These Apple Hemp Muffins are hot! These whole-grain, vegan muffins by Dreena Burton are easy to make, delicious, tender, and also nut-free and oil-free.
These Apple Hemp Muffins are hot.
Recipe, I mean. Muffins too, but you know, let ’em cool at least a little before taking a bite.
Who would imagine that hemp muffins could be so popular? Readers have loved this recipe for years now, so much that I revised it for Plant-Powered Families.
The original version appeared in Vive le Vegan back in 2004. Yep, I’ve been using hemp seeds in my recipes for many years, before it was a trendy superfood.
When I started using hemp seeds and talking about them in my recipes, I got that “ohhhh, you are that kind of vegan!” sort of reaction.
People didn’t know that hemp seeds were a highly nutritious food – a ‘superfood’ if you will.
No, instead they thought they’d get high from my brownies. Of course they wouldn’t! Because I saved it all for muffins. #kidding #relax!
Jokes aside, it took a few years for the worth of hemp – high in protein, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants – to be recognized in the world of healthy eating. Thank goodness it has, because it has made these virtuous bitty seeds widely available (and accepted)!
For Plant-Powered Families, I freshened up the recipe and made them oil-free. Even without the oil, these muffins are still beautifully moist and tender. To ensure they don’t stick to the muffin liners, try using these parchment muffin liners. They do the trick!
I make these muffins often for school lunches, because they are substantial, healthy, and of course nut-free.
Apple Hemp Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole-grain spelt flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- 2/3 – 3/4 cup hemp seeds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom can substitute freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup plain or vanilla non-dairy milk
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup raisins or chopped raw banana spears use kitchen shears or knife to cut in small pieces about size of raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, sifting in the baking powder and baking soda. Stir through until well combined. In another bowl, combine applesauce, maple syrup, non-dairy milk, and vanilla, and mix together. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and gently fold and mix through, until just combined (do not overmix). Spoon the mixture into a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners (this will fill 12 muffins quite full). Bake for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (See notes above about cooling to help remove from liner.) Makes 12 large muffins.
Have you tried these Vegan Apple Hemp Muffins? What is your favorite way to eat hemp seeds?
Debbie says
Delicious! I had to make a few substitutions due to lack of recipe ingredients and added 1/2 of a shredded apple instead of other fruit. Will be making again!
Dreena Burton says
wonderful! Glad to hear it, thanks Debbie
Pam says
Hello! I am excited to try your recipe! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Wondering if it would be possible to sub grated apple for some, or all, of the applesauce? I have a lot of apples that need to be used up, and if I could use grated it would save me the extra step of making them into applesauce! Haha! Let me know what you think 🙂
Dreena says
Hi Pam, yes, go for it! I’d use more grated apple, maybe 1 1/2 – 2 cups to add that extra moisture through baking. Let me know how it works, I’m very curious!
Saint says
Hello. I would really to make this recipe. Can you use unbleached white pastry flour? Thank you.
Dreena says
Hi Saint, yes you can but use a little less. I find it much more dense than spelt and oat. Try 2 cups and maybe 2 extra tbsp.
Nina says
I have been making these for five years, I figure it is time to leave an amazing review! I love the flavor the hemp seeds add to them. I also love that they aren’t overly sweet. Don’t leave out the raisins!
Tess says
Very delicious! I’ve made them a few times and modified them with but butters, higher protein flours, and chopped apple and they have been great every time!
Dreena says
That’s wonderful, thank you Tess.
Chopped apple is a great addition, thanks for your note. 🙂
LisaS says
These are SO yummy!! We enjoyed them!! Thanks for sharing your recipe & talent! Love that they have hemp seeds so that they have protein in them! BTW do you have nutritional info for them?
Dreena says
Thank you Lisa, so pleased you are loving the recipe. 🙂 I don’t have the nutritional analysis for the recipe at this time, sorry.
Joy Perrone says
I have some sorghum flour I’d like to try in this. Do you know if it would be a 1:1 for the spelt, or how to adjust? These look like a good breakfast muffin.
Dreena says
Hi Joy, these are great breakfast muffins! Sorghum flour cannot be used 1:1 as it’s gluten-free. Unless you are celiac, I’d stick to the recipe.
Shilpa says
Thank you so much for the recipe!! I am pretty new to baking. I have a two year old and wanted to make some healthy muffins for him. These turned out so delicious. I loved them to the last bite myself. Will be making them very often. Thank you again !
Dreena says
Just wonderful, thanks for sharing this Shilpa!
