Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Updated Sep 28, 2025
These bakery-style apple cinnamon muffins are made with apples and warm spices and are topped with a 4-ingredient crumble.
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My apple cinnamon muffins are perfect for fall
These apple cinnamon muffins are one of those recipes I make when I’ve got a couple of apples sitting around and need something quick. The batter is simple to mix up, and the apples keep the muffins soft and moist. I usually add the cinnamon crumble on top because it makes the house smell amazing while they bake.
This apple cinnamon muffin recipe has turned into a go-to in my house. Sometimes I pack them in the kids’ lunches, sometimes they’re waiting on the counter after school, and other times I just grab one with my coffee. They’re easy and always disappear fast.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Apple Cinnamon Muffins Ingredients
- Apples: Most crisp apples will work well in these healthy apple cinnamon muffins! Think Honeycrisp, Fuji, or even Granny Smith.
- Dry ingredients: You’ll need flour, baking powder, salt, and, of course, cinnamon! If you’re gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free flour blend.
- Wet ingredients: This recipe calls for light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, avocado oil, and Greek yogurt. You could use sour cream instead of the yogurt for something tangier!
- For the crumb topping: Light brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter (just 4 ingredients!).
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe
These bakery-style apple cinnamon muffins are made with apples and warm spices and are topped with a 4-ingredient crumble.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup Greek yogurt at room temperature
- ½ cup avocado oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples peeled and diced into small pieces, about 2 cups
Crumb Topping
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with parchment paper cups.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugars, Greek yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the dry mixture on top of the wet mixture and whisk until just combined, with no flour streaks remaining. Gently fold in the diced apples. Rest the batter for 10 minutes
- Meanwhile, make the crumb topping. Melt the butter in a small bowl. Add flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon and mix until crumbly.
- Divide the muffin batter evenly into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over each.
- Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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- Peel the apples for the best consistency. Unpeeled apples have more texture, which is why I recommend peeling them for these easy apple cinnamon muffins! You want the muffins to have soft bits of apple.
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- Don’t skip resting the muffin batter. This lets the gluten in batter relax, making them more tender and allowing them to rise higher!
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- Storage: Once the apple muffins are completely cool, put them in an airtight container or zip-top bag and keep them on the counter for up to 2 days. If you think you won’t eat them that quickly, the fridge is best. (They’ll last for about 5 days in the fridge.) I do recommend enjoying them warm the first day they’re made for the best flavor and texture.
If you want to enjoy them as if they were fresh out of the oven, reheating is easy. If you stored your muffins in the fridge, you can either let them come to room temperature or give them a quick zap in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. - Freezing: These muffins freeze well for up to 3 months! Just place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. I like to defrost them in the microwave or toaster oven until warmed through.
- Storage: Once the apple muffins are completely cool, put them in an airtight container or zip-top bag and keep them on the counter for up to 2 days. If you think you won’t eat them that quickly, the fridge is best. (They’ll last for about 5 days in the fridge.) I do recommend enjoying them warm the first day they’re made for the best flavor and texture.
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups apple peeled and diced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 12 cup muffin pan with parchment paper liners.
Combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt) in a large bowl. Whisk to evenly distribute everything.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add eggs and yogurt to well. Whisk eggs into yogurt incorporating as little of flour as possible.
Add applesauce and lemon juice to yogurt and eggs. Whisk to mix, slowly incorporating in the flour.
Mix only until everything is incorporated, some lumps may remain. Over mixing will result in tough muffins. Gently fold in apple pieces.
Scoop batter into paper liners, filling to the top or slightly heaping.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean and the muffins are lightly browned.
Nutrition
Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 303kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 160mg, Potassium: 105mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 146IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Variations
- Add a protein boost. If you’re looking to up the protein content, consider folding ¼ cup of hemp seeds or chia seeds into the batter. They’ll add a bit of extra nutrition without altering the flavor of these healthy apple muffins!
- Add nuts. You can add ¼ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the crumb topping or ½ cup of either to the muffin batter!
