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A family favorite fall apple muffin recipe – apple crumb muffins made with applesauce and brown sugar crumb topping. Every time we make these spice muffins, we get tons of compliments! Made with everyday ingredients from your pantry!

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applesauce spice muffins with crumb topping and white glaze on metal plate and apples in the background

How many times have I said that muffins are my love language?!

It’s 100% possible to have a food love language. Ribs and mashed potatoes would be another top contender.

I think I love muffins so much because in my book they are an anytime food. Breakfast. Morning snack. Afternoon snack. Dessert. It covers all the bases!

applesauce spice muffins with crumb topping in a muffin pan

We’ve been swimming in muffin land since I started working on this recipe. For almost every recipe I’ll make a regular batch and a gluten free batch. Then I was testing out different crumb toppings.. 48 muffins later we have the perfect apple muffins with crumb topping!

Total Time Required

  • 10 minutes to make the batter
  • 7 minutes at 425ºF
  • 12-14 minutes at 350ºF
  • 10 minutes to cool
applesauce spice muffins in muffin pan on the left and applesauce spice muffins with crumb topping in muffin pan on the right

There is no way Ryan and I can consume all of the food I make & test, so a ton of it goes to work with Ryan on a pretty regular basis.

But this week I dropped some muffins off at our church and they were a bit hit! I should make that a regular thing.

applesauce spice muffins with crumb topping and white glaze on metal plate and apples in the background

Do I have to use unsweetened applesauce?

No. That’s what I choose to use, but you could use regular applesauce or even cinnamon applesauce. I wouldn’t suggest using chunky applesauce as it will change the texture of the muffins.

Do I have to put the crumble on top?

Nope! Crumble is gooooood, but sometimes I want a less sweet muffin so skip the crumble if you want to! The baking time will be about the same.

applesauce spice muffins with crumb topping and white glaze on metal plate and apples in the background

Why should I bake the muffins at 425ºF for 7 minutes then turn the temperature down to 350ºF?

Baking the muffins at an initial higher temperature helps the muffins rise quickly, creating more of a domed muffin top – which everyone loves!

How to freeze apple muffins

Allow the muffins to cool completely. I like to wrap two muffins together (the bottoms of the muffins touching) in plastic wrap, then place all the wrapped bundles in a ziplock bag.

To thaw, either let them come to room temperature on the counter or place as many as you need in the microwave for 15 second intervals.

applesauce spice muffins with crumb topping and white glaze on wire rack and apples in the background

More apple recipes

4.25 from 122 ratings

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Applesauce Crumb Muffins

By: Beth
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Total Time: 24 minutes
Servings: 12 muffins
A family favorite fall apple muffin recipe – apple crumb muffins made with applesauce and brown sugar crumb topping. Every time we make these spice muffins, we get tons of compliments!

Ingredients 

Muffins

  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs

Crumb Topping

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted, 1/2 cup

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a regular sized muffin pan with liners.
  • Make the crumb topping: In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix together with a fork until crumbly and wet. Set aside.
  • Make the muffins: In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  • In a separate larger mixing bowl, combine the applesauce, brown sugar, and vegetable oil, whisk together. Add in the eggs, whisk again. Using a spatula, gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
  • Fill each muffin cup almost to the top. The 12 muffin cups will be full, but that’s good! Using your fingers, crumble a generous amount of topping on each muffins.
  • Bake at 425ºF for 7 minutes. Then keeping the muffins in the oven, turn the oven down to 350ºF and bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the muffin pan. Once the muffins cool, you can add a powdered sugar glaze (powdered sugar + milk) if you’d like!

Video

Notes

This recipe turned out great using gluten free flour too! We love King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour.

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 288IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Beth

I believe that everyone should have a go-to dessert to bring to parties! With hundreds of recipes, I'll help you find yours!

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Recipe Rating




42 Comments

  1. Thank you. I made these yesterday, with a couple of minor changes. Shared them with 4 neighbors and everyone loved them.
    I didn’t use the liners because I never, ever use liners for muffins. I didn’t melt the butter for the topping and I should have because the crumbles fell off too easily. Next time I will add a pinch of clove as I think it would it would enhance the spices.
    I didn’t do the drizzle on top because they are sweet enough as is.

  2. 5 stars
    I made these for my family yesterday morning and everyone loved it! My family had eaten all of them by the time I   went for seconds! I’m going to make them again today or tomorrow, and was wondering if I made a double batch if I could freeze some of the batter? These are definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!

    1. Hi Sonya! I haven’t tried freezing the batter. But you can certainly bake the muffins and freeze those!

  3. I made these for staff appreciation and let me say, they were well received! Very moist and everyone raved about the topping. Next time I will add chopped apples for that added crunch and distinct apple flavor. Most employees thought they were spuce muffins.

  4. I just made these and they are amazing!  I want to make another batch for work but someone has an egg allergy.  I know applesauce is often a substitute for eggs so for this recipe could I just add more applesauce?  Or should I use a different egg replacer like flaxseed?  Thx!

  5. 5 stars
    First timing trying these and they turned out great! Generous in size, perfect texture, delicious and not too crumbly.

  6. 5 stars
    These are to die for!! Next time I’m definitely trying adding some chopped apples & pecans as others have suggested. 

  7. 5 stars
    This recipe was delicious! I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and red fife whole grain all purpose flour in place of regular all purpose. My children and I LOVED it. We could NOT get enough. I will say that with my modification, it only made 8 muffins, but I could have pushed it more by filling the tins slightly less. Next time around I’m going to try decreasing the refined sugar in the muffins themselves by giving coconut sugar a shot instead. Overall, outstanding!Â