These paleo apple muffins are fuss-free and completely maple sweetened. They get extra apple flavor from grated and diced apples. Thanks to Pure Canada Maple for making today’s post possible! Pictures updated on 10/1/18.
I’ve been wanting to post a paleo apple muffins recipe for a long time. At first I tried adapting the paleo blueberry muffins I posted recently. They’re my favorite muffin recipe, by far, but that didn’t work out. The cinnamon and spices just made them weird.
So then I tried adapting my paleo apple butter cake but I wasn’t in love with those muffins, either. I tried some other apple muffins with almond flour and then figured that it’d be easy enough to adapt my grain-free carrot cake cupcakes, which is one of my most popular recipes. People seem to love them and I hope you all will enjoy these just as much. :)
The carrot cake recipe uses 1/2 cup of grated carrots and I subbed that with 1/2 cup of coarsely grated apples. I’ve only made these muffins using this extra coarse grater to grate the apples so if you want to use a fine grater, I have no idea how that’d work out.
I’d be afraid that the muffins would come out too wet. These muffins are already super moist so I don’t know if they could handle even more moisture!
Another change was the sweetener. I use a lot of lighter colored maple syrup throughout the year as a sweetener in all kinds of different flavored goodies, like these paleo key lime pies or these paleo lemon cookies.
And now that I’m baking with cinnamon, apples and in a few weeks – pumpkin – I go through about 1 1/2 liters a month! I’m in the mood for maple everything. :)
The carrot cake recipe uses honey but 100% pure maple syrup seemed like a much better choice for these autumnal muffins. I used the exact same amount! It’s an easy sub and I think it blends better with the apple + cinnamon + nutmeg combination than honey does.
You can use any grade of all-natural maple syrup in these. You can’t really taste it through all the cinnamon flavor so I went with the standard Grade A Medium Amber kind that’s usually sold in grocery stores around here. I save the darker, stronger tasting and slightly more expensive Grade A Dark Amber kind for dishes where I want the maple taste to shine.
One tablespoon of cinnamon may seem like a lot for 8 muffins (it’s 3/8 teaspoon per muffin) but I’ve tried these with less cinnamon and they just weren’t very exciting. You need the cinnamon!
I’ve also tried these with a bunch of different apple types and we could hardly detect there were apples in the muffins – until I made them with Granny Smith. Their tartness helps them stand out more and together with the cinnamon and maple syrup, creates a truly awesome apple muffin.
Thanks again to Pure Canada Maple for sponsoring today’s post! As always, all opinions expressed are my own.
One of the old pictures for reference for those of you who have made these paleo apple muffins before!
Paleo Apple Muffins (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 8 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) blanched almond flour
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs (50 grams each, out of shell), room temperature (2 eggs is correct!)
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) refined coconut oil, melted (if you use unrefined coconut oil there may be some coconut taste to the muffins)
- 1/3 cup (106 grams) pure Canadian maple syrup
- 2-3 tablespoons coconut sugar, optional (see note)1
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) coarsely grated Granny Smith apples
- 1 1/4 cups (155 grams) Granny Smith apple chunks (about 1/4")
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a muffin pan with 8 muffin liners.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (almond flour through nutmeg). Set this aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, pure Canadian maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Add the dry mix to the wet and mix just until combined.
- Gently fold in the grated apples and then the chopped apples.
- Divide the batter evenly among the liners, filling them almost full, and bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate for up to 4.
Notes
- I added the coconut sugar to the recipe in October 2018. Before that, no coconut sugar was listed and the reviewers loved them that way! Only add the coconut sugar if you like things to be on the sweeter side.
- The video shows 3 eggs because the beginning part of the video that shows mixing together the ingredients is taken from the video I did for my paleo apple cake (which uses this same apple muffin recipe, but 1.5x all the ingredients - which is why it shows 3 eggs instead of 2). Sorry for the confusion! I didn't realize it until it was too late.
