Healthy Apple Muffin Recipes

These healthy apple-cinnamon muffins will put you in an autumnal state of mind no matter the time of year. Sprinkling the muffins with sugar before baking gives them a crispy top, just like a coffee-shop muffin--but these are a whole lot more nutritious than your average coffee-shop muffin, thanks to wholesome ingredients like white whole-wheat flour. Serve them for breakfast or a grab-and-go snack.

These Morning Glory muffins are full of everything you'd expect in the bakery favorite-carrots, apple and raisins, topped with nuts and toasted wheat germ. If raisins aren't your favorite, substitute an equal amount of the dried fruit of your choice.

These gluten-free muffins use finely ground rolled oats in place of flour. That gives the fruit- and nut-studded muffins a tender texture and fluffy crumb. To make the muffins even easier, everything is combined in the blender so you can blend, pour, bake and enjoy.

These a.m. favorites are gloriously fruit-packed. Grating some of the pineapple incorporates it into the batter, helping to sweeten these muffins with less than half the sugar of similar recipes.

Think of crème fraîche as sour cream's richer, thicker, less-sour sibling. In this healthy muffin recipe, it's the secret ingredient that gives these muffins a light texture and rich flavor. The batter is made with extra spices and tons of sweet fruit, which means you won't notice the minimal amount of white sugar.

We subtracted the flour, dairy products and eggs from these healthy mini muffins, which are vegan and gluten-free. But we left in all the good stuff--like tons of juicy berries in every bite. Applesauce and brown sugar make these blender muffins moist and provide just the right amount of sweetness for breakfast or a snack.

These muffins are dense, grainy, fruity and delicious. A double dose of apple--diced fresh apple and dark, spiced apple butter (Smucker's brand is good)--makes them extra moist and flavorful.

In this savory quinoa muffin recipe, grated apple adds moisture, quinoa adds protein and sharp Cheddar cheese makes these healthy muffins a perfect pairing for soups and stews. To make these quinoa muffins gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour blend in place of the whole-wheat flour.

Grated winter squash, such as butternut or acorn, adds a bit of sweetness and keeps these tender muffins moist in this easy recipe. Shredded zucchini is a good substitute in summertime.

Kids in the Massachusetts Farm to School program used smart recipe swaps when they created these strawberry muffins: applesauce to replace some of the oil lowers calories, and whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour brings added fiber and more nutrients.

If you can't find ground roasted buckwheat groats in your grocery store, ask for kasha--its commonly-used name. Check the package label before buying. Kasha is available in fine, medium, and coarse grinds.

You can serve these cake-like lemon-scented, fruit-packed whole-grain muffins for dessert or brunch.