These vegan apple muffins are soft, fluffy, moist and loaded with chunks of fresh apple. Perfect for breakfast or dessert.
These vegan apple muffins were pretty much guaranteed the moment I made a vegan apple cake.
That cake was so good, I knew the recipe would have other uses.
So of course I adapted it for muffins. And these vegan apple muffins are amazing!
Brown sugar sweetened, cinnamon spiced and packed with whole apple pieces. Truly divine.
They’re perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast, snack or dessert.
Ingredients To Make These Muffins:
Ingredient Notes
- Granny Smith apples – are the perfect apples to use in these muffins. They are deliciously sweet with a hint of tart and bake up really well.
- Canola oil – can be switched for vegetable oil.
- Vegan buttermilk – we use our recipe for homemade vegan buttermilk, which is a mix of lemon juice (or vinegar) with soy milk and it curdles into buttermilk. Soy milk works the best for vegan buttermilk but you can use another non-dairy milk like almond milk, or another plant milk, even if it doesn’t curdle.
- Applesauce – is used in a small quantity to add extra moisture without weighing the muffins down. You can use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce, whatever you have on hand.
How To Make Vegan Apple Muffins
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl. Add light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the ¾ cup line (180ml). Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add vegan buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla extract and applesauce to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter. Don’t overmix.
- Add peeled and chopped apples and fold them in.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions of your muffin tray. Add a few extra pieces of peeled and chopped apple directly to the tops of the muffins.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Baker’s Tips
Cut the apples up fairly small. If the pieces are too big they will be too bulky for these muffins.
The batter is thick. A thick batter works great for muffins in general. But it’s also important here because if your batter is too thin then your apple pieces will be more inclined to sink to the bottom of the muffins.
Measure the flour correctly. Since the batter is already thick, if you use too much flour, you won’t even be able to mix it. So make sure you measure your flour correctly. Ideally weigh it out on a food scale, but if you don’t have a food scale, then use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife.
Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the batter until just mixed and then stop mixing. Don’t worry if there are tiny lumps.
Make Them Gluten-Free
If you’d like to make these vegan apple muffins gluten-free you can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them covered in an airtight container at room temperature where they will stay good for around 3-4 days. Or store them in the fridge in a covered container for up to 7 days. Give them a quick 15-seconds in the microwave to heat them up before enjoying.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight and bring them up to room temperature on the countertop or heat them up for 15-seconds in the microwave.
More Vegan Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Vegan Banana Muffins
- Vegan Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¾ cup Vegan Buttermilk (180ml) 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + soy milk up to the ¾ cup (180ml) line
- ¼ cup Canola Oil (60ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tablespoons Applesauce
- 1 cup Chopped Apple (125g) Peeled, plus more to add directly to the tops of the muffins before baking.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a muffin tray with non-stick spray.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl. Add light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the ¾ cup line (180ml). Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add vegan buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla extract and applesauce to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter. Don't overmix.
- Add peeled and chopped apples and fold them in.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions of your muffin tray. Add a few extra pieces of peeled and chopped apple directly to the tops of the muffins before baking.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. This is a thick batter, so if you use too much flour, you won’t even be able to mix it. So make sure you measure your flour correctly. Ideally weigh it out on a food scale, but if you don’t have a food scale, then use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
- Vegan buttermilk – we use our recipe for homemade vegan buttermilk, which is a mix of lemon juice (or vinegar) with soy milk and it curdles into buttermilk. Soy milk works the best for vegan buttermilk but you can use another non-dairy milk like almond milk, or another plant milk, even if it doesn’t curdle.
- Granny Smith apples – are the perfect apples to use in these muffins. They are deliciously sweet with a hint of tart and bake up really well.
- Cut the apples up fairly small. If the pieces are too big they will be too bulky for these muffins.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the batter until just mixed and then stop mixing. Don’t worry if there are tiny lumps.
- Gluten free: If you’d like to make these muffins gluten-free you can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
- Storing: Keep them covered in an airtight container at room temperature where they will stay good for around 3-4 days. Or store them in the fridge in a covered container for up to 7 days. Give them a quick 15-seconds in the microwave to heat them up before enjoying.
- Freezing: They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight and bring them up to room temperature on the countertop or heat them for 15-seconds in the microwave.
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published in January 2019. It has been updated with new photos and extra tips.
Really tasty muffins came out perfectly will definitely make again. I wonder if you have to use light brown sugar or could you sub with caster sugar?
Hi Lindsey! So happy you enjoyed them! You could sub caster sugar, I just find the brown sugar flavor complements the apple flavors, but caster sugar will definitely work.
Really good and easy to make. Love how the tops are crunchy on day 1. I really enjoy baking using weight. The recipes always turn out much better.
So happy you enjoyed them Rochelle and I totally agree, it’s much more accurate to weigh the ingredients! 🙂
Awesome Alison!! These came out beautifully, even with 50% gluten free flower substitution and half the sugar (I used palm sugar). I also mixed in fresh Ginger pieces with the apple pieces … Put a BIG smile on my family’s faces, thank you very much!!
Awesome Dawid, thanks so much for sharing! The fresh ginger addition sounds wonderful.
Hi Alison,
Can i substitute applesauce with sweet passionfruit juice.
Just adding 1Tbsp sugar to 1/4 cup passion fruit juice.
Please reply….planning to make this lovely recipe.
Take care and stay safe.
Hi there, I’m not sure if that will work, but if you do try it then use 2 Tbsp in total as the applesauce is only 2 Tbsp in this recipe. 🙂
I make these once a week now! They’re my go to muffins! Absolutely love them. I usually use coconut sugar for the sugar but ran out so used maple syrup (same measurement) and they came out great! They are always great!! Thank you for these !
absolutely love these muffins!! so delicious and fluffy, they came out perfectly and my non-vegan family enjoyed them just the same! my only improvement for next time is to chop the apples smaller and add more into the batter 🙂
So glad they came out perfectly! Thanks for sharing Karla!
Hi Alison, I can’t thank you enough for all your wonderful recipes I have used many over the past Year.
You have made my first year of vegan eating much easier than I could have imagined.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH XX
You’re so welcome Fiona! So happy to hear the recipes have helped! 🙂
Oh my gosh, these muffins were amazing! My whole family loved them. We are a gluten free household so we subbed the flour with Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose flour and added xanthum gum otherwise, followed recipe to a T. So, so good. Thank you for posting!
DELICIOUS!!!!
Thank you so much Barbara! xo
ow yeah superdeliszzzzzzzzz! made them many times…thank you!!!
Awesome! Thanks Carla!
Your recipes have not disappointed to date, and this recipe is no exception! Thanks for another great one. I reduced the sugar by 1/4 c., substituting the same quantity of applesauce instead. I also baked the batter in a loaf pan for 50 minutes instead of a muffin tin (laziness on my part, I suppose). It is absolutely delicious, and such a pretty dark golden brown color throughout. I will be making this throughout the fall!
Wonderful! Thanks so much Yvonne!
Nice texture but too sweet for us so will be cutting back on the sugar content next time.
oh wow these are so yummy! thank you
Well I managed to leave out the salt, vinegar and vanilla and they turned out pretty good. I imagine they’ll be great when I make them next time and remember to include all the ingredients!!
I forgot to rate the recipe so commenting again with 5 stars!
Thanks so much Amy!
These are delicious! Going to make some more very soon. Thank you.