Delicious, moist, soft vegan applesauce muffins that are quick and easy to make. They’re made with simple ingredients and filled with flavour thanks to warm fall spices.
This easy vegan muffin recipe is perfect to make for breakfast, brunch, school lunches, and afternoon snacks. They’re dairy-free, egg-free, and can also be made refined sugar-free and gluten-free, plus, they freeze very well!
Autumn is the time of year when we pull out all the recipes that call for cozy, warm spices. Once you try it, this recipe for vegan applesauce muffins is one you'll definitely want to add to your yearly fall baking rotation.
(But don't reserve them for just the fall, make them all year!)
They're extra soft, fluffy, and filled with flavour. Plus, your home is going to smell quite nice when you bake them!
Let's get started with everything you need to know about this delicious snack you can have ready in a short amount of time, but before you go through all of the details, here are some other vegan muffins you may like:
Ingredients You'll Need
All of the ingredients you’ll need to make this easy recipe are listed below. Some can be substituted and some cannot.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes
Flour - This recipe was developed and tested to be just vegan or vegan AND gluten-free. This means you have two choices for the flour you use.
Use Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-free Flour Blend in the RED bag if you want to make vegan gluten-free applesauce muffins. If gluten is not an issue for you and you want to make the vegan-only version, you'll need to use all-purpose white flour.
I have not tried making this recipe with any type of flour other than these two, so if anything outside of these two is used, you may not end up with the same results.
NOTE: Measuring flour accurately for baking is essential if you want to get the best results. Read this article: "How to Measure Flour Correctly" before you start.
Unsweetened Applesauce - Make sure to use smooth, unsweetened, unflavoured applesauce so you are in full control of the texture, sweetness, and flavour of your muffins. Homemade applesauce can be used, but again, it must be unsweetened, unflavoured, and smooth.
Sugar – I tested with both coconut sugar and brown sugar, and both work perfectly, so use the type you have on hand. I have not tried making this recipe with liquid sweeteners (like pure maple syrup or agave) or sugar alternatives, so I am unsure how they would work.
Oil - This recipe is made without butter, instead, I use a neutral-flavoured vegetable oil, like safflower, or sunflower. Melted coconut oil can also be used, but if you do use it, make sure your other ingredients are at room temperature so it does not solidify when added to the recipe.
I have not tried to make this recipe with vegan butter and I have not tried to make them oil-free; the combination of the oil and applesauce give the muffins their extra soft and moist texture.
Flax Eggs – This recipe is made without eggs, so flax eggs are used as an egg replacer. If you cannot or do not have flax, chia eggs will also work to keep them eggless.
Spices – A mix of three spices gives the muffins their warm fall flavours, so they cannot be left out.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Make sure these ingredients are both fresh, they’re both essential for the muffins to rise properly and have the perfect texture.
Vanilla Extract and Salt - Both of these are important, they enhance the flavour of the muffins.
Raisins - If you love raisins, then you're going to agree that they're perfect in these muffins, but if you don't like them, not to worry, you can use something different like chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cranberries, dried currants, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
If you don't want to use an add-in, you can leave the muffins plain, they will just be a little smaller since each one will have less volume. You'll also need to take a minute or two off the baking time.
How to Make Them
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)
1. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.
2. Mix the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients to form a batter.
4. Add the raisins (or other add-in, see above) to the batter.
5. Stir in the raisins, take care not to over-mix the batter.
6. Divide the muffin batter into your prepared muffin pan. You can use either a spoon or an ice cream scoop to do this. I like using a scoop because it’s quicker and easier to divide the batter, this is the scoop I’m using in the picture below.
7. Bake.
8. Carefully remove the muffin tin from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before removing the muffins and placing them on a wire rack to cool.
Storing and Freezing
Store your leftover muffins for up to four days at room temperature, in an airtight container. As with all baked treats, they are best on the same day and the day after they are baked.
Freezing
To freeze, once thoroughly cooled, wrap them individually, place them in a container or freezer bag, and freeze for up to two months.
What's the Texture Like?
The texture is soft, moist, and it's a very fluffy muffin, BUT, to get this texture, you must follow the recipe exactly as it’s written. This applies to both versions of the recipe.
If you make any substitutions or changes, you risk your muffins not turning out as they should.
