Healthy Whole Wheat Ricotta Muffins with Cinnamon Roasted Apples! These muffins are super easy to make and are perfect for breakfast or a snack. A simple recipe with ingredients you probably already have at home.
There are few things that make me happier than having a batch of freshly baked muffins on hand. Except for maybe having a batch of muffins stashed away in my freezer for easy grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks.
To streamline your mornings check out this list of Vegetarian Breakfast Recipes you can make ahead. Or if you prefer muffins as a snack food, we've rounded up a collection of Healthy After School Snacks you're going to love. And be sure to check out our entire collection of Healthy Muffin Recipes!
Maybe you've got some extra ricotta on hand from making Ricotta Toast? Well I've got an excellent way to use it up in the form of these Whole Wheat Ricotta Muffins. We're going to stir in some tender Cinnamon Roasted Apples (or another mix-in of your choice) for some truly excellent autumn muffins.
What's in this recipe?
Lots of good stuff, friends, and stuff that you've probably already got on hand.
- Whole wheat flour --> we're using white whole wheat because it bakes up like a dream.
- Ricotta! --> Never had ricotta in muffins before? Let's change that today!
- Melted butter --> Mmmmm, butter.
- Maple syrup --> These muffins are naturally sweetened, yo!
- Eggs --> As we do.
- Vanilla extract --> Try making your own Homemade Vanilla Extract!
- Baking soda / powder / salt --> Can't make a muffin without that stuff!
- Cinnamon Roasted Apples -->Yummy!
How do you make ricotta muffins?
If you've already roasted the apples (or are using another mix-in - more on that later) then this is a one-bowl situation.
All of the wet stuff goes into the bowl together. I don't bother pre-whisking the eggs (because that dirties an extra bowl). Basically, dump the wet stuff in together and give it a good whisk.
After that, the dry stuff goes on top. Again, I don't pre-mix (but you totally can / probably should!) I just give it a bit of a whisk on top of the wet mix, and then stir everything in together.
This whole wheat muffin batter is on the thicker side - that's how it should be. Don't worry, it'll bake up incredibly tender thanks to the ricotta.
Fold in your cinnamon roasted apples, then spoon the batter into parchment-lined or well-greased muffin tins, and you're in business. A quick stint in the oven and you've got delicious Whole Wheat Ricotta Muffins ready to go.
Package some up and send them to me, please. I'll award a prize to the best muffin maker!
Pro tips / recipe notes:
- I don't have / can't find white whole wheat flour. Bummer, man. But don't sweat it! You can substitute half regular whole wheat with half all-purpose flour, or use whole wheat pastry flour in place of white whole wheat.
- What can I use in place of cinnamon roasted apples? Soooooo many options. These whole wheat muffins are delicious with summer berries (esp blueberries and blackberries) diced peaches, or even raisins.
- I don't have parchment paper / can't find muffin liners. No problem, just give the muffin tins a good old greasing with some butter (my preference) or oil.
- Can I freeze these muffins? Please do! Most muffins freeze like a charm, and these are no exception.
Hey Nutrition Lady, what's the deal with white whole wheat flour?
Here's the deal: regular whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour are typically milled from hard red wheat berries. Whole wheat flour contains the entire berry (bran, germ, and endosperm) while all-purpose flour has had the bran and germ removed and contains the endosperm only.
White whole wheat flour is milled from hard white wheat berries, and much like regular whole wheat flour, contains all three components of the wheat berry. The bran of the hard white wheat berry yields a lighter coloured, more tender, and sweeter-tasting flour, which is perfect for making baked goods that you want to be on the healthier side without tasting like a brick of bran.
Whole wheat pastry flour is made from soft white wheat berries, and is more tender with a lower gluten content than the hard wheat varietals.
Now you know!
Other tasty recipes you might enjoy:
Healthy Cherry Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chunks
Orange Earl Grey Muffins
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
No Sugar Banana Bran Muffins
Carrot Pineapple Muffins
Savory Cottage Cheese Muffins
Spelt Flour Pancakes
Whole Wheat Muffins with Cinnamon Roasted Apples
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup maple syrup the good stuff, please!
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cinnamon roasted apples or other seasonal fruit
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with parchment muffin liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, ricotta, eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup.
- Add the flour, baking power, baking soda, and salt to the top of the wet ingredients, and give it a bit of a whisk, then stir the flour mixture into the wet mix until just barely combined. The muffin mix will be quite thick. Don't worry; it should be.
- Carefully fold in the cinnamon roasted apples.
- Spoon equal amounts of the muffin mix into prepared 12 muffin cups.
- Place the tray into the oven, and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, rotating the pan once part way through. Muffins are done when they are puffed and golden, and a toothpick or small knife comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
- I don't have / can't find white whole wheat flour. Bummer, man. But don't sweat it! You can substitute half regular whole wheat with half all-purpose flour, or use whole wheat pastry flour in place of white whole wheat.
- What can I use in place of cinnamon roasted apples? Soooooo many options. These whole wheat muffins are delicious with summer berries (esp blueberries and blackberries) diced peaches, or even raisins.
- I don't have parchment paper / can't find muffin liners. No problem, just give the muffin tins a good old greasing with some butter (my preference) or oil.
