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These healthy Applesauce Muffins are delicious, freezer friendly, and the perfect filling snack or breakfast. They're made with whole grain oats, unsweetened applesauce, and whole wheat flour.
Looking for more muffin recipes? Try these Cranberry Orange Muffins, Carrot Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, or Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins.
Why I love this recipe:
- Healthy – These applesauce muffins are less than 150 calories each and made with whole grains and low sugar, so you can feel good about feeding them to your family.
- Freezer Friendly – I love to make a big batch of these and put them in the freezer. We use them for school lunches, snacks at the pool or anytime.
- Delicious – They have the same delicious taste and perfect texture of bakery muffins, so no one can tell they're “healthier”.
Ingredients Needed:
How to make Applesauce Muffins:
Make Batter: In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar.
Add Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cranberries or raisins. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir just until combined.
Bake: Spoon batter evenly into the muffin cups then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't over-bake or the muffins will be dry.
Enjoy or Freeze: Remove to a cooling rack then cool oatmeal applesauce muffins completely before freezing.
Storage and Freezing Instructions:
To Store: Keep at room temperature, in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: Allow to cool completely then place in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Healthy Snacks:
- Protein Bars
- Granola Bites
- Banana Oat Muffins
- No Bake Granola Bars
- Applesauce
- Easy Healthy Granola
- Charcuterie Board
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie
- Instant Pot Yogurt
- Chocolate Overnight Oats
Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 Tablespoons butter, , melted (or coconut oil)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar.
- Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cranberries or raisins or chocolate chips.
- Combine: Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir just until combined.
- Bake: Divide batter evenly between muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't over-bake or the muffins will be dry. Remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Original recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.
I originally shared this recipe December 2015. Updated July 2019 and January 2024.
Love these muffins, they are a staple in our household. Want to make them for a friend who is gluten free though— Can I sub almond flour for the whole wheat flour to make them gluten free?
I am gluten-free and substituted with 1:1 gluten-free flour. They were perfect.
My go-to breakfast muffin recipe now. I used maple syrup for the sweetener, so I cut back just a tad on the applesauce. I probably didn’t need to because the first batch was a little dry, so the second time I let the wet mixture sit at room temp for about an hour to allow the oats to soften. Then I added the melted coconut oil. Much better! I added walnut pieces also.
Hi Lauren!
Just found your site. Can I use grape seed oil instead of butter in this recipe and would I use 1 T of the oil to 1 Tablespoon butter? Many thanks!
Absolutely! You can definitely use grapeseed oil as a substitute for butter in the applesauce muffins recipe. Grapeseed oil is a great option if you’re looking for a lighter alternative with a neutral flavor. And yes, the substitution ratio is 1:1, so you would use 4 tablespoons of grapeseed oil in place of the 4 tablespoons of butter called for in the recipe. This swap should work seamlessly without affecting the overall texture or taste of your muffins. Enjoy baking, and I hope you love how they turn out!
Great recipe! I made a couple of small changes…used Splenda instead of sugar, pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, no sugar added chocolate chips. Made a double batch, used a 1/3 cup scoop and got 22 perfectly sized muffins. Because they were a little bigger, they took 26 minutes. Next time I want to try using some blueberries that I have in the freezer!
Just made this for the first time, and my husband and I both loved them . . . I think this definitely deserves a 5-star rating. Per your suggestions, I used coconut oil vs. the butter, used dark brown sugar instead of the plain sugar, and threw in a cup of Craisins and a cup of chopped pecans. I will make these muffins again, for sure.
Realised after they were in the oven that I completely forgot to add the butter/oil – and they were still delicious! Great recipe.
Great (and easy) recipe. Super customizable as others have mentioned — I added some unsweetened coconut which worked well. To the comments that muffins are too wet, they set up after cooling. Fabulous way to use some of my frozen applesauce from our orchard. Yumm, thank you!
Delicious recipe…I have made these a few times already and because I don’t like my muffins too sweet I used a 1/4 cup of coconut sugar instead of 1/2 cup white sugar. Since the smell of Fall is in the air I added extra cinnamon and threw in some nutmeg and walnut bits. The next time I make them I’m going to add some pumpkin purée to the mix!
These were so good. I accidentally overbaked them a bit but they were still super good and moist. Will be making these again.
This recipe is wonderful and so versatile! I’ve made it exactly as written. I’ve made it with a flax egg and almond milk to make it vegan. I’ve also added a scoop of protein powder to it to make the muffins more filling. The muffins are such a great grab and go breakfast! My one word of warning is that they are very moist so be sure to keep them in an airtight container in the fridge if you plan to eat them throughout the week. They’ll Ho mouldy fairly quickly otherwise.