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 just 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!
Apple Muffins (grain-free, gluten-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 14 muffins
Ingredients
- 200 grams (~2 cups) almond flour or almond meal
- 1/4 cup (28 grams) coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure to use grain-free baking powder, if necessary)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) peeled and diced apples
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) almond flour
- 1 teaspoon coconut flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) coconut oil, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup (36 grams) chopped pecans or walnuts (about ¼" in size)
Muffins:
Streusel:
Directions
- 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.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the dry muffins ingredients (almond flour through nutmeg).
- In a large bowl, mix together the wet muffins ingredients (eggs through Greek yogurt).
- Add the dry mix to the wet and stir just until combined! Do not over mix. Fold in the 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.
Adapted from Apple Streusel Mufffins (Gluten-free) – Cooking ala Mel
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164 comments on “Grain-free Apple Muffins” — Add one!
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These are amazing muffins. Tastes like a coffee cake, just minister. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
You’re welcome! And thanks for your comment. :)
These are Phenomenal! I rarely leave comments, but I am very excited about finding this recipe. I have been baking gluten free and dairy free for several years now and always testing new recipes. These are my new favorites, thank you! Instead of the half cup plain greek yogurt I used a 5.3oz cup of plain almondmilk yogurt. Also, used about 2 cups apples and 2t cinnamon instead of 4. Streusel brought me back to my childhood. (I might double the streusel next time :) Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear that you have a new favorite! It’s great to know that almond milk yogurt works well. :) Thanks for the tip and your comment!
These are seriously delicious!!! My 4 and 2 year olds love them too!!!
Yay! So happy that your kids loved them! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Really yum but I used 1/3 cup honey and was really sweet enough, 2/3 would have been much too much! Any idea of carb level? Great was recipe and they’re really filling….perfect snack!
I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :) And I’m happy 1/3 cup was enough honey for you! For me, 2/3 cup is just right. Guess I have a sweet tooth. ;) Thanks for your comment!
Can I freeze the muffins?
I don’t think I’ve tried it but I believe that’d be fine.
I made them for breakfast this morning. They were so yummy!! I added 2 tbs coconut oil in the wet mix, used 1&1/2 almond flour and 1/2 gluten free mix flour. Also added 2 tbs coconut flakes and 1 tbs raw sugar in the streusel for extra texture. Thank you for sharing your recipe. It is going to be our regular weekend breakfast menu! 💜
You were adventurous with your changes. ;) I’m so happy that they worked out well! Thanks a bunch for the tips and for your comment. :)
So yummy!! I sub coconut milk for the yogurt and it works great!
That’s great to know that coconut milk works well! Thanks for the tip and your comment. :)
I’ve had my eye on making these for a few weeks now, but was waiting for the right motivation, which came today! I subbed Xylitol for the honey (I prefer to keep blood glucose levels low) and they turned out great! My whole family loved them! Thanks so much for sharing; I’ll definitely make these again!
It’s great to know that they come out well with Xylitol! How much did you use? Thanks a bunch for your comment! I’m happy to hear you’ll be making them again. :)
I know honey is sweeter than sugar, and since Xylitol has a 1:1 ratio for sugar, I used the 2/3 called for plus a partial fill up of the same 1/3 measuring cup. I know this isn’t precise and I really am not certain how much I used. Less than an entire cup, but a little more than 2/3. I’d say it was at least 2/3c plus 2 TB.
That helps! I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for your reply. :)
Do you happen to have the nutritional breakdown of the recipe? I could always calculate it myself but thought I’d ask in case you already had. These really were perfect!! I did half honey, half maple syrup and they were still 10/10! I chopped up almonds for the struesel instead and they were a great alternative!
Hi there! I don’t already have it. I’m happy you enjoyed them and that they worked out well with half honey and half maple. :) Great idea to use chopped almonds instead of the streusel! Thanks for your comment.
I love the taste but they didn’t grow at all. Is it then necessary to add backing powder and soda?
Only the last batch grew. Is it because the baking powder and soda needed time to react with the dough before being in the oven?
No, that shouldn’t be it. Could it be that the oven wasn’t heated to the right temperature before you put in the first batch? None of the other reviewers have mentioned them not rising so I’m not sure what the problem could be! I don’t recommend adding in more baking powder and soda. Just check the oven temperature is correct with an oven thermometer. :)
Baking powder may have been old. I have had that happen and had to get new BP.
