I discovered this grain-free apple cinnamon muffin recipe made with applesauce out of desperation. (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 yummy go-to (and also “to-go”) breakfast recipe was born!

Best 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. Even now that my Hashimoto’s is gone and I eat some grains (and even gluten!), I still enjoy coconut flour baked goods.

It always feels great to get it right and hit on a recipe that makes both mom and kids happy. These remind me of apple pie, but in a muffin version.

If you haven’t had coconut flour muffins before, know they’re a little smaller and denser than your typical muffin. Still, they have that bready texture and aroma with apple flavor. They’re full of protein and fiber, and they’re gluten-free and grain-free. 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 that with a few simple modifications, I could turn this recipe into coconut flour cinnamon apple pancakes!

Using either the muffin or pancake recipe as a base, try these mix-ins to change things up:

• Reduce the applesauce by ¼ cup and add an overripe banana before blending

• Stir in ½ cup toasted chopped nuts, like walnuts

• Mix in ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries

• Add ½ cup chopped apples for 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!
  

Try adding diced apple or apple chunks to boost the apple flavor even more. Fresh apples add some more texture. If you like a tangy bite, opt for granny smith apples. Pink lady or honeyscrisp offer a sweeter flavor, or just use whatever is your favorite!

Missing baked goods? Try these other favorite grain-free breakfast recipes:

Have you ever tried making grain-free muffins? What other variations can you think of? Please share below!