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These easy Spiced Paleo Muffins have a light & fluffy texture, and will make your home smell like Fall as they bake. You don’t need any flour or oil to make them, so they’re naturally gluten-free, and totally delicious!
These muffins are inspired by my Paleo Pumpkin Muffins, only this version uses applesauce instead of pumpkin. The applesauce taste isn’t too noticeable, so if you want even more added apple flavor, try adding in some finely diced apple.
Note: My family didn’t care for the added chopped apple texture, so I’ve left them out of this recipe, but personally I liked it! If you want to give it a try, I added half of a Honeycrisp apple when I tested it that way, which was roughly 1/2 cup diced & peeled.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in a Paleo muffin?
- Almond butter
- Applesauce
- Eggs
- Honey
- Spices
It never ceases to amaze me how almond butter can act as a flour substitute in baking. It provides both the structure, and the healthy fat, so you don’t need to add oil to this recipe. These muffins turn out perfectly tender, with a light and fluffy texture!
If you don’t have almond butter on hand, you can swap it for peanut butter (which isn’t paleo, but it is still grain-free), cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter, as a nut-free alternative.
How to Make Paleo Muffins
1. Mix. Add the almond butter, applesauce, eggs, honey, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt to a large bowl, and mix well.
Note: Some baking powders are made with cornstarch, and would not be considered “Paleo” while other brands are made with arrowroot starch, which is considered grain-free. Be sure to look for the arrowroot variety, if you need to stick to a strictly Paleo diet.
Alternatively, you can swap the baking powder for a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda + 1 teaspoon of vinegar, for a similar effect.
2. Bake. Use a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter into a lined muffin pan.
Sometimes I only get 11 muffins from this batch, but you can distribute the batter evenly to make 12 smaller muffins, if you want to. These muffins are so nutrient dense, they don’t need to be as large as a “bakery muffin” to be satisfying.
Top the muffins with chopped pecans, if you like, then bake at 350ºF for 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Cool. Let the muffins cool for at least 1 hour in the pan, then they are ready to serve. Paleo muffins can sometimes stick to the muffin liners, so that’s why I recommend using them (rather than merely greasing the pan), so you’ll guarantee that the muffins will release from the pan.
You can use silicone muffin liners, if you’d like an easy reusable option. I use them for Egg Muffins all the time, too!
Frequently Asked Questions & Tips
Prefer to use Almond Flour? Check out my Almond Flour Muffins, for guidance on the flour ratio to start with.
Can I make these without eggs? Flax eggs don’t work as well with grain-free baking. If you try it, expect that the muffins won’t rise, and might be gooey in the middle. Delicious, but gooey.
Can I substitute the honey? If you don’t like baking with honey, you can use a 1/2 cup of maple syrup instead. Or, you can try using 2/3 cup coconut sugar, for a slightly different texture.
If you have more questions I can help with, be sure to ask them in the comments below!
More Grain-Free Recipes
Interested in more Paleo ideas? Try these!
- Grain-Free Granola
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Coconut Flour Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Healthy Pumpkin Bars
- Almond Flour Banana Bread
- Coconut Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 whole eggs
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (see note)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional; for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 12-cup muffin pan with parchment liners. In a large bowl, combine the almond butter, applesauce, eggs, honey, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Stir well, until the batter is very smooth.
- Use a 1/4 cup measure to distribute the batter among the baking cups. (When you use the 1/4 cup measure, sometimes you may only end up with 11 muffins instead of 12. Or, you can simply fill each muffin cup about halfway full, and get 12 small muffins.) Sprinkle chopped pecans on top, and gently press them into the batter, for a topping.
- Bake the muffins at 350ºF for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins rise and don't look soft in the center. Let them cool for at least 1 hour in the pan, then you can serve them.
- These spice muffins are very moist, so they are best kept in the fridge for the best shelf life. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months. To thaw, place them in the fridge overnight.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try these grain-free muffins, please leave a star rating and comment below letting me know what you think!
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Reader Feedback: Do you have any other baking recipe requests? Let me know!
Wow I have to say I was SO skeptical that this was ever going to work with no flour of any kind. I was sure the best case scenario would be a dense wet brick, and the worst case would be that it never baked at all. But it totally works!!! These muffins are so great and I feel really good about giving them to my toddler since they’re packed with protein from the almond butter. I don’t usually comment but I’m beyond stoked about this recipe!