Easy & Healthy Applesauce Muffins (Incredibly Moist!)

These incredibly moist and flavorful applesauce muffins are packed with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and oats. They offer a cozy, sweet bite that feels both comforting and satisfying, like a warm hug in muffin form. I love how simple they are to whip up using pantry staples, making them perfect for a quick breakfast or snack any day of the week.

When I need a quick baking project that feels both easy and genuinely good for you, muffins are always my answer. Whether it’s banana bread muffins, hearty bran muffins, or these wonderful apple cinnamon oatmeal cups, they offer a simple way to get delicious, portion-controlled treats without a lot of fuss. The batter comes together easily, and you can enjoy them warm from the oven, which is always a plus especially if you have hungry people waiting.

These applesauce muffins quickly earned a spot among my favorites, and I have a feeling you’ll find yourself reaching for this recipe again and again too.

Why You’ll Absolutely Love Making These Applesauce Muffins:

• The recipe is straightforward and quick to prepare.
• These muffins are wonderfully satisfying, soft, and moist inside.
• You won’t need a stand or hand mixer here.
• They call for convenient, common ingredients you likely have around.
• They are wholesome and healthful, much like my favorite healthy apple muffins.
• The recipe uses no refined sugar.
• It is dairy free if you opt for a dairy free milk variety.
• You can easily add other ingredients like raisins, nuts, or chopped apples for extra texture and flavor.

If you are in the mood for something a bit more decadent and rich, perhaps these apple cinnamon streusel muffins would be just the thing.

Developing this recipe for whole wheat applesauce muffins was quite the journey to finding simple perfection. What started as an attempt to adapt a totally different muffin base turned into a bit of a sticky, less-than-flavorful situation. Trying to force applesauce into a blueberry oatmeal muffin batter just didn’t work out the way I hoped. That original recipe is great on its own, and I realized it’s best to just let it be.

So, I shifted gears and decided to use my whole wheat banana walnut muffins as a new starting point instead. That batter already includes oats stirred in, making it less of a dedicated oatmeal muffin and more of a standard muffin with some added oat goodness, if that makes sense. I swapped the mashed banana for applesauce, included a bit more oats, and slightly adjusted the leavening. It turned out beautifully. Honestly, I think I might even prefer these applesauce muffins because I don’t always have perfectly ripe bananas sitting on my counter. Using applesauce just feels incredibly convenient.

Key Ingredients That Make These Whole Wheat Applesauce Muffins Shine:

• Applesauce This is the star ingredient providing incredible moisture and a subtle fruity sweetness. It is best to use unsweetened applesauce here. If you only have sweetened, you can absolutely use it. Just be mindful that you may want to slightly reduce the amount of maple syrup called for in the recipe to keep them from being overly sweet. You can find more about this in the notes below.
• Melted Coconut Oil Adding some fat is crucial for a tender, moist crumb. Without it, baked goods can turn out dry or even rubbery. I really like using melted coconut oil, similar to how I use it in my healthier chocolate banana muffins, but you can easily substitute vegetable oil or melted butter if you prefer.
• Maple Syrup This recipe avoids refined sugar entirely, relying on pure maple syrup for sweetness. The amount used results in muffins that aren’t overly sweet, letting the natural applesauce flavor come through. Maple syrup’s warm notes pair beautifully with apples and cinnamon. You could use honey instead, but it will alter the flavor profile slightly.
• Whole Wheat Flour These muffins get their hearty texture and whole-grain goodness from using all whole wheat flour. If you prefer, you can easily swap this out for all purpose flour or white whole wheat flour. A mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour also works well, similar to how I make peanut butter banana muffins. Please note that I have not tested this recipe with gluten free flour blends. If you happen to have leftover whole wheat flour from baking things like English muffins, this is a fantastic way to use it up.
• Oats Old fashioned rolled oats contribute to the texture and wholesome nature of these muffins. You can use either whole oats or quick oats in this recipe. Unlike some other recipes, there is no need to pre soak the oats before stirring them into the batter. If you want to leave the oats out entirely, you can do that too. I recommend adding a few extra tablespoons of flour to the dry ingredients if you omit the oats, just to help balance the moisture.
• Add Ins Just like with zucchini muffins, this muffin batter is nice and thick, making it perfect for stirring in your favorite additions. Beyond the classic raisins, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts work wonderfully. Depending on how sweet the add in is, using about 3/4 cup to 1 cup total is a good starting point. You could also stir in about 1 and 1/2 cups of finely chopped fresh apples, roughly equivalent to two medium apples like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Gala. We especially love adding raisins because they bring to mind nostalgic bran raisin muffins, which use wheat bran, an ingredient I don’t always have on hand.
• Other Essentials You will also need ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, two large eggs, milk (dairy or non-dairy), and pure vanilla extract.
• Optional Topping For a little extra visual appeal and a touch of texture, you can sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a little extra oats and/or coarse sugar before baking. It’s a simple step that adds a nice touch, like I often do with pumpkin muffins.

