Healthy Apple Muffins
Amazing, healthy apple muffins made with maple syrup and whole wheat flour! No one will guess that this simple cinnamon apple muffin recipe is healthy, too.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
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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
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.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I’ve made this recipe several times, and loved it! Today, I swapped out the applesauce for unsweetened canned pumpkin puree (I had an open can to finish). Was it ever good! And perfect for fall. Bringing some home for Thanksgiving.
Love your healthy recipes! Do you have the nutritional information you could add at the end of the recipes? That would be very helpful! ☺️
Hi Melissa! I do have nutritional information for each recipe. However, we are having issues with it currently. My team is working on a resolution. I appreciate your patience and apologize for any frustrations!
I am an FCS teacher, and I want to use this recipe in my class. However, my school budget does not allow me to buy enough maple syrup or honey for 6 kitchens. How can I make this with white or brown sugar?
Hi Stephanie, I’m sorry I don’t know the answer without trying it. The honey/maple syrup also helps with the moisture for this recipe so it would be an different recipe with brown sugar.
I made it today to get ready for our lab tomorrow. I changed the sweetener to 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp white sugar as that is what we have (I know it reduces the health value, but had to use what’s available). Then I added 1/2 cup oil instead of 1/3 cup to make up for the reduced moisture. They had to bake for 17 minutes in our school ovens, but the kids are excited to try them on their own tomorrow. They were moist and delicious. I love using yogurt in my muffin recipes too!
I’ve made this recipe before, and loved it! However, I picked up a big of Organic Honeycrisp Apples from Whole Foods yesterday, and I was wondering if I could double the recipe and use one-half as an Apple Bread? Would I have to change any of the leavening amounts?
You could try it, although I’m not sure as I haven’t tried it. You could see if other readers have and what they recommend, by searching the comments.
This muffin is the BOMB! The crumb is to die for. Moist, tender… Perfection. I did use 1/3 cup more homemade applesauce, added 3 tbsp brown sugar, I cup grated apples (I did not add any diced apples. I might next time) used maple syrup and coconut oil. Baked at 350 degree for 19 minutes. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe. I will definitely add this to my rotation.
Thanks for sharing and for your review, Abby!
I have made many, many recipes of yours. I LOVE the fact you use honey or a natural sweetener in your recipes. I try to avoid baking with sugar as it affects my kids. They love every since thing I have made of yours. Thank you! Thank you for continued use of natural ingredients and sugars. I’m making these today! Ps. My kids have even requested bringing these to school instead of eating the cupcakes they’re offered there.
Thank you!
Hello Kate,
Thanks for this great recipe !
It’s really the most delicious and healthy muffin recipe.
I had lots of apples from garden so I was looking ideas to use them but without a lot of butter and sugar.
Could you let me know how many gram is your 1 cup ? I read that 1 cup is around 120 g but 1 cup that I have here in France is 220g….
So i’d like to know how much you ment for 1 cup.
Thanks for your great recipes !
Hi Aya! Sorry I don’t have the metric conversions. But I know others have found online conversions helpful.
Just made these today and they taste great! I made a couple small adjustments – used pumpkin instead of apple sauce – used avocado oil instead of coconut oil – and used pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon – but they turned out great! So moist – and not super sweet! Will definitely be making these again!!
Thanks for sharing you loved them, Kate!
Delicious! This recipe was easy and crowd-pleasing. I added an extra cup of diced apples because I like my muffins to be more fruit that bread. I had to bake them a little bit longer, about 20-25 minutes. I used maple syrup and extra virgin olive oil. I skipped the sugar topping because I thought they were sweet enough. My partner added caramel sauce on top of his. Thank you for this delicious recipe, Kate! It was perfect for a weekend morning at home.
Delicious and forgiving too. I made many substitutions and they turned out well. I used a combo of buckwheat and all purpose flours, subbed in sour cream for yogurt and used white sugar because honey and maple syrup are too pricey.
Thank you for sharing, Lisa!
I made these muffins and loved the chunks of apples! How would I adjust the baking to make a loaf of apple bread instead of muffins?
