*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
Looking for everything you love about your fave vegan apple pie, but in the form of a muffin that takes very few ingredients and can be made in less than half an hour? These vegan apple muffins make my kids happy because they are soft, fluffy, and packed with juicy apple chunks, topped with a delightful crunch. Plus, because they store well for a few days, they can make an effortless breakfast or tea time snack at a moment’s notice.
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
These muffins have three dimensions of apple flavor.
Not everyone has this philosophy about apple treats, but I do the same thing in this recipe as I do for my award-winning vegan apple cider donuts. These apple muffins have plenty of fresh apples, and the batter is made more moist because it has apple sauce in it (which also improves their keeping quality). Then there's a tiny touch of apple cider vinegar, which curdles the plant-based milk, making it behave like a vegan buttermilk in the recipe. The acidity of the vinegar also helps to balance the sweetness and make the apple flavor taste more complex and intense.
I've spent countless days and weeks perfecting this vegan apple muffin recipe to ensure it's both delicious and foolproof. Ready to get these bad boys in the oven? Grab your mixing bowls, and let’s fill your home with their warm autumnal aroma. Happy baking!
Jump to:
🥰Why you'll adore this recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Enjoy this guilt-free treat that’s kind to animals and the planet, just like all of my vegan recipes.
🍎 Amazing Keeping Quality: Using applesauce not only adds natural sweetness but also keeps these muffins incredibly moist. This swap for traditional eggs and butter ensures a tender crumb that stays fresh longer, and allows the recipe to be made with less oil.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide. Like all the vegan breakfast recipes I share, after perfecting this one, I had it tested by a diverse team of hundreds of bakers all around the world. I waited to publish it until I heard back that it worked perfectly for them.
🍎 Ingredients for vegan apple muffins
The Apples Themselves
How stupid of an apple recipe would this be if they were ONLY made appl-y by having apple sauce in them? I like to use a balanced apple in this recipe, such as pink lady, or honey crisp apples. Granny Smith apples are a nice tarter option, which is why I like to use them in my vegan apple fritters and sometimes for my vegan apple pie.
Just steer clear of red delicious and yellow delicious apples. They suck terribly, and I am not convinced they aren’t just carefully crafted in a lab out of meal-old potatoes!
Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
Nuts are optional in this recipe, but like my vegan oatmeal cookies, these muffins only become more fun when they have bits of crunchy nuts in them. Take ‘em or leave ‘em.
Sugar
Brown sugar provides natural sweetness and moisture, contributing to the caramelized exterior of the muffins. My wife likes even less processed sugar, so I often make these with coconut sugar or palm sugar (which is my go-to sweetener for Southeast Asian desserts like klepon, Turon, and karioka, which I sometimes serve at my Galactic MegaStallion pop-ups. Maple syrup can be used instead (though not as the topping sugar). Just cut back on the amount of non-dairy milk in the recipe by a couple of tablespoons so the batter doesn't become too loose.
Oil
I prefer using a neutral-tasting oil such as canola, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil to keep the muffins moist and tender. They are low in saturated fats and high in healthy monounsaturated fats. I have made this muffin recipe and other muffin recipes with olive oil, and it works great.
Vanilla
Vanilla extract adds a lovely aroma and subtle flavor to the muffins. If you want to step up the vanilla flavor, vanilla powder is a great choice which I keep on hand to use in the filling for my Italian bomboloni, Filipino suman malagkit, and vegan panna cotta.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is an essential flavor in any classic apple pie recipe and I particularly like (read: love) this one.
Apple Sauce
While you can get away with using store-bought apple sauce in a jar for this recipe - homemade apple sauce is silly-easy to make, and way more delicious.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
✅ How to make homemade apple sauce
Step One
Cook them apples:
Quarter the apples, without removing the core, skin, or seeds. Toss them into a pot with just about a tablespoon of water to start them steaming. And then I cook them over medium heat for 20-25 minutes until the apples are super-soft.
Step Two
Purée time:
Then pass the cooked apples through a food mill which perfectly purees them, and simultaneously removes all the skins and seeds and whatnot. This is the same method I teach in my vegan Eastern European cooking class to go with blintzes and pierogis and stuff like that.
🤯Variations
German Apfelküchle Muffins
Rock the flavors of traditional German Apfelküchle by adding a hint of lemon zest to the batter and dusting the finished muffins with powdered sugar. Just be sure to use a vegan powdered sugar like I use in my zeppoli, and amla candy.
Vegan Apple Chai Muffins
Do you know someone that doesn’t love chai? Pick them up right this instant, pack them into an old wooden barrel, and launch them straight into the center of the sun, because you can easily pack these muffins with the flavors of your fave milky Indian tea! Add a half teaspoon each of ground cloves, ground cardamom, dried ginger (my fave is the buffalo ginger from Burlap and Barrel), and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper to the batter.
Vegan Apple Cranberry Muffins
There’s two ways you can go here. Either add ⅓ cup of dried cranberries, or up to ½ cup of fresh cranberries. I love how the tartness of the cranberries takes the apple flavor to the next level. This is a splendid Thanksgiving muffin variation.
