Use applesauce to add moisture, flavor and subtle sweetness to a simple muffin. These Applesauce These Applesauce Muffins are topped with an oatmeal crumb for the perfect snack or breakfast. They are incredibly moist and perfectly sweet!
Applesauce Muffins are so simple and delicious!
When I think of muffins I sometimes think of them as kid food because they are easy to eat and break apart. That may be true, but when I tried these simple applesauce muffins I knew adults would love them too!
The touch of cinnamon keeps these muffins warm and comforting. They are simply delightful with a cup of coffee or tea. I had several as an afternoon treat.
The applesauce makes the muffins super moist without using a ton of oil. When you take your first bite you taste the sugary crumb topping, but then the applesauce hits you at the end with a burst of flavor.
Applesauce Muffin Recipe ingredients
- Applesauce – you can use homemade applesauce or one from the store! I prefer to use unsweetened applesauce for a muffin that is not super sweet.
- Eggs and oil – use one egg and a neutral vegetable oil for these muffins. Feel free to use a flax egg to make these muffins vegan.
- Brown sugar – add just a bit of brown sugar to these muffins to sweeten them.
- Ground cinnamon – cinnamon compliments the applesauce perfectly. You can also use ground nutmeg and cloves for extra flavor.
- Salt and baking soda – make sure to use salt to bring out the flavor of the apple sauce.
- Vanilla extract – feel free to double the vanilla extract for this recipe or add a splash of maple extract into the batter as well.
- All purpose flour – If you want to make these applesauce muffins gluten free, use a 1:1 gluten free flour substitute that is a replacement for all purpose flour.
- Crumb topping – mix rolled oats, brown sugar, oil and cinnamon together to make a simple crumb topping. Then, spoon it over the muffins just before baking!
Applesauce Muffins Recipe Variations
This applesauce muffin recipe is fairly simple, SO you can customize it and make it your own with fun mix-ins. If you are a fan of nuts, I recommend chopped walnuts or pecans or a mix of both. The nuts will add a delicious crunch.
For a trail mix style muffin, mix in dried cranberries or raisins along with the chopped nuts. You could even add some chopped dates or chopped dried apricots. You can even try using pear sauce or cranberry apple sauce instead of applesauce
Another fun variation is to drizzle the streusel tops with my powdered sugar icing recipe.
How to Make Applesauce Muffins
- Prepare the batter. Prepare homemade applesauce or open a jar from the store. Mix apple sauce, oil, room temperature egg, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Fold four, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in the wet ingredients with a spatula.
- Prepare the crumb topping. To prepare the crumb topping, mix rolled oats with brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix until the sugar and cinnamon are evenly distributed through the oats. Pour in oil and mix again. The brown sugar and oats should clump together slightly.
- Bake until golden brown. Line a muffin tin with muffin cups or grease thoroughly with cooking spray. Evenly distribute batter into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle a bit of the crumb topping onto each applesauce muffin. Place in the oven and bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.. Allow to cool before serving.
Apple Sauce Muffins storage
Store these muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for a couple of days. Store in the fridge to keep them for up to a week.
I like to cut them in half and reheat them in the air fryer. Then, I spread peanut butter or almond butter on top!
These applesauce muffins freeze very well. Place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw them all together or one at a time either at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Muffins with Applesauce FAQs
Adding applesauce to muffins adds moisture, tenderness, and natural sweetness to the baked goods.
Yes, applesauce can be used as a substitute for eggs or oil in baking for moisture and richness, but eggs play multiple roles in baking, including providing structure, moisture, leavening, and richness to baked goods so this recipe also uses one egg and as well vegetable oil as a fat.
More Muffin Recipes
- Homemade Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Banana Nutella Muffins
- Spiced Carrot Muffins
Applesauce Muffin Recipe
Equipment
- Heat Resistant Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1 egg
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar , packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Crumb Topping:
- ½ cup rolled oats (aka quick cooking oats)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the applesauce, egg, vegetable oil, brown sugar and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl.
- Fold the flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt into the wet ingredients with a spatula.
- In a separate bowl, prepare the crumb topping. Mix the rolled oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix in the vegetable oil.
- Pour the muffin batter into a 12 slot lined or greased muffin tin. Top each muffin with the crumb topping.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how you liked them in the comments or star ratings!
Connie says, Muffins are delicious. Great recipe! Added 1/3 cup chopped walnuts the second time I made it!
Muffins are delicious. Great recipe! Added 1/3 cup chopped walnuts the second time I made it!
it was excellent [did not have oil so I used one one half cup of melted margarine also added 1/2 cup of mini choc chips also margarine in topping
These muffins looks so delicious and easy to bake. Can’t wait to try it out.
These muffins came out perfectly! They had just the right sweetness and were super moist. Definitely worth making a batch!
OMG! These were amazing! That apple cinnamon flavor with that crumb topping was delicious. My family devoured them in minutes. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I love the addition of applesauce in these muffins! It is perfect!
Beautiful muffins. The texture looks amazing. I have to give them a try asap. I’m going to bake them this weekend. Thanks for the recipe.
I just need to make a big batch of these – these muffins are just too good. Yum!