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.
I made these as mini muffins and used regular flour, cinnamon apple sauce, and only had them in for 10mins. They turned out delicious and the kids absolutely love them!!!
These were really yummy
I just finished making these and they turned out perfectly. These muffins are so delicious! Thank you for sharing!!
Made this using vanilla flax milk instead of cows milk, used the coconut oil instead of butter and then also added pumpkin spice blend instead of just cinnamon and almond extract along with vanilla paste. Good solid recipe that can be dressed up and dairy free.
These are so yummy! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 The only snag I ran into was the coconut oil. Mixing the melted oil with cold milk ended up with chunky bits of oats/oil and then little oily parts after the muffins were baked. I’m thinking next time, I should warm the milk? Looking forward to trying again!
Hey Bethany – I don’t usually warm the milk, but you can. The little tiny bits of coconut oil shouldn’t be a problem once baked.
Hi, I’m from the UK and rarely use cups to measure, but I would love to try out this recipe, could you tell me how much your cup is in grams or ounces please? Thank you 🙂
It really depends on the ingredient being measured, but I usually calculate about 5 ounces per cup of flour.
These are yummy! Baked muffins for 20 mins @ 375 F. Perfectly done. Used half white flour and half whole wheat flour instead of 100% whole wheat flour. Made homemade applesauce that was rather chunky and included chopped walnuts. Topped each muffin with edible decorative sugar for some crunch and sweetness. Definitely a keeper!
These muffins are awesome! I make them for my grandaughter, who is a very picky eater @18mths, in mini size and she loves them. I keep a batch in the freezer for myself for snacks. If I didn’ t freeze them they wouldn’t last the day.
I make these all the time! I sometimes use canola oil instead of butter, and greek yogurt instead of milk. I add different mix-ins to spice it up. Such a delicious and healthy muffin recipe.
I don’t like baking enough to spend time making things that are not good for us even if they taste good. Thanks to healthy options in the recipe and comments I made these 4 times within a week. Some ARE in the freezer! My husband loves them!
I was very disappointed in these muffins. I think they have too much butter in them and they came out way too moist…maybe I didn’t cook them long enough but I didn’t even like the flavor. I had anticipated making them for several days and finally got to it today but I won’t make these again. I will have to keep searching for much better ones.
Loved this recipe – I should have doubled it. I added some sunflower seeds, chia seeds and my oatmeal had flax and quinoa in it. Turned out beautifully. Delicious and a hit with my 3 year old.
I made a ton of homemade applesauce (kid hates it), so I was looking for something to do with it. Found this recipe and wow, it’s fantastic! Not too sweet, pleasantly moist, and cooked to perfection at the 15 minute mark. I subbed half of the flour with coconut flour and used black currants. My child is gobbling up these muffins and wish I had made a second batch!
These muffins are a staple at my house, and although I almost always make a double batch, they have yet to make it to the freezer before being devoured. They are tender, moist, and straight-up yummy. Hooray for a muffin that tastes like a treat but is chock full of healthy ingredients!
And in case anyone is wondering, they are still surprisingly edible even if you absent-mindedly forget to add the sugar, which I did last week (mom brain is real, folks). My kids still ate the whole (double) batch!
Do you use dry oats or cooked oats? Thanks!
Dry oats.
These were Amazing!! My girls (2&4) Loved them! Making them for Preschool snack tomorrow! I have no doubt they will enjoy them just as much! Thanks for the healthy, easy, feel good about giving it to the kids recipe!!
Hello, can I try this recipe as mini muffins instead ? If so, how long should I bake them for ?
Thanks
This recipe has become one of my favorites. I cook up a batch of these every week and eat one for breakfast everyday. I substitute wheat germ and flax meal for about 1/3 of the flour to increase the fiber and protein content. I also add walnuts and pumpkin seeds. I use maple syrup instead of sugar. YUM!!
Do you use the same amount of syrup as the recipe calls for sugar? Or do you change the amount? I am looking at substituting syrup for sugar as well!
I used full fat coconut milk and substituted the butter with Greek yogurt. Plus accidentally put in a tablespoon of cinnamon instead of a teaspoon. Turned out amazing! Thanks for a great recipe! Blessings!
Can I put all of the dry ingredients together? Such as a mason jar to be used at another time.
You could certainly try! Should work ok. 🙂
Moist, yummy, nutritious. The oats and whole wheat provide the perfect taste of a slight “nuttiness.” I never believe people when they say something freezes well, but these absolutely did. Zapped them in the microwave for about a minute and they weren’t all of the sudden dry or flavorless. Retained moisture and flavor.
These are super yummy and I don’t feel as guilty for giving them to the kiddos. Both kids love them, I can freeze them for future use! Thanks! I did top with a little sprinkled sugar but stuck to the recipe otherwise!
Just substituted the applesauce for canned pumpkin! Had to add a tablespoon or so more milk to get the consistency right and next time I’ll up the spices but a pretty good healthy pumpkin oat muffin!
Thank you for this recipe. I would like to make it. But my 2yrs old is allergic to eggs. What can i replace the eggs with please? And must i keep the quantity of all the other ingredients unchange?Thank you
I’m not really sure, Maddie – you could try a flax seed substitute? I haven’t tried it but if you google, you might find some good egg substitutions online.
