These easy-to-make vegan Apple Muffins are moist, soft, and delicious! They are loaded with apple pieces and topped with a mouth-watering crumble and sugar-free icing! Not only are these vegan muffins gluten-free, but they are also much healthier than regular apple crumb muffins! Furthermore, they are freezer-friendly and also perfect for meal prep!
Healthy Vegan Apple Muffins
Are you looking for a quick and simple muffin recipe for breakfast?! Look no further because these vegan apple muffins are perfect for you if you love apples and cinnamon as much as I do. The crumble and the sugar-free icing make them even more delicious. You can, of course, also eat these apple pie muffins for dessert if you like! They taste best with a cup of tea or coffee, in my opinion!
Gluten-Free Apple Oatmeal Muffins
As mentioned before, the recipe is 100% plant-based, and also gluten-free. You can use regular oats or certified gluten-free oats if you have a gluten allergy. I haven’t made these muffins with any other flour, but I believe they would also turn out great with buckwheat flour, which would even make the recipe grain-free. Feel free to experiment, and please report back to let me know how the grain-free version turned out.
Buttery Crumble Without Butter!
Most regular crumble recipes contain butter, sugar, and all-purpose flour which isn’t very creative in my opinion, and also not healthy! But I have good news for you because you can make the streusel (crumble) for these vegan apple muffins without butter!
I used a combination of oat flour, tapioca flour, ground shredded unsweetened coconut, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a little coconut oil. Simply mix everything together in a bowl with a fork, and ready is your vegan crumble without butter! It still tastes buttery and delicious, and it’s healthier than regular streusel.
Sugar-Free Muffin Glaze
I topped these apple streusel muffins with a sugar-free glaze, made from ground Erythritol and plant-based milk. Simply mix these two ingredients together in a small bowl and ready is your icing!
Is Erythritol a healthier alternative to regular sugar? I will copy and paste what I wrote about it in my Vegan Carrot Cake blog post:
Erythritol is a sugar substitute that looks and tastes almost as sweet as regular sugar, yet has basically zero calories. Erythritol naturally occurs in some fruits and fermented foods. It’s important however that you buy a brand which contains 100% pure Erythritol and which is furthermore GMO-free.
Erythritol is relatively safe to consume, but since it’s a sugar alcohol it may cause digestive issues in some people, especially if eaten in high amounts. I never experienced any digestive issues though and I use a GMO-free brand with a USDA Organic label.
If you don’t mind regular sugar you can use that instead of Erythritol, but in my opinion, sugar can cause more harm (blood sugar spike, tooth decay) than Erythritol.
Can I Freeze These Vegan Apple Muffins?
Absolutely! Place them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature (or overnight in the fridge). Reheat them in the oven for a couple of minutes as soon as you want to eat them. These healthy apple muffins are perfect for busy mornings or meal prep!
But you could also store leftovers (if there are any!) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Helpful Recipe Notes
- Oat Flour: To make your own oat flour, simply process oats in a blender or electric coffee/spice grinder until the flour has a fine consistency.
- Sweetener: You can use organic sugar, brown sugar, Erythritol, Xylitol (birch sugar), coconut sugar, etc.
- Shredded Coconut: You can use ground nuts (e.g. finely ground almonds/almond flour) instead of shredded unsweetened coconut.
- Dairy-Free Milk: You can use any dairy-free milk in this recipe. The higher the fat content, the better the muffins will taste. I used canned coconut milk. If using boxed milk (e.g. almond milk, or oat milk) I would recommend adding 2 tbsp of oil to the batter.
- Aquafaba: It’s the liquid that is in each can of chickpeas. It acts as an egg replacement, but you could use applesauce instead.
More Tips:
- Double the batch and keep some muffins in the freezer.
- For a grain-free version, you can experiment with buckwheat flour.
- Or use regular flour or spelt flour instead of oat flour, if you aren’t gluten-free!
- Add even more cinnamon if you love apple cinnamon muffins.
- Want to make apple pie cupcakes? Simply add the apples into the muffin batter, stir with a spoon, and fill the muffin mold with the batter, but skip the topping. Bake the muffins in the oven, let cool, and top with your favorite vegan buttercream frosting!
