I can be a bit of a mad scientist in the kitchen. I love experimenting with different ingredients to see what affect they will have on the end product. Things may have gotten a little out of control with this recipe. I started out messing with my Greek Yogurt Banana Bread recipe, and ended up with these Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins FOUR batches later!
Needless to say, we’ve been eating a lot of muffins around here. We don’t mind a bit, and thankfully they freeze really well.
These muffins turned out to be really hearty with the oats, moist from the coconut oil, tender thanks to a little Greek yogurt, with a really nice tang from the applesauce and cinnamon. They are not-too-sweet, and go really well nestled up to a hot cup of coffee with plenty of cream.
I also sent a few to school in Little Boy#1’s lunch. He’s not allowed to bring any peanut products to school, so sometimes we have think outside the box a little bit.
This recipe comes together really quickly with two bowls and a wooden spoon. No mixer required! If you are able to find a chunky, or homestyle applesauce, you’ll love the tiny bits of apple throughout your muffin. Maybe you are even Martha Stewart enough to have a few jars of your own homemade applesauce sitting on the shelf of your pantry?
Sometimes I wish I could just follow a recipe, and leave well enough alone, but this time my mad scientist skills paid off!
Print
Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with lots of oats, applesauce, Greek yogurt, and coconut oil, these muffins are a good way to start the day!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup chunky or homestyle sweetened applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In another bowl, cream together sugar and oil by hand.
- Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Stir in yogurt, applesauce and vanilla until well incorporated.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix.
- Drop muffin liners into muffin pan, and then fill 3/4 full with the batter. Bake at 425 for 3 minutes, and then turn the oven to 350 and bake for an additional 17-18 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick comes out with crumbs on it. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Muffin
- Calories: 233
- Sugar: 13g
- Sodium: 80mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 1.1g
- Protein: 2.9g
- Cholesterol: 21mg
sally @ sally's baking addiction says
Haha I always feel like a mad scientist in the kitchen! I probably look a little crazy with flour all over my arms and face (and the floor) trying to perfect recipe after recipe. But that’s how we make the best of the best, right? These muffins look so good Julie!
Julie says
You are so right Sally! Thank you!
Leah says
OMG amazing muffins
Julie says
Thanks Leah :0)
Crystal | Apples & Sparkle says
These look truly yummy. I love how simple they are. Great if you have picky eaters. And I love the idea of using chunky applesauce too. I always admire the bravery of those that can do a lot of experimenting when it comes to baking. = ) Definitely pinned.
Julie says
Thanks Crystal! Hope you get a chance to try them.
Tiffany @ Triple Crème Decadence says
These muffins sound great! I like the addition of applesauce, what a unique touch! I usually buy store bought muffins but they have a ton of ingredients and preservatives. Thanks for sharing the recipe, now I can start making them at home. 🙂
Julie says
Thank you Tiffany. Hope you enjoy!
Leigh says
I just pulled these out if the oven and I just have to say, they are absolutely delightful! And so simple to make. I’m so glad I found your blog!!
xo’s
Julie says
Oh yay! Thanks for letting me know how you like them Leigh! Glad you found me too.
Juli says
Yum! I think this is my new favorite muffin recipe! I didn’t have quick oats, so I used rolled instead, and they are excellent. Thanks!!
Julie says
Oh that’s great Juli, good to know rolled oats work too!
tammy says
does it really call for a whole cup of coconut oil or was that a type O thanks wanna try these but want to make sure
Julie says
Yes that’s correct Tammy 🙂
Lindsay @ The Local Taste says
These look incredible!! Oats and applesauce and I’m sold! Delicious.
Julie says
Thanks Lindsay!
Mary says
They sound great but coconut oil is not healthy. I was told by a dietician that coconut oil is saturated fat and not to use it.
Donna says
Can these be made with whole wheat flour??
Julie says
Yes, I think they could but I would try maybe doing half whole wheat and half all purpose so they don’t get too dense. Let me know how they turn out if you try it!
Penny Schultz says
My mom, cannot use flour or eggs can I use egg whites& buckwheat,she is lactose free. all your recipes look so very good thank you so much.
Julie says
Thank you so much Penny! I’m not sure how these would turn out with those substitutions, but let me know how it goes if you try them.
Alana says
I am not a fan of coconut flavor… Do you taste the coconut a lot?
Julie says
It seems to depend on the coconut oil you use. You can substitute vegetable oil if you like.
