The best healthy applesauce muffins recipe

Posted: February 2, 2024 Last modified: November 7, 2024

I love to make healthy snacks. I always bake large batches and then freeze them so I can always grab something tasty when I get a craving. These applesauce muffins are always in my freezer. It’s a great recipe that is often used in this household.

You don’t need any sugar or butter. I just added a bit of oil to make really moist muffins. They are not hard to make, so add them to your collection of easy recipes!

Applesauce muffins without sugar

These muffins are sweetened with applesauce, so they have no added sugar. I always use (homemade) unsweetened applesauce for baking. I will share my recipe for homemade applesauce soon. Don’t have enough time to make it yourself? Store-bought applesauce works perfectly fine. If you want to keep them as healthy as possible, I would advice to buy the unsweetened kind.

Because there is no sugar in them, they are not very sweet in taste, which may take some getting used to if you have a sweet tooth. I got used to it quickly and everyone who tried it liked it very much.

Do you like sweet applesauce muffins? Then of course you can add some brown sugar to the batter. Coconut sugar is possible as well.

Baking applesauce muffins

This recipe makes 8 small muffins, perfect as a small treat or snack. I bake them in regular-size muffins cups. I love to use silicone muffin liners for this recipe, so they won’t stick.

Don’t want to make a small amount of muffins? You can easily double or even triple the ingredients and bake a large batch of healthy muffins.

How to store applesauce muffins

After baking these healthy muffins, place them on a wire rack and let them cool completely. Store them in an airtight container once they are on room temperature. On the kitchen counter, they will stay fresh for about 4-5 days. If it’s summer or you live in a warmer climate, it’s possible they stay fresh a little less longer.

You could also freeze your homemade applesauce muffins. You can keep them for up to 3 months in the freezer. Place some pieces of parchment paper between the muffins so they don’t stick to each other. This way it’s easy to grab one as a snack. Just let the muffin thaw on the counter for about an hour.

How to flavor the muffin batter

I love to make small changes to the original recipe and It almost never happens I make recipes exactly the same the second time. I will share some variations which I have tried with this recipe:

Add some spices for apple spice cupcakes. I really like to use my speculaas spice mix, add 2 teaspoons to the batter.
Do you like the taste of you muffins a bit fresher? Add some lemon juice! I added about 2 teaspoons once and it was really nice.
Apple and cinnamon is one of the best flavor combinations if you ask me, so often I add just some ground cinnamon. And if I have it on hand: sprinkle some cinnamon flavored pearl sugar on top. Believe me: cinnamon applesauce muffins are the best!

Can I make the muffins with whole wheat flour?

Of course, just substitute the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. No need for any further changes in the recipe.

Can I use this recipe to make applesauce cupcakes?

Yes you can! I bet they would be delicious with some cream cheese frosting on top. Moist cupcakes, creamy swirl on top, yum!

Can I add apple chunks?

Yes! I can confirm they taste amazing with the addition of small apple pieces.

Can I make an applesauce cake with this recipe?

Again: yes! It has to bake for a bit longer, start with 45-50 minutes and check after that if a cupcake tester comes out clean.

Can I leave out the sunflower oil?

You can’t just leave it out. But it is possible to replace the sunflower oil for coconut oil for example.

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4.88 from 8 votes

Applesauce muffins recipe without sugar

These applesauce muffins have no added sugar and make a perfect healthy snack. Now you can make them yourself.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Servings: servings

Ingredients

Metric | US Customary

150 grams all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
150 grams applesauce I use unsweetened applesauce
50 ml milk
1 egg M
30 ml sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, add the wet ingredients: applesauce, milk, egg, sunflower oil and vanilla extract. Make sure they are al on room temperature. Using a whisk, beat the ingredients together until you have a smooth mixture (you could use an electric mixer as well, mix on medium speed).
Then add the dry ingredients and combine with a spatula or wooden spoon until the flour is incorporated, it does not matter if there are still some lumps in the batter.
Divide the muffin batter into muffin or cupcake liners placed in a muffin tin. I made 8 small muffins, but you could make larger ones if you want.
Bake the muffins at 200℃/400℉ (convention oven) for about 15-18 minutes or until done.

Tips

Taste the batter and if it's not sweet enough, add some brown sugar or maple syrup to taste.

How to store

In an airtight container, they stay fresh 4-5 days at room temperature. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.

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