Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins
A family favorite for years, these delicious, soft and fluffy healthy applesauce oat muffins are low in sugar and packed with whole grains.
The numbers don’t lie. With over 400 5-star reviews, these muffins have become a beloved favorite of many (and one of the most popular recipes on my site!).
Simple and straightforward, the muffins are lightly sweet, packed with whole grains, and most importantly: they are so very delicious.
A Very Straightforward Muffin
The batter for these applesauce oat muffins is simple as can be.
Mix together:
- old-fashioned or quick oats
- applesauce
- egg
- melted butter or coconut oil
- sugar or honey
- milk
And then combine that mixture with whole wheat flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Optional: adding chocolate chips, craisins, or raisins is a very good idea!
Highly Adaptable
The beauty of this recipe being around for almost ten years is that almost any adaptation you can dream up has probably already been tried.
The comments are full of readers who have made the muffins dairy-free, gluten-free, and accidentally butter-free. 🙂
And in most cases, the report back is that the variations are amazing! So if you’re looking to alter these muffins in any which way, read through the comments for some inspiration.
For instance, a comment from Carolyn: These muffins are delicious!! I made them gluten free by using oat flour instead of wheat flour. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. They have been added to my regular rotation!
Wholesome and Delicious
For me, I love the basic simplicity of these muffins. They aren’t fancy. They also aren’t fussy.
They are the perfect every day muffin for after school snacks, easy breakfasts, school lunchboxes, and everything in between.
I’m very loyal to recipes that stand the test of time, and this one certainly has. My friend, Katie, served these muffins to us during a playdate at her house years ago when we had just moved to northern Minnesota and knew hardly another soul in the area.
I didn’t even wait until the playdate was over to beg for the recipe. (Although more than the muffins, I’m incredibly grateful for the sweet and loyal friend Katie quickly became.)
Friendship > muffins. Although this recipe proves that muffins might very easily be the gateway to great friends.
FAQ for Applesauce Oat Muffins
Yes, it doubles great.
The baked and cooled muffins freeze GREAT. I place them in a gallon-size freezer ziploc bag and freeze. We defrost in the microwave or on the counter for a few hours.
Sure, and you can use flavored applesauce as well (like cinnamon, etc). If using sweetened applesauce, you can probably decrease or omit the sugar in the recipe.
Steel cut oats don’t work very well in this recipe because they don’t soften and absorb as much liquid (they stay coarse and crunchy), but you can sub quick oats for the old-fashioned oats.
Many readers (and comments below) have made that substitution with great results!
One Years Ago: Easy Amish-Baked Oatmeal
Two Years Ago: Healthy Breakfast Cookies
Three Years Ago: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
Four Years Ago: Healthy Dark Chocolate Almond Joy Bites
Five Years Ago: Southwestern Chicken Barley Chili
Six Years Ago: Cheesy Black Bean Lasagna
Seven Years Ago: Whole Grain Honey Bran Muffins
Eight Years Ago: Skillet Butternut Squash, Sausage and Penne
Nine Years Ago: Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Quinoa
Ten Years Ago: Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cream Cheese
Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 g) old-fashioned rolled oats (see note)
- 1 cup (227 g) unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter or coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar or honey
- ¾ cup (107 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (70 g) dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease the muffin cups. Set aside..
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt (and cranberries or raisins if using). Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir until just combined (don’t overmix or the muffins will be dense and dry). The muffin batter texture might be a bit different (wetter?) than other muffin batters but no fear, carry on!
- Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake or the muffins will be dry.
- Remove the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Once cool, I place 6-9 muffins in a large freezer ziploc bag, suck all the air out (oh yes I do) and seal the bag, then freeze, pulling them out one by one to stick in my kids lunches or warm slightly for a snack.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from my friend, Katie K.
Recipe originally posted September 2013; updated January 2022 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
464 Comments on “Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins”
I made these as a quick, desperate breakfast for my baby and toddler since I needed to get groceries. Omitted the sugar and honey because of baby, and didn’t have quite enough vanilla so I added a dash of maple syrup as well. Used all purpose flour and substituted the raisins/cranberries for 1/2 cup of finely shredded coconut. Clearly this recipe is very forgiving and easy adaptable! They turned out delicious, and the perfect consistency for baby! (crumbly, not gummy). Keeping this for sure
Oh sorry I forgot to ask about the butter! Does it need to cool before adding to the recipe or can we add as soon as it’s melted out the microwave? Thank you!
I usually use it right out of the microwave, but letting it cool a bit is fine, too.
Hi Mel! Long time follower here who sadly has lost her desire to cook and bake, But hoping these get me back in the game! Had a few questions please 1) do i grease just the bottom of the liner or the sides too? Do I use baking spray? 2) assuming if I weigh the ingredients (or at least the flour) that would be better given I’m a novice? 3) can I add some chocolate chips individually to some of the cups vs the overall batter? 4) Do you use homemade applesauce or store bought? 5) wish me luck and sorry for all the questions thanks so much!
