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.
These are the adaptations I did & they were so delicious! I didn’t do the streusel but instead put nuts in batter as previous writer. I omitted the honey in batter, replacing it with 1/2 c sweetener & 1/3 c unsweetened applesauce. I also added 1 tsp maple flavouring to the batter. I left apple skins on, just diced fine.
Maple flavoring sounds delicious! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the muffins. Thanks for sharing your adaptations! They sound great. And sorry for my slow reply! I just got back from vacation.
Have you frozen these and had them later? I doubled the recipe and got 33 muffins. I subbed maple syrup for honey and they are delicious…almost too sweet. I also left off the strudel topping and added walnuts into the batter. Kid approved (5 & 7), too!!!
Also, I used Icelandic Skyr plain yogurt instead of Greek.
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your question! Without the streusel, they should freeze just fine. :) I’m really glad you and your kids enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment.
Just made these, my family and I thought they were really good.
I’m glad to hear that! Thanks for your comment. :)
Love this recipe! I doubled the recipe and made this in my hamburger bun pans. They turned out like individual coffee cakes. Delicious as written,, however, I needed to change the sweetener for my diabetic hubby.
Individual coffee cakes sound amazing! I’ll have to look into hamburger bun pans. Thanks for the tip! I’m so glad you liked them. Can you share what sweetener you used (in case some others are wondering how to make these low-carb)? Thanks a bunch for your feedback and my apologies for my very slow reply!
I used Splenda, and adjusted the liquid slightly to make up for not using a liquid sweetener.
Good to know! Thanks a bunch for letting me know. :)
These muffins are delicious! They turned out perfectly. I decreased the honey a bit and they are still plenty sweet.
I’m glad to hear that! And it’s great that they’re still tasty without all the honey. :) Thanks for your feedback and I’m sorry for my very slow reply!
Is there anything i can use to replace the eggs?
I haven’t had much luck in subbing eggs in these. Sorry about that!
I would love to bake this but my darling grand daughter is allergic to eggs. Any substitution for eggs is appreciated. Thsnk you
I haven’t had good luck with egg subs in this recipe. Sorry. :(
I substituted kite hill unsweetened yogurt , and cut the honey to 1-3 d 1-3 monk fruit they were perfectly sweet but not too sweet. Making again and cut honey 1/4 snd monkfruot aloytle mote then 1/3 haven’t tried theyvate in the oven. First batch was amazing! This will be my go-2 recipe!
Woohoo! Glad to hear that. Thanks for sharing your low-carb version with us! I’m happy they worked out well. :)
Hi. I’m dairy free at the moment. What can I sub the greek yoghurt with?
Hi! Some of the commenters have used coconut milk or cream but I haven’t tried it.
Kite hill unsweetened yogurt
Can you sub applesauce for the sliced apples?
Unfortunately not. Applesauce is a lot more liquidy and I think the muffins would be soggy.
Question, could an egg substitute be used in this recipe?
I’ve tried it with chia eggs and wasn’t successful. It was soggy. :( Sorry about that!
The BEST gluten free muffin I have ever baked!!! Saving this recipe. The whole family loved it!!!! Thank you so much!!!
Wow, awesome! I’m thrilled to hear that! Thanks so much for your feedback. :)
They are SO GOOD
Happy to hear that! Thanks. :)
I use parchment paper cupcake liners and have no issues with the muffins sticking to them. There is no need to spray the liners.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve been meaning to try that kind.
Could I use Monk fruit “sugar” instead of the maple syrup?
I’m sorry but I haven’t tried it (I don’t react well to monk fruit sugar) so I’m not sure. I would generally recommend you use a liquid sweetener in place of maple syrup.
These were very good and so moist. I substituted sour cream for yogurt and unsweetened applesauce for chopped apples. Even with these substitutions I was very happy with these gluten-free muffins! I will definitely be making these again and again!
So happy that you’ll be making them again! And it’s great to know that sour cream works well. :) Thanks for your comment!
I am looking for a good apple cake recipe that is gluten free. Is this recipe okay to cook in cake pans and does it make enough batter to do two 9” round pans? Thanks.
I’ve never tried it so I really can’t say. Grain-free recipes are much trickier when it comes to converting muffin recipes to cake pans. Sorry about that! I think it’d yield two thin 9″ round layers but since I haven’t tried it, it’s just a guess.
I am also dairy free. Is there anything I can substitute for the yogurt.
Some of the commenters have used coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut milk yogurt.
These came out great! I used a gluten free baking mix instead of the coconut flour since that’s what I had on hand and noticed another commenter did that. Worked well! I was happy to be able to share these with a gluten intolerant coworker who is usually left out when it comes to sweets around the office. Looking forward to making more of these and freezing them for easy breakfasts/snacks.
That’s so nice that you made something your coworker could enjoy, too! I hope they enjoyed the muffins, too. :) And great that the GF baking mix worked! Thanks for your comment.
Good recipe with perfect texture. I successfully replaced the yogurt with some homemade applesauce for my dairy intolerant daughter and they came out great. I also cut the honey down substantially, used more like 3 – 3 1/2 tablespoons.
Wow! That’s great that you were able to reduce the honey so much and replace the yogurt. Thanks for the tip!