Vianey says
Thank you for this tasty recipe! I made these tonight and my toddler boys loved them!
Jillian Larkan says
How do you feel about brown rice flour instead of the spelt?
Dreena says
Hi Jillian, gluten-free flours need other adjustments, they can’t be used straight for a gluten flour without other modifications.
Angela B. says
Can I give these 6 stars???? These are by far my favorite muffins ever!!! My 3 year old devours them! I make them as mini muffins to hopefully make them last longer (but it never works!). I’ve got it down so I can make a batch in about 8 minutes (not including cooking time obviously).
Dreena says
Oh please do, Angela! 😉 Wow, you have them down to a science, that’s fabulous. I’m so happy these muffins are a hit for you and your family.
sandeep rana says
I see this recipe looks very different from others.and i like these types of oil free recipes,looks very yummy.thanks for sharing with us.
Dana says
These turned out fantastic. My kids loved them and so did my husband! We also have egg allergy in the family and these turned out perfect.
Matthew says
Just made these for the wife and I. I followed the recipe exactly and did end up adding 2 teaspoons coconut oil. Came out perfect! I love these so much. It’s recipes like this that make the plant based lifestyle so much easier to follow and enjoy! Thanks!
Sara says
I am figuring out what to do with the abundance of hemp seeds in my house and stumbled on this gem! GUYS! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU TRY THIS RECIPE OUT! Despite being oil-free, they taste soft, moist and to the CRUMB! I’m trying my best not to eat a lot of them because I wanted to give some away.
In my experiment, I tweaked the recipe according to what I have:
-replaced 1.5 cups spelt flour with 1.25 cup WW pastry flour (as suggested by author)
-plant based milk used is banana milk (1 small banana or 1/2 medium banana in 1-1.5 cups water
-ran out of maple syrup so I used 1/2 cup of date paste (added some water to thin it out)
Came out delicious! It’s not so sweet as well! I’m going to keep this recipe in mind if I’m in a mood to bake again!!! Thank you very much for creating this wonderful recipe!!!
Laurie Haibach says
Just learning to bake with coconut flour, and tapioca flour. Any guesstimates on the amount needed if I use either of these in your hemp muffin recipe? Also, it appears that you are using hulled hemp seeds, correct?
Dreena says
Hi Laurie, both coconut flour and tapioca are very different from spelt and oat flours. Coconut in particular requires much more moisture, it’s very thirsty. I would sub them in here. If you want to use them in a muffin recipe, I’d google recipes using them as a main ingredient. As for hemp seeds, yes, hulled. Enjoy!
Jennifer says
I made these with sunflower seeds instead of hemp seeds and they are delicious!
Dreena says
good to know – thanks for the feedback!
Diane fletcher says
I would love to make these but the hemp seeds that I have are powdered (ground). Could I I use these by perhaps dropping the hemp seed quantity to 1/3 cup and dropping 1/3 cup spelt to compensate?
Dreena says
that’s interesting, I’ve never seen it ground before. Yes, I’d reduce the measure for the hemp seeds, maybe to 1/2 cup. I don’t think you need to adjust the spelt as well, just the hemp. Hope they work out well!
PATRICIA Isaac says
I love these muffins. But how many calories are in one muffin?
Dreena says
Sorry, I don’t have the nutritional information. If you want to compute it, you can enter the recipe information on this site: http://nutritiondata.self.com/
Wendy Todd says
There is a nutritional breakdown for these in Plant Powered Families – 308 calories per muffin.
John marmaro says
Hi there
A most interesting recipe.
I am diabetic and my blood sugar level is on a hair-trigger, so I not only have to avoid sugars, but starches as well– I try for things with the lowest Glycemic Load possible: no dried fruits allowed! Do you happen to know what the Glycemic Index or Glycemic Load is for hulled hempseed?
I have no problems with gluten, nor with wheat. Instead of flour I use a low-carbohydrate substitute, tradenamed “Carbquik” (a reference to the baking mix Bisquick); and instead of sugar I use, in baking, either Isomalt or Xylitol, with a little added Splenda or Stevia. I was wondering whether you think the substitutions I have named would work well enough in your recipe. (I am aware that such things aren’t traditionally “natural” or “organic”, but with my extreme diabetic reaction to most starches and to glucose(=dextrose), sucrose, or to a lesser extent fructose, I am forced to make accommodations.)
Ayaka says
At what degree and how long did you cook? Did you make any other change besides toppings?
walterbyrd says
I wonder if I could GF Namaste flour to substitute for spelt flour?
