review.
Nancy
Is there a substitute for the apple sauce? I’ve made these muffins before and they are delicious. But this time, I don’t have applesauce and rarely have it in the house. Can apple juice somehow be substituted?
Kate
I recommend this recipe as written. Sorry! What did you decide to do?
Alex
I would just get some extra apples and make a small batch of applesauce. Its fast and easy.
Katharina Siemens
Could you please let me know what the flour equivalent is in grams instead of only in cups?
Kate
I don’t provide conversions, sorry! I do know this conversion table has been helpful to others in the past.
Bobby
These muffins are great!! Very tasty but not too sweet, so they are a good daily snack. The little apple cubes are my favorite part! My batter was way runnier than in the pictures, I have no idea why, but I just baked them a little longer and they still turned out great. I used baking apples and also added some extra spices (ginger, nutmeg, clove) and oats (because the batter was so runny, haha!). They also freeze well. I will be making these again! :)
★★★★★
Phyllis Doerr
Would partial oatmeal work? If so, what would you suggest as a substitution? 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup oatmeal?
Kate
Hi! You can add 1/3 cup oats to my muffin recipes or you could try to make this with oat flour.
Tameka Abney
These look amazing. Quick question – can I assume I need to use UNSWEETENED applesauce or will any applesauce work? Thank you.
Kate
I prefer unsweetened, but you can try what you have on hand. Let me know what you think!
Trisha Rogers
I have apple pulp left over from juicing apples. Could I using them in place of the applesauce? How can I use it?
Kate
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
Tricia
YUMMMMM! I have been searching for a moist muffin mix! EVERYTHING I make from your recipes are amazing1
★★★★★
Lauren Seymour
What types of apples do you recommend?
Kate
You can use any apples you prefer, but I used Granny Smith here.
Balvinder Gill
I haven’t made the muffins yet. Was wondering if almond flour would work? Thanks.
Kate
Unfortunately, almond flour isn’t a great 1:1 sustitute.
L
These were tasty, however, ended up not baking properly I think due to the apples being juicy in spite of my best efforts to wick out the moisture REALLY well. I baked them for probably a total of 20 minutes at 425 and they still were soggy. I don’t fault the recipe and they were still delicious, just be mindful of making sure the fruit gets thoroughly “juiced” and you will probably be golden. I also ended up using a cup of yogurt instead since I didn’t have applesauce and used gluten free flour.
★★★★
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that! I’m glad you were still able to enjoy them.
Ranee’
Just made these today. I used King Arthur’s gluten free flour mix and dairy free buttermilk. They are so delicious! Super light and fluffy. My family loves them. I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful to hear, Ranee!
Anna
I have made this recipe twice now because my husband and I loved the first batch so much! We had no problem finishing the recipe between the two of us. A couple of swaps I made that worked – used butter instead of oil and we were somehow out of vanilla(?!) so swapped in brandy – these taste like pancakes !! I’ve found you can leave uncovered a few days to keep the sugar topping crispy. Seeing they are adapted from the carrot recipe I’m gonna have to try that next!
★★★★★
Kate
I love to hear that! I love how you got creative, Anna. I appreciate your review.
Grandma Wendy
My 9 year old granddaughter and I made these, following the recipe exactly. They were in the oven about 12 min when the electricity went off. We left the oven door closed and they finished up just fine. They are moist and delicious, not too sweet. We think we’ll experiment with adding some quick oats next time just for fun.
★★★★★
Jodi
I made these today and subbed 3/4 cup flour with a bowl of leftover apple oatmeal, I used 1/3 coconut Andy 1/2 olive oils as you suggested.
★★★★
Linda Holub
I love trying different muffin recipes. This one was the best. I did add golden raisins to the recipe they added more sweetness so I didn’t put the sugar on top.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you loved them, Linda! I appreciate your review.
Rebecca
These apple muffins taste too good! Amazing. I don’t want to share them. Lol. I can’t believe they are healthy!
I made mine with half regular flour and half almond flour.
I used the maple syrup and vanilla Greek Yogurt.
I was afraid to bake at 425 degrees thinking they might burn but they were perfect baked for 13 minutes.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Baked Jake
I substituted 1/2C flour for 1/2C oats, and 1/4c flour for 1/4c flax meal. Came out great!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Jake!
Tahnee
So yummy! Made these for my toddler and the whole family loved them. Replaced the flour with gluten free flour, I used coconut yoghurt and as I didn’t have apple sauce I just used more yoghurt. Turned out perfectly, will make again soon :)
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Tahnee! I appreciate your review.
Cher
Terrific recipe! I am not much of a baker, but followed this recipe to a T and these turned out! Yipeee! My husband even commented on how light and fluffy the muffins were – that’s a first for me! LOL
I chose to use olive oil (as the fat) and organic maple syrup (as the sweetener). I used two medium/large Granny Smith apples which more or less resulted in the two cups of apple. Will make these again FOR SURE!
Thanks so much the healthy inspiration!
★★★★★
Lauren
These muffins turned out great! Nice to have something without chocolate for a change. I used flax eggs since I ran out of eggs and perfecto! Feel good about these for my kids too!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad they were a hit with everyone, Lauren! I appreciate your review.