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
A full list of ingredients, measurements, instructions, and a print button can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
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 the 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.
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.
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
- Best Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Apple Oat Crumble
- Sweet Potato Apple Sauce Muffins
- 15 Easy Plant-Based Snack Ideas

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
- 1.5 cup apple sauce, (or 15 oz)
- 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 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 apple sauce, almond milk, vanilla, vinegar, and date paste (if using).
- Pour well-blended wet mixture into the 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.
Notes
Detailed instructions, in-process photos, and my personal helpful tips can be found in the article above.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 3gSugar: 18gProtein: 3g
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Michelle Hsu
Tuesday 5th of January 2021
Thank you for sharing this recipe! This was such an easy recipe to follow and the muffins are delicious! I will definitely be saving this recipe as my go-to :). I ended up loading the 12-muffins all the way instead of making extras and they still turned out perfect.
Terri Edwards
Tuesday 5th of January 2021
Hi Michelle- I'm so glad that you enjoyed these!
mara
Thursday 22nd of October 2020
thank you for your wonderful recipes . I was watching egg replacement videos and noticed that soft tofu also used as egg replacement and also it adds very nice cake structure . I was wondering if this recipe will work well with 1/4 cup of soft tofu . Do you think i should change amount of applesauce amount ?
Terri Edwards
Thursday 22nd of October 2020
Hi Mara- I haven't tried tofu as an egg replacer before but would love to hear how it turns out if you give it a try with this recipe.The applesauce helps with moisture, so I'm not sure about whether reducing the amount with tofu would be necessary.
JL Fenter
Wednesday 19th of August 2020
I just made these using date paste I made myself. I found out after starting had only apples that were on the verge of vinegar, so I added 4 extra ounces of unsweetened apple sauce. I used moo milk. I also used 1.5 cups of whole wheat and 1/2 cup Kamut flour.
As I'm in Lubbock (altitude 3200 Ft), I cooked at 375 for 25 minutes, EXCELLENT... Thank you...
Jack
Terri Edwards
Wednesday 19th of August 2020
Hi Jack- I love the way you know your way around the kitchen and feel comfortable making all those substitutions. So glad that they turned out well!
Natalie
Monday 20th of July 2020
I have made these 3 times now. They are fantastic!
Terri Edwards
Tuesday 21st of July 2020
Hi Natalie- YAY! I'm so glad that you like them enough to make them 3 times! :D
Cathy
Friday 19th of June 2020
The recipe calls for 1 cup applesauce or 15 oz. One cup of applesauce is 8 oz. Did you mean 1 CAN of applesauce (which weighs about 15 oz)? Or is it the 1 cup?
Terri Edwards
Friday 19th of June 2020
Hi Cathy- I was just recently doing updates and evidentially made that typo. The recipe calls for 1.5 cups of applesauce. Thanks for catching that!