APPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS (GLUTEN FREE + VEGAN)
Moist and tender, these apple cinnamon muffins are made with almond flour, oats and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup! Vegan and gluten free recipe.
Gluten-free almond flour apple cinnamon muffins have a nice moist center with tons of flavor in each bite. Bits of apple and walnut add texture, with the flavor of cinnamon wrapped all around.
Without being overly sweet, these easy gluten-free vegan muffins are a great way to start your day, or to snack on any time you’re feeling hungry!
🌟 Why We Love This Recipe!
- Easy to make – With easy pantry ingredients and fresh apples, this recipe comes together quickly with warm muffins ready in about 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Moist and tender – We love how these muffins are moist, tender, a little crumbly, and oh-so-delicious! I could even sit and eat the batter, never making muffins – it’s that good!
- Nutritious & delicious – Made with whole food plant-based ingredients, you can be sure they are free of additives and other processed ingredients.
Plus, we love the versatility of this reciep which keeps it fresh and usable. It’s truly a great muffin to have in your vegan, plant-based library. Cheers to good eats!
IngredientS You’ll Need
Here is everything you will need to make this almond flour apple cinnamon muffins, including substitutions where noted. Ingredient measurements can be found in the reicpe card below.
- Almond Flour – I don’t recommend subbing with any other flour for this recipe.
- Quick Oats – If you only have regular old-fashioned oats, you can pulse them in a food processor or high-speed blender to break them up.
- Flax Egg – you can also substitute with 1/2 cup of applesauce or mashed banana.
- Baking Powder – No substitute is recommended for BP.
- Cinnamon – Feel free to use more or less than the recipe calls for.
- Maple Syrup – This natural sweetener can be substituted with coconut nectar or date syrup.
- Oil – Use any neutral flavored oil or coconut oil in its liquid state (just be sure all other ingredients are at room temp so the coconut oil doesn’t seize up and harden).
- Non-Dairy Milk – use almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, soy milk, or your favorite non-dairy plant milk. You can just as easily use purified water in place of milk when in a pinch.
- Vanilla – Use more or less than called for to taste.
- Diced Apples – Be sure to dice them well, even grating the apples is a great idea!
- Walnuts or Pecans – these can be optional.
- Sugar – We use a little white, brown, or coconut sugar on top of each muffin before baking to add a nice crunchy top. This step can be optional.
Ingredient Swaps
- use pears instead of apples
- or add in grated carrots along with the apples
How To Make Almond Flour Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Here is a quick look at the process of making gluten-free apple cinnamon muffins. See the bottom of this post for the full printable recipe.
- Start by making your flax egg. Let it set for 10 minutes to thicken.
- Next, make the crumble topping by combing the sugar, cinnamon, and chopped oats in a small bowl.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients together, then add in the wet ingredients, and mix well. Lastly, add the diced apples, mixing one again.
- Scoop muffin batter into pre-lined muffin tin holes (shown below) just to the top. Sprinkle each muffin top with the sweet cinnamon crumble topping.
- Bake in a preheated oven of 375 degrees F. for 17 – 20 minutes.
- Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
And that’s all it takes to make vegan, gluten-free apple muffins with cinnamon. They bake up moist, tender, and simply delicious!
Recommended equipment: I love my USA Pan Muffin Tin, and these parchment paper muffin liners (affiliate links) are great too!
How To Store
Freshly baked muffins will keep well loosely covered, on the counter for 4 – 5 days. Or once completely cooled, keep them in the refrigerator for up to 8 – 10 days. If storing in a container, let muffins cool completely before storing.
Can You Freeze Almond Flour Muffins?
Yes! Let the muffins cool completely before wrapping and freezing. To freeze, wrap securely in foil or freezer wrap, or place in freezer bags. Muffins can be stored for up to 3 months in the freezer.
More Easy Muffins Recipes!
- Pumpkin Oat Muffins + Crumble Topping
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
If you try this gluten free muffin recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintAPPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS (GLUTEN FREE)
Flavorful and easy to make, these moist and tender apple cinnamon muffins are made gluten-free using almond flour. It’s a healthy breakfast, snack or treat to enjoy any time of day!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Makes 10 Muffins 1x
- Category: Muffins, Snack, Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups almond flour*
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- pinch of mineral salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 flax eggs or 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup light flavored olive oil
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or non-dairy milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 medium apple (about 3/4 cup), finely diced or grated
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
garnish
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, pure cane sugar or turbinado
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- tablespoon quick oats, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin using 10 liners.
Flax egg: In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal with 6 tablespoons water. Let set for 10 min to thicken.
Topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
Combine dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, oats, salt, baking powder and cinnamon, give a stir to mix.
Add in the wet ingredients: To the dry ingredients, add the flax egg, maple syrup, oil, plant milk and vanilla, mix until just combined. Stir in the apples, mix again. Batter will not be runny and should be on the thicker side.
Fill muffin tin: Scoop and fill each muffin cup just to the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar topping. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean and muffins are lightly browned on top. Let cool a bit, remove muffins to finish cooling on a cooling rack.
Makes 10 muffins
Storing: Freshly baked muffins will keep well loosely covered, on the counter for 4 – 5 days. Or once completely cooled, keep them in the refrigerator for up to 8 – 10 days. If storing in a container, let muffins cool completely before storing.
Notes
*You can make your own almond flour at home by grinding your almonds in a food processor. It’s very easy, takes about five minutes. Use 1 1/2 cups raw or toasted almonds to make 2 cups almond flour. For this recipe use 1 3/4 cups to make 2 1/4 cups almond flour.
If you don’t have quick oats on hand, throw some rolled oats into a food processor and pulse until chopped.
Ingredient swap: use pears in place of apples, or try grated carrots.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: I love my USA Pan Muffin Tin, and these parchment paper muffin liners (affiliate links) are great too!
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Ok I was searching for a quick recipe because I’m out of eggs and didn’t want to go food shopping yet. Also I do not have any milk! And I’m trying to reduce my carb/gluten intake. I made this recipe with applesauce instead of flax egg, and apple juice instead of milk!! It worked out great! Also accidentally made my oats the topping instead of throughout but that worked out also. Only issues is they do crumble very easily, but that is quickly solved with a fork! Thanks!! Oh this was breakfast! Yum
★★★★★
I love this recipe. The olive oil was throwing me for a loop at first but this is a great recipe. I’ve made these muffins many times now…so glad it’s fall again! The apple cinnamon brings such a cozy vibe 🍎🍁
★★★★★