Healthy Apple Muffins

Healthy apple muffins are made with oats, and sweetened with apple, a touch of honey and cinnamon. They are naturally gluten free and full of fibre.

These delicious healthy apple muffins are great for breakfast, or as an anytime snack. They are filling and substantial, and the combination of low sugar and high fibre means that they will keep hunger pangs at bay for hours. They make a really healthy start to the day. Each healthy muffin contains just oats, fresh apple and spices, a teaspoon each of honey and olive oil, and some egg. These really are guilt-free muffins:)

Jump to:

• What you'll love about the recipe
• Ingredients
• How to make healthy apple muffins with oats
• Storage
• Frequently asked questions
• Other healthy baking recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

What you'll love about the recipe

• These apple muffins are healthy, filling and delicious
• Gluten free, low in added sugar and low in saturated fat
• Made with wholegrain oats which give a lovely texture and flavour
• Healthy apple muffins are easy to make and ready in half an hour

Ingredients

Oats. You'll need rolled or porridge oats to make healthy apple muffins. Alternatively, you could use oat flour. For gluten free muffins, make sure you use certified oats. (Gluten free oats are processed separately to ensure that they have not become contaminated with gluten from other grains.)

Baking with oats rather than wheat flour increases the protein content in this apple muffin recipe. Oats are also a great source of vitamins and minerals including calcium, iron and B vitamins. They'll help to keep your blood sugar levels stable, and have numerous other benefits such as improved heart health. Read more to see some of the evidence about the health benefits of wholegrain oats.

You might also like this rhubarb and custard muffin recipe which is made with oats.

Apple: any variety of dessert apple will work well in these apple muffins. I often use apple puree as a sweetener in baking, but in this recipe I've used raw apples to simplify the process. Unpeeled apples will add slightly more fibre.

Honey. Or if you'd prefer, try sweetening your low sugar muffins with the same quantity of maple syrup. I also sometimes use molasses which adds a slight hint of caramel, and goes very well with the flavour of apple and cinnamon.

Eggs help to add structure and moisture to the recipe. They are also packed with nutrition.

Olive oil - or you could also substitute coconut oil or melted butter if you prefer. You only need a small amount, so these are low fat muffins.

Spices: the recipe is flavoured with cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg. If you'd prefer, substitute mixed ground spice, or feel free to experiment with a different combination of spices. Cinnamon adds a wonderful warm flavour to these muffins, and along with many other spices, it also has health benefits. Cinnamon is a powerful anti inflammatory, and can help to control blood sugar levels

Raising agent: you'll need to add some baking powder to your healthy apple muffins to get a bit of rise

You can also use very similar ingredients to make these chewy healthy oat and raisin cookies for another healthy treat.

How to make healthy apple muffins with oats

For this super easy recipe, you just need to roughly chop and core the apples. I always leave the peel on - you won't really notice the peel in the mixture, and unpeeled apples retain more of their fibre and vitamins.

It's easiest to use a food processor for this recipe. You could also use a blender to get the same result. If you prefer to make the muffins by hand, then ideally use oat flour rather than oats and grate the apples before adding to the mixture.

Blitz the oats until they are fine and powdery.

Then add the chopped apples and blitz again.

Add the honey, oil, spices, eggs and baking powder and pulse gently until mixed.

Spoon the mixture into a muffin tin. It's best to use paper cases to line the tin, otherwise you may struggle to prise your muffins out. Bake for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees (160 fan).

This recipe will make 6 large muffins. Depending on the size of your muffin tins, you might squeeze 1 or 2 extra out of the recipe. If you want to make smaller mini muffins, take them out of the oven after 16-18 minutes.

Storage

Once they are cool, you can store healthy apple muffins in an airtight container for 2 or 3 days and they will retain their moistness. You can also freeze them.

Frequently asked questions

Other healthy baking recipes

Lots of the recipes on Cinnamon and Kale are naturally sweetened with fruit. You might like to try this healthy courgette cake or this carrot, apple and sultana loaf.

Or if you want to experiment with some other delicious muffin recipes, you can make these healthy blueberry muffins with coconut flour, and quinoa muffins use wholegrain quinoa as a base. Carrot oat muffins and healthy blackberry muffins are made with oats and are low in added sugar.

Happy baking, and if you have any questions or comments, please do get in touch.

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Recipe

Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.