Gluten-Free Apple Muffins are soft and moist, packed with apples, oats, almond butter, and crunchy pecans, with no flour needed and just the right amount of sweetness.
author’s note
The Muffins My Kids Actually Wake Up For!
Getting kids up, ready, and out the door for school or sports can feel like a full workout, but the biggest game-changer for me has been having grab-and-go breakfasts prepped ahead of time.
If your kids are anything like mine, they get hangry fast, and these gluten-free apple muffins save us every time. The kids love them, I love them, and they couldn’t be easier to make.
They’re packed with feel-good ingredients that keep everyone going all morning long, and I love knowing they’re starting the day with something wholesome. I’ve even tripled the batch and frozen extras. They defrost beautifully!
Quick Tip
If you enjoy gluten-free recipes, be sure to try my other gluten-free muffin recipe — these Chocolate and Peanut Butter Muffins are one of the most popular recipes on this website!
How To Make Oat Flour
If you have quick oats or old-fashioned oats, you can have oat flour for your gluten free apple muffins in minutes!
- Add the oats to a food processor or blender.
- Grind until it looks like flour.
- Stir to make sure everything is all blended and there aren’t any whole oats left.
- Measure the oat flour after grinding, not before, before you use it in the muffins.
How To Make Gluten Free Apple Muffins
- Prep: Pre-heat oven. Grease 8 muffin cups and fill the empty cups halfway with water.
- Wet: Beat applesauce, almond butter, honey, vanilla, and sugar. Beat in the egg.
- Add Dry: Mix in salt, baking soda, baking powder, and oat flour. Stir in the whole oats.
- Fold In: Toss chopped apple with lemon, then stir it in with cinnamon and pecans.
- Bake & Cool: Divide batter among 8 cups, top with the last 2 tbsp pecans and bake.
Storage
- Store leftover gluten free apple muffins in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
- To freeze, place fully cooled muffins in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temp or microwave for 15–30 seconds to warm.
More Muffin Recipes:
Desserts
Applesauce Muffins
Desserts
Chocolate Banana Muffins
Breakfast
Banana Crumb Muffins
Breakfast
Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins
Gluten-Free Apple Muffins
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup roasted and salted almond butter see note 1
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar lightly packed, see note 2
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon oat flour old-fashioned oats that have been blended—see note 3
- 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup chopped tart apple I use Granny Smith
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons finely chopped pecans divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 8 cavities of a light-colored muffin pan with cooking spray and fill the other empty cavities halfway with water (ensures even baking). Do not use muffin liners—these muffins stick to the paper.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the applesauce, almond butter (see note 1), honey, vanilla extract, and brown sugar (see note 2) in a large bowl. Beat in the egg until mixed in. Add salt, baking soda, baking powder, and oat flour (see note 3). Mix. Stir in the old-fashioned oats and mix to combine.
- Peel the apple and chop into small pieces. In another small bowl, toss the chopped apple with the lemon juice. Add the apple pieces (and any accumulated liquid) to the muffin batter along with 2 tablespoons of chopped pecans and the ground cinnamon. Gently stir to combine.
- Fill the 8 muffin cavities 3/4 full. All the batter should be used among the 8 cavities. Evenly sprinkle the last 2 tablespoons of pecans on the tops of the muffins. Bake at 350°F for 16–18 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Watch carefully; overbaking will make these muffins dry and less flavorful.
- Let the muffins stand in the muffin pan for 5–10 minutes before gently coaxing them out with a spoon onto a cooling rack (while hot, these muffins have a tendency to crumble). Allow muffins to finish cooling on the cooling rack. Muffins are best enjoyed within 2–3 days.
Recipe Notes
- Place the oats (old-fashioned or quick oats) in a food processor or small blender.
- Pulse the oats until they are ground into a powder-like consistency that resembles flour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tips For Gluten Free Apple Muffins
- Check that all ingredients are labeled gluten-free—they might be made in the same place as gluten.
- Let the muffins sit and cool fully before eating—they can fall apart when hot.
- Grease the muffin pan well (don’t use liners—they stick!). A good muffin pan really helps them come out clean.
I made these this morning and all I can say is, Wow!! They are wonderful and my husband loves them too. I baked mine in mini muffin pans and ended up with a total of 32 muffins. I’m so happy with the flavor and they taste really indulgent. I used my homemade almond butter too.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! And glad that a homemade almond butter worked well in these 🙂 LOVE the idea of using miniature muffin pans 🙂
These just came out of the oven and they are DELICIOUS! Followed the recipe almost exactly using a Granny Smith apple for the tartness and made 9 muffins. The only change that I made was to add some apple pie spice in with the cinnamon and a little extra vanilla. I ground the pecans and sprinkled them on top with a little extra dusting of the apple pie spice. I pulled them out right at 16 mins and the texture was perfect. A wonderful recipe!!
Yay!! So glad to hear you loved them!! And the apple pie spice sounds like the perfect addition! 🙂
What to use in place of the nut things? I saw someones suggestion of sunflower butter (I also would LOVE to know how it came out). What about the flour? could I just use the oat flour for all of it?
The only flour called for in the recipe is oat flour. Is that what you are asking? And you can omit the pecans if needed!
Why do you say not to substitute peanut butter? My son is allergic to nuts, so I was planning to substitute sunflower seed butter for the almond butter.
Hey amber! I haven’t tried it with any other butters except for peanut and almond. I say not to do peanut butter because I didn’t like the taste and it was a bit overpowering whereas the almond butter seemed the perfect complement. Just my taste preference though! If you try sunflower seed butter if would love to hear your thoughts!
I made these today with a few substitutes. I used sunbutter instead of peanut butter and subbed 1 tbls of flaxseed meal mixed with 3 tbls of warm water for the egg, due to food allergies in our home. I had to bake for about 19 minutes to get them done in the middle. They turned out great! I haven’t made the almond butter version to compare flavor or know if you’d think the sunbutter flavor is more overwhelming, but we found the texture and flavor to be good! They got a two thumbs up from my son. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
I guess I should also note that omitted the pecans too because of nut allergies. I would like to try the regular version someday for myself since I don’t have any allergies. 😉
Amber – I so appreciate you coming back and letting everyone know the substitutions you used and that they worked! So helpful to everyone that has the same questions that I don’t have answers for, so thank you! I am so glad to hear that they worked out and that you enjoyed them. Thank you!! Have a great day!
Hi! These look so great! I only have organic peanut butter at my house, can you not substitute it because of the flavor or difference in texture?
Hi Haley! I just didn’t like the taste with the peanut butter ones nearly as much. The texture is fine, but the peanut butter kind of overtakes the rest of the flavors whereas the almond butter is much more subtle.
These are the very best muffins I’ve ever had. Even better than “unhealthy” ones. Loved this recipe and will be making often!
So glad to hear it!! Thanks so much for the comment Kate 🙂
Mmmm healthy apple muffins I can munch on all day long? I’ll take a dozen! 😉
Great recipe Chelsea! Healthy AND gluten free! Awesomeness! Pinned!
These muffins are perfection, Chelsea! I want to eat them alllll! 😉
YES!! It’s like you read my mind!! I hate nuts in almost all things baked — especially brownies. Why ruin a perfectly good extra fudgy brownie with nuts?? I always pick them out and eat them separately… Strange but true. 😉 These muffins look incredible — so perfect for the cozy fall weather! Pinned!