These ridiculously soft and tender muffins are made with NO oil or butter! Subtly sweet and bursting with apple flavour, they make for a delicious and healthy breakfast or snack.
I think I just found my newest grab-n-go breakfast obsession.
But before we get into that, can we just talk about breakfast in general? Because in an effort to combat a serious case of the “durrrrr… what?“s (aka: writer’s block), I figured I would talk about the first thing that came to mind, and… BAM… breakfast.was.it.
Why I’m thinking about breakfast at 3 PM on a gorgeous Tuesday afternoon is anyone’s guess, but we’re just going to roll with it. Keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ (what!). Err. Sorry. Had a little Limp Bizkit moment there.
Anyways…
I love breakfast. Love. It’s not rare for me to eat a breakfast-type food for all my main meals, and while I wouldn’t say breakfast is the reason I get out of bed in the morning, it’s definitely one of the highlights of my day. Which just makes it sound like I lead an incredibly dull life, but whatever… I’m going with it. No backspace in this post. Or “delete,” as is the case on my Mac.
Ugh. See where my brain goes when I let it? All over the place. Back to the point…
Truth be told, I’ll never understand people who don’t love breakfast (or who don’t eat it at all 😯 ). I mean, I try to keep an open mind when it comes to different eating habits and dietary preferences, but… breakfast haters — you nuts! Oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, crepes, cereal, smoothies, muffins, coffee… be still my pounding heart.
And if you noticed that I left things like hash browns, eggs, and bacon off my list, it’s because this girl likes her breakfasts sweet. The only exception to the rule would be cold leftover pizza, and that’s only because it brings back fond memories of my late teens and early twenties. Memories that we’re not going to get into in today’s post. Brain! Move along *makes shooing motion with her hands*…
Where was I. Ahh yes.
I’ve been through a tonne of breakfast phases in my day. The kind where you fixate on one food and eat it every morning for months and months on end before moving on to your next obsession? There was a cereal phase. An Eggo phase. A Poptart phase. A granola bar phase. A muffin-as-big-as-my-head-phase. An oatmeal phase. And, most recently, a smoothie phase.
But that’s assuming I’m at home with plenty of time to leisurely enjoy my noms (tell me I didn’t just say ‘noms’… ugh). If I [hypothetically] sleep in, need to get ready and leave home early, or I’m just feeling lazy and want to be in-and-out of the kitchen in less than 2.2, then these Apple Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins are perfection. Heck, they’re perfection even without all of those conditions, but let’s just keep the breakfast train going…
These muffins were inspired by my ever-popular Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins… with a few changes.
First, apples instead of bananas. Obviously. Second, the inclusion of plain old flour. I tried making these muffins solely with oats, and while it still worked, it didn’t work quite as well. I mean, they still tasted amazing, but they looked a little wonky and the texture was a bit off… Nothing serious, but denser than I wanted.
In any case, these apple muffins are good stuff. They’re oil-free, contain a minimal amount of added sugar, and have a good amount of protein and fibre thanks to the yogurt and oats. But, more importantly, they taste fabulous. The combination of apples, yogurt, and oats is to.die.for, and the fact that they’re soft and dense just makes them a pleasure to eat.
Happy eating!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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Apple Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat pastry flour*
- 1 cup (80 g) old fashioned rolled oats**
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (225 g) plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 medium-sized apple (120 g), peeled, cored, and grated
- 1/2 cup (80 g) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (176C) and prepare a muffin pan by spraying the cavities with cooking spray or lining them with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Lightly beat the egg in a separate bowl. Whisk in the yogurt, applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla, and grated apple, stirring until well-combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing gently until just combined. Fold in the raisins.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling them almost to the top. Add a sprinkle of oats if desired.
- Bake the muffins for 20-22 minutes, or until top is firm to the touch and toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store them in an air-tight container for up to 5 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Notes
* You can also use a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat. I’d suggest 1/2 cup (60 g) of AP and 1/2 cup (60 g) of whole wheat. ** Do not use quick oats. They are too fine and will dry out the muffins too much.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Looking for more healthy muffin recipes? Try one of these!
Flourless Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
Flourless Vegan Banana Muffins
Blueberry Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
Thanks for this recipe! Love the low sugar and less fat! Applesauce is not a pantry staple for me in Australia so I diced and lightly cooked 4 small apples with a little water, juice of one orange and added the cinnamon (freshly ground as I only had cinnamon sticks left) to the saucepan. Added this and skipped the fresh apple. For a twist I added a good handful of walnuts at the end! Delicious. My young adult sons have already demolished half the dozen!
I was searching for an apple muffin and came across these. I knew I had to make them. I am sharing the recipe on my blog with a couple of adaptions and credit to you. I know I will be back to make more of your wonderful recipes. P.S. – I hid one in the back of the refrigerator or else my family would eat them all!
Haha! I used to do that as well! I’m so glad you liked them, Cynthia!