Julie Sediq says
Just bought my first bag of hemp seeds. I think My two year old will love these muffins. Can you confirm how much whole wheat flour I should use? And can I sub rolled oats for the oat flour, or just use more w/w flour? Also if I add the 2 tsp of oil should I adjust something else, like the applesauce? Would you do chopped apple in addition to the raisins or banana or instead of? Thanks!
Dreena says
Our little one loves these, I think they’ll be a hit with your 2 yr old! Wheat flour: use a little less, maybe 1 1/4 cups. If the batter seems a bit loose later, just sprinkle in another few teaspoons. Rolled oats: you can blitz them in a food processor or blender to make a flour, I’d do that! If you add any oil, I’d reduce the milk equally. Yes, you could add chopped apple, but not too much as it’s very moist, maybe 1/2 cup for whole recipe.
Jeannie says
Hi, I just came across these muffins today and would love to make them. Can you use flax hemp blend instead of the spelt?
Dreena says
Hi Jeannie, do you mean help flour and flax seed? I’ve never tested it with it, but suspect those two alone will be a little too dense/heavy. You can try other flours to blend in, maybe oat. (Is it a GF thing?) If you’re familiar with alternative blends and know how they differ (ie need more milk, less milk, etc) then I say go for it. But, if it’s experimental you might waste the batch… and hemp seeds a little pricey for that. 🙂
Alex says
These look divine! Really want to try hemp seeds, alas i have not seen them around ( and heard they are REAL expensive). 🙁
despite the lack of hemp, i would like to try making your muffins, is there a good substitute for hemp seeds in this recipe?
Thank you!
susan leshinsky says
Can I sub WW flour for the spelt flour? I have WW pastry flour,too
Dreena says
Hi Susan, you can, but use less. I’d use w/w pastry, as it’s a softer flour, less grainy. Generally, you need a little more spelt when substituting for w/w, so when subbing the other way, use a little less. Here, I’d probably use about 1 1/4 cups of w/w pastry. Hope that helps!
Barbara says
How did you make them gluten free ?
Just going gluten and dairy free due to medical issues with my 3 year vold so very new at all.this nut he lkes muffins ! Shalom
Dreena says
Hi Barbara, do you need them strictly gluten-free or simply free of wheat (the two are confused often). I haven’t made these gluten-free, but they are made without wheat flour. For more gluten-free recipes, you can link to my recipes page and search “gluten-free” under the dietary category. Also, over 1/2 of my cookbook “Let Them Eat Vegan” is gf, and my PP15 ebook is all gluten-free. Both are here: https://dreenaburton.com/books/ Good luck! 🙂
Ruth says
Do you have a nut-free cookbook?
Carrie says
Love this! I made some tweaks and made these as Pumpkin Hemp Muffins! Mine are gluten free, too. Never would have been able to get that far with them without this recipe – I wrote about it in my blog and credited you as my inspiration. 🙂 Now that I’ve found you, I have lots of reading to do – your recipes look great! Thanks again!!
Anna says
Hi Dreena,
Could I use fresh apple juice instead of applesauce?
Dreena says
Hi Anna, no not in this case. The applesauce is needed for texture and there is a lot used in this particular recipe. Best to wait until you have some!
wendy says
Dreena, these are amazing! What’s the best way to store them? I live alone so it takes me a couple of weeks to get through a batch. Thank you!
Dreena says
Wendy, you can keep some in the fridge for 2-4 days, or put some directly into the freezer in an airtight container. Glad you love them. 😀
Sferd says
One place for folks in the US to check for cheaper hemp seeds is Costco. I just purchased a HUGE bag there last week along with a giant bag of pine nuts to get ready for pesto season!
Kim says
Dreena, can you use chia seeds in place of hemp seeds?
Dreena says
Kim, I wouldn’t in this recipe, they create a different texture and with how much hemp seeds I’ve used that would be a lot to swap (in some recipes the sub is fine). I do have a chia muffin recipe in LTEV though, if you have that book – the “Chia Banana Muffins”, p.8. 🙂
Dreena says
Kim, I wouldn’t here – sometimes you can, but for the amt in the recipe, it will throw off the texture/taste. I do have a muffin recipe in LTEV using chia – “Chia Banana Muffins”. If you have the book, they’re on p.8. 🙂
Harriet says
I don’t use processed sweetener, and use raisins/dates or other dried fruit for sweetener. Could I substitute water for the maple syrup?
