These healthy apple muffins are super moist and taste like apple cake, but contain no refined sugar. They’re packed full of healthy fats and fibre and make the perfect healthier snack or treat for the whole family! {Gluten-free, dairy-free & paleo}
Table of Contents
Why Make this Recipe
Super moist & delicious – These apple muffins resemble a sweet, moist, dense and crumbly apple cake with just the right amount of spice. With the fresh apples and coconut oil, there is no shortage of moisture in these muffins!
Free of refined sugar – These healthy apple cinnamon muffins are mostly sweetened with shredded and diced apple and a bit of pure maple syrup, which also contains antioxidants, so this added sweetness does come with some nutritional benefits.
Nutrient-rich – The base of these muffins consists of almond flour, which is packed with healthy fats, making for a lower carb option. The addition of coconut flour and the fresh apple also amps up the fibre content to 4 grams of fibre per muffin for a nice and filling snack. Really, who doesn’t want to eat apple muffins that taste like dessert AND are actually good for you?
Mouthwatering aroma – I have fond memories of my mom always baking apple muffins in the fall as a kid. The smell of apples and cinnamon baking in the oven gets me every.single.time. If you want your house to be filled with the aroma of warm and cozy autumn baking, whip up a batch of these muffins.
Ingredient Notes
Apples – The apples contribute a natural sweetness and lots of moisture to these muffins. See below for suggestions on what type of apples to use.
Almond Flour – Provides a nice nutty flavour to the muffins. Use blanched almond flour for the purpose of this recipe.
Coconut Flour – Coconut flour contributes a subtle coconut flavour and can also help to balance out some of that excess moisture. You can generally find it in the natural section of the grocery store.
Coconut Oil – The coconut oil contributes moisture to these muffins. Both refined and unrefined coconut oils have similar nutritional benefits. If you love a coconut flavour and scent, go with the unrefined coconut oil. If you prefer your oil to be unflavoured and unscented, then refined is your best bet.
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with nine silicone baking cups or paper baking cups. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients together, breaking up any lumps.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, up until the chopped apple.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Gently fold in the chopped and shredded apple.
Evenly divide the muffin mixture between the silicone baking cups, filling almost to the top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow for muffins to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin.
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to dice up the apples finely so that there aren’t huge apple chunks in the muffins. Also, make sure that the apple is evenly distributed among each of the muffin cups so you get all of that apple goodness in each bite!
- If you’d like to add a little crunch, feel free to add some chopped pecans or walnuts to the muffin batter or top of each muffin. Another way to add some heart-healthy fats to these already nutrient-loaded muffins!
- I recommend using silicone baking cups or paper baking cups since these muffins have more of a crumbly consistency. If you bake them right in the muffin tin, you might struggle to get them out in one piece.
- I also recommend storing the muffins in the fridge for no longer than four days or better yet, stick them in the freezer as they will spoil more quickly at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
What do these muffins taste like?
If you’re looking for a light and fluffy apple muffin, these are not it. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a dense and moist apple cake-like muffin, THESE. ARE. IT. These are not dry muffins, my friends. There is plenty of moisture in every bite.
Just like my no-bake apple crumble has a taste and texture similar to sugar cookies, these muffins are like a cross between apple pie and apple cake. The apples paired with apple pie spice, cinnamon and the nutty flavour from the almond and coconut flour, it’s basically like autumn jam packed into a muffin.
What type of apples should I use?
You can use whatever type of apples that you have on hand. Generally, the following apples tend to be good for baking:
- Honeycrisp
- Cortland
- Gala
- Braeburn
- Jonagold
- Granny Smith
That being said, feel free to sub in your favourite type of apple. Or you could also use a combination of different types of apples to add a more diverse flavour and texture to the muffins.
How to Store
These muffins can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to four days. Beyond that, I would recommend freezing them, which brings me to my next point…
Can you freeze these muffins?
Yes! You can freeze them in a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag for up to three months.
To defrost: Allow the muffins to thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for several hours before serving.
More Healthy Muffins
- Bran Muffins with Applesauce
- Mini Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Mini Strawberry Muffins
- Mini Sweet Potato Muffins
- Healthy Mini Carrot Zucchini
- Carrot Cake Muffins with Pineapple
- Gluten-free Peach Vanilla Muffins
- Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Gluten-Free Apple Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 1/2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 5 tbsp refined coconut oil melted
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups peeled finely chopped apple
- 1/2 cup grated apple
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 9 silicone muffin cups or paper baking cups.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients together, breaking up any lumps.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, up until the chopped apple.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the chopped and shredded apple.
- Evenly divide the muffin mixture between the silicone baking cups, filling almost to the top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow for muffins to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin.
Notes
- Be sure to dice up the apples finely so that there aren’t huge apple chunks in the muffins. Also, make sure that the apple is evenly distributed among each of the muffin cups so you get all of that apple goodness in each bite!
- If you’d like to add a little crunch, feel free to add some chopped pecans or walnuts to the muffin batter or top of each muffin.
- I recommend using silicone baking cups or paper baking cups since these muffins have more of a crumbly consistency.
- Store the muffins in the fridge for no longer than four days or freeze them, as they will spoil quickly at room temperature.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in September 2018 but was updated in September 2020 to include better recipe tips and photos.
Recipe adapted from Texinerin Baking
Jessica Pedersen says
I substituted Gluten Free 1:1 flour for the coconut flour and almond flour due to an allergy. They were amaaazzziiinnnnggggg. Fabulous recipe, thank you!
Elysia Cartlidge says
So glad the muffins worked out well with the gluten-free 1:1 flour — that’s great to know! Thanks so much for returning to leave a review and share your modifications!
Anne says
The best!!
Elysia Cartlidge says
Thank you Anne! So happy you enjoyed the muffins!
Rebecca says
DELISH!!!! I freeze them and when I make my lunch for next day, I pop one in fridge to bring . Makes a yummy mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack at my desk with a cup of coffee or tea. Doubling recipe today and bringing a batch to my daughter’s home. Btw, I used cupcake tins (smaller?) so I got 12 out of the recipe. Thanks!
Elysia Cartlidge says
Thanks for stopping by to comment Rebecca! I’m so happy to hear that you love these muffins! They’re such a great make-ahead snack! Hope the rest of your family enjoys them!
Nick says
I liked this recipe except that I surely wouldn’t call them flourless since the first two ingredients are almond and coconut flour.
Elysia Cartlidge says
Thanks for the feedback Nick. The term flourless generally refers to the absence of refined white flour. The almond flour is simply ground up almonds and the coconut flour is basically dried coconut in powdered form, neither of which are technically flour. I can see how this would be confusing to the reader, however, so I will consider changing the name of the recipe to avoid potential confusion. Have a great day!