Applesauce Muffins
These moist, delicious vegan applesauce muffins are lightly sweetened and wholesome thanks to whole wheat flour. A perfect breakfast treat!
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A delicious way to start out any day should include oatmeal Applesauce Muffins as part of breakfast. I would say “part of a complete breakfast,” but that’s so cliché. I’ll just stick with delicious.
I knew when I set out to make these, I wanted my applesauce muffins to be healthy! That’s one reason I used whole wheat pastry flour for added fiber.
If you need something more indulgent, these Vegan Apple Crumble Muffins deliver buttery, tender, cinnamon-spiced muffins that are ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients & Substitutions
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Applesauce — I use unsweetened applesauce, which is very easy to find in most grocery stores. Here’s a great applesauce replacement if you need it.
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil — Any neutral oil will work here, such as canola oil, olive oil, or even melted refined coconut oil.
- Ground flaxseed — We’re using ground flaxseed as an egg replacer, or you can substitute an equal quantity of chia seeds.
- Plant-based milk — Use your favorite plant-based milk (plain or vanilla), such as soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, etc.
- Whole wheat pastry flour — I recommend whole wheat pastry flour or substitute all-purpose flour. If you want to use whole wheat flour, be sure to mix it half-and-half with all-purpose flour.
- Baking soda + baking powder — Make sure yours is fresh by testing a bit of baking soda in vinegar and baking powder in hot water. If it bubbles, your batch is fresh.
- Ground Cinnamon — I love cinnamon and apples, but you can substitute pumpkin pie spice.
- Salt — I use either table salt or sea salt.
- Pecans — This is an optional ingredient, but a few nuts add crunch and a nutty flavor.
- Oats — Add a few raw oats flakes to the top of the unbaked muffins for a dramatic look.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Applesauce adds moisture to these muffins, making them tender and delicious
- Whole wheat pastry flour adds nutrition, but still keeps the muffins light (not dense like whole wheat flour)
- Cinnamon adds the perfect hint of spice in every tasty bite!
How to Make Applesauce Muffins
- Mix together the applesauce, sugar, oil, ground flax seeds, and soymilk.
- Stir together the dry ingredients, from the flour to the salt.
- Pour the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Spoon batter into a prepared muffin pan, filling them about ⅔ full.
- Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges of the muffins are golden brown.
Storage Tips
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
New to Vegan Baking?
The idea of making cookies, cakes, or muffins without eggs or dairy can seem like a hill too tall to climb. But with the simple tips in my Guide to Vegan Baking, you’ll be baking like a vegan pro in no time!
Cupcakes vs. Muffins
This recipe pushes the boundaries between muffins and cupcakes. Are they Applesauce Muffins or Applesauce Cupcakes?
Both muffins and cupcakes fit these descriptions:
- Single serving
- Similar in shape
- Baked in papers (or not)
- Served with frosting or not (I’ve seen some cupcakes without icing and some muffins that do).
Cupcakes are usually sweeter which is why I went with muffins for this recipe.
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Vegan Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons plant-based milk
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons rolled oats (optional: for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a muffin pan with cooking spray or paper liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, sugar, oil, ground flax seeds, and soymilk.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Optional: Add pecans to the flour mixture. Next, add the applesauce mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
- Spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling them about ⅔ full. Optional: Add a few raw oats to the top of each muffin for decoration.
- Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Insert a tester into one of the muffins to see if it comes out clean. The edges of the top of the muffins should be golden brown.
- Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Recommended Equipment
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
More Vegan Muffins
If you love these applesauce muffins, be sure to check these other healthy breakfast muffin recipes too:
You May Also Like
For more vegan apple recipes, be sure to try my Vegan Apple Pie recipe. If you love deep-dish apple pie with a buttery crust, that is the one for you! Also, my Vegan Apple Crisp is simply divine! For something completely simple and delicious, this Baked Apple Slices recipe is the best!
That’s it for these cinnamon applesauce muffins. Enjoy!
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
25 Responses to Applesauce Muffins
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Hello, I made these with my little friends and they were great we added mini chocolate chips. My first time cooking vegan bc my son is vegan now but look I added chocolate chips (SMH). Well I’m learning. Lol However they were still good and moist.
I’m so glad you like the muffins, Jennifer! I love the idea of adding chocolate chips – great idea! There are some dairy-free chocolate chips, but even the regular ones have very little dairy in them – maybe ask your son if he’s ok with that. If not, Enjoy Life has dairy-free chocolate chips.
Hi! My daughter used to make the original version of this recipe for me when I’d had a rough day at school. They were amazing! I’m so sad I can’t find that recipe anymore. Do you have it archived somewhere or would you be willing to share it?? I miss them so much!
Hi there. So glad you liked this recipe. I emailed you the old version of it that used mashed banana as an egg replacer. This updated version has more apple flavor. Whichever version you try, I hope you enjoy it!
Yummy !! Muffins is my favourite, I just love to have muffins at any time. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I’m so glad you like this recipe!
Hi Marly! I found your blog after doing a google search for vegan muffins. I made these yesterday for a friend. They are simply divine!! I will be back for more delicious recipes. 🙂
Yummerz! I’m going to put frosting on my muffins from now on… Oh, and still call them muffins:)
Apples and cinnamon. A good classic combination! These muffins are looking really good!
They are! And they make wonderful gifts to give to people. I took some to a friend who was moving yesterday. Love doing that!
whats not to love about applesauce muffins!! and your cinnamon icing sounds like a wonderful addition, taking it over the top!
Dennis – it’s true. I don’t think they would be quite the same without the icing. Oh, who am I kidding? They’re great either way!
We love muffins at our house, but I rarely make cupcakes. So I’m glad you called them muffins! I’m sure they’re fabulous.
Maybe we should create some new kind of name for them. Muffincakes? CupMuffins? Or Mup Muffins?
You’ve put your applesauce to good use, these look marvellous! I bet your house smelled delicious while they were baking.
Happy Halloween Marly
Yes – I have to get busy using all that applesauce I made!!
Often times I will take classic muffin recipes and turn them into cupcakes by just adding frosting. I agree that the name doesn’t really matter…as long as you enjoy them! Thank you for sharing, and I’m sorry if I’ve been a bit sparse here…we are going through such a trial. Thank you for all your kind words.
I’d be happy to eat this all day long.
I don’t care what you call them….I want some!
I’ll be making some for you here soon!
Whatever you call it, it looks delicious! It’s funny — earlier today I was reading about the difference between cupcakes and muffins. I still don’t understand what the difference is, but if it’s got applesauce and cinnamon, I will love it.
Synchronicity!!!
Muffin or cupcake, that’s a good problem to have:) I like this recipe, they look absolutely delicious.
Ah, the great muffin/cupcake debate! I think it’s all about context. If I eat it for breakfast, it’s a muffin. If I eat it at a birthday party, it’s a cupcake. These would definitely fit the bill as muffins or cupcakes! Yum.
Oh, context is good!