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
- Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
- Lemon Muffins
- Raspberry Muffins
- Strawberry 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.
Chan Yen
very successful and Very tasty muffins. Thanks so much.!!!
Rhian Williams
Aw great thank you so much!
David Ford
Can I just replace the flour with cornmeal and cornstarch and omit the almond flour/meal? If so, could you recommend the amounts?
Rhian Williams
Thanks for your question! I'm not completely sure if that would work as the flour is quite necessary for holding it together and it might be too dense to just use cornmeal. You could use my cornbread recipe for inspiration (that one doesn't contain almonds but it does require flour): https://www.rhiansrecipes.com/gluten-free-vegan-cornbread/. Hope that helps!
Adrienne
Hi - the recipe doesn't say when to add in the apples. I assume at the end?
Rhian Williams
Yes! I'm so sorry that was a mistake on my part - I'd completely forgotten to add it to the instructions. Thank you so much for letting me know!
Frankie
Amazing!! So happy to have found your recipes after years of hit and miss vegan cakes. I have tried several of your recipes and they rise and are soft and fluffy without fail. Thank you Rhian. X
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much Frankie, so glad you liked these and my other recipes! Please let me know if you ever have any requests!
Kim
Hello! Thank you for the recipes. Can you tell me where you get your sweet muffin ‘cases’ or liners? Thank you
Rhian Williams
Thank you! I bought them in Japan unfortunately so don't know where else you can find them..perhaps online? Sorry!