Perfect for breakfast or a snack. Dark, moist, and scattered with raisins & fresh apple bits. I think these oil-free vegan applesauce muffins are my best muffins yet. Make ahead of time and freeze for quick breakfasts on the go!
What I love about these applesauce muffins is that they’re…
- Made with fresh apples and applesauce
- Perfectly sweet
- Healthy
- Contain no oil
- Freeze well
- Make the perfect on-the-go breakfast
- Amazingly delicious!
Apples are always in season
I know some people feel that baked apple recipes are only for the fall and apple season, but I strongly disagree. Apple baking is for all-year-round. To me, any day that starts with these sweet vegan muffins is bound to be a good one!
Applesauce muffins made without oil
The trick with baking without oil is not difficult. Apple sauce is what keeps this recipe moist without added artery-clogging oil. Getting recipes to rise when baking without eggs is pretty simple too.
Do you remember doing volcano science experiments when you were a kid? The ones where you used baking soda and vinegar to get that red food-colored lava to bubble out of the paper mache mountain?
That’s the same technique that makes baked goods rise without eggs–baking soda and vinegar. Back in the 30’s they called it Depression Cake or War Cake.
Depression cake is a type of cake that was commonly made during the Great Depression. The ingredients include little or no milk, sugar, butter or eggs, because the ingredients were then either expensive or hard to obtain.
Similar cakes are known as “War Cake,” as they avoided ingredients that were scarce or were being conserved for the use of soldiers.”–Wikipedia
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How to make applesauce muffins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar (if using).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together applesauce, almond milk, vanilla, vinegar, and date paste (if using).
- Pour well-blended wet mixture into a large bowl with dry ingredients.
- Peel and dice 1/2 cup apples, add to the bowl, along with raisins, and mix well.
- Spoon batter into a silicone muffin baking non-stick pan or paper muffin cups. I recommend the silicon pan because these seem to stick to paper cups after baking. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool, and serve.
RECIPE CARD BELOW
Tips for making these muffins
Just recently, I began leaving the peels on my apples in this recipe. Since I buy organic apples, it seemed a waste to not include them. The peelings add more fiber as well.
I store my muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Since these muffins freeze well, I highly suggest making a double batch and keeping some on-hand for surprise guests or for a quick breakfast on your way out the door.
Baking with whole grain flours
Baking with whole grain flours such as wheat, spelt, oat, and others help to make the recipes a much healthier option.
The Whole Grains Council defines whole grains to be foods that contain all the essential nutritional parts of the whole grain kernel. That means the food must include the bran, germ and endosperm in the process of grinding, crushing, cracking or extruding the kernels. By definition the word “whole” in “whole wheat flour” means that the entire kernel has been ground into flour.
The addition of the word “grain” does not change the meaning of whole wheat flour.–LiveStrong
These vegan applesauce muffins are not gluten-free, but this link to the Minimalist Baker will help adjust it for those that want to give it a try.
Sweetening with date paste
This applesauce recipe calls for brown sugar, and many people are avoiding refined sugars. For those who use only natural sweeteners, date paste can be used in this recipe. It’s pretty simple to make date paste using the instructions here.
- Soak 1/2 cup of dates in 1/2 cup of water overnight or approximately 8 hours.
- Remove dates from water and set the water aside.
- Puree dates in a food processor or blender.
- Add a few tablespoons of soaking water to the date puree and continue to blend. Blend until the date paste is creamy.
- Add more soaking water if needed.
So scrumptious and easy to make, no one will ever guess these are vegan apple cinnamon muffins!
Other apple and snack recipes
Plant-Based Vegan Starter Kits $27
Apple Cinnamon Vegan Muffins
Dark, moist, and scattered with raisins and fresh apple bits, these apple vegan muffins are perfect for breakfast or a snack. So scrumptious and easy to make, no one will ever guess they are vegan! Make ahead of time and freeze for quick breakfasts on the go!
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, or date paste
- 15 oz apple sauce, (or 1.5 cups)
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or other plant milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup apple, diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar (if using).
- In medium bowl, whisk together apple sauce, almond milk, vanilla, vinegar, and date paste (if using).
- Pour well-blended wet mixture into large bowl with dry ingredients.
- Peel and dice 1/2 cup apples, add to bowl, along with raisins, and mix well.
- Spoon batter into a silicon muffin baking non-stick pan or paper muffin cups. I recommend the silicon pan because these seem to stick to paper cups after baking. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool, and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149 Total Fat: 1g Saturated Fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 35g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 18g Protein: 3g
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