Recipe Tips
- Peel the apples for the best consistency. Unpeeled apples have more texture, which is why I recommend peeling them for these easy apple cinnamon muffins! You want the muffins to have soft bits of apple.
- Be careful when mixing the batter. Over mixing the apple cinnamon muffins will make them tough! You want to mix the batter until just combined. Stop when you can’t see any streaks of flour!
- Don’t skip resting the muffin batter. This lets the gluten in batter relax, making them more tender and allowing them to rise higher!
- Use room temperature ingredients. There’s a reason I call for room temperature eggs and yogurt! They actually mix into the batter better.
Comments
I made this in a loaf tin and topped with crumble cooked 25 mins and then covered crumble for last 15 mins it was delicious 🙏👌
Love that! So happy you enjoyed it!!
Love these muffins! It’s such an easy recipe and we love that they’re not too sweet. How long can I leave them on counter?
Can I substitute the lemon juice for something else or just take it out completely? I have acid reflux and i cant use lemon juice in anything.
Thanks!:)
You can just leave it out! Hope you enjoy!
Amazing recipe! The whole family loved the muffins. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes xx
Thank you! I am glad it was a hit!
Could I use regular sugar instead of coconut? Thank you
Absolutely!
Hi plz can I ommit the Apple pieces
The apple makes up a big portion of the recipe, so I’d replace the apples with another fruit in that case!
Hey
Instead of Apple pieces can I use applesauce and if yes how much
I wouldn’t replace it with applesauce because the batter might be too watery in that case.
Tasty
Thank you!
Can I make these pumpkin apple- those are my fav but the recipe I have is too much sugar so I was thinking these are perfecto!!!! I could add pumpkin to applesauce maybe a 1/2 cup – should I omit – something or ??? Help
That’s a great idea! You could try and replace the applesauce with pumpkin puree.
I just added it and they are delicious- but I used whole milk yogurt not Greek – delish! Thank you-
Yay!! You’re so welcome.
Could I sub the all-purpose flour for whole wheat white flour?
That should work in this recipe! However, another option to make this gluten-free would be using an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix. Do not substitute only almond flour or only coconut flour.
Is there a substitute for the yogurt?
You can substitute the Greek yogurt with milk!
Made these with the kids and they were a hit. thanks!
I love getting the kids involved when I’m cooking too! You’re welcome!
delicious!
Thank you!
This cupcakes came out really good! I substituted 1/4 cup of flour for almond flour and a used 1 cup of blueberries and 1 cup of apples. They were ready in about 20 minutes and they were super delish! Not too sweet and very moist. My only little mishap was that they got stuck a bit more than expected to the cupcake lining; but that didn’t stop us from eating 75% of them in a secon.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed them so much!!
Hi Yumna made your apple cinnamon muffins but used GF flour….it was such a hit with my kids 🙌🙌🙌
So glad the kids enjoyed it! Thank you!
Can I use egg whites instead of eggs? Also could I sub some of the flour for pea protein? If so how much would you suggest?
I’ve never tried either of those swaps so unfortunately I can’t advise on that.
I love that you were thoughtful enough to share a substitution list as every kitchen may or may not have needed ingredients. I appreciate it so much that I’m going to make them now. Thank you.
Aww I’m so glad it’s helpful to you! Thank you 🙂
Can I substitute the coconut sugar for brown sugar?
Yup! That works or regular granulated sugar.
These muffins are so good 👍 and tasty.
Yay! So glad to hear it!
What apples would you suggest for this recipe?
It honestly works with all kinds. Usually I like Granny smith for baking since they are tart and balance the sweetness from recipes. But in this case, these are not overly sweet, so any apples like Fuji, Gala, Braeburn or Honeycrisp will work!
We loved these fall muffins. They were delicious, made the house smell perfect, and even my baby loved them! Pretty quick prep too!
Yay, so glad to hear it! Thank you!
Hey, how should I know how much of the ingredients I need??
Thanks
Just scroll down to the recipe card. Or you can use the Jump to Recipe button at the top 🙂
Thnx yumna , thats really nice and healthy muffins!
No oil
No butter
Just well done 👍
Thank you!!