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243 comments on “Paleo Apple Muffins (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)” — Add one!
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i made the muffins and loved them! i was wondering if you have the nutritional value so i can decide how many i can eat haha
Haha. :D I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. Be warned that almond flour isn’t low-calorie. ;)
I’m going to make these to take to camp for a week, but I’m going to use maple flavoring and stevia. I’m also adding a little ginger.
I’ll sub another liquid for the maple syrup. I’m trying to avoid sugar..so here’s to it! I’m really looking forward to these for breakfast or a snack.
I hope your maple sub will work out well and that they’ll be enjoyed at camp! I’d love to hear how they come out. :)
They came out great. Remind me of carrot cake. I ended up using a splash of seltzer water because that’s what I had in the fridge. I froze them over night, stuck them in the cooler for the trip up, and they are perfect this morning.
I’m happy to hear that! Hope you’re having a nice trip. :) Thanks for coming back to leave feedback!
Best paleo muffin I’ve had. Great consistency and flavor :) I followed the recipe as instructed but added a small handful of chopped walnuts. I’ll be using this recipe as my muffin base to try other flavor combinations in – Thank you!
I bet walnuts are a great addition! I’d love to hear how your other flavor combinations work out. :) Thanks for your comment and sorry for the slow reply! I’m in the process of moving and haven’t had internet since Sunday.
I made these with oat flour instead of almond flour which doesn’t make these grain free and I added a 1\2 tspof xantham gum. Not Paleo but they taste amazing! Can’t wait to try them with almond flour when I stock up.
That’s good to know that oat flour works well! Thanks for your feedback. Hope you’ll enjoy them just as much with almond flour!
These are AMAZING!
So happy you liked them! :) Thanks for your comment.
I am looking forward to trying this recipe, but I don’t do much sugar in my house due to family members with diabetes. Do you know if there a substitute for the maple syrup like the coconut sugar or something that could be used instead?
You’d need to use another liquid sweetener to make sure the proportions are correct. Are there any liquid sweeteners that you could use? I hope you’ll enjoy the muffins!
Try Truvia Nectar, which is a stevia/honey blend. It isn’t completely sugar free, but it greatly reduces the amount of sugar. Also, you only use 1/2 the amount that the recipe calls for, but I’ve used this in all of Erin’s recipes that call for honey or maple syrup, and they’ve all turned out great. The Truvia is a bit pricey, but I can usually find it on sale and coupons. Hope this helps!
That’s great advice! I might try it myself. Thanks a ton for the tip. :)
Just made these! They’re delicious!!
Yay! Thanks for the feedback. :)
I subbed the oil with 1 mashed banana and instead of that extra 1/4 of almond flour i added Cinnamon Roll whey protein. MMMMM! They came out a tiny bit dry, probably because of the lack of oil in my substitutions, but it was nevertheless DELICIOUS. even my hubs who eats mostly junk food loved them (with a little butter, of course) – thanks for the recipe
Yum! That sounds like a delicious sub. They definitely shouldn’t be at all dry so maybe only sub out half the oil next time? ;) Did they taste banana-y? I want to try! Thanks for your feedback. :)
Hello Erin, I just made these muffins this afternoon when my family stopped by. They were quick and easy to make, even if I had to try subs because I had run out of some of the ingredients (again! Remember “fearlessness”, haha…). Egg replacer, a mixture of almond flour and whole-grain rice flour (which makes it non-paleo, I guess?), honey instead of maple syrup and only apple chunks instead of grated AND chunks- but they were delicious! Thank you for this recipe- and good luck with the clock change. At least spring has come here! Yippieh! Greetings from Christine
Wow… a mix of rice flour and almond flour. You are indeed fearless (although I really do worry that one day you’ll end up with a disaster ;)) And oh well if they’re not paleo. I doubt your family minded. :D Good luck to you on your next baking adventure and the time change! Thank goodness we change the time on the weekends here and not from Sunday to Monday. Thanks for your feedback! I love hearing from you.