📖 How to make vegan apple cinnamon muffins
You can bite into the best apple muffins you ever had in just 30 minutes from now by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Baking Setup:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and line a muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease it.
Step Two
In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, plant-based milk (soy, oat, or almond milk work best), apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Step Three
In a separate bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and salt until they are evenly distributed. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Step Four
Add the Goodies:
Fold in the diced apple and chopped nuts, if using, making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Step Five
Fill ‘Er Up:
Divide the muffin batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each one most of the way full using a lightly oiled ice cream scoop or ⅓ cup measuring cup. Top each muffin with additional chopped apple pieces and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Step Six
Bake Those Muffins:
Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 24-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. The sugar on top of each muffin should look crunchy and caramelized.
Remove from the oven and let the muffins cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
💡Serving Ideas
Maybe it’s because I live a couple miles from massive orchards and one of the country’s oldest distilleries (Laird’s Applejack), but apple muffins SCREAM autumnal eating to me!
Consider making these as a dessert to follow some of your fave fall-time eats like roasted carrot lentil soup, Escarole and White Bean Soup, Mexican lentil soup, or vegan chicken noodle soup made with my crazy good seitan recipe.
👉Top tips
- Measure Flour Like This: Scoop flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife instead of scooping it directly from the bag. This prevents the flour from being packed too tightly, throwing off the wet to dry ingredients ratio. This is especially important if you are multiplying the recipe.
- Don’t Go Crazy Mixing the Batter: Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stir until just combined. It’s ok if it’s not 100% smooth. Overmixing can lead to dense, tough muffins that will make a grown man cry instead of light and fluffy ones.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your applesauce, plant-based milk, and other wet ingredients are at room temperature. This helps them combine more easily and evenly, resulting in a smoother batter.
- Check Doneness Early: Check your muffins a few minutes before the minimum baking time. Ovens can vary, and you don’t want to overbake your muffins. A toothpick or reusable metal skewer inserted in the center should come out clean or with just a few crumbs.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
How do I store vegan apple muffins?
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days (unless it’s really hot in your home, in which case just 1-2 days), or in the fridge for up to a week. To keep them fresh longer, you can freeze the muffins for up to three months, keeping them wrapped and inside an airtight container.
Yes, you can use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend as a direct substitute for regular flour in this recipe. Ensure the blend includes xanthan gum or another binding agent for the best texture.
My faves are pink lady, honeycrisp, or empire. If you want a firmer, more tart apple, granny smith is a good option that holds up well during baking.
Replace the oil with an equal amount of applesauce to keep the muffins moist while reducing fat content. This works well and adds extra apple flavor to the muffins, but they will have a greater tendency to stick to the papers. A good option for baking oil-free muffins is to bake them in a lightly greased muffin tin.
Yes, this recipe can be made into a quick bread loaf by using a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake at the same temperature, but extend the baking time to 45-60 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick.
Ensure you do not overmix the batter, as this can make the muffins dense. Mix until the ingredients are just combined to avoid over-development of the gluten.
By golly - the answer is: partially. Like I do when making whole wheat kuboos bread, I recommend using equal parts all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour to give these a little more fiber while preventing them from being dry or heavy.
✌️My fave vegan breakfast stuff to serve with these:
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Get a massive discount on all of my popular classes on vegan brunch and become a plant-based breakfast champion!
Easy Vegan Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 1 cup
applesauce
- ¾ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar coconut sugar, or palm sugar
- ½ cup canola oil vegetable oil, or sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Mix-Ins:
- 2 cups diced apple
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Toppings:
- ½ cup diced apple
- 5 teaspoons brown sugar coconut sugar, or palm sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease it.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, plant-based milk, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
- Fold in the diced apple and chopped nuts, if using.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each one slightly more than three-quarters full. Top each muffin with additional diced apple and sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 24-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the muffins cool in the muffin tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Sarah says
I made the apple cinnamon muffins and holy cow, these are some gooey deliciousness. I did some oats and brown sugar for a topping. They do sink some even after cooking for extra time, but they are a hit. If you want a firmer texture, then reduce the liquid.
Sheryl Greenberg says
Easy to make and beyond delicious. Thank you
Adam Sobel says
Glad you loved it, Sheryl ❤️
Laura says
These turned out great!! Easy, simple ingredients.
I got 14 muffins instead of twelve. I even filled the muffin cups— bonus!😊
Adam Sobel says
Glad you loved 'em, Laura!
Flavia Tullison says
Hey, thanks for the article postMuch thanks again Really Great
Heather says
I made these muffins, the recipe was super easy to follow and the muffins were super light and tasted great. I liked that there was actual pieces of apple in the recipe. My family could not stop eating them so I will definitely be adding these to my repertoire. Thank you Adam great recipe.
Katie says
We loved the muffins & the recipe was easy to follow! The nice pieces of apple made them so tasty & sweet.
Adam Sobel says
Glad you and your fam loved it Heather!
Bruce says
These are delicious! We used Pink Lady apples and they remain crunchy and the skin keeps the color after baking so they look great. The muffins are soft and not over sweet. Highly recommended.