These Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Muffins are moist and fluffy, subtly spiced, and packed full of juicy apples! They're relatively healthy too, as they're refined sugar free and are a good source of protein and fibre. The recipe is versatile and easily customisable and comes together in one bowl. They're great for breakfast, brunch, dessert or a snack and are perfect for meal prep!
How to prepare the apples
I prefer the apple chunks in these muffins to be tender but still have a little bite, so I decided not to cook them first before adding to the mixture. And I didn't peel them because I love how the skins add little pops of colour, and this also makes them healthier and easier!
However, if you have any problems with any of the above and prefer your apples to be super soft and silky, you can always peel the apples and cook them in a pan beforehand.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
Tip: Make sure to use a measuring jug to measure out the exact amount of plant-based milk!
- Divide the batter between muffin cases in a muffin/cupcake tin.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.
- You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
- You can omit the cinnamon or replace with another similar spice such as cardamom or ground ginger.
- You can cut down on the amount of maple syrup or omit it entirely if you want to make them no added sugar.
Ingredients you can add to the batter
- Desiccated coconut.
- Chopped walnuts or pecan nuts.
- Raisins.
- Dried cranberries.
- Chopped dates.
How long do these keep for?
Although these muffins do taste best when fresh, they keep well covered in the fridge for up to a few days, and freeze well too, which makes them great for a quick breakfast. If you have just taken them out of the fridge of freezer, I'd recommend warming them up in an oven toaster if you have one.
More vegan muffin recipes
- Carrot Muffins
- Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins
- Chocolate Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Muffin Tin Sushi Cups
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Lemon Muffins
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make it
Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 3 apples , cored and diced (around 700 g/24 oz in total)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and ground almonds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
- Add the apples and carefully stir in.
- Transfer the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tin.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
Video
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Marina C
I made these muffins yesterday for friends and family and they were a hit even though everyone but me eats gluten and no one was vegan! Easy to make and absolutely delicious! Thank you Rhian!!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Bonnie B
I have tree nut allergies anf cannot use almond flour. Can I use coconut flour instead? (Coconut is not a true nut)
Rhian Williams
Yes you can use coconut flour, though only use a fifth of the amount as it expands a lot more than almond flour!
joe
I made these today and they turned out marvellous. Instead of maple I used Stevia. I am not allergic to anything under the sun but I had to make gf something for my nieces. I was worried because never used gf flour but it ws a success thanks to you. God bl3ess.
joe
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Bettina
Rhian,
I absolutely love these muffins,since I had to stop baking the traditional way because of my cholesterol. I make them with spelt flour and they come out delicious.My whole family loves them.
With rhubarb season coming do you think I could swap the apples for rhubarb? I I also have a plum tree I love using for my baking. I would appreciate any recipe suggestions. Thank You
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that! Yes I'm sure you could use rhubarb instead! But you may need to increase the amount of sweetener as rhubarb is much more sour than apples. Plums would be great too I think!!