Busy mornings have never tasted sweeter than with the warm spices and tender bite of this Apple Vanilla Muffins Recipe. These muffins pack a ton of warm and cozy flavor while not only being grain-free but also refined sugar-free. Your family will love them and you’ll love how nourishing they are.

As magical as this time of year is, it's also a busy time. It’s nice being able to have grab-and-go items packed full of nutrients without compromising flavor. These apple muffins are special enough to serve up for a holiday morning while also being easy enough to make and have on hand during the week. Serve it up with a strawberry mango protein smoothie or raspberry chia seed yogurt for an extra boost of protein.

Jump to:

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
Equipment
Storage
Top Tips
FAQ
More Christmas Desserts you can enjoy
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easy Process - Making homemade apple muffins from scratch has never been easier. You don’t even need to pull out the mixer. This is a great recipe to get the kids into the kitchen and get them involved in baking.
Texture - These are tender and moist, yet pack crave-worthy crunch from nuts. You aren’t sacrificing any texture with this grain-free muffin recipe.
Make Ahead - Looking for something that you can use for morning meal prep or even an afternoon treat to serve with tea? These apple muffins are it. They store well and can be enjoyed for several days.

Ingredients

Avocado oil
Eggs
Maple syrup - In addition to adding natural sweetness to these muffins, maple sugar also adds moisture.
Vanilla extract - Use a high-quality vanilla such as Singing Dog Vanilla for the most pronounced flavor.
Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour - In addition to being naturally gluten-free, this flour is also low in carbs. Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is made from blanched California almonds and ground to a fine mill. It gives these muffins a nutty flavor and incredible texture.
Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour - In addition to being gluten-free coconut flour is also keto and paleo-friendly. Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour is also organic.
Baking powder/baking soda
Coconut sugar - In addition to making these refined sugar-free, coconut sugar is also lower on the glycemic index than traditional white sugar.
Apple cinnamon seasoning - This adds warmth to every bite of the muffins with a single spice.
Gala apple - In addition to adding natural sweetness, gala apples also hold up well to baking and keep their texture. Don’t forget a few slices to top off each muffin!
Crushed nuts - Both crushed walnuts and crushed pecans work well in this recipe. Use what you like and what you have on hand. They add crunch and also a little additional protein.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with nine cupcake liners and set aside.
Next add all of your dry ingredients to a medium sized bowl. Give them a whisk to combine and set aside.
Add all of the wet ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to completely combine.
Carefully pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Next use a spatula to gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Once combined fold the apples into the muffin batter.
Using a 2” scoop, portion out the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
Next top each much with three apple shreds and crushed nuts.
Bake the muffins for 20-24 minutes until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the muffins to cool for ten minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

Equipment

Mixing bowls
Measuring cups/spoons
Whisk
Spatula
Muffin pan
Cupcake liners
2” scoop
Mandoline
Cooling rack

Storage

Once the muffins have cooled, keep these grain-free apple muffins stored in an airtight container. They will last up to five days.
If you keep these stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator they will last up to a week.

Top Tips

Make sure that all of your ingredients including the eggs are at room temperature before mixing together the batter. This will allow everything to mix smoothly without over-mixing.
Use a mandoline to shave your apples. This will give uniform pieces. Just be careful and use the guard or a slicing glove.
Using a cookie scoop makes it easy to portion out equal amounts of batter. This will ensure the muffins bake evenly.
Because almond flour is made from nuts, it’s best to keep it stored in the refrigerator or freezer so it doesn’t go rancid.
Coconut flour is a great addition to gluten-free baking. When using coconut flour you’ll notice that the recipes will call for more eggs than usual. This is because coconut flour absorbs much more liquid than wheat-based flour and other gluten-free flour.

FAQ

Can Grain Free Apple Muffins be made in a loaf pan?

Yes. This same recipe can be made in a loaf pan, or in a mini muffin tin. You will just have to adjust the baking time.

What does refined sugar-free mean?

Refined sugar-free means an item was sweetened with natural sweeteners and sugars that were minimally processed.

More Christmas Desserts you can enjoy

★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! I would love to hear back from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok, and Facebook for more delicious recipes!