Good thinking! Thanks for your comment. :)
Love this recipe!
So happy that you like them! :) Thanks for your comment.
Can u use GF flour mixture with this recipie?
You can only use GF all-purpose or 1 to 1 mixes in place of wheat-based recipes. I have a great whole wheat cinnamon apple muffin recipe where you can likely use your mix without issue. :)
I want to make these today, but don’t have any coconut flour and not sure they carry it in the stores here. What can be substituted? It doesn’t need to be gluten-free. Thanks.
There’s no sub for coconut flour but if you don’t need them to be gluten-free, my whole grain cinnamon apple muffins are just as delicious and don’t require any unusual ingredients. :)
Thanks so much for your quick reply and the link to your whole grain version. They sound fantastic and I will definitely be making them very soon.
No problem! Hope you’ll like them. They’re one of my favorites. :)
Would goat Milk yogurt work? 😉
I don’t see why not! Enjoy. :)
Just made this puppies tonight after going apple picking this past weekend. YUM! SO good. I followed the recipe exactly, except I changed the nuts in the streusel to dried cranberries so that my kiddos can take them to school. I baked them in paper cupcake liners and they don’t come out very clean, but who cares! I’ll be making these again, for sure :)
I love your dried cranberry sub! Sounds delicious. :) That is kind of annoying about the wrappers. You can see in my pictures that they stuck to mine, too. I suppose one could brush some melted coconut oil on the liners, but I’m too lazy for that. ;) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
Regan, just curious…. You said you changed the nuts to cranberries so that your kids could take them to school…. Is this because the school has a nut free policy? Since the recipe uses almond flour, clearly these muffins aren’t nut free! Your comment just drew my attention because I have two kids with life-threatening nut allergies.
Our school only bans peanuts at this time :)
Nuts allergies can be improved if you tried nathuropatic medicine. Because nuts are so good for kids better than milk or flour that produce more diseases.
I just wanted to add what I did for all the dairy free folks :). I took 1/2 cup of Trader Joe’s coconut cream (or you can use the separated cream from a can of full fat coconut milk), and mixed it with about 1/2 t of apple cider vinegar and let it sit a few minutes- it curdled up really quickly and gave that “yogurt tang”. Using the cream didn’t seem to throw off the liquid ratios at all (vs using yogurt). Also – WTTW, use cupcake liners! I sprayed my pan with coconut oil cooking spray (a new purchase for me, normally I use Pam lol) and these babies stuck really badly! They’re still delicious, just messy :) Overall, GREAT recipe! Now to de-egg and de-corn it for my littlest one ;)
Wow! Thanks so much for your comment. I’ve been wondering how I could make these dairy-free! That’s such an awesome tip. And I gave up on baking sprays long ago. Pam was the only one that worked for me and it’s just something I don’t really want to use. ;) Good luck with de-egging it! Thanks again for your great comment.
Thank you so much!! I made these today using your suggestion, and rave reviews were given all around.
That’s great! I’m happy they came out well. :) Thanks for your comment!
You can try to de-egg this with chia seeds. You’ll have to look up the ratio but you soak them in water to get the correct consistency. Did this is cupcakes for my dad with an extreme egg allergy and my daughter LOVED them. Hope this helps!
Awesome! Thanks so much for the tip. :)
Have not yet tried the Apple Muffins, but as a single person household looking for something I can freeze. It looks by the comments that they go really fast in most household, but i need to limit what I eat
I think that they’ll freeze well (though I haven’t tried it myself). I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
Made these today, and turned out great! I was really surprised how moist they are. Thank you so much for sharing!
So was I when I first tried them! I’m happy they came out well for you. Thanks for your feedback and for your comment on Pinterest, too. :)
Could I replace the greek yogurt with applesauce?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but because the texture and fat content is different, I’m assuming not. Let me know if you try anyway. It does sound like a good idea. :)
I replaced the greek yogurt with coconut milk yogurt and they came out wonderfully!
Yay! I’m happy to hear that. Thanks for the tip. :)
Hi, would you suggest any other gluten free flour to substitute for the almond flour. We use to love it but found that almonds are treated with a lot if pesticides. Thanks so much
So sorry for the slow reply, Alyssa! You could use any other type of nut flour / meal. Hazelnut meal, cashew meal, or whatever else you can find. As I haven’t tried it, I can’t say what the taste would be like but I think there’s enough spice in these to cover up any cashew / hazelnut taste (though I’m not positive!) Good luck! :)