Easy mini gluten-free vegan apple muffins filled with diced apples and warm fall spices. These tiny, tasty two-bite treats are great for your kids' school snacks or for snacking on at home!
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This time of year is always bittersweet for me, because it's the end of summer, my absolute favourite time of year.
Gone are long hot days, eating BBQ out in the backyard, berry recipes, less rigid schedules, and lots of sun.
But at the same time, it's sweet because fall brings with it recipes that contain warm, flavourful spices, filling comfort meals, cozy sweaters, hot chocolate, and covering up with warm fuzzy blankets while watching TV on the couch.
Can you relate to any of this?
And of course, fall is famous for apple recipes, like these easy gluten free apple muffins! These little muffins are filled with those familiar warm fall spices and loads of tiny apple pieces. Plus, this recipe, like all of my others, is egg free, dairy-free, and gluten free!
Are you new to vegan gluten-free baking? If so, be sure to read all of my vegan gluten-free baking tips!
How to Prepare the Apples
You'll first peel and core the apple, then dice it up very small like in the picture below.
You don't want the apple pieces to be too big because these muffins don't bake for very long, so you want them to be small enough to cook through.
How to Make Them
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this gluten free apple muffins recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)
You'll start out by whisking the dry ingredients together in one bowl, then mixing the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix until combined, and then fold in the chopped apples.
The next step is to scoop the batter for your vegan gluten free apple muffins into a mini muffin pan and then bake them.
(FYI, this is the mini muffin pan I have and love and this is the scoop I'm using in the picture below, it makes portioning out the muffin batter so much quicker and easier!)
Can They Be Made In a Regular Muffin Pan?
If you don't have a mini muffin pan or you just want larger muffins, you can definitely use a regular pan. You will need to bake them for longer, though.
Bump the baking time up to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the largest muffin comes out clean.
The Cinnamon Sugar Topping
Once the muffins come out of the oven, it's almost time for the fun part: coating the tops with cinnamon sugar!
Your muffins should be fully cooled before moving on to this next step. Once they've cooled, you'll need to dip or brush each muffin top lightly, one by one, with melted coconut oil, then dip each muffin top into the cinnamon sugar mix.
After that step, your apple cinnamon muffins will be done and ready for devouring!
Expert Tips for Success
I have a pumpkin spice mini muffin recipe that I've made countless times and they're always perfect, but a couple readers wrote to me saying they had problems with the batter being too thick.
I helped them troubleshoot and in one case, the incorrect amount of liquid was used, and in another, coconut flour was used, which is a big no-no.
I wrote up some tips for that post and I'll repeat them here (since the recipes are similar) to ensure you have recipe success with your own mini vegan apple muffins:
- Please do not substitute the gluten-free flour blend I recommend with coconut flour. Coconut flour is not an easy flour to work with and this recipe will not work if you use it. To make this particular recipe gluten-free, a gluten-free flour blend must be used. Coconut flour (or any other single gluten-free flour like almond or oat etc.) will NOT work with this recipe without making major modifications.
- The only gf flour blend I’ve tested this recipe with is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour. <– Click that link to see what it looks like. It's the one with the red label, not the blue label. You can buy it through that Amazon link or look for it at your grocery store. If this specific flour is not used, your results may not be the same as mine.
- Note that the sugar and applesauce call for ¼ cup PLUS 1 tablespoon. Please don’t miss that extra 1 tablespoon of each ingredient.
- Be sure that all ingredients are measured correctly. I recommend weighing your flour.
- Before starting, read through my vegan gluten free baking tips.
If you follow all of those tips and make the recipe as it is written, you'll have 24 of the most delicious gluten free apple muffins you've ever tried!
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If You Make This Recipe
Let me know by leaving a comment and star rating it in the comments below or share a picture on Instagram and tag me so I can see!
If You Like This Recipe
You may also like these:
- Old Fashioned Cake Doughnut Mini Muffins
- Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- How to Make Slow Cooker Applesauce
- Vegan Gluten-Free Apple Upside Down Cake
- Vegan Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Waffles
- Apple Spice Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
- Vegan Apple Baked Oatmeal
You can help others to find this recipe by pinning it to one of your food boards on Pinterest. Click here to pin it now!
Mini Gluten Free Vegan Apple Muffins
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup (60ml) melted coconut oil
- ½ cup (120ml) unsweetened dairy-free milk
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (210g) gluten free flour blend **see important note about flour below**
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (63g) organic cane sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾ cup (85g) diced apples (1 small apple, see note about apples below)
For cinnamon sugar coating
- 2 ½ tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup (50g) organic cane sugar or fine granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C).
- Grease mini muffin pan (x 24), if needed.
- In a small bowl, mix the melted coconut oil, non-dairy milk, applesauce, and vanilla together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
- Fold diced apples into the batter.
- Divide batter evenly between the 24 muffins cups.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes (until a tester comes out clean from the largest muffin).
