These low carb apple muffins have a buttery cinnamon crumble topping and make a delicious breakfast or gluten free sweet treat.
If you enjoy my mock apple crumble but can’t trust yourself with portion control, then enjoy one of these muffins at under 4g net carbs each. Baked with almond flour and chayote they are a great low carb muffin.
The muffin has a firm yet moist texture with the cinnamon coated chayote pieces giving a good impression of apple. The crispy crumble topping is not too sweet and provides an added crunch. I took a batch of these to my midweek art class and disappeared in almost record time. No-one else is following low carb or gluten free, so I took that as a great compliment to these low carb muffins!
Can I Replace the Chayote with Zucchini?
Zucchini makes a great low carb mock apple replacement, but I would use the yellow variety if you can use it as it is a bit sweeter than the green zucchini. Simply chop the zucchini into to small pieces, gently fry them in butter until brown and add the spices with a dash of lemon juice.
You may want to add an additional drop of apple extract if you are looking for a strong apple flavour.
Low Carb Sweetener
I have baked these low carb apple crumble muffins a few times and have enjoyed them with erythritol as well as Lakanto Golden. The golden sweetener adds another layer of taste and is great in the crumble topping. If you use xylitol, keep firmly away from your animals as it is extremely toxic. If your house is animal free, it’s a great alternative to erythritol and often easier to obtain.
These muffins can be a dessert on their own if you serve with cream, cinnamon ice cream or a drizzle of keto caramel sauce.
Can I Use Coconut Flour?
If you do not like almond flour or have a nut allergy, you can substitute the flour with coconut flour. Reduce the quantity of the flour to ¼ cup as you don’t need as much volume. You might need to add additional liquid if the batter is too dry.
OTHER LOW CARB MUFFINS TO BAKE:
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This recipe was originally published in 2012. It has been revised along with better photographs!
Low Carb "Apple" Crumble Muffins
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Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup butter, unsalted softened
- ¼ cup erythritol low carb sweetener
- 4 medium eggs
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 chayote
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
CRUMBLE TOPPING
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted cut into cubes
- ½ cup erythritol low carb sweetener
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F degrees
- Peel the chayote and cut into quarters lengthways and remove the core.
- Cut into small pieces and place in a bowl.
- Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to coat all the pieces.
- In a bowl whisk the butter and erythritol until smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time and continue to whisk.
- Add the almond flour, salt and baking power and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
- Gently spoon the spiced chayote pieces into the batter and stir for an even distribution.
MAKE THE CRUMBLE TOPPING
- Place the butter, almond flour, erythritol and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Using your fingertips gently work the mixture together so it resembles crumbs. If it gets too sticky add more almond flour.
- Lightly spray or grease a muffin tin.
- Spoon the muffin batter into the muffin tins up to just under the top.
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the muffin batter
- Bake for 20 minutes until the muffins are firm and golden
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
Toni
Is there a substitute for chayote? I've never seen it or heard of it before.
Angela Coleby
Zucchini makes a great low carb alternative too!
LynnNM
I made these this afternoon. I did have to adjust it a bit (higher baking temp, and a little more liquid) as we're at 6,000 feet above sea level, but they turned out quite well. Soft, moist and not under or over-cooked. But, while I am not a person who craves sweets, I do feel that these need more sweet. Next batch, I'm going to try a keto cream cheese glaze with a touch of lemon instead of the crumble topping. Oh, and this recipe made 16 nice-size muffins for me. And, your recommendation for spraying the muffin tin, inspired me to lightly spray my silicone baking/muffin cups before filling them, and my muffins did not stick at all!
Angela Coleby
I drizzled some of mine with a salted caramel sauce and I love your idea of lemon. The muffin recipe is a good one to play around with and I look forward to seeing what you do with it! Glad you enjoyed it and wow! to the 6000 ft above sea level! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review! Happy baking!
claudia
How many carbs do they have?
Angela Coleby
I've updated the nutritional information on the recipe. They are 10g net carbs per muffin.
IshitaUnblogged
Putting apple slices - have never done that. Will definitely try!
Shafeena (@shafeename)
How long do these keep ! i usually make a batch of muffins on saturday which i keep in the fridge till thursday! which makes it a quick snack
Angie C
They should last about 3 - 4 days in the fridge...they did not last long in my house though..the husband munched them for breakfast, snacks and supper!
Sheryl
Hi, is it baking powder or baking soda? You have both listed in two different places, I want to make this soon lol.
Divalicious
Hi Sherly, it's powder. I've corrected the recipe. Hope you enjoy them!