Apple oatmeal muffins are moist, light and fluffy bakery style oatmeal muffins filled with fresh, warmly spiced apples, applesauce and apple cider. These cozy apple oat muffins are topped with a crunchy cinnamon oat topping. Make these applesauce oatmeal muffins for a delicious and easy to make breakfast that’s perfect for fall.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore making muffins. My Double Chocolate Chip Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins, Peanut Butter Muffins, Vanilla Muffins, Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins, Lemon Muffins and Cinnamon Muffins are a few I love muffin recipes I always reach for when I want beautiful bakery style muffins. I know you’ll love these cozy and flavorful muffins with oats and apples just as much as my other muffin recipes.
- Easy to make, bake and eat. All you need to make these easy and cozy oatmeal apple muffins are a few mixing bowls, a whisk and a muffin pan (or tw0).
- Perfect for breakfast and snacking. These cozy apple oat muffins are perfect for busy school mornings or as a quick, but filling snack.
Ingredients
These oatmeal and apple muffins require only a handful of simple ingredients to make. Here’s what you’ll need.
Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, quick cooking oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather oil, eggs, sugar, light brown sugar, applesauce, apple cider, vanilla extract and apples.
Cinnamon Oat Topping
Gather flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.
Substitutions
These hearty apple oat muffins are as easy to make as they are delicious. Here are my recommended substitutions to make these homemade oatmeal and apple filled muffins if you need them.
- All purpose flour: Make these applesauce muffins gluten free by using a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Measure based on weight (180 g) rather than cup for cup.
- Quick Cooking Oats: I love the texture of the muffins when using quick cooking oats. Feel free to use old fashioned or rolled oats if that’s what you have on hand. Pulse the oats in the food processor for 3 - 5 pulses to break them down into more of a quick cooking oats texture.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Make sure both are fresh and in date.
- Oil: Any neutral tasting oil will work well. You can also use ½ cup (113 g) melted and slightly cooled butter if you like.
- Light Brown and Granulated Sugar: These coz muffins with apples and oats call for granulated sugar and light brown sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make these muffins refined sugar free.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Applesauce: Use store bought or homemade. Unsweetened is preferred to sweetened when possible.
- Milk: Use your preferred milk.
- Apple Cider: Feel free to substitute with apple juice.
- Vanilla Extract: This adds a lovely background flavor that pairs really well with banana, sugar and maple syrup.
- Apple: Look for tart apples like Granny Smith or sweeter apples like Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady apples.
Variations
- Mini Apple Oatmeal Muffins: Prepare the muffin batter according to the recipe directions. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Lightly grease a 24 ct. mini muffin pan. Use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the muffin batter into each of the mini muffin wells. Bake the muffins for 12-14 minutes or until the tops bounce back quickly when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted unto the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes. Gently remove them from the pan and enjoy.
- Maple Glaze: Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 2 tablespoons (30-45 ml) maple syrup and 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) milk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled muffins and enjoy.
- Vanilla Glaze: Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 1 teaspoons (5 ml) vanilla extract and 2-3 tablespoons milk. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled muffins and enjoy. Turn this vanilla glaze into a cinnamon vanilla glaze by adding ½ teaspoon to the powdered sugar before whisking in the milk and vanilla extract.
How To Make
Learn how to make the apple oatmeal muffins in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F (205 C) for at least 30 minutes before baking. Line (2) 12 ct. muffin pans with cupcake liners. If you would like to top the apple oat muffins with the spiced oat topping, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon together until well combined. Pour the melted butter into the cinnamon oat mixture, mixing together with a fork until the butter is thoroughly mixed through.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In another bowl whisk the oil, sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, applesauce, milk, apple cider and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. When about ¾ of the dry ingredients have been mixed into the wet, toss the apples into the muffin batter. Gently fold the apples into the muffin batter until just combined.
