Apple and Walnut Breakfast Muffins: Gluten-Free and Vegan

Muffins. They truly are such a genius idea. They can be sweet or savoury, for breakfast or for afternoon tea, filled with fruit or crammed with chocolate, they can be mini or the size of Texas, given as house-warming gifts or eaten straight from the oven at home (my preference!). But essentially they are small, individual cakes that somehow we can totally get away with eating for breakfast. No complaints here! But if I’m going to start my day with breakfast muffins, I’m at least going to try and keep them somewhat healthy, and after lots of testing and recipe tweaking, I think this recipe finds the balance between nutritious and tasty but is still incredibly easy to make (no mixers or blenders here – just a bowl and a whisk).

This recipe makes 6 medium-sized breakfast muffins and can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I just pop one in the microwave for 30 seconds each morning because a warmed-up muffin always tastes better.

A note on variations, you could add absolutely anything to this recipe; some frozen berries, shredded coconut, even chocolate chips. And you can absolutely double the recipe and make large/Texas-sized muffins, just remember to adjust the cooking time too.

Ingredients:

• Canola oil spray (to spray muffin tin)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/3 cup of applesauce / about 3 heaped tablespoons of apple sauce
• 1 tablespoon of canola/sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar*
• 1½ cup almond meal
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 small apple chopped small (I tend to use a Royal Gala / Pink Lady looking variety)
• A handful of chopped nuts (walnuts are my favourite)
• Raw sugar to top**
  * You can use white sugar or brown sugar as an alternative here, I just like coconut sugar.
  ** Raw sugar works best here because it holds its shape and doesn’t ‘melt’ like a small sugar crystal.

Recipe:

1. Preheat a regular oven to 200°C.
2. Spray a 6-hole, large, muffin tray thoroughly with canola oil spray. Alternatively, you can use paper or reusable muffin cases.
3. Combine all ingredients (except the chopped apple, nuts and the raw sugar in a mixing bowl).
4. Stir with a whisk until just combined and the banana is ‘mushed up’.
5. Stir in the nuts and most of the chopped apple (keep about 1/3 reserved) with a spoon.
6. Divide the mix evenly into the prepared muffin tray.
7. Top the muffins with the remaining chopped apple and sprinkle the raw sugar on top.
8. Place in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven when cooked (when you can insert a skewer and remove cleanly) and leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes.
10. Remove muffins from the tray and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

Let me know if you give these breakfast muffins a go, and what your favourite add-ins are. If you’re after a different type of gluten-free breakfast option, then definitely check out my Granola recipe here.