Vegan Apple Muffins With Streusel Topping

“You’d never know these muffins don’t have butter or eggs.” That was my mother in law, one bite in. And that’s when Alex and I knew we had a winner of a recipe! These vegan apple muffins are perfectly fluffy and moist. The best part is a crunchy apple streusel muffin topping: it gives each bite a perfectly sweet crunch, without being overly sugary. It’s one of our very favorite apple recipes. (Except apple pie and apple crumble, of course!) Want to know all our secrets? Keep reading. Got ripe bananas? Try our Vegan Banana Muffins instead!

Why these are the best vegan apple muffins…hands down.

How do you make the best vegan apple muffins? Here are a few of the tricks to how they turn out moist and fluffy, with the perfect crunchy topping:

Applesauce keeps them moist, and works as a binder. There’s no egg needed here. You don’t even need a flax egg to hold these muffins together, a substitute often used in vegan baking. Applesauce keeps the muffins moist and is a binder that holds the batter together. (PS here’s how to make applesauce, and in an Instant Pot.)Coconut oil instead of butter. These vegan muffins are plant based by way of coconut oil. It’s used in muffin batter as well as the topping. Crunchy streusel topping. This topping really takes the cake (er, muffin!). It adds a sweet crunch to every bite! Typically butter is used in a streusel topping, but coconut oil works just as well with the sugar, oats and cinnamon.

These muffins also highlight pure maple syrup, which brings just the right gentle sweetness. Want to add flair? Drizzle with our 1-Minute Powdered Sugar Icing.

How to store muffins

What’s the best way to store these vegan apple muffins? The texture of the streusel can easily be lost depending on the storage method. Here’s our recommendation:

1 day: Leave the muffins on a cooling rack and cover with a clean, dry dish towel. This helps the crunchy streusel topping to stay intact.Up to 4 days: Place a paper towel in the bottom of a sealed container, then place the muffins in and place a paper towel on top. The paper towels absorb any moisture, which helps to retain the crunchy topping.Longer than 4 days: Freeze these apple muffins in a sealable container and store up to 3 months.

What’s turbinado sugar? What’s a substitute?

The streusel topping for these vegan apple muffins uses turbinado sugar. What is it? Turbinado sugar is raw sugar with large, light brown crystals. It’s less processed than refined white sugar; it’s boiled only once to remove the molasses. It has a more complex, caramel-y flavor than refined sugar. Because its crystals are large, they add a nice texture to the top of muffins, cakes and breads.

How to find turbinado sugar? You can find it in a grocery store or buy turbinado sugar online.Want a substitute for turbinado sugar? If you can’t find it, you can use light brown sugar in place of the turbinado sugar. While it doesn’t have the signature crunch, it has a similar flavor.

Other vegan bread and muffin recipes

Alex and I love vegan baking! Each one of the recipes below is vegan and perfectly formulated to be 100% plant based.

Vegan Blueberry Muffins These vegan blueberry muffins so tasty and have no refined sugar or dairy. They’re made with coconut oil and maple syrup.Healthy Pumpkin Muffins These are similar to these apple muffins, but with pumpkin! Use coconut oil instead of butter. Best Vegan Zucchini Bread This quick bread is perfectly moist with a crunchy glittery sugar topping—no one will believe it’s vegan.Applesauce Muffins The batter is whizzed in a blender and they come out fluffy and perfectly cozy spiced. Make them with flax egg for vegan.Vegan Banana Bread This deliciously moist vegan banana bread will become a favorite in no time! It’s easy to make and has just the right banana flavor.