Why Should You Make This Recipe?

This easy recipe is a wonderful addition to my foolproof Almond Flour Desserts collection. If you have under an hour of free time, these paleo almond cinnamon muffins are a delicious and easy way to celebrate the fall season, one muffin at a time!

Visually Impressive: These Almond Flour Apple Muffins are picture-perfect treats that will have all your guests fooled as to just how easy they are to make and decorate!
Minimally Sweetened: The natural sweetness of the apples and maple syrup means that there is no refined sugar in these healthy apple muffins.
In Season: These delicious muffins are an easy way to bake with the in-season apples you pick this time of year! Seasoned with a hint of cinnamon and that natural apple flavor, this fall treat will warm you up on the inside.

Quick Clean Up: This recipe only requires one large bowl, one small bowl, and one whisk, so no long and tedious clean up afterwards. Just one more thing that makes this recipe so easy!
Paleo, Gluten Free and Dairy-free: These apple muffins are paleo friendly and gluten free, so you can meet many dietary restrictions in group settings with just one simple recipe.

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Ingredients:

These Almond Flour Apple Muffins only require 12 simple ingredients, many of which you likely already have in your pantry.

Gather your almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, eggs, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract, apple slices, and chopped walnuts.

Helpful Ingredient Notes including Substitutions:

Oil: I recommend using vegetable oil or melted coconut oil, but don’t use olive oil for this recipe!
Almond Flour: This recipe calls for almond flour, although you can use almond meal interchangeably. Almond meal is a bit thicker than almond flour, but either creates a smooth textured muffin. Don’t have access to almond flour? No problem, follow my recipe for a simple DIY almond meal or almond flour at home.
Apples: Any of your favorite juicy apples will work in this recipe. My personal favorites are Gala Apples or Honeycrisp Apples, but if you prefer a more sour apple, Granny Smith Apples or Pink Lady Apples are great alternatives. You can also do a mix and match with different apples to get a balance of sweet, sour and tart!
Slicing Apples: When preparing your apples of choice, it is important to slice them very thinly with a mandoline or a knife. Slicing thinly and evenly will ensure that they cook completely and thoroughly. If you are baking for younger children, or just prefer smaller pieces, you can cut your apple slices in half.
Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup and agave nectar can be used interchangeably, depending on your taste preference and availability!

How to Make?

This paleo apple muffin recipe takes just a few steps from start to finish and is completed in just under an hour. Because of how easy these are to prepare, you can make these in advance to enjoy throughout the week, or as a spontaneous treat on the weekend!

Dry Ingredients: Measure out and add your dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix together until completely combined.
Wet Ingredients: Measure out and ddd your wet ingredients to a separate bowl and whisk until completely combined.
Combine: Simply pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until all the ingredients are fully combined.
Add Apples: Gently fold in the thinly sliced apple pieces into the muffin batter just until combined.

Apple muffins in muffin tin showing how to garnish step by step

Pour into Muffin Tins: Divide batter into your prepared muffin pan. Make sure you have 12 equally filled muffin tins with the apple pieces dispersed evenly.
Decorate: Although this step is optional, it creates for beautifully decorated apple almond muffins. Thinly slice half an apple (again, your choice of apple) and lay three slices on top of each muffin. Each apple slice can slightly overlap to create a fan effect for an additional visual appeal.
Add chopped walnuts: For an additional texture and nutty flavor, add a small handful of chopped walnuts onto each muffin as well.
Bake: Bake your muffins at 325 degrees F for 35 minutes, or until the tops of your muffins turn golden brown. Allow your muffins to cool completely, at least 30 minutes in the tin or on a cooling rack, before enjoying!

How To Serve:

Enjoy these gluten-free apple muffins with your morning coffee or tea, or serve with my Homemade Almond Milk on any brisk day this fall!
If you cannot get enough of apple goodness, try serving it with a few tablespoons of my unsweetened applesauce on the side.

How to Store, Freeze & Thaw

The best part about these paleo apple cinnamon muffins is that they store and freeze well. Simply follow the steps below for delicious apple muffins every time:

To Store: This recipe makes 12 apple almond muffins that can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator. If you keep it in the fridge, warm them in a low-heat (250 degrees F oven) for 5 minutes before serving.
To Freeze: You can freeze these muffins for up to one month after making them. Allow the baked muffins to reach room temperature before placing them into the freezer.
To Thaw: Once you are ready to enjoy the muffins, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes before baking at 250 degrees F for 5-8 minutes, or until they are warmed through.

Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins on a cooling rack

Expert Tips

Slicing Apples: If you own a mandoline, this is a great time to use it to thinly slice your apples. Big apple chunks will not work for this recipe, as they will not bake thoroughly and evenly. If you are looking to purchase a mandoline, I suggest this mandoline. Of course, you can always use a knife to slice your apples.
Muffin Tin Liners: I love using parchment paper muffin liners for all of my muffins. If you use parchment paper muffin liners (affiliate link), you do not need to grease your muffin tins. However, if you use regular paper liners, I recommend greasing your tins so that your liners do not stick and result in messy clean up.
Wet Ingredients: I suggest having your wet ingredients at room temperature so that you can develop a velvety smooth muffin batter and evenly baked paleo almond meal muffins.
Do not skip on cooling: While I know that it is hard to wait, do not skip on the cooling process. These almond apple muffins need at least 20-30 minutes to cool for best results.
Apples & Maple Syrup: As I mentioned above, you can use your own preference of apples, or a mix of different types of apples like tart apples and sour apples. However, if you are using sweet apples, you can decrease the amount of maple syrup that you use so that your muffins are not overly sweet. Start with using two tablespoons of less maple syrup and go from there.
Decoration: The decoration on top is optional, but it is very simple to achieve and beautiful at the end!
Coconut Flour: Do not replace your almond flour with coconut flour, as the batter consistency will be off and it will not work for this recipe.

Similar Gluten Free Muffins You Might Like:

If you enjoyed these apple muffins with almond flour, here are a few other paleo and gluten-free almond flour muffins recipes you might like:

Pumpkin Almond Flour Muffins
Almond Flour Zucchini Muffins
No Flour Blueberry Muffins
Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Need more inspiration? Check out our collection of naturally sweetened desserts and muffin recipes.

Other Apple Recipes You Might Like:

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Almond Flour Apple Muffins