Autumn is the season of baked goods, warming spices, and apples. In celebration of the change in equinox, let’s make these incredibly easy Autumn Applesauce Muffins! They are moist and tender, with gluten-free oats and lots of cinnamon. Top with your favorite nut, chocolate chips, or dried cranberries. These muffins can easily be made dairy-free and vegan, too!
Fall is in the air! The leaves are changing, apples are a-plenty, and pumpkin spice lattes are back at the coffee shop. This is the time of year where baking comes back into style; eating heartier foods is a must!
Now is the time to incorporate muffins back into your life, as beach season is over. Autumn Applesauce Muffins are the perfect simple recipe to kick off this event! They use gluten-free whole oats, applesauce (homemade or store-bought), brown sugar, gluten-free flour, butter, and other delicious ingredients. Make these for breakfast, snacks, a bake sale, or for your friends!
Baking with Applesauce
Applesauce is a common baking ingredient, commonly replacing eggs in vegan recipes. Applesauce acts as a binder, much like eggs, leading to a light and fluffy batter. These Autumn Applesauce Oat Muffins use both applesauce and egg, but you can omit the egg and use ¼ cup more applesauce for a vegan version. (You’ll also need to use vegan butter!) When simply using applesauce as an egg replacer, the flavor of the apple does not permeate the recipe.
This recipe is extremely applesauce-forward, using 1¼ cups total. This adds lightness and moisture to the muffins but also lends a delicate apple flavor that is warmed with a touch of cinnamon. If you have farm-fresh apples in the house, you can add some finely chopped apple directly into the muffin batter!
Ingredients in Autumn Applesauce Muffins
It only takes a few simple pantry ingredients to make these tender muffins:
- 1¼ cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1¼ cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup oat milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted, or vegan butter for plant-based
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1¼ cups 1:1 gluten-free baking flour (with xanthan gum)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup slivered almonds, for topping (or your favorite nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit)
How to Make Autumn Applesauce Muffins
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, add the applesauce, oats, oat milk, egg, vanilla, butter, and brown sugar. Whisk to combine.
Once combined, add the flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, fold the ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix!
Using a measuring spoon or cookie scoop, evenly distribute the batter between the cupcake liners. Top each muffin with about 1 teaspoon of almonds each.
Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the muffins on a cooling rack.
Allow them to cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
To store, allow the muffins to cool completely before placing in a gallon-sized ziptop bag or airtight container. Store in the fridge. Warm in the microwave for 8 seconds to reheat.
Autumn Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/4 cups gluten-free old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup unsweetened oat milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp butter, melted, or vegan butter for plant-based
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups 1:1 gluten-free baking flour (with xanthan gum)
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup silvered almonds, for topping (or your favorite nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, add the applesauce, oats, oat milk, egg, vanilla, butter, and brown sugar. Whisk to combine.
- Once combined, add the flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, fold the ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix!
- Using a measuring spoon or cookie scoop, evenly distribute the batter between the cupcake liners. Top each muffin with about 1 teaspoon of almonds each.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the muffins on a cooling rack.
- Allow them to cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
- To store, allow the muffins to cool completely before placing in a gallon-sized ziptop bag or airtight container. Store in the fridge. Warm in the microwave for 8 seconds to reheat.
