Gluten-Free Apple Crumb Muffins are made with whole grain gluten-free oat flour, almond flour, applesauce, and coconut sugar topped with a cinnamon sugar crumble. Dairy-free, vegan.
Fresh apples, pumpkins, and all the warming spices make it hard to resist all the great recipes out there in the fall months.
Apple recipes, in general, this time of year are top of the list. If you want moist muffins with healthier ingredients, this gluten-free apple muffin recipe is for you.
With healthy ingredient swaps and whole grain flours, this is the perfect for a quick breakfast or afternoon snack.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Whole food ingredients
- Gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free
- Perfect fall breakfast
Ingredients and substitutions
Here are a few quick notes about the ingredients in this recipe. You can see a complete list of ingredients and instructions in the recipe card below.
Oat flour - If you are Celiac or gluten-intolerant, ensure that you use certified gluten-free oat flour or certified gluten-free rolled oats to make your own oat flour.
Do note that store-bought oat flour has more of a fine flour texture than homemade. The best way to measure is by weight with is kitchen scale.
Almond flour - Finely blanched is recommended. I recommend Bob's Red Mill brand.
Arrowroot starch - Also known as arrowroot powder, this helps bind as well as create a lighter texture. If in need of a substitute, tapioca starch or corn starch would be your best bet.
Chia seeds - Tiny black seeds similar in appearance to poppy seeds, they are little nutritional powerhouses. They also act as a binder in this recipe.(They are also delicious in chia pudding!)
Applesauce - In place of eggs, applesauce not only gives us extra apples, but it acts as an egg replacer.
Fresh apples - These muffins are filled with sweet apple chunks. Use any kind of apples you wish. I would recommend a variety of sweet apples like Pink Lady or Honeycrisp apples. Even gala apples that are a little milder work great.
Coconut sugar - Instead of brown sugar or light brown sugar, this unrefined sweetener adds depth of flavor.
Coconut oil - Use refined coconut oil to avoid an additional "hint of coconut." Melted vegan butter, avocado oil, or olive oil are all excellent neutral dairy-free options.
Vanilla extract and cinnamon - Pure vanilla extract gives that signature cookie flavor and adds natural sweetness. Cinnamon brings warmth as well as a natural sweetness of its own.
How to make gluten-free apple crumb muffins
Before you start: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-tin muffin tin with paper liners.
Step 1: In a small bowl, combine crumb topping ingredients with your fingers so that the coconut oil breaks down into pea-sized or smaller pieces.
Step 2: In a blender, add chia seeds, hot water, lemon juice, applesauce, and melted coconut oil.
Step 3: In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients—almond flour, oat flour, arrowroot starch, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and coconut sugar. Whisk to combine.
Step 4: Add vanilla extract to the mixture in the blender, and blend on high until smooth. Fold the liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Once evenly combined, fold in diced apples.
Step 5: Evenly divide the muffin batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle crumb topping on top of each. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Step 6: Remove gluten-free apple crumb muffins from the oven and place the tray on a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool.
Tips
- I've used coconut sugar to sweeten the muffin batter and organic cane sugar for the crumble topping. You can use coconut sugar for both, but I prefer the cane sugar for the crunch it gives the crumble.
Equipment
For this easy recipe, you will need the following main pieces of equipment:
- Small and large mixing bowls
- High-speed blender
- Paper liners
- Muffin pan
- Wire rack
Storage
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container. Keep them at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Have extra apple slices? Dip them in this easy homemade date caramel!
FAQs
Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Jonagold, and Gala all have a pleasant sweetness that makes them perfect for baking.
Yes. It is best to peel the apples before dicing them and adding to the batter.
Looking for some more gluten-free breakfast inspiration? Meg's gluten-free strawberry and cream scones have brunch written all over them.
And Megan's vegan peanut butter hot chocolate is just the thing for cozy, fall mornings.
More apple recipes
Love this recipe? Please consider leaving a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating on the recipe card below and let me know what you think in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Apple Crumb Muffins (Vegan)
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping
- 4-5 tablespoons organic cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Muffins
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice half of 1 lemon
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 ¼ cups gluten-free oat flour
- ¼ cup arrowroot flour/starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ½ apple, peeled and diced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-tin muffin tray with paper liners.
- In a small bowl, combine crumb topping ingredients with your fingers so that the coconut oil breaks down into pea-sized or smaller pieces. Start with 4 tablespoons sugar, add a little more if needed. Set aside.
- In a blender, add chia seeds, hot water, lemon juice, applesauce, and coconut oil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add almond flour, oat flour, arrowroot starch, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and coconut sugar. Whisk to combine.
- Add vanilla extract to the mixture in the blender, and blend on high until smooth. Fold liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Once evenly combined, fold in diced apples.
- Evenly divide muffin batter amongst muffin tins. Sprinkle crumb topping on top of each. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove gluten-free apple crumb muffins from oven and place tray on a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool.
Jen Sexton
Delicious recipe! Thank you for creating. I made a few swaps to make grain free, used cassava flour once and millet flour another time instead of oat flour. Same amounts and turned out great! Also swapped 1/4 cup maple syrup for coconut palm sugar and viola! So enjoy your recipes. Thanks a million!
Tessa
That's awesome! Thank you, Jen!
Laura kidman
Holy mother of God, these are amazing. I'm almost never happy with muffins but these are truly fantastic. Didn't have oat flour so used 1/2 cup cassava flour (all I had), and remainder of sorghum flour... And subbed maple syrup for coconut sugar in blender. Wow!! Thank you!
Tessa
Amazing! Thank you!!
Tia
Hi I love it but my crumble turned out wet after a day. Is that normal?
Tessa
Thanks, Tia! That is not abnormal due to the crumble being made with coconut oil. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen/house it could melt. Keeping them in the fridge or reducing the amount of coconut oil next time could help if they are at room temperature.
Tia
Awesome! Thank you so much
Tessa
Wonderful!! Thank you, Tia!
Sue
I have made these muffins about five times now. These and the zucchini chocolate muffins are my go to muffins. I make a batch of each and keep them in the freezer. Perfect to grab and go in the morning. Both my husband and I can't decide which one we like best, so I make both :-)
Tessa
That is so nice to hear! Thank you, Sue. Those are my two favorite muffin recipes as well! :)
Eve
I just made these and I love them! So so delicious. Glad I found your recipe!
Tessa
Wonderful! Thanks so much, Eve! <3
Joanne
My husband and I absolutely love this recipe! The only changes I made were to use pecan meal instead of almond flour, and I added oatmeal to the crumb topping so I could reduce the amount of sugar. Oh, and I added some raisins! Yummy!
Tessa
That is great to hear! Thank you! Oats and raisins sound like delicious additions. Thanks so much, Joanne!
Karolina
What can you use instead of almond flour? Thanks
Tessa
Hi Karolina - I haven't tried it, but you could replace the almond flour with additional oat flour.