About how many calories per muffin? Look forward to trying these for breakfast this week!
I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :) I hope you’ll enjoy the muffins!
Made these for the hubby to have for breakfast. These are amazing! I have been making paleo muffins for him and most of them are just meh. I am so glad I found this recipe! Do you think you can use this recipe and switch out the apples for other things? Maybe carrots, coconut, zucchini, banana?
I’m happy you finally found a recipe that’s better than meh. ;) I totally agree with you. So many paleo muffins have such a funky texture! Here are my other two favorite paleo muffin recipes: paleo chocolate banana muffins and paleo carrot muffins. And the blueberry muffins I linked to at the beginning of the post! This apple muffin recipe is based off of the carrot muffin recipe so I know you can use carrots, but I haven’t had luck with any other subs I’ve tried. If you try something out, I’d love to hear how it goes! Thanks for your comment. :)
Usually baked goods that are grain, paleo,and dairy free = taste free, but soooo glad I decided to give these a try! They were moist and flavorful and best of all hubby and kids approved. They were gone in a day thanks so much for such a flavorful recipe 😀
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment, Melanie! I don’t know how I missed it. And haha. I agree with you on most paleo sweets recipes being taste-free. I try not to post paleo recipes unless they’re reaaally good. ;) Thanks a bunch for your nice comment and sorry again for my slowness!
I started a new program 6 weeks ago called 8WW (8 Weeks to Wellness). The first two weeks is without any carbs or sugars. Once I passed the first few days without carbs, my taste buds changed as well. The “no taste” feeling you get when going without sugars and carbs goes away. I actually found once I reintroduced carbs that even popcorn was naturally sweet. If you are not used to going without sugars and carbs that could be why some of the recipes you have tried seem tasteless. Know I am not an expert and this is just my observation from my point of view ;)
Hi there! I did the intro stage of the GAPS diet for a while (which is a whole lot of broth, meat and some veggies) and was in ketosis for a few weeks. It was a long time before I added back fruit and was bummed that it still tasted the same. I was expecting it to taste extremely sweet! That’s awesome that even popcorn tastes naturally sweet to you now. When I said taste-free, it was my attempt at not being rude in saying that there are a whole lot of awful paleo recipes out there. ;) Even when I make something that’s not sweet, like bread, I find a lot of paleo recipes to have such an unpleasant texture and not much taste. Things don’t pop as much as I’d like! But maybe I’m just picky and have eaten too much processed junk. Definitely a possibility. :)
These were amazing!! Do you possibly have the nutrition facts? I was mostly wondering about carbs and calories.Thanks!
So happy you liked them! I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :) Thanks for your comment!
I am very new to paleo and thought I’d have to give up baking (which I enjoy) and sweets. I am very appreciative of the effort you put into experimenting to find just the right ingredients. I was very, very impressed with the results! Iam picky, and I’d eat thses even if I weren’t trying to stick to paleo. THANK YOU!
Aww, yay! I’m so happy to hear that. And oh my – you most definitely don’t have to give up on baking! I have loads of paleo recipes that I think are just as delicious as these muffins. :) Thanks a ton for your feedback!
I made these yesterday and they were fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! So happy you liked them. :) Thanks for your comment!
These were absolutely amazing! I added a little coconut sugar to give it a little kick bu!t without it it was fine! My dad couldn’t even tell that these were paleo! I used your recipe for the maple frosting to add on top of these and everything together was delightful. Thanks for the healthy but great recipes.
Hi Camille! I’m so sorry that I somehow missed your comment. I LOVE that you added the maple frosting on top! I’m totally going to try that and make a cake out of this. :) Thanks for the tip and for your feedback!
I tripled this recipe and subbed sunflower seed “flour” that I ground in the Vitamix dry blade container and cassava flour for the coconut flour. I used some kind of Gala-type apple that I’m guessing has more moisture than Granny Smith, so they were pretty moist, not cakey at all. So, so good!! The family really loves them. This is the second of your recipes we’ve made and liked. We’re going to try more. Thanks so much!!