- Can I freeze these muffins? Please do! Most muffins freeze like a charm, and these are no exception.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published October 9, 2012. It was retested, rephotographed, and updated on September 21, 2018. Last updated September 4, 2021.
Elizabeth
These almost didn’t get made as my kids and I kept shoving all those tasty roasted apples into our mouths! ???? Fun to make with the little ones and I felt no guilt about doling them out for snacks and breakfast!
ChristelLe pottinGer
Wonderful idea! I am always on the look out for ‘healthier snack’ for sugar-addicted children. I made one batch last week-end and they have tested and approved. So I made two batches (1 to eat, 1 to freeze) this week-end! Thanks a lot!
Sustainable Cooks - Sarah
Ricotta? I've tried sour cream and greek yogurt in muffins before but never ricotta. Genius!
Diana
Katie I love your site. Do you think I could sub yogurt for the ricotta? How would it change them? Cheers from London
themuffinmyth
Hi Diana,
I'm sure you could sub a nice thick or strained yoghurt for the ricotta. The texture will be a bit different since the yoghurt will be wetter, but I'm sure they will still be delicious. Let me know how they turn out!
Fee
I made these today with fresh blueberries they were amazing! I also used honey since I didn't have maple syrup, what a great recipe
themuffinmyth
Mmmm, they'd be great with honey as well. I love this recipe, I'm glad you tried it out!
Christine Xuefang
Going to try your Whole Wheat Ricotta Muffins. Wonder whether I can use rapeseed oil instead of the melted unsalted butter?
themuffinmyth
Yes, of course. It'll change the flavour just ever so slightly, but go for it.
Leanne
I saw you tweet this and have left the recipe up on my computer ever since, so that I'd be sure to pick up the ingredients at the grocery store this week. We just went apple picking and I cannot WAIT to try these out!! They sound amazing!!
themuffinmyth
Mmmm, with fresh picked apples? Yum! Be sure to roast the whole batch if you have lots, but pick out some firmer ones for these muffins.
Kathryn
Really like the idea of these muffins; I've never thought of using ricotta in there but I can imagine that it gives them a really great texture. I have some pear muffins sitting on my kitchen counter at the moment and I only wish I'd seen this before I made them!
themuffinmyth
Mmmm, pear muffins sound really good too! I'll have to give these another whirl with pear and ginger maybe?
Devi Duerrmeier
I'm back to my ingredient questions, I'm afraid!! What is wholewheat pastry flour? I've never heard of it.. so I'm trying to think of what I can use as a substitute, as I'm guessing I can't find that here.. Just wholewheate flour?
themuffinmyth
Whole wheat pastry flour is ground from a lower gluten flour than regular whole wheat, so it's lighter and can be used basically in the same way as all purpose flour. White whole wheat flour is essentially the same as whole wheat pastry flour.
In Europe most flour is naturally lower in gluten (about 8%) than in North America (Canadian is about 13% and American a little less) so I treat regular whole wheat flour like whole wheat pastry flour, and if I'm making bread or something that benefits from higher gluten content I look for 'special' whole wheat flour, which is higher in gluten, or I add a bit of vital wheat gluten. Does that help?
laura_howtocook
What a good recipe. I adore Ricotta, love it's texture and the fact it is low fat. I am using wholewheat flour more and more now. Good idea to use whatever fruit happens to be i season. We have lots of apples going spare at our allotment at the moment, so will stick with them for now!
themuffinmyth
The apples are so gorgeous at this time a year, I've been picking up fallen ones when ever I find them. I hope you'll use some of your allotment apples and try this recipe out!
hampiesandwiches (@hampiesandwich)
I love the idea of using ricotta in a muffin! Perfect for a quick breakfast on your way out the door in the morning.
themuffinmyth
Definitely! I hope you give them a try!
EverydayMaven
Love these!!! I bet they are super moist. I want some of that flour. There is nothing like awesome ingredients.
themuffinmyth
They are pretty moist! And the flour is fantastic. I can't wait to get my hands on some more of it when I'm next back in BC. Local ingredients are the best!
kellie@foodtoglow
I am not a fan of ricotta as a cheese really, but I am very willing to forgo my unnatural prejudice as this recipe does sounds extremely nice. And the fact that you too are a food dreamer makes me connect with you even more. And as for the baking powder incident, I do that kind of thing all the time 😉
themuffinmyth
I don't think you have to like ricotta to like these muffins. It gives moisture and adds to the texture, but they don't taste particularly riccotta-ey. Let me know if you give them a go!
kirstenmadaus
I've never tried ricotta in a muffin-this I must try!
I saw a muffin recipe using maple syrup just yesterday and wondered, does it have to be a particular grade? I bought my jug at the farmer's market and it is pure maple syrup, but I know sometimes the ones I see in the store have grades (A, B).
I'll probably try it with some pumpkin I roasted and saved in the freezer. Or sweet potato. For some reason that combo appeals today.
Thank you!
themuffinmyth
There is a grading syrup for maple syrup which tells you how dark the syrup will be and thus how intense the maple flavour will end up. You can use any maple syrup you like in this recipe, so long as it's the real stuff. Your farmer's market jug of syrup will be perfect! Roasted pumpkin or sweet potato sounds great (and very seasonally appropriate) in this muffin. Let me know how it turns out!
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