Fresh Apricot Coconut Muffins
Fresh Apricot Coconut Muffins are healthier whole grain muffins studded with chunks of sweet apricot, coconut and the flavor of orange zest and vanilla. They’re light, fluffy and completely delicious!
I love all stone fruit, but apricots hold a special place in my heart. Every summer when I slept over at my grandparents’ house, my grandmother always had a bowl of fresh apricots on the table.
They were one of my grandmother’s favorite fruits, and to this day when I eat one, I can’t help but think of her.
I picked up some apricots at the farmer’s market this week and realized that I’d only baked with dried apricots in the past.
I knew right then and there that I needed to do something about that, so these wholesome Apricot Muffins were born. 🙂
A few years ago I read that fresh apricots don’t live up to their full potential until they’re cooked. I’m not sure that I agree with that entirely as I love eating them fresh when they’re perfectly ripe and sweet.
They’re amazing as-is or in a yogurt parfait with granola and honey.
I do agree that the flavor of apricots are unleashed when cooked — we all know how wonderful apricot jam is. When apricots are perfectly ripe they’re quite sweet, but when they’re not they can be overwhelmingly tart and dry.
Your muffins will only be as good as your apricots are, so make sure that you have the best.
These healthy apricot muffins have a double dose of coconut with both shredded sweetened coconut in the muffins and coconut flakes on top.
There’s another ingredient that goes hand in hand with apricot, and that’s orange. I’ve used this combination before in my Apricot Orange Irish Soda Bread, and absolutely loved it.
The orange zest truly brings out the flavor of the apricot and makes it shine.
Do fresh apricots need to be peeled before baking?
No! Peeling apricots would be much too tedious. These healthy fresh apricot muffins include that fuzzy skin and I promise that it doesn’t compromise the texture of the muffins.
Recipe notes
- If you don’t have whole wheat white flour on hand, you can substitute with all purpose flour or a combination of 1 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour.
- Your muffins will only be as good as your apricots! Make sure you use ripe, sweet apricots, which will result in a sweeter more flavorful muffin.
- If fresh apricots aren’t in season use dried apricots instead!
More muffin recipes you’ll love:
- Blackberry muffins
- Chocolate zucchini muffins
- Healthy morning glory muffins
- Healthy peach muffins by Amy’s Healthy Baking
- Healthy zucchini muffins
- Lemon blueberry muffins
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Healthier Fresh Apricot Coconut Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat white flour*
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or your favorite sweetener
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted and slightly cooled (canola oil may be substituted)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange zest about half a medium orange
- 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk or milk of your choice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh chopped apricot chop into ¼" chunks (about 3-4 apricots)
- 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/3 cup coconut flakes for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, oil and orange zest vigorously until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the milk and vanilla and whisk until well blended.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until almost combined, then gently fold in the apricot and shredded coconut.
- Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the muffin batter evenly between the (12) muffin cups and top with the coconut flakes, if using. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and the top of the muffins spring back when gently pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack.
- Store unused muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
- *If you don’t have whole wheat white flour on hand, you can substitute with all purpose flour or a combination of 1 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour.
- Your muffins will only be as good as your apricots! Make sure you use ripe, sweet apricots, which will result in a sweeter more flavorful muffin.
- If fresh apricots aren’t in season use dried apricots instead!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
**The photos, text and recipe for this post were updated in June 2018.
42 Comments on “Fresh Apricot Coconut Muffins”
Very good. Great texture. I didn’t have orange zest so I used orange juice instead of the milk. Worked well.
Thanks so much for the review Catherine!
Hi ! I came cross this recipe when i googled ‘apricot muffins’ and made them today! So delicious. Definite keeper. Seems like some of the commenters made a version with yoghurt and granola? but I made them as the recipe looks now with milk and coconut flakes on top.
I did substitute to make them vegan. Almond milk for the milk and Aquafaba for the eggs. I had super ripe farmers market apricots too. Absolutley scrumptious. Thank you!
Hi Josie! I modified the recipe and eliminated the Greek yogurt because I like them better with milk. I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Delicious recipe ..thank you so very much!
You’re very welcome, and thank you for leaving your feedback Diana! 🙂
Just made these omitting the coconut (added ground ginger and cinnamon instead) and they’re beautiful! They were a great use for the slightly freezer burned apricots I’ve had since last season. I omitted the white sugar and plan to eat them warmed and spread with butter for breakfast. 🙂 Thank you!
It seems like a nice, forgiving recipe, too. I used regular yogourt and whole milk, and then I kind of forgot to mix my wet ingredients very thoroughly before combining, but the baked muffins look and taste just fine. They rose really well with the high heat and were done in 15-16 minutes in my oven.
I’m so glad these muffins gave you a good use for your frozen apricots! Thank you so much for your feedback Katya and I’m so glad you enjoyed these!
Hi Marcie:
I made your apricot coconut muffins & they turned out extremely well. I did a bit of a substitute because I didn’t have plain Greek yogurt, so I used some lime flavoured Greek instead. Definitely a keeper recipe!
Thanks,
Alie
Thank you for the feedback, Alie, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins! Lime Greek yogurt sounds like one great substitution, too. 🙂
These are my kind of muffins! 🙂 So full of flavors that I adore! Your pictures are so bright and cheery too, love it!
Thank you, Jocelyn! Hope you’re having a great weekend! 🙂
Oh, I hope you can find some apricots, Kelly — they’re so good! I keep buying them at Whole Foods when I run out of my farmer’s market stash…I can’t get enough right now. I’m glad you’re liking this farmer’s market series — it’s really fun for me because I really nerd out when it comes to produce. haha Thanks, and have a great day! 🙂
I’m always looking for new ways to bake with the apricots from my parents’ tree, and these muffins look amazing! I recently made an apricot crisp, which was fantastic. I think these muffins are next in line! I love how you’ve made them healthier and added coconut. (I also want to try your apricot coconut granola!)
Oh, I love the sound of the apricot crisp! I’m going to have to try that. 🙂 Thanks, Kristine!