Yes, just look up egg substitutes:yogurt especially Greek, baking powder & soda, etc.
Just add more applesauce and it should work… Use 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of one egg in most baking recipes. (Some sources say to mix it with 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder) If all you have is sweetened applesauce, then simply reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.
For each egg substitute with 1/4 cup milk and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. I never bake with egg because my son is allergic.
My son has an egg allergy too and I subbed a tablespoon of flaxseed meal mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. You let that sit in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up slightly and then mix it in with the rest of the ingredients. Worked great!
I made these for the first time a couple weeks ago and after baking, found the egg still on the counter…to my surprise, the muffins were perfect, held together fine, and were very tasty.
Now, with eggs more precious under the Coronavirus lockdown, I just made a double batch and purposely left out eggs. No substitute needed.
A perfect snack for our toddler and us. Delicious and easy to make.
These are absolutely fantastic made them with my 3 yr old and he is such a fussy eater and he sat watching them bake and had two fresh out the oven – Amazing !!!
Awesome! Healthy and delicious! I have had requests to share this recipe already! I use homemade bottled applesauce in mine.
So yummy. Substituted natural honey for the sugar. Did half regular applesauce and half strawberry applesauce. And added dried cranberries and walnuts.
I had to cook these an extra 10 minutes they were so wet. When I finally took them out they were still a bit gooey? Is that just the way these muffins go or am I doing something wrong?
These muffins are delicious! I added walnuts and crushed pineapple. Love, love this recipe.
I’ve now made these too many times to count. My go-to recipe! Have even recommended it 🙂 thank you!!
AMAZING
These turned out great! Easy to make. Nice to have a healthy muffin recipe that doesn’t have banana in it 🙂
These are really good. I don’t normally rate recipes but I lost my paper copy and came back to print another. I’ve even used pumpkin in place of the applesauce and they were still great! The recipe takes substitutions really well also. I’ve even used coconut oil and brown rice flour and the kids still love them. Thanks for a great recipe that’s delicious as-is and also very adaptable!
Happy you love these muffins, Wylene!
First time I made muffins they were hard enough to play bowling with . but I just tried yours and woooow !
Could not help but eating 3 when they came out of the oven.
Best healthy muffins I’ve had ever. Thanks for making my breakfast an easy to go to when I don’t have the time.
I usually eat oatmeal in the morning but I was getting tired of it.
One of these muffins will do just fine.thanks
I just made these today with homemade applesauce and I love them, so does my toddler! Great recipe, I will make them again.
Excellent. Moist and tender. I made them for our youth activity and they were gone in a flash. They (the muffins, not the youth) were no less good after being frozen.
Really good muffins, so moist and fluffy. I didn’t have enough plaine unsweetened Apple sauce so I used some of the unsweetened strawberry and apple sauce from motts. It was great, added a hint of strawberry flavour! The kids loved them, all of us enjoyed this recipe! Great recipes again!! I frequently come across your recipes using google searches! Always great recipes! Thanks again!
Thanks, Vanessa!
I have a lot of plum trees on my property. I make a lot of plum sauce and freeze it. Instead of the applesauce I used the plum sauce. Oh my goodness. Just got them out of the oven and they are gone.
Thank you for great recipe.
Maria
These came out so delicious !! I followed the recipe EXACTLY! So delicious and moist !! I wish I could post a picture of them 🙂
LOVE this recipe. Could I convert this to a loaf pan? THANKS!
I haven’t tried that but you could definitely experiment.
These muffins are great! It’s hard to find healthy muffins that freeze well. These are a go-to now. Thank you!
LOVE these muffins! I made muffin-tops (baked for 12-13 minutes) and minis (baked for 10 minutes). My son wanted one for breakfast this morning although I told him I had packed a mini for his mid-morning snack and packed a muffin top to go in his lunchbox! (I also ate two last night and one this morning, lol!) I guess I’ll be making another batch very soon! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Super tasty and super easy! My kids loved them – we opted for the raisin add-in. As a note, I made these on Saturday and kept them in the fridge until Wednesday and they were still delicious!
I used fresh ground hard white wheat for my flour. Worked GREAT!
Made these today and they were great! i baked them for 15 min. & they were perfect.
I loved these (and so did my 14-month old!)– delicious but still healthy enough that I will let him have them for breakfast 🙂 I love that your recipes always turn out so well, thanks for all that you do!
Made these for my 9 month old and she LOVES them! Thank you so much for this recipe!
These were not the best! I recommend brown sugar 3/4 or maple syrup with out high fructose cup,they were very blan without this.
Has anyone tried making these without white sugar or with a white sugar substitute?
Yes, I did and they came out great! I added in raisins for sweetness. My 2 year old loves them. I would probably prefer the sugar version but the raisins make a big difference.
I discovered this recipe about 2 years ago and it has been so AWESOME and versatile!!!! I have swapped out the applesauce with other “mushy produce” and added miscellaneous extras: think mashed bananas and mini choc chips(my kids favorite). I have also done mashed avocado, cocoa powder in the flour, and mini choc chips and/or chopped pecans. Not a soul noticed the avocado and they were devoured! So yummy and still so healthy. I am making mine with raisins and pecans this morning. LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!!!
Can I use almond milk in place of the milk?
I believe others have done that with good results.