Dreena says
Harriet, the muffins will be very bland if you sub just water. Do you use date syrup? You could try that.
Liv says
I’ll try banana and dates instead of maple syrup. Will tell you how it turns out! Thanks for the great school snack recipes, we love nuts but for school needs to be nut free.
Jessica says
I made these tasty moist muffins today. I subbed the maple syrup for agave syrup as I didn’t have enough maple syrup for the recipe. They turned out great. It was the first time I had used cardamom in a recipe too. Thanks! 🙂
Kat says
These look so delicious and I’ve been looking for other ways to use my hemp seeds but I don’t need this to be wheat free…..can I use regular all purpose flour in the same quantity? Thanks!
Dreena says
If you use AP flour, Kat, you’ll want to use bit less, b/c it is denser/more absorbent. I’d say try 2 cups, and if you need a little more after combining the ingredients you can sprinkle in another tbsp or so. Also, you can use w/w pastry flour – much healthier than AP flour. And, I’d prob use about the same, 2 cups of w/w pastry. Hope that helps!
Brandie says
Just one.more thing. Following your parchment paper cooking, I found parchment paper muffin liners. These muffins pop right out. No left over muffin chucks on the liner 🙂
Brandie says
WOW!!! Such yummy muffins! I think it’s my dd’s favorite ones (yet) thank you for posting the recipe!!
Amber says
I just made these muffins, and they are FANTASTIC!!! Thank you for the recipe. I have one question. It says on my hemp seed bag to try toasting the hemp seeds but not above 325 degrees to preserve the EFAs. I’m wondering if cooking these muffins at 350 degrees impairs the EFAs. Any thoughts Dreena?
Leslie Paquette says
Hi Dreena, I’ve made two batches of these muffins since you posted them. They are delicious!!! I subbed 1 diced apple for the raisins so my husband wold eat them and also doubled the amount of cardamom. Definitely our new favorite snack. I just received LTEV in the mail and made the falafel tonight. My husband and I both enjoyed it! I can’t wait to make more of the recipes. Thank you, Leslie
Dreena says
Yay! Marvelous, Leslie! I love adding a little diced apple too – adds more moisture and just beatiful texture/flavor. So pleased you are trying recipes from LTEV too – thanks, hope you enjoy many more. 😀
Moi Contre La Vie says
YUM! I can’t wait to make these. I’m always looking for tasty new recipes to add to my regular weekend-goodies routine. 🙂
Diane says
Do you know if chickpea flour would work instead of the spelt flour? This recipe sounds great but I don’t have spelt on hand. Thanks!!
Dreena says
Diane, I wouldn’t sub that much chickpea flour for the spelt flour. You could sub some, but it’s usually used in lesser amounts and in combination with other flours. Here, because there is no added oil, I think the muffins would be a little dry and maybe not palatable using 1 1/2 cups of chickpea flour. Do you have other flours on hand – barley, w/w pastry??
Sarah says
Just made these…awesome! Just wanted to note that If You Care brand liners would amazing with fat-free baking…the liner peels right off with no stickingvor losing most of your muffin. I find them great for this purpose as they come off on their own for anything else baked with oil!
Dreena says
thanks for that tip, Sarah, I’ll check them out! 🙂
urbanvegan says
These look hemp-tastic, Dreena! xo
Christy Morgan says
I used this as a base and made a loaf with dried cranberries, hazelnuts and topped with shredded coconut. It is so delicious and the perfect texture!!
Tiffany says
Yum! These muffins look great! I’m looking forward to your miso scented patties recipe too 🙂
Thank you so much for all your hardwork!
By th way, do you have an easy recipe for vegan yogurt and cashew milk?
I’ve looked into vegan yogurts but I can’t find unsweetened version and the sweetened variety is too sweet.
Thank you, Dreena! Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!
Dreena says
Thanks Tiffany. 🙂 I have a vegan ‘yogurt’ recipe in LTEV, it has a base of raw cashews and unsweetened applesauce. As for cashew milk, you can simply soak about 1 cashews for about 4 hour, whiz with about 3-4 cups water, then season if you like with vanilla/sweetener – and if you want to strain you can, but you can also just go with it as is. Hope that helps out! 🙂
JCB says
Kite Hill vegan yogurt has an unsweetened version and it is delicious. Whole Foods and some co ops carry it.
Rebekah says
Whole Foods often has their bags of hemp hearts on one-day sales for $5 or $6. It’s a really good deal if you get there on the right day.
Dreena says
Is that in the US Rebekah? Good to know – thanks.
