These delicious Fall-spiced apple oat bran muffins are filled with apple flavor! Applesauce and fresh, chopped apple add to the mix, along with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. These are also egg-free for those with allergies.
I created this recipe over 10 years ago and recently revisited it to take new photos. Initially, I was skeptical of how good these were, as I hadn’t made the recipe in awhile.
Upon eating them, however, I was extremely pleased and had to wonder why I wasn’t making this recipe more often?!
These muffins are full of whole grain goodness, as well as a little bran for extra fiber. I love the flavors of apple, maple syrup, and cinnamon together, and they are perfectly sweet!
The apple cubes lend a delicious texture, and you might add in a handful of chopped walnuts too, if you’re so inclined.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Spelt flour – Whole wheat, einkorn, and barley flours all work well as substitutions.
- Oat bran
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
- Cinnamon
- Applesauce – Try my Instant Pot Applesauce!
- Milk of your choice
- Oil – I’ve used olive, grapeseed, and coconut oils with great results. I also like melted butter.
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Chopped apple – I generally use Gala or Pink Lady apples.
Directions
For full recipe directions, skip down to the box below!
Begin by mixing your dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix the wet ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix and stir gently until combined.
Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Recipe tips
This recipe makes seven muffins, but can easily be doubled.
If you like oat bran, try my Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins or these Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins.
Apple Oat Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup spelt flour about 75 grams
- 2 Tablespoons oat bran
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 Tablespoons milk of your choice
- 2 Tablespoons oil olive, grapeseed, and coconut oil work great
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup apple chopped into small cubes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, bran, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon).
- Mix the wet ingredients together (applesauce, milk, oil, vanilla, apple).
- Mix everything together gently just until everything is moistened.
- Divide the mixture into seven paper muffin cups.
- Bake 15-18 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!
Wow, they look so yummy! Planning of making some today. Just wondering if I can use whole wheat flour instead of spelt flour. TIA
Hi Hema,
Whole wheat should work great in here! 🙂
Thanks Lauren!
Would gluten free flour work? If so, would xanthan gum be necessary?
Hi Nancy,
You could probably use an all-purpose GF blend, but I haven’t tried it. Usually, they have some type of gum or starch already incorporated into the mix. Bob’s Red Mill is a popular one! 🙂
So cute! I love the little story. I would say it’s pretty similar in my house, except my notebooks are scrap pieces of paper and, as luck would have it, my fella is all over the dishes. It’s our agreement considering I do all of the cooking. Fair’s fair, right? Have a great weekend, Lauren! 🙂
Hahahaha Lauren what a great post, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
“I’m literally laying at an awkward angle on our kitchen counter with my face pressed against the only decently lit window we have” -> best line ever!
BTW those muffins look stunning, and so is your little gnome. She’s so precious!
Lol, thanks Mike! Our gnome is a keeper. 🙂
I have never used zucchini in baking before, definitely curious to know what these muffins taste like. Thanks for the great recipe Lauren!
My kitchen is always such a mess after a cooking session too! It seems like it is time to do the dishes ever few hours around here and it is not my favorite thing at all! I agree, beautiful produce is one of my favorite things to photograph. These muffins really do look moist and delicious and I’m hoping that we get some fall weather here soon!
Who hasn’t been making apple muffins lately?! These look great and I think zucchini makes for such great healthy muffins 😀 YUM
Hi, Lauren.
My muffins are too moist. Top gets done but bottom is soup. Any tips?
Thanks!!
Hi Jennifer,
Sorry you had trouble! Can you first tell me if you altered any of the ingredients? That will help me troubleshoot.
You know what? I did. I couldn’t find spelt flour so used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour. I also substituted ground flax seed for the oat bran. I may go out tomorrow to Whole Foods and get those two items. I also think my baking soda may be old so I got a new box of that. Please let me know if you think my substitutions might be the issue. Thank you!
I definitely think it played a part. Baking can be really tricky, so any type of substitution can affect the end result. I hope you get to try them as is, and let me know if you still have trouble. 🙂
I love this recipe!
Hello lovely. I’ll be making these tomorrow. They look incredible. I’m trying to reduce the additives my kids have in their snacks, and the apple sauce sold here in Australia often has sugar or other preservatives. Do you think I could substitute the apple sauce for a apple puree? I’ve seen apple puree in the baby aisle and it’s just 100% pureed apple. Thanks so much!
Hi Yasmine,
Yes, I think the apple puree would work fine! 🙂