Cozy fall muffins with a healthy twist! Naturally sweet and made with 100% whole grains, these tasty apple cinnamon oat muffins are an easy, high fiber snack the whole family will love. You’ll also love my gluten-free pumpkin bread, blender banana muffins, or protein pumpkin pancakes.
Charlotte’s 5-star review! ⭐️ “Love these muffins, just made my second batch.”
Why You’ll Love This Dietitian-Made Recipe
- Perfectly sweet and surprisingly moist. After gathering feedback from readers, I tweaked this recipe to be even more moist and satisfying, without sacrificing the health benefits.
- Nutritionally balanced. These apple cinnamon muffins are dietitian-designed to have more fiber, less sugar, and less saturated fat than other similar recipes. And they’re calorie-balanced — so you can feel good about enjoying these muffins yourself, and feeding them to your family.
- Incredibly easy. In just 30-minutes, you’ll have 12 delicious and crowd-pleasing muffins ready for the week. They’re quick, easy, and hard to mess up!
Dietitian spotlight 🔎 Wondering what makes these muffins healthy? They use whole wheat flour and rolled oats for the base for an extra fiber boost. And they’re also packed with wholesome ingredients like unsweetened apple sauce, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup for less fat and sugar than other options.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Maple syrup: Any liquid sweetener should work (honey is the best swap), but I prefer the flavor of maple syrup.
- Rolled oats: I like the texture of large flake rolled oats, but you can use quick oats in a pinch. I do not recommend swapping for instant oats or steel cut oats.
- Apples: I use honeycrisp, but braeburn, fuji, cortland, empire, golden delicious, and granny smith work too. Here’s more information to help you choose the right apples for baking.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and detailed recipe.
Want more healthy snack recipes? Try my double-chocolate banana muffins, cookie dough protein balls, or chocolate baked oatmeal.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins
Step 1: Whisk dry ingredients together.
Step 2: Whisk wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Step 3: Combine dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and apples and stir until just combined.
Step 4: Add to a lined muffin pan and bake!
Top Tips for Moist and Delicious Muffins
Whole wheat flour has a tendency to get tough and dry if not handled properly. Here’s what I learned after thoroughly testing this recipe for perfectly moist and light muffins:
- Don’t over-mix your batter. Over-working your batter will make your muffins tough and dry. Stir until just combined and stop there.
- Don’t bake for too long. Watch your muffins and remove them from the oven as soon as they’re ready. You’ll know they’re done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs, and the tops look set. Remove them from the pan after 5-minutes of cooling, or they’ll continue cooking and dry out.
Common Questions
Let your muffins cool to room temperature before storing. Store in a sealed bag or airtight food container for up to three days on the counter. To keep them fresh longer, store in the freezer for up to three months and defrost on the counter overnight before eating.
You can, but I don’t recommend it. They get more dry and a bit tough in the fridge, so it’s best to freeze them or keep at room temperature. If you have to refrigerate them, gently microwave for 10-15 seconds before eating.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
- Honey Bran Muffins
- Black Bean Brownie Bites
- High Protein Blueberry Muffins
Explore more healthy snacks and healthy muffins recipes!
If you made these healthy apple cinnamon oat muffins, leave a 5-star rating ⭐️ below. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
Healthy Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins
Equipment
- 12 Muffin liners (paper and silicone both work)
- 3-Tbsp cookie scoop (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour, spooned and levelled
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup finely chopped apple, about one small apple with skin on
Instructions
- Position oven rack to the middle and pre-heat to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper or silicone liners. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, add flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk and set aside.
- To a separate large bowl, add melted butter, maple syrup, apple sauce, Greek yogurt, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients and chopped apples to wet ingredients. With a large wooden spoon or spatula, mix until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Scoop batter into muffin liners, distributing evenly. I like to use a 3-Tbsp cookie scoop for this step to minimize mess.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until tops are set and a toothpick placed in the center comes out mostly clean. Be careful not to over-bake these or they could dry out.
- Let muffins cool in the pan for 5-minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature before eating.
Notes
- You can swap rolled oats for quick oats if needed.
- I use low-fat Greek yogurt, but whole milk works too.
- Honeycrisp apples are my favorite, but braeburn, fuji, cortland, empire, golden delicious, and granny smith will also work. Keep the skin on for extra fiber.
- To avoid dry and tough muffins, don’t over-mix your batter and be careful not to over-bake. Whole wheat flour is a little sensitive, so be gentle!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The nutrition information is this per muffin?
Yes!
I’m diabetic and was looking for a delicious recipe to use up some fresh apples. These turned out fantastic. I don’t think my oats were instant, probably rolled. I used a medium large spy apple half chopped half shredded. I started the muffins at 400 for the first 5 minutes before turning down to 350. Baked 20 minutes and they were perfectly moist. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these, using almond milk, and they turned out a bit too dry. Do you think. This is why? Other than that they were pretty good. Thanks for the recipe. Rick
Sorry these were dry for you! It could be that swap, or perhaps your batter was over-mixed? Or packed the flour a little while measuring?
I’m going to make these now!! I wonder if I can sub Greek yogurt for milk? To add extra protein.
Hi Lisa! I haven’t tested with that swap, but it could work! You might still need to add a splash of milk to thin the batter though.
These are great! Just made them after a big haul at the apple orchard! I used all purpose flour, as that’s all I had. Perfect balance, not overly sweet but flavorful!
Can you use all purpose flour instead
Yes!
So the muffins in the photo look like they have a softer top. I have tried this twice and followed exactly and my muffins are dense. I only stir until mixed so I am not sure why they dont rise much.
But – The flavor is really great and i am sucker for healthy that tastes good and these fit that bill. I freeze these and take them out as needed. My only wish is that they would look like yours…
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Can swerve brown sugar substitute work instead of regular brown sugar,?
I’m so sorry, I haven’t tested with that alternative so can’t say for sure! Please let us know if you do.
Delicious! I made half the recipe but used steel cut quick oats (all I had on hand), turned out beautifully.
Am going to make next wk. When I get someone to take me shopping since I am handicapped & diabetic. Ty for the recipe