What an interesting sub! Thanks so much for sharing. :) I’ve been meaning to try sunflower seed flour. Did you do a 1:1 sub with the cassava? I’m so happy that your subs worked out and that you all enjoyed the muffins! And that’s great that you’re going to try some more of my recipes. Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
AMAZING! I’m new to the paleo scene but who knew just by altering a few ingredients these would be so good!
Excellent! I’m so happy that you liked them. :) I have lots more paleo dessert recipes here if you’re interested. Thanks for your comment!
So nice to see a recipe use maple syrup to sweeten! I’m also Canadian, so even better! :) Please would you have an alternative to the almond flour as my son has a nut allergies?
I love using maple as a sweetener! :) Unfortunately, nuts flours aren’t interchangeable with non-nut flours. I’ve heard of people using sunflower seed flour as a sub but I’ve never tried it and have no idea if it’d work here. Sorry about that! If you give it a go, I’d love to hear how it works. If you don’t need a GF version, I have some delicious whole wheat apple muffins. You could use maple instead of honey in those!
Hi Erin, these look wonderful. Do you think using Chia eggs can work in place of regular eggs? If so, so you use ground Chia or whole seeds? Thank you!!
Hi Debi! Thanks. :) I haven’t tried chia eggs in this recipe but I think it’d probably work. I always use ground chia seeds to make the eggs. I’d love to hear how they come out if you try it!
Thanks Erin! I’ll let you know how they turn out :-)
I replaced the eggs with a flax egg and they were really good!
That’s great to know that they came out well with flax eggs! Thanks for your comment. :)
These were delicious – Can they be frozen and if so, how long!
I’m happy you enjoyed them! I haven’t frozen them but I’m pretty sure they’d freeze well for a few months. Thanks for your comment!
Last night, I was looking for a yummy, wholesome grab and go breakfast that I could make by the batch for the week. I came across your muffins and made them right away. Can I just say, these are AMAZING! I am pretty sure from this moment on, I am addicted. This is the first of your recipes I have tried, but because of this yumminess, I will be coming back…A LOT.
Thanks!
Yay! I’m so happy that you enjoyed the muffins and that you’re going to try some other recipes, too. :) I hope you’ll enjoy them just as much. Thanks a bunch for your comment!
My daughter would LOVE these but, she can’t have maple syrup. Any suggestions?
Honey would work well. :) Hope she’ll enjoy them!
These look amazing! Can you use agave syrup instead of maple syrup you think?
Thanks! And I haven’t tried it but I think that’d work. :)
How did you go about grating the apples? Who ch kitchen gadget/trick did you use?
Check out the second paragraph after the first picture. :)
Looks good, I’m always looking for a good apple cake recipe
Thanks! I hope you’ll enjoy them if you get the chance to try them out. :)
Do you know the nutritional value of these muffins? Can you tell me?
I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :)
Any suitable paleo subs for almond flour? I can never seem to get any feedback when i find the perfect paleo recipes but they call for almonds! My bf is allergic. Chickpea flour, oat flour, coconut flour are all things i keep around, any suggestions?
Unfortunately, nuts flours aren’t interchangeable with non-nut flours. :( I’ve heard of people using sunflower seed flour but I’ve never tried it and have no idea if it’d work here. Sorry about that! I wish there were a better alternative. But wait – you just mentioned almonds. So you could try cashew meal or hazelnut meal!
I’ve found that Otto’s cassava flour can be used in place of almond flour in some recipes. I like it in some recipes and not in others because of the distinct flavor.