Should you try out these vegan apple streusel muffins, please leave a comment and rating below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan #elavegan because I would love to see how they turned out!
Other Vegan Muffin Recipes And Apple Recipes You Might Like:
- Vegan Chocolate Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Crepes
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Apple Pie With Streusel
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake
- Easy Apple Strudel
Vegan Apple Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) oats ground into flour (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sweetener of choice
- 2/3 cup (56 g) shredded unsweetened coconut ground into flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 Pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) plant-based milk
- 3 tbsp aquafaba (chickpea brine)
- 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) apples chopped into small pieces
Crumble/Streusel:
- 1/3 cup (30 g) shredded unsweetened coconut ground into flour
- 1/3 cup (30 g) oat flour (gluten-free if needed)
- 3 tbsp (23 g) tapioca flour
- 1 tbsp (14 g) coconut oil melted or vegan butter
- 3/4 tbsp (15 g) maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing/Glaze:
- 1/2 cup (60 g) Erythritol (powdered) or powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp plant-based milk
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.I recommend using a kitchen scale for this recipe.
- Process oats and shredded unsweetened coconut (separately) in a coffee/spice grinder or in a blender.
- For the crumble/streusel topping: Simply mix all crumble/streusel ingredients in a small bowl with a fork. Set aside.
- Next, peel and chop 1-2 apples (for this recipe you will need 1 1/2 cups of small apple pieces).
- Now make "vegan buttermilk" by mixing the plant-based milk with vinegar and aquafaba (chickpea brine). If you don't have a can of chickpeas at home, you can use applesauce instead. Set aside.
- Line a muffin tin with liners or grease the inside of each cup with coconut oil (or use a silicone muffin mold as I did) and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a bowl or food processor mix/process the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk/stir/process until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the muffin mold (only 2/3 full). Then add about 1 tbsp of small apple pieces on top. Carefully press the apples into the batter and top with the streusel.
- Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (can still be crumbly but not wet!).
- Let the muffins cool completely.
- Meanwhile, you can make the icing by simply mixing the two ingredients in a small bowl until you have a runny glaze.
- Drizzle the icing on top of each muffin and enjoy your delicious apple streusel muffins!
Notes
- Oat flour: To make your own oat flour, simply process oats (regular or gluten-free) in a blender or electric coffee/spice grinder.
- You can try using buckwheat flour for a grain-free version. Also, regular flour or spelt flour (for a non-gluten-free version) should work in this recipe (I haven't tried it myself, though).
- Granulated sweetener: You can use brown sugar, Erythritol, Xylitol (birch sugar), coconut sugar, etc.
- Coconut: You can use ground nuts (e.g. finely ground almonds/almond flour) instead of shredded unsweetened coconut.
- Milk: I used canned coconut milk. You can use any other dairy-free milk in this recipe. The higher the fat content, the better the muffins will taste.
- Aquafaba is the liquid that is in each can of chickpeas. It's an egg replacer, but you could use the same amount of applesauce instead.
- Don't forget to check out my other muffin recipes, like these Sweet Potato Muffins and these Vegan Chocolate Muffins.
- The recipe makes 8-9 muffins. Nutrition facts are for one muffin made with coconut sugar and Erythritol (for the icing).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Hi Ela,
These looked sensational but mine didn’t work. I don’t know if it’s because I substituted the desicated coconut with coconut flour (I had some so thought this would work). The batter was so dry even after adding the wet ingredients. Do you think so?
I also cooked the apples a little before to make them soft…which the recipe doesn’t say to do. Still a little hard as I thought they would continue to soften in the oven. What’s your recommendation?
Unfortunately didn’t work for me this time but I will try again. Just want to ensure they turn out this time!! Lol thanks in advance …
P.s. I also used some natural icing as the sweetener in the muffins. Super fine, not granulated. Maybe this also contributed to the dryness?! Also I didn’t have aquafaba so used apple sauce.
