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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Thank you! I just put these in the oven. I made the chocolate banana muffins last week and my kids destroyed them. They are super excited about trying these. This is one of my new favorite sites!
Yay! I’m so very happy that you’re enjoying the recipes. :) I hope your kids liked these muffins just as much (though it’s hard to compete with gooey, melty chocolate, isn’t it? ;)) Thanks for your comment!
Are th apples peeled?
It’s up to you! I believe I peeled them but they don’t have to be.
Any idea on calorie count per muffin?
I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :)
I saw that coconut sugar was used in place of honey? Didn’t see honey in receipe. Did you mean in place of maple syrup?
I never mention coconut sugar in my post or recipe. Are you talking about one of the comments below? If so, I think they meant to say maple syrup!
I hope you’ll see my comment! The email address you left doesn’t seem to be a valid one.
Can these be made in a cake pan instead of muffin pan? I’d love to try for a potluck but thought be easier in a 9×13 pan. Course I probably have to double recipe.
I’ve been playing around with a spiced cake version of this recipe without the chopped apples and doubling the recipe should be enough for a 9×13 (but it won’t be a very thick cake). The problem is the baking time. It’s very easy to overbake this cake (at least it is without the chopped apples) and I have no idea of how long you’d need to bake it for! If you try it out, I’d love to hear how it goes. :)
I will be trying it next week.
Is 1 Tbsp right for the cinnamon? I just wonder if it would be strong since I’m going to triple the recipe so it would be 3 tbsp. I’m going to make in the cake pan this Friday! Hope it turns out yummy.
Sorry for my slow reply. I just got back from a vacation where I didn’t have any reception! But hopefully you found your answer in the post where I talk about the cinnamon amount. :) I’m not sure if I’d triple this recipe. I haven’t tried it myself and think it may be a little risky. And to be honest, I have no clue if you should triple the cinnamon, salt, etc. If you try it out anyway, I’d love to hear how it goes!
So I tripled the recipe. But only used 3 cups apples and 2 tbsp cinnamon. Bake in 9×13 pan for 40 minutes and it taste fine. I’m hoping it’s moist. I only tasted edge because it’s for a potluck. I did notice it was jiggly in center after 30 minutes even though toothpick came out clean.
Hmm. Jiggly doesn’t sound good. I really hope it came out well! :)
It came out good! Really moist everyone liked it. I baked it for the 40 minutes and jiggle was gone.
That’s great to know! I’m sure that’ll help out some other folks who want to convert this to a cake recipe. :) Thanks again!
Apple muffins sounds great but can I substitute the coconut flour with almond flour. Can’t wait to make them
Thanks! Coconut flour is unfortunately not interchangeable with any other flour as it absorbs so much more liquid. Sorry about that!
Could I use a gluten free flour mix (from Costco)?
Sorry I just now saw your comment! Unfortunately that won’t work. GF flour mixes work in place of wheat flour but not nut and coconut flours. Sorry about that! It’d probably work in my cinnamon apple muffins, though. :)
Have you tried subbing the almond and coconut flours for a GF to know it just won’t work with this recipe? In a different recipe forum that called for those, someone replaced with GF cup4cup and said it turned out great. I was just curious.
I haven’t tried it in this exact recipe but I’ve tried it in many others and it’s never worked for me. If you try it out anyway, I’d love to hear how it goes. :)
So I wasn’t sure if it was something to do with the apples or what have you so I made the other recipe I mentioned yesterday and it turned out awesome. When this pumpkin coffee cake is gone I will try this recipe and give you a verdict on the GF.
Sounds great! I’d love to hear the results. Thanks! :)
This recipe is yummylicious!!! I substitute coconut sugar for honey and they come out perfect!! Thanks a ton for sharing
Did you use the same amount? Thanks for sharing your sub! I’m happy they came out well. :)
I used three tablespoons & mixed it in the dry ingredients. I’ve made them 5-6 times and they come out better each time :)
Good to know! Thanks a bunch for the answer. :)
Could I use regular flour in place of the almond and coconut flours? I’m not sure if sub out okay. I know, I know. Shouldn’t use reg flour. But still wondering!
Unfortunately they’re not at all interchangeable! But I have a whole wheat cinnamon apple muffin recipe in which you could use AP flour. :)
I substituted the 2 eggs for 2 flax eggs and used barely flour instead of coconut flour. I also used a loaf pan because I couldn’t find the muffin cups.
It was sooooo good!!!
Oh, wow. I’m really surprised that the barley flour sub came out well. That’s great! Thanks for sharing. :)
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!