Applesauce Mini Muffins (Toddler + Kid Favorite)

Applesauce Mini Muffins – perfectly wholesome and delicious muffins for toddler and kids! Made with white whole wheat flour, applesauce and a big spoonful of cinnamon for the ultimate muffin your little one will devour.

Applesauce Muffins

I have never in my life seen my girls eat muffins with such a short amount of time⏰! They couldn’t get them inside their bellies fast enough.

To say these were a winner🥇.. was a complete understatement!

These humble looking muffins pack a big taste punch👊!

Made with white whole wheat flour, applesauce and a big spoonful of cinnamon.. these muffins are a simple yet delicious breakfast or snack for your little ones.

Plus, there is nothing cuter than mini muffins 😍.

Reasons to Love these Mini Muffins

• toddler, kids and adult approved
• made with simple ingredients
• one-bowl recipe
• can be made gluten, dairy and egg-free
• are naturally nut-free
• fluffy and moist
• great for a breakfast or snack
• awesome packed in a school lunch
• freezer-friendly
• great meal prep item
• fun to make with the kiddos
• serve plain or with cinnamon sugar topping

Ingredients

• Flour: you can use white whole wheat, all-purpose, a gluten-free one for one, or half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour for this recipe.
• Applesauce: look for applesauce that has no sugar added.
• Egg: feel free to use a large egg or a flax egg in this recipe.
• Butter: you can use butter or any mild oil in this recipe – coconut, olive, canola or sunflower.
• Sugar: white or organic sugar is called for in this recipe.
• Brown Sugar: you can use regular brown sugar, coconut sugar or coconut brown sugar for this recipe. If you are going to reduce the amount of sugar, reduce the white sugar, not the brown sugar.
• Cinnamon: gives these muffins a to-die-for warming taste.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: gives the muffins a little lift to make them super moist and fluffy. You can also use white vinegar if that is all you have on hand, or leave it out completely.
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda

Best Applesauce to Use

The best applesauce to use in this recipe is a brand that has no added sugar. You want the flavor of the applesauce, not the sugar. I would also recommend a thicker applesauce variety but all three of brands I have used for this recipe – ranging from generic to organic – have worked great.

Allergy-Friendly

• Gluten-Free: make these gluten-free by using a one-for-one gluten-free flour.
• Egg-Free: you can make this egg-free by using any egg substitute or a flax egg.
• Dairy-Free: you can make these muffins dairy-free by using oil instead of butter.

Instructions

• Preheat Oven: preheat the oven and line or spray a mini muffin tin.
• Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract until well combined.
• Add Dry Ingredients: In the same large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Gently fold the ingredients together until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Spoon into Muffin Pan: using a spoon or a cookie scoop, fill each muffin cup with batter.
• Bake: for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
• Cool: let cool in the muffin pan or on a wire rack.
• Add Topping: you can roll them in a cinnamon-sugar topping for some more yumminess!

Can I make these Applesauce Muffins Sugar-Free?

If you are looking for a refined sugar-free muffin, you can definitely take out some or all of the sugar in this recipe. I made them without the white sugar, and used coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar and while they had a slightly deeper flavor, my kids still devoured them.

Just note, the more sugar you take out of the muffins, the denser the muffins will be. I would not suggest taking all of the sugar out completely, as you will have very hard muffins.

Add even more Deliciousness

You can serve these muffins as-is, or you can add a simple cinnamon and sugar coating to the top.

You simply dip the cooled muffins into a little melted butter and then roll them into a cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Cooking with Kids

TODDLERS

• Toddlers can help measure and put the ingredients into the bowl.
• They can help mix the ingredients together.
• Once cooked, toddlers can help roll the muffins into the melted butter and cinnamon sugar topping.

KIDS

• Preheat the oven.
• They can pick out and measure all of the ingredients. 
• Kids can help mix the ingredients together.
• They can help to fill the muffin cups with the batter.
• Once filled, kids can carefully put the muffin tin into the oven (with adult supervision) and remove once baked.
• Kids can melt the butter in the microwave, and then roll the muffins into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Storing and Freezing these Mini Muffins

You can store these muffins in a loosely covered container on the counter for up to 4 days.

These muffins freeze beautifully! To freeze muffins, place the muffins in an air-tight container, zip-lock baggie or stasher bag and then place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, simply leave the muffins in the fridge overnight or heat in the microwave.

Tips for making the best applesauce muffins

• Do Not Over Mix: do not over mix the muffin batter, as this will cause hard and dense muffins. Gently fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just incorporated. Some lumps will be okay.
• Sugar: I know we don’t want our kids have a ton of sugar, these muffins have just 3 grams of added refined sugar per mini muffin. I tried to find the perfect balance of having delicious muffins without excess sugar. If you want, you can cut the white sugar in half or omit completely. This will however affect the muffins and make them denser and less fluffy.
• Use No-Added Sugar Applesauce: we are adding in our own sugar and want to have control over how much added sugar goes into these muffins.
• Mini Muffins Vs. Regular: you can definitely make this recipe into regular size muffins. You will get roughly 6 full-size muffins and will need to bake them for 18-20 minutes.

More Muffin Recipes

• Lemon Blueberry Mini Muffins
• 15 Healthy Muffins Recipes for Baby + Toddler
• 3 Fall Blender Muffins for Baby + Toddler
• Spiced Sweet Potato Mini Muffins for Baby + Toddler

Tools Needed

• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Mini Muffin Tray
• Cookie Scoop

DID YOU MAKE THESE MINI APPLESAUCE MUFFINS?
 I’D LOVE TO KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT! LEAVE A COMMENT AND A ⭐️ RATING BELOW 👇

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Get the recipe: Applesauce Mini Muffins

5 stars (36 ratings)

These muffins are perfectly wholesome and delicious muffins for toddler and kids! Made with white whole wheat flour, applesauce and a big spoonful of cinnamon for the ultimate muffin your little one will devour.

Yield: 24 mini muffins

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 12 minutes minutes

Total: 22 minutes minutes

Author: Michele Olivier

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

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Ingredients 

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Applesauce Mini Muffins

• 1 cup flour (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup applesauce, no sugar added
• 1/4 cup butter or oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions 

Applesauce Mini Muffins

• Preheat oven to 375° F. Line or spray a mini muffin pan.
• In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract until well combined.
  
• In the same large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Gently fold the ingredients together until just combined. Do not overmix.
  
• Spoon the batter into the muffin cups until 2/3 the way full. I use a ____ cookie scoop which works great for mini muffins.
  
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until just golden brown.
• Let cool.
  
• You can serve as is, or coat in the cinnamon-sugar topping.

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

• In a small bowl, melt the butter. In another small bowl, mix together the sugar and the cinnamon.
• Take a cooled muffin and dip it into the butter and then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until well coated. Repeat with all of the muffins.
  

Notes

Age: 1 year and up

Storage: You can store these muffins in a loosely covered container on the counter for up to 4 days. These muffins freeze beautifully! To freeze, place the muffins in an air-tight container, zip-lock baggie or stasher bag and then place in the freezer for up to 2 months. To thaw, simply leave the muffins on the counter overnight.

Notes on Flour: you can use white whole wheat, all-purpose, a gluten-free one for one blend, or half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour for this recipe.

Serving: 1mini muffin, Calories: 56kcal, Carbohydrates: 8.6g, Protein: 0.8g, Fat: 2.2g, Cholesterol: 13mg, Sodium: 68mg, Potassium: 27mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 4.4g

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