Any idea how many calories these are??? They are so good!
Hi there, I made these last week for friends and they all LOVED them. I made enough to last the weekend for us all to munch on and still had extra. I was curious how you store these so they stay fresh for a few days. Any suggestions?
Hi Katie! I’m so glad you and your friends loved them! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 I always store my muffins in an airtight container for the first 4 or 5 days, and then I freeze them if I need them to keep for longer.
Wonderful! Thanks so much, this is super helpful. Do you just microwave them to eat them if they’ve been in the freezer?
I normally take mine out about 15-20 minutes before I’m going to eat them (or in the morning if I need them later for the day). I imagine you could toss them in the microwave on defrost, but I grew up without one so I always kind of forget 😆
These look yummy. Could you substitute coconut flour or buckwheat flour instead?
I don’t think coconut flour would work since it tends to absorb more liquid than other flours, but buckwheat might. The taste and texture might be a little bit different though.
I unfortunately found these to be very bland.
Also, the “Rate this Recipe” widget below doesn’t seem to work. It stays on 5 stars.
I’m sure you have made these many times so what kind of apple do you think tastes the best in these muffins? Thanks!
Hi Erica! Personally I really love using either gala or ambrosia apples — both are super sweet and soft. For something a little more tart, I’m a huge fan of Pink Ladies as well.
They’re in the oven right now!! Looking and smelling good!!
I hope you liked them, Maria! 🙂
Since apples vary so much in size, adding the weight might help. Just a thought!
Hi! Sounds great. I don’t have any applesauce on hand, however. Any suggested substitutions? Thanks!
Hmmm. Not without changing the flavour completely. BUT! I do have a banana oat version that’s super popular — http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2014/06/24/banana-oat-greek-yogurt-muffins/
Great recipe! Simple to make and even hubby approved! Thank you!
Ohwow! *She is totally excited about finding a new website with more than one recipe that tastes amazing and is healthy.* This looks, super tasty. Yay! Excited to try more stuff from your site. I’ve got an overnight oat smoothie sitting in my fridge right now. I might just have to go to bed now so I can enjoy breakfast. o; I love apples, and it’s fall.. Apple and pumpkin cravings are kicking in. And eheh, First thing I thought of when you said “rollin’ rollin’ rollin'” was the intro to Rawhide. My gosh, I need to “get with the times.”
The muffins weren’t sweet enough for my taste, but I made them again with half a cup of sugar instead and white whole wheat flour and though they were great. Thanks!
thought*
What are your thoughts on adding some veggies into this (thinking picky toddler eater over here!)? Like spinach or carrots? Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hello!
I made these muffins today and I didn’t see your comment about not using quick oats and I did use them. But the muffins turned out light and moist and not dry at all! And really really yummy I must add!
Going to make these as a swap for store bought granola bars that I take with me for snacks… also gonna try and add other dried fruit to them XD
I’m not a breakfast person, mostly because I don’t have time to eat during the morning. I wake at 4:30 and I’m at work working by 5:30. So I’ve been looking for quick, eat on the run, breakfasts. These look delicious and I’ve pinned them to make later this weekend.
I love finding random music lyrics in posts; they make me happy. I didn’t hate finding these muffins either. They sound incredible and I just so happen to be a fan of using AP flour in recipes so they are right up my proverbial alley.
I tried to add in the little music notes too, but apparently I’m not cool enough for it to work. Le boo.
I agree, breakfast is the most important (and best) meal of the day. I think I could eat breakfast food all day long… These muffins look absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try them. Thanks 🙂
I made your Banana Oat Greek Yoghurt muffins about a week ago and my three year old ate four of them (they were mini ones!) and announced, “these are delicious, mum!”. This from the child who usually turns his nose up at my healthy muffin creations. Personally, I did find them a little bit dense so I am really looking forward to trying these apple ones with the flour. Hopefully, it passes the Little Person Test!
Thanks for the recipe.
Kate
Love it! Muffins are one of my favorite grab and go breakfasts (mostly because I’m a little too fond of my snooze button) and these sound like a delicious addition to my usual rotation.
I cycle through smoothies, overnight oats and my current obsession, peanut butter, banana and jelly sandwiches. I usually favor smoothies in the summer and oats in the fall. These phases do not last long because I love peanut butter and jelly so much I can’t really resist this breakfast 🙂 The muffins look great! Have you ever considered a vegan yogurt?
How about PBJ oats or PBJ smoothies? Then you could have the best of both worlds 😀
The fact that you quoted Limp Bizkit reminds me of why we’re friends.
Current breakfast phase: cold oatmeal (for days when I eat breakfast in the car) or avocado and egg toast because duh.
Ohhh these look Seriously good!! I’ve been on a baking kick these past two weeks! I can’t get enough…maybe it’s because it’s so dull, dark, and cold out!
Oh man, I’ve had so many Breakfast phases, right now I’m about the toast with almond butter and some fruit. Boring, but works!