Hi Lori, yes, grease the bottom and sides of the cupcake tin with nonstick cooking spray (if you are using paper liners, you don’t need to grease). If you have a kitchen scale, then yes, I would recommend weighing the ingredients for the best outcome! If you want to add chocolate chips to just part of the batter, you could spoon batter into another bowl and gently fold in chocolate chips to that portion (or sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the muffins that you want chocolate on). I usually use storebought applesauce, but homemade works too. And good luck! Questions are great! Let me know if you have any others.
Thank you so much! Hoping I am in the mood this weekend since I bought all of the ingredients!
I have subbed the applesauce for mashed banana, and it works wonderfully just in case any of you want to know.
I only have sweetened applesauce. Should I omit the sugar/honey? Thanks.
Sorry please disregard my question. I just saw you have it covered under FAQ which somehow I missed earlier. Looking forward to baking these x
I have made these a couple of times and enjoy them. I opt for honey instead of sugar. I add raisins, and have also added blueberries. They are not sweet which is what I am going for. More of a hearty healthy muffin vs a sweet treat.
Excellent, fast, easy and tastes great. I made them vegan with plant butter and milk and Just Egg and my family loved them.
Delicious! Used maple syrup in place of sugar. Wonderful buttery flavor. Will make these again! Thanks!
I made these as I am trying to eat healthier. I added raisins. They stay moist and filling.
These muffins are so yummy and easy to make with ingredients I always have on hand. I freeze them and just pull 1 out & pop it in the microwave when I want a little snack!!
My go-to muffin recipe. I use pear sauce made from the pears in my yard, which works great—I just leave out the cinnamon because the sauce already has it. And for anyone like me who has forgotten the butter in the microwave, the muffins are still good without the butter. Flavor-wise they are better with butter, but they are not dry without it. Fantastic recipe!
Is it healthy if you eat 6 in one morning? No, probably not. Guilty.
We have an egg allergy, so I replaced the egg with a half of a smashed banana. It worked great! Will make again and again!
These muffins are amazing! I always have a stash in the freezer for my kids. Also, I use about half of the recommended sugar amount and it tastes amazing!
Hello 🙂
My son and I love these muffins we make them almost once a week!
Do you store them in the fridge or on the bench? And how long do they keep for?
Thank you 🙂
I usually store them in a covered container at room temperature and they keep for a couple of days.
I made SO MANY mods to this recipe. I used equal parts maple syrup for the honey, used gluten-free flour, only had about 3/4 cup of applesauce so made up for it by adding more milk (but used buttermilk instead). Added 1 cup of raisins and 1 chopped apple. A dusting of cinnamon sugar on top. I also accidentally got the baking powder and baking soda mixed up so ended up putting in equal amounts of both, and they still they turned out FANTASTIC. Two huge thumbs up! Thanks, Mel!
I made these in a mini muffin pan for my 12-month-old and she loved them! I also had a bite, and these may be the most delicious muffins I’ve ever had. I used coconut oil and honey and didn’t add raisins.
My family loved these! I used avocado oil instead of butter and pure maple syrup instead of sugar and they were delicious. The addition of dried cranberries was an excellent idea.
Loved these. The perfect sweet-but-not-too-sweet muffin.
I make these and add nuts/seeds, crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, etc. I also add protein powder to them (chocolate or vanilla), and cut down the sugar. They are amazing! There is so much you can do with this recipe! I love it!
My 5 year old loves this muffin recipe. The applesauce makes them so moist and is one of my go-to’s for a lunchbox snack.
Can you substitute with All Purpose Flour?
Yes
Can a muffin save your life? This one has, and it’s only the first week of school! I am pregnant with my 4th, and have hypoglycemia. I’ve been struggling to find a quick, nutritious breakfast with low sugar for myself each morning. This is THE muffin, friends! I replace the sugar with honey, and I also add a few Tablespoons of ground flax seed. They are tender and perfect, and I love you forever, Mel!
Substitutes?
Can is use AP Flour instead of having to biy a 5lb wheat I would only use for this?
My Organic Butter went from $4.98 to $10 per lb. I no longer cook or bake with butter. Toast with wild berry jam now. No butter Can I use veg oil? If so how much? Thank you.
Yes you can use all-purpose flour. And you could try subbing the same amount of vegetable oil for butter
Love these muffins. I didn’t have regular milk so I used oat milk and they turned out perfect. Such great flavor.
I am CRAZY for these muffins!! They’re so good! I made them with oat flour since I did not have the wheat flour and I used 1 cup of blueberries and it was perfectly moist and crunchy on the outside cuz I used no liners just a little bit of butter on the tin.I also used coconut oil.
Super happy with this recipe. Beyond happy. Thank you Mel
So I am posting comment because I did something different and thought it may come in handy to others as well (never know). So I didn’t want to open a jar of applesauce right now as my fridge is jammed so instead I used the leftover sludge in the bottom of the pineapple juice can. I know it sounds gross but that stuff I always save it because it could be useful but don’t use it enough (I hate wasting food) so I used that in place of the applesauce. Then I soaked the rolled oats in the pineapple juice/thick stuff at the bottom, let it sit while I was doing the rest getting everything else out & measured. It was a huge success. I did also add apple chunks to the muffins as well. We loved it and I’msuper excited to have a way to use the super thick pineapple juice at the bottom of the can. It’s win win all over the place. Thanks Mel