Tips for Success
- Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
- Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale (this is the one I have) and my weight measurements when making this recipe. Please read my article about how to measure flour correctly. This tip also applies to all other ingredients, make sure to measure them accurately to get the best results.
- Use the same flour I use. If you're making the vegan gluten-free version, remember that vegan gluten-free baking can be tricky because different flours and blends produce different results. The particular gf flour I use for this recipe works perfectly, so to duplicate that perfection, please use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (in the RED bag!). If you don't need your muffins to be gluten-free and you are making the vegan-only version, I have only tested with regular flour (white all-purpose).
- Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. These are important ingredients that make the muffins rise and become fluffy. If they are not fresh, your muffins will turn out dense and gummy.
- Use a trigger ice cream scoop to add the batter to the muffin pan. If you don’t have a scoop, you can use a tablespoon. Make sure that each muffin cup has roughly the same amount of batter so they are all the same size and finish baking at the same time.
- Don’t over-bake or your muffins will dry out.
- Read this post from top to bottom before you start. I’ve included many tips and tricks to get things right. Also, read through the actual recipe before getting started.
- Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.
If you love making muffins to snack on throughout the week, have a look through all of my vegan muffin recipes!
Recipe FAQ
Yes, but they will need a shorter baking time, bake them for 9-11 minutes.
The best applesauce is the type the recipe calls for but if it's not specified, use smooth, plain unflavoured applesauce and avoid blends (for example, apple strawberry, apple banana, etc.). Using this type of applesauce allows you to control the texture, flavour and sweetness of your recipe.
I have not tried making it into a cake but if it's a cake you crave, try out my vegan gluten-free applesauce cake. If you don't need the recipe to be gluten-free, you can replace the gluten-free flour in that recipe with all-purpose white flour, you'll find details about this in the recipe notes for the applesauce cake.
I have not tested that but I think it would work with a few small modifications, however, to avoid experimenting, I recommend making my vegan gluten-free apple bread which has been tested extensively and is a great recipe. If you don't need the recipe to be gluten-free, you can replace the gluten-free flour in that recipe with all-purpose white flour, you'll find details about this in the recipe notes for the apple bread.
Looking for something to sip on while you enjoy your muffin? How about one of these easy vegan drinks?
If You Make This Recipe...
Please let me know how you like this applesauce muffin recipe! Did you enjoy your muffins with a cup of coffee or tea? Bring them to a potluck? Pack them for school snacks?
Tell me all about it by leaving a star rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram and tag me, I'm @delightfuladventures.
If You Like This Recipe...
Then you may also like these other vegan apple recipes:
Vegan Applesauce Muffins
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 ¾ cups (245g) gluten free flour blend OR all-purpose white flour (if using all-purpose flour, use 1 ¾ cups (219g), **please see important notes about flour below**
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (185g) unsweetened applesauce
- ⅔ cup (100g) coconut sugar (or brown sugar 133g)
- ¼ cup (60ml) oil (see note below)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (65g) raisins (or add-in of your choice, see note below)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken for 10 minutes.
- Add muffin liners to your muffin pan or generously grease the inside of each cup with oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the applesauce, sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and flax eggs together.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined, don't over-mix. Fold in the raisins.
- Using a spoon or a large scoop, divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the largest muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the muffin pan for a few minutes and then remove and place them on a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes:
- Please read all of the info above and below before making this recipe.
- The cup amount for both types of flour is the same but the weights are different because they have different properties and densities. If you are baking by weight, please take note of each weight and weigh your flour correctly. The same applies to the sugar, same cup measurement for both options, but different weights.
- If you are making the vegan gluten-free version, 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 brand of flour to make this recipe (other than Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour (Amazon link) in the red bag, NOT the blue bag), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if you substitute with another gluten-free flour blend. This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour.
- Any type of neutral-flavoured oil can be used. If you use melted coconut oil, make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature so it doesn't harden when it's added to the recipe.
- You can plump up your raisins by soaking them in warm water, draining them, and patting them dry before adding them to the batter. Learn more about that method here.
- If you don't want to use raisins, try dried currants, chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans), dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds instead.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.
- To freeze, once they have thoroughly cooled, wrap them tightly, individually, so they're airtight, place them in a container or freezer bag, and freeze for up to two months.
- The nutrition info listed below is based on one muffin made as the recipe is written using gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, and raisins. The muffins made with all-purpose flour have a calorie count of 165 per muffin. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
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