These vegan applesauce muffins are loaded with so much goodness. They are whole wheat and every bite is infused with the scent of cardamom and cinnamon. Now who wouldn’t want to eat that for breakfast? Applesauce is a great ingredient for tenderizing breads and cakes, like in this vegan banana crumb muffin recipe. But it also works really well as a flavoring agent on its own. In these muffins it does double duty as a great tenderizer that produces a soft, fluffy muffin, while also adding an intoxicating apple aroma.
Why you will love this recipe
Healthy and delicious. There’s so much goodness packed in these muffins with the applesauce and the whole wheat flour. Use a natural sugar, like coconut sugar or turbinado sugar, to maximize their goodness. Easy. The batter for these muffins comes together in one bowl in just minutes. And you can only need pantry ingredients! It’s a great way to use up any applesauce standing around in the fridge before it goes bad. Kid-friendly. These guilt-free applesauce muffins are the perfect treat to pack in your child’s lunchbox. You can also bake these up as mini muffins for small hands and mouths. Dairy-free, soy-free and can be nut-free. Skip the almonds for a nut-free version (see other suggestions in “variations” section below).
Ingredients
Flour. Use whole wheat pastry flour for all-whole-wheat muffins. You can also use regular whole wheat flour or unbleached all purpose flour. Baking powder + baking soda Ground cinnamon + ground cardamom. These add amazing flavor and an appetizing aroma to the muffins. Applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce is preferred. Pure vanilla extract Neutral oil. A flavorless oil, such as avocado oil or grape seed oil, is preferred. You can use coconut oil if you want a coconutty flavor in your muffins. Sugar. Turbinado sugar or coconut sugar are preferred for a healthier muffin. You can use any sugar of your choice or maple syrup. Apple cider vinegar (optional). You don’t absolutely need this because the applesauce is tart enough to activate the baking soda, but it helps make the muffins lighter and fluffier. Sliced almonds. These are optional, especially if you are nut-free. See variations below for more ideas.
Variations
Stir chocolate chips into the batter instead of almonds for muffins kids will absolutely love! You can also use other types of nuts, like walnuts or pecans. Use almond extract instead of vanilla for a differently delicious flavor. Swap out the cardamom for nutmeg, or use pumpkin spice in these muffins.
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