Grain-free Apple Muffins
These super moist gluten-free apple muffins have the most amazing texture and are super simple to make! Grain-free and gluten-free.
If you’ve ever tried grain-free recipes before, you’ve probably run into some funky textured baked goods. But these?! These apple muffins are nice and moist but not at all getting into soggy territory. They’re just perfect. They’re like little grain-free miracles.
At first I tried baking these as donuts. The instructions for the apple muffins say to bake at a high temperature first and then lower it. I wasn’t sure if I should do that when making the donuts, but I went with it anyway. That did not work. So if you feel adventurous and want to make these as apple donuts, make sure to bake them at 350°F the entire time! Even though they stuck, they were the best grain-free donuts I’ve ever had.
I found this recipe while browsing FoodGawker. This apple muffin recipe comes from Cooking ala Mel. Mel used almond meal in her muffins, which you can find at Trader Joe’s and is a lot cheaper than almond flour. Almond flour and almond meal are the same price over here (only about $4 / pound!) so I used almond flour, which is made up of blanched almonds (unlike almond meal) and is finer ground than almond meal.
I got 14 muffins out of this recipe but Mel got 12. I guess I didn’t fill mine as full as I could have, but I was happy with the result! Also, if you prefer a mostly Stevia sweetened version, check out the original recipe.
I’m not a big fan of grain-free streusel in general, and I think I would have preferred these without the topping, but the recipe is there, just in case you want to try. The muffin batter and streusel just seemed to blend together, so it didn’t seem worth the effort. Next time, I’ll toss some nuts on top.
If you ever bake grain-free, you have to try these muffins! And by the way, they don’t taste their best on the first day. They taste good, but not nearly as good as on the second day. It’s kind of odd, but I often find this is often true of grain-free goodies!
Grain-free Apple Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 2 cups (200 grams) finely ground blanched almond flour or almond meal
- 1/4 cup (28 grams) coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder grain-free baking powder if you're grain-free
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 large eggs 50 grams each, out of shell
- 2/3 cup (213 grams) honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) apples peeled and diced
Streusel:
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) finely ground blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon coconut flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) coconut oil room temperature
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- pinch salt
- 1/3 cup (36 grams) pecans chopped, or walnuts (about ¼" in size)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). Line 14 muffin cups with muffin liners.
- First, prepare the streusel topping by mixing everything together, except for the pecans, in a small bowl. Add the pecans and stir until well combined. Set aside.1/4 cup (25 grams) finely ground blanched almond flour, 1 teaspoon coconut flour, 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon (14 grams) coconut oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, pinch salt, 1/3 cup (36 grams) pecans
- In a medium bowl, mix together the dry muffins ingredients (almond flour through nutmeg).2 cups (200 grams) finely ground blanched almond flour, 1/4 cup (28 grams) coconut flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- In a large bowl, mix together the wet muffins ingredients (eggs through Greek yogurt).3 large eggs, 2/3 cup (213 grams) honey, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 cup (120 grams) plain Greek yogurt
- Add the dry mix to the wet and stir just until combined! Do not over mix. Fold in the apples.1 1/2 cups (170 grams) apples
- Pour 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle the streusel on top.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) and for another 8 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. My smaller muffins only needed 8 minutes but larger muffins may need up to 15.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
- These are super moist and need to be kept refrigerated in an airtight container after the first 24 hours.
Notes
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
- Adapted from Apple Streusel Mufffins (Gluten-free) – Cooking ala Mel.
Absolutely delicious! My husband is now on a grain-free diet, and it’s been a real lifestyle change. He is so picky…I made these muffins yesterday and he grabbed 2 for his morning break today…came home tonight raving about those muffins I made!!! Thank you for this recipe…it will be used often!
That’s great! I’m so happy to hear that your husband liked them! Thanks for the feedback and the rating. :) Good luck with the grain-free diet!
these are fantastic! great texture and taste. thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’m so happy that you liked them, Carmen! And I agree. Great texture for a grain-free muffin. :) Thanks a ton for the feedback!
Love these! The whole family does too. Took a double batch on our Disneyland trip. Perfect GF healthy snack. Thank you!
So happy that you and your family likes these! Thanks a bunch for the feedback. :)
These are delicious, thank you for sharing. I had just finished putting the streusel on top when I realized I forgot to add the apples. I sliced them real thin and pushed in with toothpick. Tasted fine.
I do that all the time! Almost always. So happy that pushing the apples in with a toothpick worked well for you. :) Thanks so much for the feedback and I’m glad that it worked out for you!
Would homemade oat flour be a good substitute for the almond flour? I went to buy some almond flour recently and was shocked at the cost. Where I live in Canada, I seem to have few options.
Oh no. I’m sorry that it’s so expensive. :( I’m afraid that oat flour won’t work as a substitute. Do you have almond meal? Or cheap almonds so that you could make your own almond meal? Almond meal would work with these and from what I’ve heard, is much cheaper over there! Or there are always these whole grain apple muffins, which you’ve already made. ;)
I buy my almonds from Costco so perhaps I’ll try making it myself. If it doesn’t work out, I really do love your whole grain apple muffins.
Good luck, Heather! :)
I love coconut flour. It’s become one of my new favourite things! These muffins look gorgeous… I adore the look of that streusel topping, mmm! Definitely trying these. I have quite a few gluten/grain-free friends so they’d love them.
These muffins look so appetizing but my recipe of such muffins is quite easier. Your recipe has so many ingredients! But I think that adding apples is a nice idea. They give a very pleasant taste and odor to these cakes.
These muffins look so delicious! I love anything with a streusel topping, and it’s great how you’ve made it healthier. Bookmarked the recipe–thanks for sharing!
So look so light and fluffy and delicious – can’t wait to give these a go!
I love the healthy streusal topping on these muffins! Thanks for sharing the recipe for these amazingly healthy apple muffins!
I am loving that crumbly topping! YUMMM
I just so happen to have a ton of almond meal in my freezer I need to use up so these apple muffins are perfect! I just need to get my hands on coconut flour first. They look awesome!
I adore apple muffins, I love the streusel topping!
I’m in lurve with these muffins. I can’t wait to give them a try for a grab-and-go breakfast option.
The texture looks great on these grain free muffins! I need to go apple picking to get more apples!
Yay – I’m so glad you loved them!! Boo to the donuts not working out.. donuts almost always stick to the pan when I make them! I love grain free streusel – I’ll always take any excuse for some extra buttery crumbs. :)
These sounds fantastic! Erin is there a substitute in place of the greek yogurt for all my dairy free peeps? I will definitely be sharing this one!
XO SHERRIE
I read that this almond milk Greek yogurt is good! http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/cultured-almond-milk/plain-greek-cultured-almond-milk I haven’t tried it myself, though. And draining any kind of dairy-free yogurt with a cheesecloth or thin kitchen towel until it’s a little thicker like Greek yogurt would work, too. Or heck. Maybe just plain soy yogurt would work. :) Thanks for sharing!
Yum!!! I love to use almond flour from Honeyville. I am very fond of the coconut flour though. Glad it only has a small amount. I have had very good luck with almond flour recipes. Had some real flops with the coconut. I have had good luck using the recipes from Tropical Traditions with coconut flour where I bought the flour.
Love this recipe!!! Also love your muffin liners!
These sound amazing! I pinned them and can’t wait to give them a try!