4. For more bakery style muffins, alternate filled and unfilled muffin wells. Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the apple and oatmeal muffin batter into each of the muffin liners, alternating every other cup. Top the muffins with the cinnamon oat topping or just a sprinkle of coarse sugar. Bake the muffins at 400 F (205 C) for 18 - 20 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes about with a few moist crumbs or when a finger pressed gently into the center of the muffins quickly bounces back. Be careful as the topping will be very hot. Cool the oat apple muffins in the muffin pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins to cool to room temperature and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Place the oatmeal apple muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Make sure the muffins are completely cooled to room temperature. Individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap, in parchment paper or wax paper . Place each wrapped muffin in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the apple oat muffins is to let them sit out at room temperature for at least two hours. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave the muffin for 20 - 30 seconds for that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature.This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in soft, fluffy and moist oat apple muffins.
- Use the right apples. The best apples for this crisp are also the best apples for baking other apple desserts. Look for a mix of tart apples like Granny Smith and sweeter apples like Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady apples.
- Don’t overmix the muffin batter. Mix in the dry ingredients into the wet by hand until just combined.
- Alternate muffin wells in the muffin pan. This allows each muffin to get the maximum of amount of even heat circulating around it. The tops will still pop up, but they won’t be as high if you decide to fill all the muffin liners at once.
- Top with the oat topping, glaze or both. These applesauce oat muffins are perfect without the oatmeal crumble or without a glaze. However, they feel extra decadent and special with one or both.
FAQs
Oatmeal apple muffins contain healthy ingredients like apples, applesauce and oats. Apples and oatmeal both contain minerals and vitamins. Oatmeal can help regulate blood sugar levels and contains fiber which can aid in digestion.
A few things go into creating moist muffins. Make sure to use full fat, room temperature ingredients, mixing the dry and wet ingredients until just combined and not over baking the muffins.
There are a few things that can help create domed, bakery style tops on muffins. Use a higher oven temperature, making sure the leavening agents are fresh and in date and alternate filled and unfilled muffin wells.
Other Oatmeal Recipes To Try
If you try this Apple Oatmeal Muffins recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M
Apple Oatmeal Muffins
Equipment
- 1 - 2 12 count muffin pan(s)
- 12 cupcake liners
- 1 knife
Ingredients
Cinnamon Oat Topping
- ¼ cup (30 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (20 g) quick cooking oats
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) melted unsalted butter
Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- 1 cup apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
- 1½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (80 g) quick cooking oats
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 g) unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider or apple juice
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F (205 C) for at least 30 minutes before baking. Line (2) 12 ct. muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- Use a small knife or vegetable peeler to peel the apple. Core the apple or simply slice the apple into wedges. Finely dice the apples. Set aside for now.1 cup apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
- If you would like to top the apple oat muffins with the spiced oat topping, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon together until well combined. Pour the melted butter into the cinnamon oat mixture, mixing together with a fork until the butter is thoroughly mixed through. In another mixing bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Chill in the fridge while you make the muffin batter.¼ cup (30 g) all purpose flour, ¼ cup (20 g) quick cooking oats, 2 tablespoons (25 g) light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon , 2 tablespoons (28 g) melted unsalted butter
- In another bowl whisk the oil, sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, applesauce, milk, apple cider and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. When about ¾ of the dry ingredients have been mixed into the wet, toss the apples into the muffin batter. Gently fold the apples into the muffin batter until just combined.1½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour, 1 cup (80 g) quick cooking oats, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon , ½ teaspoon salt
- For more bakery style muffins, alternate filled and unfilled muffin wells. Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the apple and oatmeal muffin batter into each of the muffin liners, alternating every other cup. Top the muffins with the cinnamon oat topping or just a sprinkle of coarse sugar.2 large eggs, room temperature, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (120 g) unsweetened applesauce , ¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider or apple juice, ¼ cup (60 ml) milk, room temperature, ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral oil , 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Bake the muffins at 400 F (205 C) for 18 - 20 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes about with a few moist crumbs or when a finger pressed gently into the center of the muffins quickly bounces back. Be careful as the topping will be very hot.
- Cool the oat apple muffins in the muffin pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins to cool to room temperature and enjoy.
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