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These homemade apple muffins are made with fresh apples, applesauce, cinnamon, crunchy walnuts, and a lightly sweet granola topping for extra texture and flavor.
Apple Muffins
It’s apple season, and I picked up some apples at the farmers market last week to make a big batch of crock pot applesauce. Last year, I used that applesauce to make apple bread, which I love. It inspired me to experiment with almond meal, wheat bran, and flax to create this delicious, high fiber apple muffin recipe. I love how moist they turned out, and I saved the extra in my refrigerator to eat for the week—they stayed moist for days! For more of my favorite apple breakfast recipes, don’t miss my Apple Bread, Apple Scones, or Apple Pie Overnight Oats.
Why You’ll Love These Apple Muffins
I love going apple picking on Long Island in September and usually wind up with more apple than we can eat, so we bake them into muffins, quick breads and turnovers! This recipe is so good, loaded with apples and so delicious!
- Perfect for Fall: Baking these apple cinnamon muffins will make your house smell like fall. They’re cozy and delicious.
- Great for Fresh Apples: Fresh apples add natural sweetness, making these muffins moist and tender.
- Dietary Restrictions: They are vegetarian, Weight Watchers-friendly, high-fiber, and dairy-free.
If you make this healthy apple muffin recipe, I would love to see it. Tag me in your photos or videos on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook!
Ingredients You’ll Need
While the ingredient list may be longer than most apple muffin recipes, don’t let it intimidate you! You probably have more of the ingredients in your pantry than you realize. Find the exact measurements in the recipe card below.
- Apples: Use sweet apples like honey crisp. Peel, core, and grate (with a microplane or box grater) the large apple. The grated apple provides texture and moisture.
- Apple Marinade: Combine cinnamon, honey, and lemon juice to create a flavorful marinade for the grated apples.
- Flour: I increased the fiber in these healthy apple muffins by using 3 different types of flour: white whole wheat, coarse wheat bran flour, and almond meal. All purpose flour can be used in place of while whole wheat.
- Baking Soda: helps the muffins rise and improves their texture.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon and nutmeg give these muffins a warm, fall flavor.
- Salt balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavors.
- Ground Flax Seeds also increase the fiber content.
- Applesauce adds sweetness, moisture, and nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. You can use store-bought unsweetened applesauce or try my homemade slow cooker applesauce recipe.
- Brown Sugar sweetens the muffins.
- Oil: Use a little coconut or canola oil to add moisture without many calories.
- Egg Whites help bind the ingredients together.
- Vanilla Extract for subtle warmth and sweetness
- Chopped Walnuts for a little crunch
- Granola: Top each muffin with a bit of granola. I love Purely Elizabeth granola but use whatever you prefer.
Variation Ideas
- Honey: You can swap the honey for maple syrup or agave if that’s what you have on hand. Maple adds a nice fall flavor, while agave keeps things a bit more neutral.
- Spices: Try using pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon and nutmeg for a warm, cozy twist. It’s especially great in the fall.
- Swap the sugar: To lower the added sugar, replace the brown sugar with a monk fruit brown sugar blend. It keeps the sweetness without the extra calories.
- Use one kind of flour: If you don’t want to buy all three flours, you can simplify by using just white whole wheat flour. The muffins will still bake up nicely and have great texture.
- Make the gluten free: Replace white whole wheat and wheat bran flours with a gluten-free mix, like Cup4Cup.
- Nut Allergy: Replace almond meal with white whole wheat flour and omit the nuts. If you still want the crunch the nuts provide, try adding pepitas.
- No granola topping: Don’t have granola? A light sprinkle of oats or chopped nuts works just fine. You can even skip it entirely for a simpler muffin.
- Add-ins: Stir in a handful of raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped dates for extra sweetness.
How to Make Apple Muffins
Here’s how to make these easy apple cinnamon muffins. Scroll to the bottom for the complete instructions.
- Make the apple mixture: Combine the grated apples with cinnamon, honey, and lemon juice.
- Mix dry ingredients: Whisk the 3 flours, flax, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
- Mix wet Ingredients: Beat the applesauce, oil, egg whites, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer or stand mixer until thick.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and blend at low speed until combined. Fold in the apples and walnuts.
- Bake the Muffins: Place muffin liners in a muffin pan and spray with oil. Pour the muffin batter into the prepared muffin cups. Top each with some granola and bake at 350°F for about 35 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin–when it comes out clean, they’re ready.
Proper Storage
- Counter or fridge: Keep the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerate for up to a week.
- How to freeze: Freeze in a zip-top bag or container for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight, or microwave straight from frozen in 20–30 second bursts until warm.
