These vegan apple muffins are soft, fluffy, moist and loaded with chunks of fresh apple. Perfect for breakfast or dessert.
These vegan apple muffins were pretty much guaranteed the moment I made a vegan apple cake.
That cake was so good, I knew the recipe would have other uses.
So of course I adapted it for muffins. And these vegan apple muffins are amazing!
Brown sugar sweetened, cinnamon spiced and packed with whole apple pieces. Truly divine.
They’re perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast, snack or dessert.
Ingredients To Make These Muffins:
Ingredient Notes
- Granny Smith apples – are the perfect apples to use in these muffins. They are deliciously sweet with a hint of tart and bake up really well.
- Canola oil – can be switched for vegetable oil.
- Vegan buttermilk – we use our recipe for homemade vegan buttermilk, which is a mix of lemon juice (or vinegar) with soy milk and it curdles into buttermilk. Soy milk works the best for vegan buttermilk but you can use another non-dairy milk like almond milk, or another plant milk, even if it doesn’t curdle.
- Applesauce – is used in a small quantity to add extra moisture without weighing the muffins down. You can use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce, whatever you have on hand.
How To Make Vegan Apple Muffins
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl. Add light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the ¾ cup line (180ml). Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add vegan buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla extract and applesauce to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter. Don’t overmix.
- Add peeled and chopped apples and fold them in.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions of your muffin tray. Add a few extra pieces of peeled and chopped apple directly to the tops of the muffins.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Baker’s Tips
Cut the apples up fairly small. If the pieces are too big they will be too bulky for these muffins.
The batter is thick. A thick batter works great for muffins in general. But it’s also important here because if your batter is too thin then your apple pieces will be more inclined to sink to the bottom of the muffins.
Measure the flour correctly. Since the batter is already thick, if you use too much flour, you won’t even be able to mix it. So make sure you measure your flour correctly. Ideally weigh it out on a food scale, but if you don’t have a food scale, then use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife.
Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the batter until just mixed and then stop mixing. Don’t worry if there are tiny lumps.
Make Them Gluten-Free
If you’d like to make these vegan apple muffins gluten-free you can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them covered in an airtight container at room temperature where they will stay good for around 3-4 days. Or store them in the fridge in a covered container for up to 7 days. Give them a quick 15-seconds in the microwave to heat them up before enjoying.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight and bring them up to room temperature on the countertop or heat them up for 15-seconds in the microwave.
More Vegan Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Vegan Banana Muffins
- Vegan Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¾ cup Vegan Buttermilk (180ml) 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + soy milk up to the ¾ cup (180ml) line
- ¼ cup Canola Oil (60ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tablespoons Applesauce
- 1 cup Chopped Apple (125g) Peeled, plus more to add directly to the tops of the muffins before baking.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a muffin tray with non-stick spray.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl. Add light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the ¾ cup line (180ml). Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add vegan buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla extract and applesauce to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter. Don't overmix.
- Add peeled and chopped apples and fold them in.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin partitions of your muffin tray. Add a few extra pieces of peeled and chopped apple directly to the tops of the muffins before baking.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. This is a thick batter, so if you use too much flour, you won’t even be able to mix it. So make sure you measure your flour correctly. Ideally weigh it out on a food scale, but if you don’t have a food scale, then use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
- Vegan buttermilk – we use our recipe for homemade vegan buttermilk, which is a mix of lemon juice (or vinegar) with soy milk and it curdles into buttermilk. Soy milk works the best for vegan buttermilk but you can use another non-dairy milk like almond milk, or another plant milk, even if it doesn’t curdle.
- Granny Smith apples – are the perfect apples to use in these muffins. They are deliciously sweet with a hint of tart and bake up really well.
- Cut the apples up fairly small. If the pieces are too big they will be too bulky for these muffins.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the batter until just mixed and then stop mixing. Don’t worry if there are tiny lumps.
- Gluten free: If you’d like to make these muffins gluten-free you can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
- Storing: Keep them covered in an airtight container at room temperature where they will stay good for around 3-4 days. Or store them in the fridge in a covered container for up to 7 days. Give them a quick 15-seconds in the microwave to heat them up before enjoying.
- Freezing: They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight and bring them up to room temperature on the countertop or heat them for 15-seconds in the microwave.
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published in January 2019. It has been updated with new photos and extra tips.
This came out delicious! We had a bag of apples to use and I’m so glad I came across this recipe. I will be adding this to my rotation of baked goods.
