These easy homemade apple cinnamon streusel muffins are moist and fluffy, packed with tender chunks of apple underneath a buttery streusel topping. Flavored with brown sugar and cozy spice, they’re perfect for fall mornings, Thanksgiving brunch, or holiday baking!

An unwrapped apple streusel muffin with a large bite taken out of it

Hot on the heels of summer’s blueberry muffins, apple season is right around the corner. As summer winds down and apple picking begins, these apple cinnamon streusel muffins are the best way to enjoy fresh fall apples. Apples, cinnamon, and streusel are a classic fall combo. And, since you don’t have to use a mixer, this easy muffin recipe is also great for making with kiddos. How fun to go apple picking AND bake with the same apples!

What Makes These Apple Cinnamon Muffins So Special

They are so addictive! These are soft, fluffy muffins packed with brown sugar, apples, and cinnamon with a bakery-style crumb topping. They’re perfect for fall baking.
Packed with apples. These apple muffins have two full cups of chopped apples in the batter, plus a little more than half a cup of applesauce for extra apple flavor.
Pantry staples. Make these muffins with easy ingredients you already have at home.
Even better the next day. These apple cinnamon streusel muffins are excellent for making ahead because they get even better the next day. The moisture and flavor from the apples have a chance to settle, and the texture becomes even more irresistible.

cinnamon apple streusel muffins piled in a white dish

What You’ll Need to Make This Recipe

I’m fairly picky about my muffins, and a great base is an awesome place to start. I use this same muffin “formula” whether I’m making banana muffins, pumpkin muffins, or today’s irresistible apple streusel muffins. It never fails. Here’s what you’ll need:

All-purpose flour – This recipe hasn’t been tested with 1:1 gluten-free flour, but you should be able to swap with no issues. Make sure you’re not using self-rising flour, however, which does NOT work in this recipe.
Baking powder and baking soda – Check the expiration dates on your leavening. If your baking soda and powder are older than 6 months, consider buying fresh. Otherwise, your muffins won’t rise properly.
Cinnamon – You could also choose another fall spice, like nutmeg or ginger. Pumpkin pie spice is a great option, too.
Butter – I recommend baking with unsalted butter. You’ll need to melt it in the microwave before you start. You could use canola oil here, too, but I love the richness and flavor of butter in my apple cinnamon muffins.
Applesauce – If you don’t have applesauce, you can substitute it with 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 6 tablespoons sour cream (or plain yogurt). You will lose a little bit of apple flavor, though.
Sugar – Brown sugar packed into the measuring cup, and regular granulated sugar. Similar to chewy chocolate chip cookies, using both brown and white sugar adds moisture and flavor to the muffins.
Egg and Vanilla – Make sure to use pure vanilla extract.
Apples – The best baking apples are firm, crisp varieties like Honeycrisp, Gala, and Granny Smith apples. Core, peel, and chop the apples for your muffins into even-sized 1/2-inch cubes using a sharp knife.

The Best Streusel Topping for Muffins

I use a similar cinnamon streusel as a topping for my apple streusel bars and Dutch apple pie. It’s the perfect balance of buttery and crunchy, and it only needs 4 ingredients: sugar, flour, ground cinnamon, and butter. Make sure the butter you use for the streusel is cold from the fridge.

Alternatively, you can top your apple cinnamon streusel muffins with an oatmeal topping, like you’d use for apple crisp.

Ingredients for Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins.

How to Make Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

I love making these apple streusel muffins a day in advance and storing them airtight after they’ve cooled. They taste even better the next day. For now, start by preheating the oven while you mix the streusel. For the full, printable recipe, refer to the recipe card below the post.

Make the Streusel

Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, prepare a standard muffin pan with liners.
Combine the dry ingredients. Next, add the sugar, flour, and cinnamon to a medium-sized bowl and whisk until the dry ingredients are combined.

A whisk being used to combine the dry ingredients for the cinnamon streusel — Mix the dry ingredients.

The combined dry ingredients for the streusel in a bowl with cubes of cold butter on top — Mix the dry ingredients.

Add butter. Cut cold, cubed butter into the flour mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. Set the streusel aside while you mix your muffin batter. If your kitchen is warm, consider chilling the streusel in the fridge to maintain its crumbly texture.

Cubes of butter being cut into the dry ingredient mixture — Mix until crumbly.

A homemade cinnamon streusel topping inside of a clear bowl on a kitchen countertop — Mix until crumbly.

Prepare and Bake the Muffins

Mix the dry muffin ingredients. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Combine the wet ingredients. Next, cream together the melted butter, applesauce, and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract, whisking until the wet ingredients are well combined.

The combined dry ingredients inside of a bowl on a marble surface

The combined wet ingredients inside of a glass mixing bowl with a metal whisk

Combine to make the muffin batter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently stir until the batter is just well combined. Do not over-mix it – the batter will be thick. Lastly, fold in the chopped apples.

The muffin batter in a big mixing bowl before the apples have been folded in — Combine mixtures.

The finished batter inside of a large glass mixing bowl — Combine mixtures.

Fill the pan. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full, then divide the crumb topping between the muffins. You should have enough batter for 12 muffins.

unbaked apple muffins without streusel in the muffin pan — Fill muffin tins.

unbaked apple muffins and streusel in the muffin pan — Fill muffin tins.

Bake! Bake the apple muffins at 400ºF for 15-20 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool completely. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. You can enjoy them while they’re still a bit warm or wait until they reach room temperature.

Can I Make These Without the Streusel?

Yes! These muffins are incredible even without the streusel topping. If you’d like, you can leave it off or top each muffin with 1 1/2 teaspoons of turbinado sugar instead.

Tips for Bakery-Style Muffins

Make sure these apple cinnamon streusel muffins are as tasty as possible with these tips and tricks.

Measure flour the right way. Instead of scooping up the flour directly, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off at the top, fluffing up the flour in the bag between each spoonful. Even better is to use a food scale, if you have one.
Use cold butter for the streusel. If you make your streusel topping with room-temperature butter, it’s going to be hard to cut into the dry ingredients, which is what makes it crumbly and gives you that lovely streusel. Use it cold and cut/mash it into the dry ingredients.
Don’t overmix the muffin batter. Over-mixed batter will bake into overly dense muffins. Put that spatula down as soon as everything is well combined, then fold in the apples gently. This ensures that the texture of the muffins will be just right.
Avoid overfilling the muffin pan. This can cause the muffins to overflow the pan, and they may actually end up sinking in the middle. I usually aim to fill my muffin liners 3/4 of the way to the top. This also leaves enough space for the streusel topping.

cinnamon apple streusel muffins on a marble table

Serving Suggestions

Serve these apple cinnamon muffins warm with butter or drizzle them with caramel sauce. They also make a great addition to a cozy fall brunch spread with an overnight breakfast casserole, pumpkin pancakes, and homemade apple cider.

How to Store

Allow the muffins to fully cool before storing. Apple cinnamon muffins should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature after they’ve cooled. They will last for up to 3 days. You can transfer them to the fridge for an extra day or two, but they may dry out a little.
Can I freeze these muffins? You sure can! I like to freeze the cooled muffins on a baking sheet for 15-30 minutes before I wrap each one in cling wrap. Once each muffin is tightly wrapped, freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Unwrap the muffins and thaw them in the fridge or on the counter before serving.

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More Easy Fall Apple Recipes