I discovered this grain-free apple cinnamon muffin recipe out of desperation, really. (Isn’t it so true that necessity is the mother of invention?)
On this particular morning I realized I only had five eggs in the fridge — not even close to enough to feed us all, especially when each kid could easily eat three each! I had coconut flour, homemade applesauce, and coconut oil on hand, so I mixed them and … voilà!
The kids requested them every day at breakfast for a week straight, and a great go-to (and also “to-go”) breakfast recipe was born!
Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins: A Break from the Norm
I’ll be real here… I haven’t always been a great baker, which I guess makes sense considering we don’t often eat grains. Still, being grain-free can mean a lot of scrambled eggs for breakfast, and we all have those days when only baked goods will do.
It always feels great to get it right and hit on a recipe that makes both mom and kids happy.
If you haven’t had coconut flour muffins before, know that they turn out a little smaller and denser than your typical muffin. Still, they have that bready texture and aroma. They’re full of protein and fiber that really satisfy, not to mention all the great health benefits of coconut since these muffins use both coconut flour and coconut oil.
These apple cinnamon muffins stay in regular rotation at our house and even kick off the breakfast section in my Wellness Mama Cookbook. As with almost all of the recipes in my cookbook, this muffin recipe takes 30 minutes or less to make, uses real food ingredients, and doesn’t generate a lot of dirty dishes to wash up afterward.
If you have to be careful and rotate recipes for allergy reasons or are just looking to get more variety at breakfast, check out the Real Plans meal planning tool for more help.
Apple Cinnamon … or Whatever Flavor You Desire!
I chose this applesauce and cinnamon combo out of convenience, but these muffins are incredibly versatile. I even discovered with a few simple modifications I could turn this recipe into these coconut flour apple cinnamon pancakes!
Using either the muffin or pancake recipe as a base, try these mix-ins to change things up from time to time:
- Reduce the applesauce by ¼ cup and add an overripe banana before blending
- Stir in ½ cup toasted chopped nuts, such as walnuts, by hand
- Mix in ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries
- Add ½ cup chopped apples for a little extra texture
- Add 3 tablespoons cocoa powder to make almost cupcake-like muffins
- Top with shredded coconut before baking for extra crunch
- Skip the apple and make them orange cranberry or lemon blueberry muffins!
The Recipe
Coconut Flour Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup applesauce
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 2-3 TBSP cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 TBSP honey or other sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Grease a muffin pan with coconut oil or use silicone muffin cups like these.
- Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl with an immersion blender or whisk until well mixed. I prefer the immersion blender so the coconut oil mixes evenly even if cold/hard.
- Let sit 5 minutes. This helps the coconut flour absorb moisture and creates a better texture in the finished muffins.
- Use 1/3 cup measure to scoop into muffin tins.
- Bake 12-15 minutes until starting to brown and not soft when lightly touched on the top.
- Let cool 2 minutes, drizzle with honey (if desired) and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
Missing baked goods? Try these other favorite grain-free breakfast recipes:
- Almond Flour Pancakes – Easy to whip up for a crowd and only takes 3 or 4 ingredients!
- Grain-free Flatbread With Spinach and Egg – Missing toast? Try this!
- Grain-free Pumpkin Pancakes – This budget recipe skips alternative flour using egg and pumpkin as the binder.
- Coconut Flour Biscuits – Indulge in sausage gravy and biscuits again, or top with eggs and hollandaise sauce for grain-free eggs benedict!
Have you ever tried making grain-free muffins? What other variations can you think of? Please share below!
can you use butter in place of the coconut oil? are they generally good substitutes fir each other?
I just finish making this recipe. However, I didn’t make muffins I made it as a bread. 🙂
I only use one 1 tablespoons of cinnamon and I added some raisins, I used Truiva for my sweetener and it taste so DARN GOOD! I think I am going to add some almond milk next time and cook them as pancakes and see how they come out!
I made the muffins and added some fresh blueberries. They turned out very well, but for some reason they did a number on my stomach. I’ve been having one for breakfast with some berries and they keep me full, but the tummy ache is not a good side effect. Any idea what would cause this? I followed the recipe exactly, just added the blueberries.
