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?
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! 🙂