Sometimes, in process photos, melted coconut oil might look a bit like cloudy water if it hasn’t been fully melted or if some has started to solidify upon contact with cooler air or ingredients. Rest assured, for this recipe, you want it fully melted and liquid before adding it to the wet ingredients.

The best type of applesauce to use for baking is typically unsweetened. You can use either homemade or store bought. The consistency of the applesauce, whether it is thick, thin, smooth, or chunky, doesn’t seem to impact the final texture of these muffins. If your applesauce already has cinnamon added, that is perfectly fine. You might consider slightly reducing the amount of cinnamon called for in the recipe if you prefer a milder spice flavor.

My best tip for guaranteed success with this recipe is to make sure you properly grease your muffin liners before filling them with batter, or generously grease the cups of your 12 count muffin pan if you are not using liners. This batter is quite moist and can sometimes stick to paper liners, but a little spray helps them release much more easily after baking. Once the muffins cool completely, they tend to stick far less.

When you mix the batter, it will be thick and scoopable, easily portioned into the prepared muffin cups. You’ll see the oats and whatever mix-ins you chose distributed throughout.

Freshly baked in the pan, these whole wheat applesauce muffins will have beautifully domed tops, especially thanks to a specific baking technique.

Pulled from the oven, these muffins look golden and inviting. You might spot the raisins peeking out, or perhaps the optional oat and sugar topping adding a slight sparkle and texture. They are incredibly good warm.

How to Prepare These Delicious Applesauce Muffins

Getting these delightful applesauce muffins into the oven is straightforward. Just follow these simple steps to ensure perfectly moist and flavorful results every time.

1. Start by preparing your oven and muffin pan. Preheat your oven to a relatively high temperature, 425°F (218°C). Then, take out a standard muffin pan that holds 12 muffins. You can either spray the inside of each cup with nonstick cooking spray or place paper or foil liners into the cups. If you are using paper liners, I strongly recommend giving the inside of each liner a quick spray with cooking spray too, as these moist muffins can sometimes stick to paper when they are warm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, measure out your dry ingredients. Add the whole wheat flour, old fashioned rolled oats, ground cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Use a whisk to gently combine all these ingredients together until they are evenly distributed. Set this bowl aside for a moment.
3. Now, grab a separate medium sized bowl for the wet ingredients. Pour in the unsweetened applesauce, crack in the two large eggs, add the melted coconut oil (or your chosen fat), the pure maple syrup, milk, and the pure vanilla extract. Take your whisk again and beat these ingredients together thoroughly until everything is smooth and completely combined.
4. It is time to bring the wet and dry ingredients together. Pour the mixture from the medium bowl containing the wet ingredients directly into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir gently just a few times to start the combining process. Then, scatter the raisins evenly over the batter in the bowl.
5. Carefully fold all the ingredients together using a spatula or spoon. Mix just until everything is combined. Be very careful not to overmix the batter. You want to stop mixing as soon as you no longer see any dry pockets of flour. A few lumps are perfectly fine and actually preferred for tender muffins.
6. Distribute the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. For nice, tall muffin tops that dome beautifully, fill each cup or liner all the way up to the rim. This recipe makes exactly enough for 12 generous muffins. If you like, sprinkle the tops of the filled muffin cups with a little extra oats or some coarse sugar now before they go into the oven.
7. Place the muffin pan into your preheated 425°F oven. Bake the muffins at this high temperature for precisely 5 minutes. Do not open the oven door during this initial phase.
8. After the initial 5 minutes at 425°F, and without opening the oven door or removing the muffins from the oven, reduce the oven temperature down to 350°F (177°C). Continue baking the muffins for an additional 16 to 17 minutes at this lower temperature. The muffins are finished baking when a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, or perhaps with a few moist crumbs attached, but no wet batter. The total baking time should be about 21 to 22 minutes. If you are making mini muffins, bake them at a constant 350°F (177°C) for a shorter time, typically 11 to 13 minutes.
9. Once baked, remove the pan from the oven. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. This short cooling time in the pan helps them set slightly before you attempt to move them. Then, carefully transfer the warm muffins from the pan to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Or, if you just cannot wait, feel free to enjoy one warm right away.

Frequently Asked Questions About Applesauce Muffins

Here are some common questions people ask about making these delicious applesauce muffins.

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