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These Almond Flour Apple Muffins with Streusel Topping are naturally grain-free with a light and fluffy texture, plenty of moisture and just the right level of sweetness. The ideal muffin for fall apple season!
Looking for that perfect apple cinnamon muffin with a crumb topping that you can re-visit over and over again? This recipe is exactly that! My apple muffins come with a buttery sweet and cinnamony crumb topping for that bite of cozy fall bliss!
The way I see it, this easy recipe is perfect for using up a bounty of fresh apples and amazing for sharing with friends and family. It is naturally gluten-free, so they are friendly to those with a gluten allergy or intolerance.
If you love fall flavors, be sure to also try my Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins!
Ingredient Notes:
Almond Flour: I swap out all-purpose flour for almond flour and tapioca flour to make wholesome apple muffins with the best texture! Almond flour contains healthy fats, protein, and fiber, which adds some nutrition to our treat.
Tapioca Flour: Because almond flour doesn’t contain much starch, adding a starchy flour like tapioca flour helps create a light and fluffy texture, similar to a baked good made with regular flour.
Fresh Apples: Pick your favorite kind of apple! I used cosmic crisp apples for this recipe, but granny smith apples, gala apples, pink lady, and honeycrisp apples work great too. For the most apple flavor, use tart apples like green apples. My personal preference is sweet apples.
Pure Maple Syrup: The sweetener! Pure maple syrup sweetens the muffins while also adding a touch of maple flavor.
Eggs: Large eggs help the batter rise for a fluffy consistency.
Avocado Oil: A little avocado oil adds richness and moisture for the best tender crumb.
Pumpkin Pie Spice or Apple Pie Spice: A combination of warm spices like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ground ginger gives the muffins a magical warm flavor. Swap out this ingredient for ground cinnamon if you prefer.
Streusel Ingredients:
Almond Flour: Just like the base of the muffins, I use almond flour for the crumb topping. The crumb topping makes these cinnamon apple muffins
Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar or brown sugar adds sweetness to the topping.
Melted Butter: Rich creamy butter adds amazing flavor and helps combine the ingredients so that the topping ends up with the right level of moisture and a little crisp. Melted coconut oil works too.
Ground Cinnamon: Warm cinnamon flavor makes the topping taste extra special and inviting.
Recipe Customizations:
- Add ⅔ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the crumb topping or muffin batter for a little crunch and nutty flavor.
- For sweeter treats, add a sweet glaze. To do so, combine 1 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and stir until a creamy consistency forms. Drizzle over the top of the muffin for a great way to enhance this apple muffins recipe.
How to Make Apple Muffins:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Whisk the eggs, pure maple syrup, avocado oil, and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl until the wet ingredients are combined.
Add in the almond flour, tapioca flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and sea salt (the dry ingredients) and mix well until a smooth batter forms.
Peel and chop an apple into small chunks and measure it out – we need 1.5 cups. Transfer the apple pieces to the muffin batter and stir well to incorporate it into the batter using a rubber spatula.
Fill the muffin cups up ¾ of the way full with apple muffin batter.
In a small bowl, stir together the ingredients for the crumb topping until well combined. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the muffins and gently press it into the batter.
Bake muffins on the center rack of the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of one of the muffins. They are ready if it reads 190 degrees F or higher.
Allow the muffins to cool to room temperature inside of the muffin tin before peeling off a muffin paper to enjoy one. If you try peeling the papers off while the muffins are still warm, you’ll lose a good amount of muffin to the liner.
Enjoy apple cinnamon muffins with a mug of coffee or tea for an amazing afternoon snack or a light breakfast! I love the idea of smearing apple butter or regular butter and honey on top of a warm muffin.
Storage Options:
- Room Temperature: Store muffins in an airtight container or a zip lock bag on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Refrigerate muffins for up to 1 week. To reheat muffins, microwave one on a plate for 20 seconds, or until warm.
- Freezer: Freeze muffins in a freezer bag or a large zip lock bag for up to 3 months.
The next time you’re craving a cozy fall treat, whip up this easy apple muffin recipe!
If you’re a muffin lover like me, also try some of my other favorite muffin recipes!
More Muffin Recipes:
- Cottage Cheese Muffins
- Double Chocolate Sweet Potato Muffins
- Almond Flour Banana Muffins
- Oatmeal Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Oatmeal Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Crumb Topping
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup pure maple syrup , or honey
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice , or apple pie spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ cups chopped apples, *
For the Crumb Topping:
- ½ cup almond flour
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar , or brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Whisk the eggs, pure maple syrup, avocado oil, and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl until the wet ingredients are combined.
- Add in the almond flour, tapioca flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and sea salt (the dry ingredients) and mix well until a smooth batter forms.
- Peel and chop an apple into small chunks and measure it out – we need 1.5 cups. Transfer the apple pieces to the muffin batter and stir well to incorporate it into the batter using a rubber spatula.
- Fill the muffin cups up ¾ of the way full with apple muffin batter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the ingredients for the crumb topping until well combined. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the muffins and gently press it into the batter.
- Bake muffins on the center rack of the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of one of the muffins. They are ready if it reads 190 degrees F or higher.
- Allow the muffins to cool to room temperature inside of the muffin tin before peeling off a muffin paper to enjoy one. If you try peeling the papers off while the muffins are still warm, you’ll lose a good amount of muffin to the liner.
- Enjoy apple cinnamon muffins with a mug of coffee or tea for an amazing afternoon snack or a light breakfast! I love the idea of smearing apple butter or regular butter and honey on top of a warm muffin.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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