These cinnamon apple muffins are soft, moist, and bursting with fresh apple flavor. Rolled in cinnamon sugar, this quick and easy treat makes the perfect cozy fall snack or breakfast!

A group of cinnamon‑sugar‑topped apple muffins displayed on a wooden board, accented by cinnamon sticks and green apples for a cozy fall vibe.

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Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

These cinnamon apple muffins are soft and tender with juicy apple chunks in every bite, then finished with a buttery cinnamon sugar coating that tastes like a bakery-style treat. While this recipe makes full size muffins, you can easily turn them into mini apple muffins by adjusting the baking time.

I love baking a big batch of these and my applesauce muffins to stash in the freezer for busy mornings. They’re perfect for breakfast, snack time, or in lunchboxes. If you’re looking for more fall baking ideas, check out my easy pumpkin muffins with cake mix!

Why I Love This Recipe

  • Fall flavor and texture. These easy apple muffins are soft and moist from the oil and buttermilk with chunks of fresh apples and a topping of sweet cinnamon sugar.
  • Freezer friendly. Double the batch and freeze half of these cinnamon apple muffins for a quick grab-and-go breakfast with a smear of apple butter.

Recipe Ingredients

Apple muffin ingredients on a marble counter.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Apples: I love to use peeled and diced Granny Smith apples when making these muffins. They’re sweet, and crisp and will hold their shape when baking.
  • Baking staples: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt.
  • Spices: Add warm fall flavor by using a combination of apple pie spice and ground cinnamon.
  • Oil: This makes the muffins super moist and tender. Vegetable oil is my preference, but canola oil or coconut oil would also work.
  • Apple sauce: For even more apple flavor and a moist texture.
  • Buttermilk: Made with a simple mixture of milk and vinegar, buttermilk helps to make these muffins super light and soft.
  • Topping: Melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar are added on top to give these apple muffins the ultimate finishing touch!

How to Make Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Whisk together the vegetable oil, applesauce, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk, and mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir just until combined.

Showing wet ingredients combined in a bowl with flour, baking powder and baking soda ready to be folded into to make muffin batter.

Add the diced apples into a separate bowl and toss with a little bit of flour and cinnamon. This gives them more flavor, as well as prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin pan.

Diced apples in a bowl with spices and flour.

Gently fold the diced apples into the batter until combined.

Divide batter between the paper liners and 12-cup muffin tin and bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and place on wire cooling rack.

Overhead shot of a glass mixing bowl filled with batter and a generous amount of diced apples and cinnamon, with a wooden spoon poised for folding.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the muffins with melted butter, then roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.

Single cinnamon sugar‑coated muffin perched atop others in a stacked arrangement, styled against a backdrop of blurred green apples.

Tips and Variations

  • Grated apples. During testing, I grated the apples. While I prefer the diced apples for flavor and texture, you can use grated apples for a more dense muffin.
  • Add-ins. These apple muffins would taste delicious with chopped pecans or walnuts added in.
  • Spices: You can also add more fall spices for a bolder flavor, such as nutmeg, all-spice, or cardamom.
  • Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Rolling them in a buttery cinnamon sugar mixture after baking makes these scrumptious but you can sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar.
  • Other toppings: Feel free to use a streusel topping or make an easy crumb topping. You could also leave off the topping and drizzle with a sweet maple glaze instead.
Close-up of a cinnamon apple muffin torn open to reveal a moist interior with diced apple chunks, nestled among sugar-coated muffins and fresh green apples in the background.

Want more muffin recipes? Snack on these delicious pumpkin crumb muffins, banana bread muffins or easy breakfast muffins.

More Apple Recipes

Close-up of a cinnamon apple muffin torn open to reveal a moist interior with diced apple chunks, nestled among sugar-coated muffins and fresh green apples in the background.

Easy Cinnamon Apple Muffins

5 from 46 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12
These cinnamon apple muffins are soft, moist, and bursting with fresh apple flavor. Rolled in cinnamon sugar, this quick and easy treat makes the perfect cozy fall snack or breakfast!
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Ingredients 

Muffins

  • 2 Granny Smith apples , peeled and finely diced (about 2 cups)
  • 2 cups + 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour , divided
  • 2 teaspoons apple pie spice , see notes
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon , divided
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup apple sauce
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt

Topping

  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ½ Tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2-3 Tablespoons butter , melted

Instructions

Muffins

  • Prep. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously grease or line with muffin cups a 12-cup muffin tin.
  • Toss apples with flour and spices. In a medium bowl, toss 2 cups diced apples, 2 teaspoons flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
  • Wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 applesauce, and 1 cup sugar until combined. Beat in 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1/2 cup buttermilk until well combined.
  • Dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons apple pie spice and 1/2 teaspoon remaining cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients. Fold in the apples.
  • Bake. Divide batter evenly between the tin cups. Bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges are golden. Remove pan from oven and place on a cooling rack.

Topping

  • In a small bowl, stir together 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon. Brush the tops of the muffins with 2-3 Tablespoons melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Apples: While I prefer granny smith, honey crisp also works great. If you prefer a softer apple, you can grate the apples instead of having bigger pieces. 
Mini muffins: You can also bake in a mini muffin pan (makes about 48 mini muffins). For mini muffins bake about 16 to 18 minutes.
Apple pie spice: If you don’t have apple spice you can use 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon all-spice.
Storage: Best served warm the first day. Store leftovers in a covered container up to 3 days. Freeze up to 3 months.
Recipe updated 8/22 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 315kcal, Carbohydrates: 55g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 37mg, Sodium: 121mg, Potassium: 159mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 139IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 53mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Recipe FAQs

What are the best apples for baking muffins?

The best apples to bake with are varieties that are crisp with a sweet flavor. You want them to be able to hold their shape when baking. No one likes mushy apples!

I prefer to use Granny Smith apples in this apple muffin recipe, although Honeycrisp is another great option.

Can I make mini muffins?

You can also make these into mini apple muffins for a smaller bite. Simply bake in a mini muffin pan at 375°F for about 16 to 18 minutes. This recipe will make about 48 mini muffins.

How to store apple cinnamon muffins?

These muffins do taste best served the first day (especially warm!) but will stay fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can freeze them for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour prior to enjoying, or thaw in the microwave until warm.