Hi Keren, you can NEVER replace desiccated coconut with coconut flour. Coconut flour can only be used in very few recipes and only if the recipe was specifically tailored for it.
Desiccated coconut contains over 50% fat. Coconut flour is mainly fiber and very absorbent. No wonder this was a complete fail. I hope you’ll follow the recipe next time.
The applesauce should work fine. 🙂
Super excited to make these! Do these need to be kept in the fridge or will they stay good on the counter for a day or two after baked?
Hi Katie, you can keep them covered on the counter for 1-2 days. 🙂
Hooray!! Thank you!
You are very welcome! 🙂
I often see recipes with added vinegar in them. I cannot have this, is it a critical ingredient? Thank you!
Hi Blair, it will just make the baked goods a little fluffier, if used in combination with baking soda. But it’s ok to skip it or use lemon juice instead. 🙂
Just made the apple muffins, incredible good!!! Love the recipe, love your site , the explanations, video , nutrition info , honesty, the best!!! I’m going to make more of your recipes , I’m a fan!!!!
Aww, that’s awesome, Andrea! I am so glad you like them. 🙂
I cant copy de recipe in google translate anymore :(. Im from ecuador.
Hello Maria, I am sorry but so many other websites copied and stole my recipes and posted them as their own! However, you can copy the URL of the post to Google Translate and it will translate the whole blog post, including the recipe once you scroll down. You can do that with all different posts and links.
Click on this link: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=https://elavegan.com/apple-crumble-muffins/
I hope this helps! 🙂
Ela, I have both coconut and oat flour. How much would I have to add of them?
Obviously it’s going to be less. I just don’t know how much less?
Hi Magda, it’s 150 grams oat flour as stated in the recipe. Do not use coconut flour, it’s not the same as shredded unsweetened coconut! You can use almond flour instead. 🙂
It’s an amazing dish. It’s like having apple and an muffin at the same time!
I am so glad you liked the recipe, Diana. 🙂
If I use applesauce in place of the aquafaba, how much do I use? Also, is there something else I can use besides the tapioca flour for the crumble topping?
3 tbsp of applesauce. You can use cornstarch.
oh wonderful. Thank you! xo
Can’t we see the video for this recipe?
Can I use flax egg for aquafaba replacement?
It should work, I didn’t try it out though. 🙂
Amazing and easy recipe! Thanks
So happy you liked the recipe, Marcela. Thanks! 🙂
Hi, Ela,
These look absolutely amazing, but I’m trying to get off the ‘granulated sugar’-train and onto the healthier ‘datepaste’ one. So I was wondering if you know if I can sub the sugar for date paste? Or will it ruin the texture/taste. And if I can would you have any idea on a ratio?
Love your recipes and website!
Hi! You could definitely use date sugar but I have no idea if date paste would work because I haven’t tried it out. If you want to experiment, I would suggest using less plant-based milk otherwise the batter will be too thin. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
Hi!
I’m in love with all your recipes!! ??
I’m not a big fan of cardamom, can you recommend me another spice that I can use instead of that please?
Would you not make a video for this recipe? ‘Cause that would be amazing!! ?✌?
Thanks a million
You can use allspice instead of cardamom. It’s different but would still taste great! ?
Love Apple crumble muffins ? they look so yummy ! ?
Apple crumble is simply amazing, isn’t it! So glad you love it too. 🙂
How delicious ela! Love the crumble topping!
Thank you, Jess! So glad you like them. 🙂
Hi Ela,
do you also put the recipe online in german?
all the best Nicole
Hallo Nicole, schau mal hier: https://elavegan.com/de/apfel-streusel-muffins/
LG, Ela 🙂
These are seriously amazing! The crumble is outstanding and I was surprised at how easy they were to make. Thanks so much and I can’t wait to share them with my non-vegan friends!
Yay! I am so glad you liked the recipe. Thanks a lot for your amazing feedback, Julia! 🙂
Ela, you have seriously out-done yourself here with recipe creativity ! I have never felt like I made a crumble that is buttery without butter and just looking at your picture, this crumble is the real deal! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Dee! I hope you will give them a try. 🙂