Have you eaten them before without the blueberries without problem? For some people, the large amount of fiber can cause stomach issues the first few times you eat it.
No, this is the first time I made them. I eat blueberries often, though. Would the large amount of fiber still cause trouble even though my diet includes tons of veggies and some fruit daily? Thank you for your help. I enjoyed the taste of the muffins, but they’ve given me a “fat” feeling and lots of tummy trouble 🙁 If I can figure out the glitch, I want to keep baking them!
The fiber could still be the problem, as it has a lot more than even most vegetables. It could also mean you are intolerant to coconut though… do you eat other coconut products without problem? Maybe
try them again in a few weeks and see how you do? If you see a reaction several times in a row though, I’d avoid them..
Ok, that sounds like a plan. I do eat other coconut products (like roasted veggies in coconut oil) and use coconut oil on my skin, so I don’t think I have an intolerance. I’ll try them again and maybe give some of the batch away to friends. That way I’ll eat only a couple instead of one each day for several days 🙂 I so appreciate your help!
Sometimes when we mix fruit with other types of foods, it can create gas and other problems. I am one of those people who cannot tolerate mixing…. : /
I found that adding a lot of cinnamon upsets my digestive track. I am going to try allspice next time.
hi 🙂 is there any way of making these in advance – either the night before or on a bake day and freezing them? how well do they keep in a tin or do they go all soggy? many thanks 🙂
Hi, I can tell you that these freeze really well; I’ve been baking a batch, freezing them on the same day and getting them out as needed for the kids’ breakfast.
many thanks 🙂 xx
we have an abundance of zucchini & squash from our garden right now and wanted to make muffins with them to freeze… have you ever done that with the coconut flour and adapting this recipe?? Do you think it would work?
Sounds good. I just made an apple spice muffin with coconut flour the other day but used diced apples. I wonder if the kids would like this one better.
where do you get your coconut flour? and what is a good price for it? i’m excited to try this out!
I get from Tropical Traditions, but you can find it at some grocery
stores and even on Amazon, sometimes for cheaper.
Hi, I am addicted to your website, really great stuff! I am wondering if you have ever tried to make your own coconut flour? It is pretty expensive so I was thinking of trying this, with the coconut chips maybe.
I’m all for DIY but coconut flour is one of the few things I wouldn’t make myself. There’d be no way you could get it fine enough because it’s so fiberous. And apparently coconut flour is not ground dried coconut. I’m able to find it for less than $5/pound and since you use such a small amount in each recipe it lasts for a long time.
I’ve tried a couple different brands, and each brand is not equal. Bob’s Red Mill is coarser ground and leads to a very fiberous-textured baked good. The Coconut Secret I use now is a little finer. I bought it cheap on Swanson Vitamins. I also have a bag of Nutiva from Azure Standard so we’ll see how it compares.
Happy baking!
What did you think of Nutiva? I’m new to gluten free baking and I don’t care for it.aybe I’m just not familiar with the texture. I’m wondering if I should try the Coconut Secret.
http://www.nutsonline.com
THANK you for the link!
I buy Nutiva coconut flour off of amazon in a 3 pound bag. You can also find it on iHerb.com or Vitacost.com has it in 1 pound bags.
FYI…my local Costco has the 3-pound bags of Nutiva coconut flour for $6.99 🙂
FYI: I also just made these directly from the recipe as a “bread” in an 8×8 glass pan. I just baked it a little longer until it was browner on the sides and not sticky on the top. Less to clean up! 🙂
Great idea and good to know it works! I’ll have to try that too!
Worked out GREAT! This is now my go-to bread. 🙂 I tried a different recipe today and it failed miserably. Your recipe is FOOL PROOF and Delicious!!!
I did the same in an 8×8 glass pan. The bread came out so nice, you can slice a piece in half and use like regular bread for sandwiches! Going to try it without the cinnamon and use em for PBJ, etc… Super texture!
Almond flour works well! I melted the coconut oil. This recipe is going in my weekly rotation! Thanks Wellness Mama!
The muffins (for me) took about 20 minutes. Also, I highly recomend using the cocoa powder as an extra engredient!