Wonderful! Thanks so much Chelsea!
Absolutely amazing muffins, I had some apples to use up and this did the job.
I didn’t have any apple sauce so used home made apple jam (jelly)
And I also forgot to add any oil they still taste great but took 5 min longer to bake
They taste just like apple pie I love it so much
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing Leo!
This recipe was great, thanks so much for posting consistent good vegan recipes! I made this in a loaf with great success, just bake for 45-50 minutes. I think some chopped walnuts or pecans would be great in this. I’m also thinking that subbing in some whole wheat flour (1/2 cup to 1 cup) would add some extra nutrition without negatively affecting the taste or texture.
Thanks for sharing Sarah!
these are great muffins i made them with raisins and just plain and they were delicious.
Thanks Deborah!
Hi!
Looks like a five star recipe to me, and I see others have used oat flour with success. That’s good, because that’s all I have. Now I have oat milk and almond milk. Will either of those work instead of the soy milk?
I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out if I try it with the oat or almond milk!
Thank you,
Hi Stephanie, almond milk will definitely work! All the best!
Hi Alison, thank you for sharing this recipe. I tried it out and it tastes heavenly delicious, just like fancy MCD apple pie. I swap AP flour for oat flour, it still turns out AMAZING.
So happy to hear! Thanks Michelle!
I used half teaspoon of cinnamon, about
half cup sugar, mashed banana instead of apple sauce and replaced one tablespoon of white flour with wholewheat flour. Next time I’ll use the apple sauce to get a stronger apple flavour.
They are delicious – moist and light and quick and easy to make.
Thanks!.
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing your adjustments and the great review. 🙂
I make these over and over, but recently I’ve been replacing 3/4 of the apple with chopped mango and it’s a lovely change. I still use the replacements described above.
Congratulations on your recent awards Allison.
Awesome! Thank you so much! 🙂
LOVE THIS SO MUCH 😀 THANK YOU!
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the great rating Trisha! 🙂
This vegan apple muffin recipe is not only delicious…..but foolproof. I have made this recipe three times and each time it yielded a soft, moist and very flavorful muffin. I substituted coconut oil for the canola oil, and added 1/4 tsp ground clove as an added spice. I also added toasted chopped walnuts. Each time I doubled the recipe. I don’t usually do that when trying a recipe for the first time…..but I’m glad I did for this one. Everyone who has tried them absolutely loved them. It is an excellent adaptable recipe, and I truly thank You for it! I intend on trying your pumpkin muffin recipe next.
So happy to hear this Andrea! Thanks for the amazing review! 🙂
These were fantastic! My kids gobbled them up. I’m definitely adding these to our rotation of favorites.
Wonderful! Thanks for the great review Lynda. 🙂
I would love to add some protein to these muffins (I’ve made several batches and they are DELICIOUS). I found some coconut protein powder, but I wasn’t sure what your thoughts were on how to make this happen. I’m sure I would need to add less flour….or keep the same, but add more oil or soy buttermilk or applesauce?
Hi April! I would probably keep the flour the same but maybe add some extra applesauce or oil, whatever you prefer. So just go with the ratio of how much extra dry ingredient you’re adding and balance it with the same amount of wet ingredient to hopefully keep the balance the same. If it’s a little too wet, then you know you can back off on the extra wet ingredient the next time you make it. All the best! 🙂
Great recipe for an apple cake 🙂
These muffins are so delicious!! I used coconut oil instead of canola. I also used ripple chocolate milk instead of soy milk to make the buttermilk and it worked perfectly.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Ceci and the wonderful rating. 🙂
This was amazing. Tried it today with my niece as an after school activity and she loved it. I used self raising flour not plain, and had to sub mashed banana instead of applesauce but overall it was delicious and I will def make it again!
So glad you and your niece enjoyed it Deidre! Thanks for the awesome review. xo
I followed the recipe exactly and it was SO thick…not even batter like. Are you sure it isn’t 1 cup of flour or at least 1 cup of milk? I had to add a lot more milk to get it to mix. 🙁 they are baking now so I hope they turn out!! 🙂
Hi Krystal, hope they worked out in the end! I have literally just made this recipe again and the measures are definitely correct. I think the issue may be using too much flour, the best thing would be to weigh it next time, or be sure to use the spoon and level method, which is the only correct method to measure flour (if you’re not weighing it).