Healthy Apple Muffins

Enjoy apples and fall with these apple muffins. They are spiced with warm flavors and full of fresh apples. Plus, they are super moist and fluffy! You’d never tell that these are made with healthier ingredients like whole wheat flour! I love enjoying these for breakfast, snack, and even dessert! I wanted to photograph these when there was natural lighting, but by the next day when I went to photograph them, there was only 1 left!

What apples to use?

Apples are the star of this recipe! These muffins are filled with apples in three forms – diced apples, grated apples, and applesauce! The apples keep these muffins super moist and gives them so much flavor.

I recommend using classic baking apples like Braeburn, Cortland, Fuji, Gala, or Granny Smith. These apples are nice and firm, so they won’t go mushy in the oven. I also like baking with honeycrisps! If you don’t have any of these apples, just use what you have! The muffins will come out delicious anyways.

Why whole wheat flour?

I love baking with whole wheat flour because it’s nutritious and it tastes amazing! Whole wheat flour has more minerals, vitamins, and fiber than all purpose flour. Some studies have found that it reduces cholesterol and risk of heart disease. Personally, I love that it keeps me full for longer compared to refined flours.

I also love the flavor of whole wheat flour! It has a subtle rich and nutty flavor, which adds the perfect complexity to these muffins and other baked goods.

Tips and substitutions:

Try substituting up to 3/4 cups of flour with almond flour, if desired.

Greek yogurt can be substituted with buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt. This recipe works well with full fat all the way down to nonfat Greek yogurt.

Want to make pumpkin apple muffins? Substitute pumpkin puree for the applesauce.

For best results, use a box grater to grate the apples. If you are in a hurry, you can use a food processor, but be careful not to over process. You might end up with apple puree instead!

Room temperature ingredients help these muffins rise to their highest potential! If I’m in a hurry, I like to warm up the eggs by submerging them in a bowl of warm water.

If you liked these healthy apple muffins, you might also like these recipes…

• Healthier baked apple cider donuts
• Healthy pumpkin streusel muffins
• Airfryer apple fritters
• German apple pie

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Healthy Apple Muffins

These apple muffins are super easy to make and packed with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and fresh apples. They are the perfect autumn breakfast or snack!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time16 minutes mins

Total Time31 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: apple, easy, fall, healthy, muffins

Servings: 12 muffins

Author: Half the Sugar Baker

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour or whole wheat flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg and ginger optional
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 eggs room temperature
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt see notes for substitutes
• ¾ cup applesauce
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated apple (around 1 medium apple)
• 1 cup diced apple (around 1 medium apple) roughly 1/2 inch cubes
• ¼ cup raisins optional
• ¼ cup nuts, chopped if large optional (I used walnuts and pecans)
• Sugar for sprinkling on top optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners.
• In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and whisk well to combine.
• In a medium bowl, combine the oil and maple syrup and whisk together. Add the eggs and whisk well. Add the yogurt, applesauce and vanilla and whisk until well combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the grated and diced apples. Stir everything together with a spatula or spoon. Gently fold in the raisins and nuts, if using. The batter will seem pretty thick. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. If desired, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with sugar.
• Bake muffins for 5 minutes, then lower temperature to 375ºF. Bake for an additional 13-16 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• Transfer muffins to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe can also be made with just whole wheat flour or just all purpose flour.

Greek yogurt can be substituted with buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt.

Leftover muffins can be stored covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe adapted from Cookie and Kate