These healthy Applesauce Muffins are perfect for busy mornings. Their cream cheese frosting makes you feel like you’re eating cake for breakfast!
Healthy Applesauce Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
I know I’ve hit the jackpot when Vegas approves of a “healthy” dish. She ate her muffin, no questions asked, and then said “I’m glad you made real muffins. Healthy food tastes like cardboard.” Riiiiiight…
It’s not hard to hide when it smells like apple pie coming out of the oven. Little does she know that these muffins are sugar-free and contain whole wheat flour. #sorryimnotsorry
To sweeten these lovelies, I used Musselman’s unsweetened applesauce. I’ve been focusing more on ensuring the foods we eat are as natural as possible, so it was the perfect fit. Their products are non-GMO* and contain no high fructose corn syrup. The applesauces that do have sugar added are sweetened only with with cane sugar for a better taste.
Musselman’s apple sauce is available in family-size jars, single-serve cups, and convenient squeeze pouches. We’ve been enjoying the full array of snacks here. That cinnamon applesauce makes for an awesome pre-workout!
Back to my muffins though. Not only are these applesauce muffins healthier, but they are also fantastically moist. Dry muffins make me angry, so this is a requirement for any recipe I make.
This icing on this cake muffin is a cream cheese-based creation I whipped up as an afterthought. Who doesn’t want frosting for breakfast? It’s optional, but you’re going to want it.
The other fabulous thing about these muffins is that they freeze well, making them perfect for a last-minute breakfast or afternoon snack!
Check out Musselman’s full line of non-GMO, naturally sweetened products here. You can also follow them on Facebook for more recipe inspiration. Even better, they’ve also offered this coupon to help you get started!
*Disclaimers: This post was sponsored by Musselman’s. While Musselman’s uses GMO-free cane sugar in all of their apple sauce, the Honey-Cinnamon flavor contains honey, which cannot be verified GMO-free.
Healthy Applesauce Muffins
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Keywords: bake breakfast snack low-sugar nut-free soy-free vegetarian applesauce whole wheat flour xylitol fall winter
Ingredients (9 muffins)
- 1 C all-purpose flour
- 1 C whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup Xylitol (or your preferred sweetener)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves
- Pinch of salt
- 1 C Musselman’s unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1/2 C butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the Frosting:
- 4 oz low-fat cream cheese, softened
- 2 oz 0% Greek yogurt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3-4 drops vanilla liquid stevia
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients and whisk until combined.
Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Evenly scoop mixture into a greased or lined muffin pan, filling about 2/3 of the way full.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Meanwhile, mix together frosting ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.
Allow muffins to cool before frosting.
[Tweet “Naturally sugar-free, these cinnamon applesauce muffins are sure to please your whole family!”]
***
I’m already plotting my next sneaky baking move…
What kind of muffins have you been baking lately?
Have you ever baked with applesauce?
“Dry muffins make me angry” 😂 one of your best ever!! And, you know I love this recipe since it’s super EASY!!! Thank you!
What can I say… I have a delicate temperament!
Well, that is one way to get back on the sauce in the morning! I used to bake with applesauce all the time. Time for me to get back on the sauce (so that we can all be on the sauce and I can just keep saying that)
HA! I like the way you think!
Looks yummy!
These look great! I bake with applesauce a lot and cream cheese frosting is my absolute favorite. Cream cheese and apple are such a great combo. I eat apple slices with cream cheese and cinnamon all the time! And I agree that there is nothing worse than a dry muffin. Its just wrong!
I can’t believe I’ve never had apple slices with cream cheese! This needs to be rectified.
That is hilarious that she said that! OMG I’m totally dying over here.
That’s my girl… LOL!
These sound yummy! I love using apple sauce as an oil replacement when I’m baking. Makes baked goods come out moist without empty calories & fat! I just whipped up blueberry banana Greek yogurt muffins a few days ago for my family 🙂
Yes! I haven’t been on a healthy baking bender in a while, but all the talk of muffins and cookies at Expo West inspired me to start again!
I love applesauce muffins and always choose unsweetened options too. The whole wheat flour is also a nice whole grain touch! 🙂
I just do part whole wheat to avoid the “healthy” taste Vegas won’t tolerate… every little bit helps, right?! 😉
Muffins with frosting always make me feel like I’m eating dessert!
100% my motive!
I love to use apple sauce in muffins it’s perfect for a sweetener
I was thinking of making applesauce bread, but I don’t even like applesauce. LOL! But then I thought, i bet it would be tastier and “moist” in bread or muffins. See… you complete me. welcome home
You’re not alone! I refuse to eat the stuff plain. It’s great for baking though!
So, I couldn’t sleep this morning and look what I found. Busted! But, I’d totally eat them again. They were delicious 😘
I like using applesauce when I bake, but I’ve never heard of Musselman’s Applesauce, it looks pretty darn tasty. If these muffins fooled Vegas, they are defiantly for me.
Vegas is my litmus test for everything in the kitchen. 🙂
I’ve been on a muffin making bender lately. Seriously, Ave loves them and I use things like apple sauce, almond butter and maple syrup. Moist is a must.
I’ve been watching your moist muffins, licking my chops. Ave is one lucky kid.