Vegan Apple Muffins

Why We Love This Recipe

• Maximize seasonal produce: These vegan apple muffins are packed with fresh, seasonal apples. They're the perfect way to utilize those perfect looking apples in your grocery store (or even better, picked fresh from the orchard). Pro tip: they're extra delicious with this hot apple cider!
• Easy snack: Not only are these muffins delicious but they're perfect for an on-the-go treat. Great for a quick breakfast or snack, and you can freeze and reheat for long term storage!
• Allergy friendly: these apple muffins are dairy and egg free, and the recipe is super easy to make gluten free with one swap. You can modify them to be nut free if needed as well!
• Easy to make: These vegan apple muffins come together in a few simple steps and only require about 15 minutes of prep work.
• Bakery style muffins: we fill our muffin liners almost to the top for giant, fluffy, bakery style muffins with a crunchy, sweet oat streusel topping. If you're making these for kids, feel free to make smaller muffins.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these vegan apple muffins:

Ingredient Notes

• Apples: our favorite apples for baking include Honeycrisp, Granny Smith and Pink Lady. We'd avoid Red Delicious or McIntosh, both of which tend to get super mushy and mealy in baked goods.
• Flax egg: you'll need to use ground flax meal here, not whole flax seeds. Be sure to let this thicken up for 10-15 minutes before incorporating into the wet ingredients to make sure that it reaches the right consistency. You can read more about flax eggs and why we use them here.
• Applesauce: We use this as a substitute for eggs and for a bit of natural sweetness (and more apple flavor!). Be sure to use unsweetened applesauce in this recipe.
• Oats: make sure to use old fashioned whole rolled oats in these vegan apple muffins, NOT instant or quick cooking oats.
• Flour: If you're not gluten free, use regular all-purpose flour. If you are, be sure to use a 1-to-1 (a.k.a. measure for measure) gluten free flour, which contains special ingredients like xanthan gum that help to mimic regular flour. We almost always use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour – it works like a charm and you can find it at most grocery stores! 
• Nondairy milk: for best results, let the milk sit out until it reaches room temperature before adding to these vegan apple muffins. We typically use oat milk in this recipe, which has a neutral flavor and creamy texture.
• Walnuts: we use unroasted, unsalted walnuts in this recipe. You can also sub with pecans, pumpkin seeds, or another nut/seed of choice. (Or, leave them out altogether.)
• Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV): it may seem like an odd or unnecessary ingredient, but the vinegar reacts with baking soda to help create lift in vegan baked goods. It's essential, so don't skip it!

Step-by-step Instructions

PREP: Preheat the oven to 350˚F/175˚C. Line muffin tins with liners.  

(1) Stir together flax meal and water and set aside to thicken for 10-15 minutes while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

(2) Add oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and both sugars to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or whisk to beat until well combined.

(3) In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

(4) Stir the flax eggs into the wet ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until well combined. 

(5) Fold in the apples and walnuts to the batter.

(6) Scoop muffin batter evenly into each liner, filling just over ¾ of the liner.

(7) Make the topping in a small bowl by stirring together oats, brown sugar, melted butter and cinnamon.

(8) Top each muffin with an even amount of oat topping. Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

Tips and FAQs

• Gently press the streusel into the muffin batter so it doesn't fall off (and make a mess) when eating.
• Storage: store leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Be sure to let the muffins cool completely before storing.
• Freezer storage: for long term storage, store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3-6 months. (As long as there's no freezer burn, they're fine to eat!) Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds, until warmed through.
• Adapt for mini muffins: if using a mini muffin tin, start checking the muffins for doneness between 10-15 minutes.
• Use liners: You can opt to grease the muffin tin instead of using liners, but we find that the muffins can still stick even with a greased tin, so the liners just make life easier.

Other Muffin Recipes to Enjoy

Tried this recipe? Leave a comment with a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!