Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Muffins (With Streusel Topping!)

Moist and full of apples, these Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Muffins are a delicious make ahead breakfast idea. Loaded with cinnamon, brown sugar, and homemade applesauce, these muffins are a perfect Fall breakfast!

A close up of one of the apple streusel sourdough muffin surrounded by apples

I love baking with my sourdough discard, and these sourdough apple muffins are no exception! They are full of Fall flavors and so easy to make!

Active sourdough starter is great to use to make sourdough bread, but sourdough discard is great to make sourdough chocolate chip muffins, sourdough blueberry muffins, and even sourdough Irish soda bread!

Jump to:

Why You'll Love These Sourdough Apple Muffins
What Is Sourdough Discard?
Ingredients You'll Need
How To Make Apple Sourdough Muffins
Tips and Tricks
How To Store Apple Sourdough Muffins
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Recipes You'll Love!
📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love These Sourdough Apple Muffins

They are full of Fall flavors! Cinnamon, apples, and brown sugar, these sourdough discard apple muffins scream Fall to me!
They are a great make ahead breakfast! Grab one of these sourdough discard apple muffins and head out the door for the day.
They are kid friendly! The kids love these apple streusel sourdough muffins! Cut them in half and top them with butter or Nutella.

What Is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough discard is the extra sourdough starter you have left over when you "feed" your starter. If you are new to sourdough, make sure to check out this how to keep a sourdough discard post about keeping your starter happy. You want to use the discard that is not fed, meaning you haven't given it more water and flour and it is not active and bubbly.

Ingredients You'll Need

Ingredients for the apple streusel sourdough muffins

Melted butter- Adds the moisture and texture to the muffins.
All Purpose Flour. White whole wheat flour or bread flour are great choices too!
Brown Sugar- gives a nutty flavor to the muffins. White sugar can be used instead of brown sugar or alongside brown sugar.
Applesauce- my favorite homemade applesauce is amazing in these muffins. Store bought can be used as well.
Baking powder and baking soda- this gives the muffins the rise they need. The sourdough starter doesn't add to the rise of the muffins, so you need the power of baking powder and baking soda.
Sourdough discard. This is sourdough discard that has not been fed and is not light and bubbly. It can come straight out of the refrigerator if that is how you keep it.

See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Apple Sourdough Muffins

The dry ingredients are mixed together — **Step 1:** Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place muffin liners into a muffin tin and set that aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Set that aside.

The eggs are added to the wet ingredients — **Step 2:** In a large mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Add the sourdough starter, brown sugar, melted butter, applesauce, and eggs together until well combined.

The dry ingredients are added to the wet ingredients to make the apple streusel sourdough muffin batter — **Step 3:** Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. It's ok if there are a few lumps left in the batter.

The batter is added to a muffin tin lined with muffin liners. — **Step 4:** Scoop the batter into the muffin liners using an ice cream scoop or a ¼ cup measuring cup.

The streusel topping is being mixed together — **Step 5:** In another small bowl, mix together the streusel ingredients. Top the muffin batter with the streusel topping.

The streusel topping is added to the muffin batter in the muffin tin. — **Step 6:** Bake the muffins for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and it comes out clean.

Tips and Tricks

If you don't have sourdough starter, sour cream or buttermilk would be one to one substitutes.
Add in walnuts, raisins, or chocolate chips to make these muffins your own!
Even though this has sourdough starter, they do not taste like sourdough. The long fermentation process gives the sourdough it's sour flavor. Sourdough starter adds moisture and texture to the muffins, not sour flavor.
If you don't want to add the streusel topping, no worries! They still will taste fantastic with a smear of butter.
To make mixing the batter even easier, use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to mix the muffin batter.

The texture of the apple streusel sourdough muffins.

How To Store Apple Sourdough Muffins

They will last in an airtight container for 3-4 days. To reheat, remove the muffin liner and place them in the toaster oven or microwave for 60 seconds.

These muffins freeze beautifully. Allow them to cool completely and place them in a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I've pulled them out past 3 months and they were still fine!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use active sourdough starter instead of inactive starter in these muffins?

Yes! Active starter will work too! It will give the muffins a nice rise too.

Can I use fresh apples instead of applesauce?

Applesauce adds moist and cinnamon to the muffins. It's best to use applesauce instead of fresh apples.

Do these sourdough discard muffins taste sour?

No. Since we are not letting the batter ferment overnight, they do not have that classic sourdough taste. You can keep the batter in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap to increase the fermentation and give a more sour flavor if you would like.

A straight on shot of the apple streusel sourdough muffins.

Other Recipes You'll Love!

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