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These cinnamon apple mini muffins are one of my favorite lighter breakfast treats. They are soft, moist, and warmly spiced, thanks to cinnamon, applesauce, and a little mashed banana.
I love making mini muffins because they’re easy to portion, easy to share, and perfect with coffee or yogurt and fruit.
They feel like a small treat without being overly sweet.
Why I Love These Mini Muffins
- Naturally moist from applesauce and banana
- Lower in fat without tasting “light”
- Perfect portion control
- Great for meal prep
- Kid-friendly and freezer-friendly
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Mashed ripe banana – Adds natural sweetness and replaces butter. Be sure your bananas are very ripe for best results.
- Brown sugar blend and baking sweetener – Keeps sweetness balanced while lowering sugar. Regular sugar can be substituted.
- Eggs – Provide structure.
- Unsweetened applesauce – Adds moisture and apple flavor.
- Vanilla extract – Enhances flavor.
- All-purpose flour + white whole wheat flour – Creates structure with a bit of whole-grain texture. You can use all all-purpose if preferred.
- Baking soda and baking powder – Help the muffins rise.
- Cinnamon – Provides warm apple pie flavor.
- Granulated sugar (for topping) – Creates a light cinnamon-sugar crust.
Calories and WeightWatchers Points?
According to my calculations, each 3 mini muffin serving has about 95 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
How to Make Cinnamon Apple Mini Muffins, Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather and prepare all ingredients.
Step 2: Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick baking spray.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl (affiliate link) using an electric hand mixer, beat the mashed banana and brown sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in the eggs, applesauce and vanilla.
Step 4: Whisk together the white flour, white whole wheat flour, Truvia Baking Blend, baking soda, baking powder and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.
Step 5: Using a spatula or larger spoon, slowly stir the the dry flour mixture into the wet mixture just until incorporated.
Step 6: Whisk together 2 teaspoons sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl (affiliate link).
Step 7: Fill the prepared muffin pan cups between 2/3 and 3/4 full with batter (bake in batches if necessary). Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over tops of muffins.
Step 8: Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean and the centers spring back when lightly touched.
Step 9: Allow muffins to cool slightly in pan before removing to a wire rack and cool completely.
Step 10: Store any remaining muffins in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
We helped keep these muffins low in fat by substituting the butter in the original recipe for an equal amount of ripe mashed banana. Bananas with more brown spots will be sweeter and mash better than unripe, or less ripe, bananas.
Alternatively, you can bake this batter in a standard muffin pan (12-cup) and get 12 large muffins. Just bake them until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 8-12 minutes longer than the mini muffins instructions state.
Possible mix-ins include:
- Chopped nuts
- Chopped raisins or dried cranberries
- Mini chocolate chips
Be sure to adjust your WW Points accordingly when making any ingredient substitutions.
Serving Ideas
- With Greek yogurt and fresh fruit for a well rounded breakfast
- With coffee for a light snack
- Spread with a little peanut butter or almond butter for extra protein
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature or refrigerate. They also freeze well.
If you’ve made these Mini Low-Fat Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Cinnamon Apple Mini Muffins (Light & Moist)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup mashed banana
- 2 tablespoons Truvia Brown Sugar Blend (affiliate link)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup Truvia Baking Blend (affiliate link)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl (affiliate link) using an electric hand mixer, beat the mashed banana and brown sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in the eggs, applesauce and vanilla.
- Whisk together the white flour, white whole wheat flour, Truvia Baking Blend (affiliate link), baking soda, baking powder and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.
- Using a spatula or larger spoon, slowly stir the the dry flour mixture into the wet mixture just until incorporated.
- Whisk together 2 teaspoons sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl (affiliate link).
- Fill the prepared muffin pan cups between 2/3 and 3/4 full with batter (bake in batches if necessary). Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over tops of muffins.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean and the centers spring back when lightly touched.
- Allow muffins to cool slightly in pan before removing to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Store any remaining muffins in an airtight container.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 3 PointsPlus (Old plan) We helped keep these muffins low in fat by substituting the butter in the original recipe for an equal amount of ripe mashed banana. Bananas with more brown spots will be sweeter and mash better than unripe, or less ripe, bananas. Alternatively, you can bake this batter in a standard muffin pan (12-cup) and get 12 large muffins. Possible mix-ins include:
- Chopped nuts
- Chopped raisins or dried cranberries
- Mini chocolate chips
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe source: Eat What You Love (affiliate link) by Marlene Koch
FAQs
How to convert a standard muffin recipe to mini muffins:
Any standard 12-cup muffin recipe can be turned into mini muffins. Simply prepare the batter as instructed and fill the cups of a prepared mini muffin pan 2/3 to 3/4 full and reduced to baking time to 8-12 minutes.
You’ll know your muffins are done when they spring back after being gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.
A standard muffin recipe (12 large muffins) will yield 36 mini muffins.
More Light and Mini Muffin Recipes
- Banana Cashew Mini Muffins
Tender mini muffins with ripe banana and crunchy cashews. - Mini Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Soft oatmeal mini muffins with banana and just enough chocolate. - Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Lightly sweet pumpkin muffins with warm fall spices. - Low Calorie Mini Breakfast Muffins
Simple mini muffins designed for easy portion control.