I’ve had my eye on making these for a week (ok, so not that long, but it felt like longer because they look so good)! We went apple picking yesterday and I came home and immediately made these muffins. They were amazing! I used ghee instead of coconut oil because I only had unrefined and wasn’t feeling the coconutty vibes :p I’ve made so many of your recipes and I can honestly say that every one of them has been amazing. I have to follow a specific diet and I love that I can make so many of the recipes on your blog – and they always taste GOOD, not like ‘alternative’ versions of the real thing! I’ve served them to others who can eat anything and they always eat them up too. I lived in Germany for a year and was so grateful for your recipes because as I know you live in Germany too, they called for flours and ingredients that I could actually find over there (no recipes with 5-7 different unique gf flours that I only use now that I can get them whenever I need ;). Anyway, the purpose of my long winded comment – thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes!!
Thanks a bunch for your comment! It totally made my day. :) I’m so happy that you liked the muffins and the other recipes! I’m also impressed that you made them immediately after coming home from apple picking – I normally nap. ;) I’m super jealous of you being back in the US with access to whatever flours you want (but at least I discovered Vitacost last year, so I can’t complain too much!). Thanks again for your really nice comment! :)
These sound like such a wonderful treat! I love apple muffins!
Thanks, Miranda! :)
Is there anything better than fall baking?? you always get me in the mood!
It’s my very favorite! :D
Apple muffins for the wiiiiiiiiiiin! Love this paleo version :)
Thanks!
These look amazing. I adore apple muffins. My sister makes them all the time. They’re just so tasty. These are calling my name. I could eat a million of them.
Give your sister this recipe and tell her to make them for you. :D I bet you’ll both be happy! ;)
We have a loaded apple tree this year – this recipe would be perfect!
I bet it would! And consider me super jealous of your apple tree. ;)
Goodness, I thought I use a lot of maple syrup haha! Then again, I’m not baking that much, either. You always have the best spice mixes – I will definitely give this recipe a try!
I hope you’ll enjoy it! And yeah. I go through an insane amount. Thank goodness for “American week” at Lidl! ;)
I want TWO of these right now! They look sooo delicious!
Only two?! They’re so tiny. Here. Take more. :D
Oh my goodness! These look so moist and delicious, Erin. Looks like you’ve developed the perfect apple muffin recipe here!
I’m pretty sure muffins are the perfect food and your apple muffins look divine! Yummy!
Thanks so much!
Can’t wait to try this! The perfect fall recipe
Alicex
I hope you’ll enjoy it! Thanks for your comment and I hope fall’s arrived down in Munich. :)
These look gorgeous and oh so moist!
They really are! :)
Oh super yum. I’m laughing at you saying the amount of cinnamon sounds like a lot. When I follow a recipe, there are two ingredients, I generally always double – cinnamon and/or vanilla. So that seems like a totally reasonable amount to me!
Haha. Same here! Sometimes even triple the cinnamon. I have no idea what others are thinking sometimes with their 1/2 tsp cinnamon. ;)
wow, these definitely do look super moist – and super delicious! I’m in the mood for apple all the things, so this is going on my must-try list.
I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
YEH!! Apples finally for Sept. This is apple season here in North GA. We all loved apple goodies with cinnamon. I sure need to try these for the GF,DF folks. Then make some withe white wheat. HA!!
Oops, I would have to use a different recipe since this is almond and coconut flour. But I have one anyway.
I’m excited for apple season, too! :) I have a great whole wheat cinnamon apple muffin recipe if you haven’t tried. I bet you’d love it!
These look so so good but that crumble topping makes it even more scrumptious!
I skipped the crumble topping this time but I’m happy they look like they have it. :D
Considering I am Canadian…I LOVE these muffins! SO perfect for the season..I could eat them for breakfast ALL week long!
Haha. So full of delicious maple! ;)
I love that these are paleo…they look so moist and good.
Thank so much!
I love all of your baked goods, but these muffins seriously blow me away. I love those chunks of apples!
Aww, thanks! I’m very happy to hear that. :)
I could totally go Paleo as long as I had these muffins!
For sure! :)
These muffins are perfect for fall!
Hello, seriously delicious little muffins!