Linda says
Made them last night, and you’re right, they are the total BOMB! Thanks for sharing!
Dreena says
haha, that’s AWESOME! Thanks for that, Linda!
Marianne says
I love how simple the ingredients for these muffins are, and they are things that I almost always have on hand. They might be my next muffin baking adventure 🙂
Herbivore Triathlete says
These look fantastic! Like others have stated already, hemp seeds are very expensive where I live as well. It’s too bad really because I also found a recipe for hemp seed cookies this week that I would like to make along with these muffins!
Dreena says
You are in the US as well, right? I’ve heard a lot about how pricey they are in the US. I usually buy large containers for a better price, and have bought online bulk from the companies too. Hopefully we can score some hemp seeds at a decent price for you soon, that’s unfortunate.
Danielle says
These look delicious! I just might have to make them when it’s my son’s turn to bring in his preschool’s snack! Thanks for the recipe!
Dreena says
Great, thanks Danielle! I make them for school snacks often, just switch up the dried fruits, etc in them – kids love them. Hope your wee boy does too. 🙂
Lisa says
Dreena, I’ve made a few of your recipes and have enjoyed looking at all of them, but just wanted to point out that this recipe is NOT wheat free. Spelt flour IS wheat flour, just a different type. I am vegan and GF and always get excited when I find a good recipe for both…but this isn’t one of them.
Dreena says
Hi Lisa, thanks for your note. Spelt is a *relative* to durum wheat, and so many people that cannot eat wheat can indeed eat spelt – and also kamut. Traditional wheat has been so manipulated and modified in mass commercial production that it has been speculated to be linked to the mass wheat (and gluten) intolerances. I am fully aware of the differences between gluten free and wheat free, I elaborate on the classifications in the baking section LTEV (if you have it, have a look), and have also blogged about it before. Even with oat-based recipes I specify they might be optionally gluten-free if people can use certified gluten-free oat products. The recipe isn’t classified here as GF, so I’m sorry you interpreted it that way.. I certainly did not label it GF.
Cat says
Those muffins do look great! I can’t eat spelt, so will play around with things that I can eat to try them. And I’m thinking… sweet potato hummus might be pretty tasty with chocolate chips. 🙂
Dreena says
Thanks Cat. What flours can you eat? I’ve had a few people ask for a GF modification for this – do you also need it GF, and can you eat GF oat products? And, haha, yes, sweet potatoes and chocolate actually have the wheels in my brain churning right now!!! 😉
Rebecca Stucki says
As others said, hemp seeds are just too ridiculously expensive here in the USA because we have to import them from Canada. It is crazy that hemp is illegal here! People think it is the same as marijuana…sigh. Hemp might be the push I need to move to Canada! (Where’s the warmest weather? – LOL!)
Faith says
I’ve never used hemp seeds before in a recipe, but this post has inspired me to try them! Also, I agree with you about adding chocolate chips to everything and I think you just issued yourself a challenge to create a hummus recipe with chocolate chips:)
Becky says
The whole spread in the picture looks yummy! Is that just plain yogurt sprinkled with hemp seeds behind the muffin?
mattheworbit says
They look gorgeous, and look like the apple and cinnamon muffins I used to love as a child.. The only problem could be eating that many (illegal) hemp seeds here would be about $20 worth!! 😉
Dreena says
Eek! I love my hemp, but at that price you’d need to wholesale the stuff to (possibly) justify making them. 🙁
Jane says
like matthew we suffer from ‘ridiculously over priced hemp seed syndrome’ and it’s a very serious condition!!
and illegal too! Australia what is going on here!
Marsha says
Hi Dreena, my husband and I have 2 TBS hemp seeds every day in our smoothie.
Dreena says
Us too, Marsha! They add a creaminess to green smoothies, don’t they? One of my fave ways to eat them.
Laurel Beale says
Hi Marsha…..I realise that I am a few years later, but I just came across your emails here. I understand that five (5) tablespoons per person, is the recommended daily serving of Hemp seeds??
Bea says
Do you have a substitute for spelt flour to make these muffins gluten free? They sound delish! Thanks for the hemp seed education.
Dreena says
Bea, can you use gluten-free oats at all… or not? Let me know, I might try a test or two to make them gluten-free. 😀
Eve L. says
Yay — thanks for a new oil-free muffin! And I agree with you that pretty much anything on earth can be improved with chocolate chips.
Dreena says
Most welcome, Eve. 🙂 Yep, chocolate is a beautiful, beautiful thing!