More Apple Recipes
Apple Muffins
These healthy, high-fiber, whole-grain apple muffins are made with fresh sweet apples, applesauce, walnuts, and a granola topping.
Yield:
Serving Size: 1 muffin
Ingredients
- 1 cup large apple, peeled, cored and grated
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour , (King Arthur) or all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup wheat bran flour, (Bob's Redmill)
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 1/2 cup applesauce , homemade or store bought
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, not packed
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, or canola
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 oz walnuts, chopped
- 1 oz granola, such as Purely Elizabeth
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine grated apple, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, honey, and lemon juice. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with liners and lightly spray them with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, bran, almond meal, flax, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt with a wire whisk; set aside.
- In a large bowl mix applesauce, coconut oil, egg whites, sugar, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour mixture, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in apples and walnuts.
- Pour batter into muffin tins and top each muffin with 1/2 teaspoon of granola, then bake in the center rack about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let them cool and serve room temperature.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Nutrition
Serving: 1 muffin, Calories: 150 kcal, Carbohydrates: 30 g, Protein: 4 g, Fat: 5 g, Sodium: 170 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 19 g
Could I use Bob’s red mill gluten free regular flour in this?
The amount of ingredients were daunting at first, but I’ve made them twice so far, and I accidentally left out the coconut oil on the 2nd batch and it didn’t make a difference. I may try to decrease the brown sugar when I make them again. I ordered the “almond meal” on Amazon as I had trouble finding them in area stores. Thank you, Gina!
I’d like to make these but am confused by your link to “wheat bran flour” as the link takes me to “wheat bran” but not the flour? I don’t believe they are the same thing??? Google search tells me they are different. Is wheat bran what you used or wheat bran flour?
These turned out great in spite of my best efforts to sabotage. I couldn’t find wheat bran flour, so I used regular wheat flour. I hate wasting parts of eggs, so I just chucked two whole eggs in. Didn’t have flaxseed. I measure cinnamon with my heart. Had pecans to use up, so subbed those in for walnuts. I grated one big apple but it wasn’t quite up to a cup, so I added in some shredded carrot. I almost skipped the granola on top but am really glad I didn’t – that added a nice crunch. They turned out great, happy breakfast to me. 🙂
enjoyed your comments, which mean to me that subbing works well in this recipe and it is forgiving so worth a try! planning on making them today.
These were delicious. I used Bob’s Red Mill wheat bran. Not sure if that’s the same exact thing as bran flour but they are delicious! I used a whole egg rather than two egg whites just because it was simpler. So delicious…. I love the rich brown color and the texture. One thing I wish is that some of the recipes differentiate between a cupcake size pan and jumbo muffin. Sometimes I’m confused on the muffin recipes but this definitely was for the cupcake size. Very moist. I suggest taking them out of the muffin pan once they’ve cooled for 5 minutes so they don’t ” steam” in the the liners. Delicious!
Amazing muffins. I did them in a food processor even chopping the apple in there. Turned out great! So yummy
Really great!!! I used a food processor to chop apple and mix all the ingredients. They are crazy good.
These muffins are amazing. I cut the brown sugar to 1/3 of a cup. Plenty sweet for me. Also used maple syrup instead of honey cause I ran out. I just love this website.
Great!
Do you know how many points these would be with the updated plans? For Green, Blue, and Purple?
I am working on updating all the recipes, please be patient. 🙂
I just made these last night! I have apples and homemade skinny taste apple sauce from my apple picking bounty in September! I like the idea of the different dry ingredients for added fiber. I just ground my own almond meal from raw almonds, and ground my own flax seeds. For my tastes the muffins were way too sweet. 3/4 cup of brown sugar combined with the sweet apple and apple sauce. I would love these oats or oat bran, and modified to taste less sweet.
I am wondering if you could add some carrots, banana, & pineapple to this? Am I going crazy with this or do you think irt would be okay?
I rarely post back on a site when I make a recipe, but I just have to for these. I've been making these muffins for months now, and they are my absolute favorites! They refrigerate/freeze very well, so I can make a bunch at a time and keep them on hand for quick breakfasts or snacks. So portable! I feel so healthy noshing on 1 or 2 of these!
I made these muffins this evening substituting rolled oats for the coarse wheat bran flour because that is what I had that was coarse:) I had everything else. They are super yummy! Thanks Gina, I always look for recipes first from you!
I made these today and they were great! Can't wait to try other fruits! These are excellent and well worth the points. Thank you so much!