- While muffins are baking, add melted coconut oil to a small bowl and mix the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl
- Remove muffins from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan.
- Remove muffins from the muffin pan and place them on a cooling rack.
- After fully cooled, dip 1 muffin at a time into the oil first. Make sure the entire top is coated with the oil and shake off any excess oil. Dip the same muffin into the sugar/cinnamon mixture, ensuring that the entire top is covered with the cinnamon sugar mix. Place muffin back onto the cooling rack.
- Repeat with entire batch until done.
Video:
Recipe Notes:
- Please read the section called "Expert Tips for Success" above before making this recipe to ensure success.
- It's important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will always vary if you substitute. I have never used any other flour to make this recipe (other than Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (the one in with the red label in that link, not the blue label!), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if you substitute with a different blend.
- This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour, it must be a blend, preferably the one I link to above for the best results.
- I use a Gala apple for this recipe, but any firm, sweet apple will work. Be sure that your apples are diced very small, see the image above for reference.
- Have a look at the batter in this similar recipe to get an idea of what the consistency should be or watch the video in this post. If you use the flour recommended in this recipe and follow the recipe exactly as it is written, your recipe will work perfectly.
- Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. The longer they sit, the more the cinnamon sugar on top will melt, so it's best to eat them as quickly as possible.
- Nutrition info listed below is for 1 of 24 mini muffins and is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here for more info on how nutrition info on this website is determined.
Carolyn says
Can I use this batter to make an apple bread rather than muffins?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Carolyn, I have not tried that but I do have an apple bread recipe you may want to try instead, you can find it here: https://delightfuladventures.com/vegan-apple-bread/ Let me know if you have any questions!
Cassie says
These are perfect! I was looking for a muffin recipe that was dairy free and egg free. We recently found out my toddler is allergic to dairy. Since we didn’t need the gluten free part, I used regular all purpose flour to save some money (I had no idea gluten free flour was so expensive!). I used almond milk as well. The batter came out a little thick so I just added a little extra splash of almond milk to get a better consistency. They turned out perfectly delicious and I will definitely be making them again. (We love using honey crisp apples in ours!)
Gwen Leron says
I'm glad you like the recipe, Cassie! All purpose flour will definitely give you a thicker batter than the gluten-free flour I use for this recipe, I'm glad you were able to fix it. Enjoy the muffins!
Jen says
DELICIOUS! The flavor of these muffins is outstanding, a definite favorite for me, for sure! I followed the recipe to a 'T', but like many of the comments my batter ended up being fairly thick. I decided to bake them anyway and I was so glad I did. While they look less like muffins and more like muffin cup shaped blobs, they did bake perfectly inside and are really delicious. I will definitely be making them again, playing with the recipe to thin the batter out a little. Even if that doesn't work, they are so good that I'm fine with thicker blob shaped muffins because flavor is all that matters to me!
Gwen Leron says
I'm so glad you enjoyed them, Jen! The batter should not be overly thick like that, it's actually more on the runny side (there is a video on the page that shows me making them, if you are able, have a look so you can see how it should be). Did you use the Bob's Red Mill flour in the RED bag and not the blue bag? These two flours are quite different and will produce different results. Either way, I'm glad the muffins were enjoyed! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to get in touch 🙂
Alicia says
I am having a similar experience and yes also use the current flour. Could be the altitude I’m cooking at and I think I should have added more milk. Also definitely going to take at least 15 minutes to bake.
Gwen Leron says
Hi Alicia, altitude will definitely play a role in the success of baked recipes. I don't have experience baking at high altitudes, so I can't guide you on what changes to make but there are lots of resources online. Here is one: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Gabriella says
Hello can I use brown sugar instead of regular sugar ?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Gabriella, yes, you can use brown sugar in the batter, the muffins will just be darker in colour. Let me know if you have any further questions!
Michelle says
Can I use coconut sugar instead of regular sugar?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Michelle, yes, you can use coconut sugar. The muffins will turn out darker than the ones you see here in the pictures, that will be the only difference. For the tops of the muffins, you can also use coconut sugar, but I recommend running the sugar through small grinder (like a clean coffee grinder) to grind it down a bit so it sticks better since coconut sugar grains are larger than regular sugar. Let me know if you have any more questions, I hope you love them!
Kate says
Hi!
For the unsweetened non-dairy milk, would unsweetened almond milk work?
Also, thanks for your tips on the different flours and flour blends!
Gwen Leron says
Hi Kate! Yes, unsweetened almond milk is perfect, it will work fine. I hope you love the muffins!
Cathy Lee says
These are so delicious! They turned out fluffy and just the right amount if sweet!! Wonderful recipe!
Gwen Leron says
Thank you, Cathy Lee! I'm so happy to know you like them. Enjoy the rest! 🙂
Hannah says
I have not tried these but I am looking forward to them! Can I freeze them and eat later? Hoping to bring them up north but need to make them ahead of time.