Simone says
these muffins are great! I used light olive oil instead of coconut oil because it’s what I had on hand, as well as homemade, unsweetened apple sauce (although not by choice — I got halfway through the recipe before realizing my store bought apple sauce was moldy, ugh!) I think I could have gotten away with less sugar, and that’s even with using unsweetened apple sauce, but maybe I’m just in the mood for more breakfast-y, less dessert-y muffins. Next time I’ll try less sugar (or maybe making them with honey?) and using all greek yogurt, no oil. Great recipe, though!
Julie says
I’d like to try making them with honey too. Good for you for making homemade applesauce!
Jenna says
Made these twice now, as everyone kept asking for them again after I made them the first time! One of my favourite muffin recipes, ever. I used half the coconut oil it calls for (to reduce the amount of saturated fat), and they were still great. I also couldn’t find any chunky style applesauce, so I used regular sauce and tossed in some tiny cut up Apple chunks. Turned out amazing!
Thanks!
Julie says
I think you are right on with the oil- I may experiment with reducing the amount and tweak the recipe. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Mary Beth says
I just took these out of the oven and have not tried them yet but they smell so delicious! I notice that some are concerned about the saturated fat in the coconut oil. Actually if you use unrefined virgin coconut oil it is good for you. It has medium chain fatty acids. It has been shown. to actually improved blood lipid profiles and to reduce blood triclyceriides. It is the refined and hydrogenated coconut oil that contain transfats. I have actually been trying to find ways to get more coconut oil into my diet and these mufffins sure look like a way to do it. I am not an expert on coconut oil but have done a lot of reading on it since seeing some of the recipes with coconut oil in it. Of course, I guess this could just change like everything else. Just like coffee used to be bad for you and now it is good for you. I also absolutely love your raspberry muffins!!
Mary Beth says
Well, I just ate one and they are absolutely delicious!! So moist. I didn’t have any chunky applesauce so just used organic applesauce and they are very good.
Julie says
Mary Beth,
That is also what I have read. I bought a big tub of unrefined coconut oil at Costco and have been baking with it for the last several months. I really like the way my baked goods turn out with it. Glad you like the muffins!
As hamster says
I was just wondering what I could use in place of the Greek Yogurt? I have every other ingredient except the yogurt and i really want to start making these to surprise my husband and my toddler!! Please help!
Julie says
My best guess is that they will turn out fine if you just add 1/4 cup more applesauce in place of the Greek yogurt. Let me know how they turn out if you try them!
Ashamaree says
ThAnk you so much!!
Ashamaree says
So I just pulled the muffins out of the oven and my 17 month baby boy is scarfing one down!! I’m positive my husband will love them all the same!! Thank you so much! My son has a dairy allergy so I really have to watch what we cook and bake this recipe was wonderful, all I change was I added 1&1/4 cup applesauce and left out the Greek yogurt!
Ashamaree says
One last question lol do you think instead of using an extra 1/4 cup of applesauce subbing it for 1/4 banana would work just as well? 🙂
I am about to make my 2nd batch!
Julie says
Yes, I think that’s a great idea!
Stephanie says
where I am coconut oil is very expensive. Can I substitute with butter? And idea how to do that? You mentioned vegetable oil – is it a 1:1 conversion from coconut to veggie oil? Thanks!
Julie says
Butter will give a slightly different texture and it’s not always an exact substitution for coconut oil. If you want to substitute vegetable oil, you can keep the amount the same. Let me know how it goes if you decide to try it.
Brenda H says
Do you think I could sub the greek yogurt with vanilla grass-fed whole milk yogurt? I made your pumpkin muffins (AMAZING!!!) and I now feel the need to make every muffin on your page. Thanks for the yummy recipes! 🙂
Julie says
Yes, that should be fine. Not sure how thick your whole milk yogurt is, but you can let it drain in cheesecloth to remove some of the whey if it is very thin to make it more of a Greek yogurt consistency. Glad you liked the pumpkin muffins, and I hope you love these too!
Jamie says
I’m so excited to try these! I won’t lie, I spent a LOT of time in the past making muffins but eventually overused my recipes. After trying a lot of other things I’m back in the game for muffins but I plan on using this recipe as a guideline to make some gluten free muffins.
I just LOVE greek yogurt in my baked goods. It adds such a great texture!
cherylin says
Made these today and we loved them! I did alter the recipe a bit and here are the changes:
I did half a cup of coconut oil, half the amount of sugar (i meant to try honey and i forgot!)
and half whole wheat flour, half white flour.
Yummy!
Julie says
Glad you made them even healthier and they were still good. I’ll have to try your way next time. Thanks!