I just made these and am pleased with the way they turned out- very moist with a really good flavor. It did seem like a lot of ingredients but if your local Whole Foods has a good bulk bin selection it makes picking up everything really easy and inexpensive 🙂
Almost a week later and I'm still eating leftovers from the freezer. The taste and texture have grown on me so much that I'm prepared to call this one of my favorite muffin recipes ever. I top one with a little Reddi-whip alongside my morning coffee and feel like I'm eating apple cake for breakfast (while keeping very healthy). Love these, thanks Gina!!
So thrilled you enjoyed them, it took me a few attempts to get them just right!!
What is wheat bran flour? Is it the same as wheat bran?
Can't wait to try these! Do you think they would freeze well?
Just made these-delicious! My 4 year old helped and we'll be bringing them to preschool tomorrow to share at snack time. Thank you!!!
These look awesome. I just finished eating a batch of your applesauce that I made last week and am planning to make another batch. I'll have to reserve most of it to make these yummy looking muffins! Thanks for sharing!
I have all this on hand so will be making these soon! It's not really a lot of ingredients, especially for muffins. I think that to a lot of people "healthy" automatically means minimal. Thanks for another great recipe!
WOW! Just in time for apple harvest. I have so many apples on my trees and am always looking for healthy recipes to use apples. These look wonderful and I have all the ingredients. Making them today! Thank you Gina!
They look amazingly delicious!! My husband loves apple cinnamon muffins and I'm always looking for ways to add more fiber. I can't wait to try these muffins!!! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
yowsa, these look good…
I have a dietary restriction regarding nuts but I am allowed to have seeds. Is there another flavorful flour option I could use instead of almond? Also, what would you use to replace the walnuts? Man I miss almonds and walnuts! Love those flavors in baking but can't have them anymore. 🙁 thanks!! BTW, your site has helped me in my WW journey. I've lost 55 pounds so far AND gotten healthier in the process. You're the BEST!!
I love the crunch the nuts add, so maybe a pepita or some kind of seed would be great. You can swap the almond flour for more whole wheat flour and they will be great, or maybe coconut flour!
Gina, these look delicious! Gorgeous photos (as always!) that make me just want to reach through the screen to grab one of these to go with my morning coffee! Thanks!!!! 😀
Interesting how some people take the time to leave a comment just to whine about the ingredient list! Oh man… there's just no patience…
These muffins look amazing and I can't wait to try them!
Was thinking the same thing!
Thanks Silvia! I actually made them THREE times playing around with the amounts of flour and these were perfect! If you make them exactly as written, I promise you wont be sorry!!
agree with that statement! Just use wheat flour for everything…Gina I LOVE your recipes and iv'e been on WW for 6 months and I have lost 35lbs..and MOST of my meals..came from your recipes! Most of the ingredients you buy you will use them again in another recipe..not a problem here! Can't wait for your cookbook!
Uh, she has nut allergy…. no need to be nasty🙄
these look great!! is wheat bran flour just wheat bran ground up, like in a blender? Lately I have been wanting something a little sweet for breakfast, but not poptart sweet, and still healthy.
Yes, basically!
Looks great but I am allergic to wheat. What could I use in place of the wheat bran? Thank you!
~Emilia
I would use a gluten free flour blend
My son has a nut allergy so I was wondering if I could replace the almond meal with flour? I wasn't sure if it was the same thing. These look delicious! I love your site and make so many recipes of yours! Thanks!
Yes, I usually make it with all white whole wheat and they are great.
I'm loving all the nutritious ingredients here, Gina! Yum!
Me too, plus I am always challenging myself to use new grains and flours.
I can see how it seems like a lot of ingredients if you're not a baker, but as someone who bakes a lot, these are all things I have on hand regularly 🙂
Right? I can't stand the complainers. If you don't want to try something, don't try it and move on. Don't force your negativity on everyone else! (And of course by "your negativity", I don't mean you!) Some of us love cooking and baking and are happy to see recipes that call for a little bit of challenge rather than the same old, same old. Isn't that how we got to a place where we need "skinny" recipes?
I don’t see a person complaining so much as asking for a substitute ingredient . Stating too many ingredients isn’t being negative it’s just a statement and since all recipes can be substituted with different ingredients I view it as more of an ask.
Very nasty! People have ALLERGIES, why is that “complaining? or negativity??? 🙄
they look yummy but who has all those flours? I agree with Anon 12:25 – too many ingredients to buy but if I had them on hand I'd sure give these a try.
You can replace them all with whole wheat flour if you don't want the added fiber.
Too many ingredients!
3/4 "cup" coarse wheat bran flour? Just clarifying as the recipe is missing the measurement. Thank you.
Yes, thanks thats 3/4 cups