Hi Cheri! I’m not sure without trying it. Likely need to increase the baking time. Start with the muffin bake time, and adjust from there keeping a close eye. Let me know if it works for you!
These are delicious – very tender and fluffy and a mildly sweet and spice apple taste.
I used ww pastry flour, a combo of maple syrup and honey, and walnut oil and they turned out great. Next time I will try upping the apple chunks and perhaps add oats and walnuts. They did stick to my (greased and nonstick) pans for some reason so be aware it’s a sticky dough.
Hey. I’d like try to make that recipe. Could you please tell me what kind of apples is the best for those muffins?
These are slammin!!! Brought to a work party today & they turned out perfect- flavor & texture! Thank you! Request for lemon poppy please :)
Well, Kate, every recipe of yours is amazing. This healthier apple muffin recipe is another stunner from you. I unfortunately ended up with a very wet dough so I added 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats to thicken it up. I sprinkled a pinch each of Turbinado and topped that off with some black walnuts leftover from your pumpkin recipe I baked yesterday. They just came out of the oven with the sweetest aroma. I am still looking for my grandmother because only she could have made something so perfect.
So, as I write this I am taking the first bite and it is…. Way to hot to eat just yet but I am willing to suffer through it. Mostly because this is a beautiful muffin that screams ”I love apple!!!” yeah, it is better than good. Incredible crumb, light and airy, just the right balance of sweetness. I make my own no sugar added apple sauce and it is incredible, this is the perfect recipe to use it in. Thank you Kate, even with a little modification it is an incredible muffin.
These are amazing! I added leftover fresh ginger and it was the perfect addition.
Family loves them!! I bake a lot and this is one the best things I’ve made they say :) looking forward to making other goodies on your blog!
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy the next recipe too, Melissa.
These are literally the best muffins I’ve ever had! Soooooo moist and delicious.
I’m excited you loved them, Gaelyn!
Would I be able to freeze or refrigerate leftover batter?
I haven’t tried, but I don’t typically recommend it.
Omg. So. Good. Swapped pumpkin puree for Applesauce and added some pumpkin pie spice. Will be making these on repeat until Apple season ends
Made these yesterday and already can’t stop eating them! Followed the recipe *almost* to a T. I did it during my 15-month-old’s nap time, so I wanted to make sure I had enough time. Instead of fixing the apples, I did 2 cups of shredded. I used Honeycrisp, and one large apple was the perfect amount. Also, I had read in the comments one user baked @ 350° for 19 minutes, which is what I did. They’re so perfect! I also got some pumpkin pie filling to try adding for next time. We’ll be eating these all fall/winter! :)
Thank you for sharing, Tess!
I just made these vegan. Used two chia eggs (2 x tbsp chia seeds and 5 tbps water) and almond milk with apple cider vinegar instead of yoghurt. Also used brown spelt flour. They took slightly longer to bake-I have a fan forced/fan assisted oven so I reduced temperature by 20 degrees to 200celsius. They are absolutely delicious. I am going to have them as breakfast muffins. Thanks for this great recipe!
Can I substitute almond flour? What other adjustments should I make? Thanks
Hi Reena, almond flour doesn’t substitute well for wheat flours. Sorry to disappoint.
Your apple muffins are amazing. I followed all your tips and they came out light and fluffy. What’s more, as I was making them for my 18 month old grandchild, I decided to forego the sweetener and left out the maple syrup, and they were quite sweet enough. I think cooking the,apple to make the applesauce brought out all the natural sweetness of the fruit and the muffins were delicious. Thank you!!
Made them last weekend with the kids and it was a great succes. Switched the applesauce and part of the yoghurt for 3 mashed bananas and used more whole wheat flower and they were still moist and yummy!
Love your recipes! Any chance that you would add weight measurements (in addition to cups)? I find it much faster, easier and more accurate to weight ingredients when baking.
In regards to coconut oil solidifying- I add solid coconut oil to dry mix and cut in as if for biscuits. Then I add wet ingredients and mix well. Never had a problem with results.
Thanks for sharing! I’m happy that method has worked well for you.