Gwen Leron says
Hi Hannah, they are best when enjoyed as close to when they are made, but they can be frozen, if needed. If freezing, skip steps 12 and 13, wrap the fully cooled muffins tightly and freeze. When you're ready for them, thaw and then do steps 12 and 13. I hope this help, please let me know if you have any further questions. Enjoy!
Victoria says
What would you recommend to replace the coconut oil? Have a little one with a coconut sensitivity.
Gwen Leron says
Hi Victoria, for the muffin batter, I would use any neutral flavoured vegetable oil in place of coconut oil such as safflower or sunflower. When dipping the tops, I would brush on some melted vegan butter. I hope this helps, let me know if I can help further. I hope your little one loves the muffins!
Tara says
Would applesauce work as a replacement for coconut oil? in the batter
Gwen Leron says
Hi Tara, I have not tried replacing the oil with applesauce so I can't say for sure what the result would be. I do think it would work, but the texture will be different than what you see in the pictures. If do decide to experiment and try it out, please let me know how they end up.
Liz says
I loved this recipe! First gluten-free desert I make and it was delightful. I used the King Arthur Gluten- Free Measure for Measure Flour, the consistency of the mix was similar to cookie dough but spongy and delicious.
Gwen Leron says
I'm glad to know you enjoyed them, Liz! The consistency isn't supposed to be thick like cookie dough, I suspect that's because of the flour you used, but I'm happy it all worked out in the end! 🙂 Enjoy the rest!
Kim Schooley says
I have to agree with Liz. When I made these according to recipe the dough was so thick that I knew there was no way it would work. I actually had to bump the milk to 1 cup, and added another 1/4 cup of applesauce and oil. The batter was still thick, but as expected for muffins. Taste was great though. Thanks.
Gwen Leron says
Hi Kim, I'm sorry you ran into trouble with the consistency of the batter but I'm happy you enjoyed the muffins. I am thinking that you may have used a different flour than the one recommended in the post. All gluten-free flours and blends react differently, they are not all equal. There is a video in the post, if you are able to watch it, you will see how the consistency of the batter should be, there should be no need to add anything extra. I'm happy to help troubleshoot further, any questions, please ask.
Linda says
These turned out soooo good!!
Gwen Leron says
Wonderful! So happy to hear that you like them, Linda. Enjoy!
Monica says
Where I live I cant get that flour, y have the bod red mills 1 to 1, and the king arthur measure for measure, which one would you reccomend me to use and what to look for in order to fix the batter if necessary?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Monica, I have no experience at all using the King Arthur flour blend since it's not available here in Canada, so I can't help with that one, unfortunately. For the Bob's 1 to 1, I haven't tried using that blend for this recipe, but the main thing I think that could possibly happen is that the muffins will come out a little on the dense side because of the xanthan gum contained in the flour blend. I have had other readers make it with other flours, but not that one yet, so I can't say for sure. I know this wasn't the most helpful response, but if you do try it, please let me know how it turns out, I'm very curious to know!
Kate says
I tried it with Trader Joe's gluten free flour and it worked great!
Gwen Leron says
Wonderful, Kate! Good to know that it works with this flour, too!
Katie says
Hi. If I want to use regular flour do you use the same amount? I tried the recipe but the batter came out very thick so I added more applesauce but the muffins still came out dry. Any tips?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Katie! All purpose wheat flour absorbs less liquid than the gluten-free flour I use, so that is the reason for the thick batter. To fix this, I would cut back on the amount of flour by about a 1/4 cup. If it's still on the thick side, add a little non-dairy milk to thin it out so it looks like the batter in the picture. There's also a video in the post that shows me making the muffins, so have a look at that so you can see the batter and get an idea of how the consistency should be. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
Leah says
The Bob's Red Mill flour you mention has instructions on the bag to add xanthan gum but you don't have that listed... Should I add it or not?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Leah, xanthan gum is not needed in this recipe, so don’t add it despite what the bag says. Let me know how things go, enjoy!
Karen Mason says
I tried this recipe with Bob's Red Mill Paleo (grain free) flour and they turned out ok. Seemed a little soft on the inside when baked, but I added more applesauce (2-3 tbsps) to make the batter less thick. I was experimenting hoping for the best. Still taste great and look nice. Oh, and I baked them an extra 8-10 minutes.
Gwen Leron says
Hi Karen! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your note. I'm pretty sure that the extra softness on the inside and the extra baking time has to do with the flour you used. The batter thickness you experienced is likely because that blend contains coconut flour. Any time coconut flour is used in a recipe, more moisture is always going to be needed because of how much liquid coconut flour absorbs (it's like a sponge!). I'm glad you tried the recipe and that the muffins look nice and taste great, despite the little bumps in the road 🙂
Patricia says
Would these be able to be made into regular size muffins along with baking them longer of course?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Patricia, Yes, they can be turned into regular sized muffins. Just bake them for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the largest muffin 🙂 Let me know how things go!