Very good for a healthy version! Did not all go wrong by making adjustments either. Here’s what I did: I added only 1/4” diced apples (2 cups), honey (1/2cup), one of those single serve Greek yogurts at 5.3oz (I used banana cream flavor, which was a “light” yogurt so it was artificially sweetened), and added no apple sauce, only a couple splashes of unsweetened almond milk to make a slightly thinner batter. It turned out awesome! No bitter wheat flour taste, and it was perfectly sweet without being overly sweet. I even still baked them in a 425 degree oven and they turned out perfect after about 15 minutes. Thank you so much! I’m sure to keep making these.
You’er welcome! Thank you for sharing.
These were delicious, Kate! Thank you for this recipe. The batter make a perfectly light muffin. The recipe does not make a sweet muffin, which means you can add jam or peanut butter (or both!) if you want to add sweetness. I like the fact that it’s not sugary sweet. I used maple syrup. I don’t know if it comes out tasting a little sweeter with honey.
I’m happy it turned out perfectly, Nina! I appreciate your review.
I made these using a golden delicious and a pink lady apple and Granny Smith unsweetened applesauce. I also used honey and increased the cinnamon to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons and added 3/4 cup chopped walnuts…. delicious! Next time I will use all Granny Smiths and increase the cinnamon to 2 tsps as my family likes a little spicier muffin. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
They turned out so well my husband and kids loved it… i added more of grated apple and brown sugar. Thank you so much for the recipe :)
You’re welcome, Aisha! Thanks for your review.
Do you have any apple receipes that I don’t have to go to the store and buy ingredients that I will barely use
I’m sorry to hear you can’t find something that works for what you have on hand. Have you tried my applesauce recipe or crisp?
I followed the recipe with the addition of walnuts.i won’t be making these again .we found them bland and not very sweet.just ok I guess for people who don’t care for sweet muffins
I’m sorry to hear that! Thank you for your feedback, Joyce.
Hi! I tried making this recipe this morning, the muffins looked fabulous and tasted very delicious. However, they were chewy in the inside, like under-cooked. I used honey, so as directed I baked them at 160 C for 25 min, then I saw they needed longer so I kept them in the oven for another 10 min. They were perfect on the outside but not on the inside :(. I would love to try again, I think I followed every step on point, what do you think I could do the next time to fix this tho?
Just popped out of the oven, and they are delicous. added half a cup of oats just because.
How long will these last before going bad?
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.
I’ve made these different times and was so impressed how good they were and healthy too! I did use vegetable oil since i make due with what I have in my kitchen as much as possible and they turnedout perfect. I hadn’t saved the recipe at first and was scared i wouldn’t be able to find it again. I have apples in the freezer that i wanted to use b4 they get too old AND i was hungry for these muffens.
Thanks so much for this recipe!!!
Thanks for sharing, Mary! I’m excited you loved them.
What do I need to do to edit this recipe to mini muffins? I have made these several times, but when I try to make them mini, I just can’t make it right. I’ve made mini muffins with your banana muffin recipe and haven’t had an issue. I’ve made dozens and dozens of these!
I made these this morning and they were PERFECT….
I decided to make them after making your banana muffins which also turned out beautifully …….looking what else to try next..
thank you for posting ..
I love to hear that! Thanks for sharing, Ann.
This was amazing. My teens are studying for finals and this treat warmed up the house. I subbed out the vanilla and used vanilla Greek yogurt that I had on hand. It will be breakfast tomorrow for them on the way out the door. Much love to you for so many great recipes.
I’ve made this recipe probably 6 or more times now. It’s a winner in our house. Tonight’s batch was the best yet! I doubled the recipe bc I need to bring something breakfasty to my daughters school in the AM. I used regular unbleached all purpose flour (all I had), a random mix of apples including Granny Smith, red delicious, Fuji and honey crisp, mostly used honey, but also some maple syrup, and regular vegetable oil. Obviously these modifications are not as healthy, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! I have been baking these in Bundtlette tins instead of muffin tins for a while now. They turn out adorable and beg for a dollop of something on top. We’re doing jam! The kids think they’re extra special that way and they look like little fancy tea cakes. I hate to admit that I ate 2 tonight. Oops! So so yummy!
Thanks for your comment and review, Tiffany!
Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe ideas, Kate! This turned out to be unexpectedly fluffy, moist and soft! I bet hardly anybody would think they are made from whole wheat. I did make a couple of minor changes: added 600ml in all apples (grated + cubed) as I have too many apples from the apple tree in my garden. So I reduced the sugar amount to 1/4 cup agave. Just the right sweetness for me. All the rest followed your recipe.
Thanks again!
~ Julia
I am so grateful to have found your healthy muffin recipe. I work in a daycare and decided to make some for the kids and the apple muffin were a hit. I then made pumpkin and the banana are my favorite so far. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Sincerely, Julie
That sounds like a great idea, Julie! Thank you for your review.
We made this gluten-free and dairy-free by swapping out the wheat flour for Bob’s Red Mill AP GF flour with 3/4 tsp. xanthan gum, and substituting unsweetened coconut yogurt for the Greek yogurt. They taste good! Not too sweet, I think I’d omit the xanthan gum next time and go with the King Arthur measure for measure GF flour, as with these ones I can taste the mealiness of the flour. I’m sure they’re delicious with regular wheat flour!
Thanks for sharing!
I made this today
Not sure why but although I followed temperature but inside looks like is not ready, with toothpick I checked and didn’t stick nothing to it but still i expected To
Be drier inside
Hello!
This recipe looks wonderful, especially since I need to use up a few extra apples.
Only hurdle I’ve run into is the yogurt. I’m lactose intolerant and the only kind of yogurt around is vanilla (lactose free). I was wondering if I could use that? Would I also then have to omit the vanilla? Or could I just omit the yogurt entirely and add a bit more applesauce to increase the moisture?
Thank you for any feedback!
From a snowed in university student
Hi Charolotte, I would try omitting or at least decreasing the vanilla. It’s hard to say how much without knowing the exact vanilla flavor of the yogurt. If that makes sense?
I baked these muffins yesterday and they were so delicious.
My daughter said she didn’t eat better muffins yet
Thanks for the recipe ❤️
You’re welcome!
I actually personally found the muffins too sweet, is this because I used honey instead of maple syrup? How much would you recommend I reduce the amount, and what would I replace the lost liquid with?
Hi Ann, that could be or your apples could have been on the sweeter side. I’m not able to recommend decreasing the amount of liquid or adjusting without testing it out myself, sorry! Baking can be quite the science.
First time I made these they didn’t work at all, they were really oily and didn’t look like they baked properly, this was probably due to me using yoghurt I had in the fridge rather than Greek.
I just made them again this morning with Greek yoghurt and they are delicious!! This time I omitted the apple sauce and they are moist and flavoursome. Great recipes and will be using again.
I’m glad you tried them a second time, Marianna! Thanks for your feedback.
Love this recipe so much! Never disappoints
Great! Thank you for your comment and review, Laura.
These were wonderful! The texture was amazing and the grated and chopped apple added a lot of flavor.I subbed out King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour for the wheat flour. I used smashed banana in place of the applesauce and I added some allspice along with the cinnamon. I forgot to add the sprinkle of sugar on top and reduced the maple syrup to 1/3 cup but they were perfectly sweet! I can’t wait to try some of your other muffins.
We’ve made this recipe over and over again! My kiddos (3 and 1) absolutely love it. I usually add walnuts, and I’ve also experimented with doing grated zucchini and grated carrot in place of the grated apple, and both turned out super delicious. This one is a keeper for sure.
Hi Kate,
This looks delicious! I can’t wait it to try it tonight. It appears from your pictures that you used Granny Smith apples.Would this recipe work with gala apples? I have a dozen gala apples waiting to be used. Thanks for the healthy recipes- your banana bread recipe is an absolute hit with my family!
For sure, I think that would be delicious!
Im obviously not too swift today, because I made these and didn’t realize until the end that there was no sugar! These muffins baked up light, fluffy and with a slight sweetness. Amazing recipe – thanks!
I followed the recipe exactly but forgot the sugar on top. My husband and I both loved them. Hard to believe there’s no added sugar.
The maple syrup, apples and applesauce are the perfect amount of sweetness. I look forward to making these again.
Thanks, Kate for an awesome recipe.