The best Healthy Carrot Muffins with applesauce, oatmeal or oat bran, whole wheat flour and honey. Your family will love when you add them to your healthy muffin recipes!
Carrot baked goods always turn out so delicious and moist! Like my healthy carrot cake, healthy carrot cake bars, or almond flour carrot cake.
Table of contents
Healthy carrot muffins are naturally sweetened, moist and fluffy! With no added sugar plus loaded with nuts and raisins, these carrot muffins make for a healthy breakfast recipe or afternoon snack.
Carrots are amazing in baked goods; they make muffins sweet and moist with no need to add a cup of refined sugar and oil. Try them next in carrot cake baked oatmeal!
These oatmeal carrot muffins are a nutrition power house! Not to mention even my kids can make them for healthy snacks and then enjoy with a glass of cold milk.
What Makes These Oatmeal Carrot Muffins Healthy?
- Whole grain flour is not stripped of essential vitamins and nutrients like all purpose flour, plus the addition of oats or oat brans adds fiber!
- Applesauce is being used in place of oil resulting in a low fat muffin!
- Muffins are naturally sweetened without the use of white refined sugar.
- Carrots are known for being high in vitamin A, plus because of their sweet taste, these hearty muffins are similar in taste to carrot cake!
Ingredients for Healthy Carrot Muffins
- Carrots: You will need approximately 2-3 large carrots or 5-6 small/medium sized. I prefer to buy organic carrots. Use the small side of your grater or a vegetable peeler to shred carrots.
- Applesauce: Adds moisture instead of using oil, I prefer to use unsweetened to keep these healthy carrot muffins lower in sugar. Instead of applesauce you can use plain regular or Greek yogurt.
- Honey or maple syrup: This ingredient adds a bit of sweetness without refined sugar.
- Eggs: Adds lift and binding.
- Baking essentials and spices: Vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Whole wheat flour: I much prefer using whole wheat flour or spelt flour in baking. If you avoid gluten, check out these basic almond flour muffins made with almond flour.
- Oat bran or oats: Adds healthy fiber for aiding in digestion. I love using oats in these healthy strawberry muffins, too!
- Add-ins: I love to use raisins and walnuts for a healthy carrot cake muffin taste, but feel free to use your favorite dried fruit or nut.
How to Make Healthy Carrot Muffins
There is a full recipe card below.
1. Combine liquid and leavening agents: First, whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl. Then, add applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well to fully combine.
2. Add carrots: Stir in grated carrots. Please don’t squeeze shredded carrots. The wonderful juice will ensure your muffins are flavorful and moist.
3. Add dry ingredients: Now it’s time to incorporate dry ingredients one by one. First, add oat bran or oats. Then add whole wheat flour; gently mix until combined. Do not over mix!
4. Stir in raisins and nuts.
5. Bake for 25 minutes: Place batter evenly into a muffin tin. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool and enjoy: I always let my muffins cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Variations
Want to customize healthy carrot muffins to your tastes and what you have on hand? Feel free to try these options!
- Tropical muffins: Add 1/2 cup chopped (gently squeezed if from a can) pineapple chunks and 1/4 cup coconut flakes.
- Different warming spices: Use ground cloves or ground allspice vs. the normal carrot cake warming spices called for in this recipe.
- Sweeter muffins: Sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking!
- Topping: After muffins have cooled, use drizzle from healthy coffee cake to make take these from healthy carrot muffins to healthy carrot cake muffins!
- Frosting: Transform your muffins into dessert with healthy Greek yogurt frosting!
FAQs
I have not tried but I believe so. Muffins will rise less and will have more hearty chewy texture. Please do not confuse with steel cut oats though.
Baking is a science and gluten free flour like almond flour or coconut flour will not bake the same, so I do not recommend this substitution. Try these healthy strawberry oatmeal bars with an almond flour crust!
You can’t use liquid stevia because it will throw off dry and wet ingredients ratio and muffins will not turn out. The same goes for any dry sweetener.
You can bake bigger or smaller muffins but increase and decrease bake time accordingly for this healthy breakfast idea. Always do a toothpick test.
For a vegan egg free option learn how to make a flax egg or chia egg.
Yes! Just omit the nuts or add in some sunflower seeds.
I usually keep them on the counter for a few days. At that point, if any are left (happened only once here), I pop them into the fridge to prevent dry and stale carrot muffins. You can also freeze muffins up to 3 months. In fact, you can freeze any muffins like savory broccoli cheese egg muffins or sweet banana applesauce muffins!
More Healthy Muffins Recipes
- Healthy pumpkin muffins recipe
- Cranberry orange muffins
- Healthy chocolate chip muffins
- Healthy blueberry muffins
- Healthy morning glory muffins
- Healthy apple muffins
Browse through all my favorite healthy muffin recipes!
Healthy Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots packed
- 1 cup oat bran or quick/rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
- 1/3 cup raisins or chopped dates not packed
- 1/3 cup nuts coarsely chopped (walnuts (I used cheaper pieces rather than whole), pecans, hazelnuts)
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray non-stick 12 muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs and whisk for 15 seconds. Add applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk well to combine.
- Add carrots and stir a few times. Add oat bran or oats and whole wheat flour; gently mix until combined. Do not over mix. Stir in raisins and nuts.
- Distribute batter evenly between 12 openings of a tin (I used a regular ice cream scoop) and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let muffins cool for a few minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool off completely.
Store: Refrigerate in a glass airtight container for up to 1 week.
Freeze: In an airtight container up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator or on counter for 3-4 hours.
Video
Notes
- Can I use quick cooking steel cut oats: I have not tried but I believe so. Muffins will rise less and will have more hearty chewy texture. Please do not confuse with steel cut oats though.
- Yogurt: Instead of applesauce you can use plain regular or Greek yogurt.
- Jumbo or mini muffins: You can bake bigger or smaller muffins but increase and decrease bake time accordingly. Always do a toothpick test.
- Can I use almond flour? Baking is a science and gluten free flour like almond flour or coconut flour will not bake the same, so I do not recommend this substitution.
- Can I use liquid stevia or erythritol? You can’t use liquid stevia because it will throw off dry and wet ingredients ratio and muffins will not turn out. The same goes for any dry sweetener.
- Egg free: Try how to make a flax egg or chia egg.
Needs some oil!!!! Would’ve been much better with oil.
Very rubbery 🙁
I used whole wheat flour and oats. Had no applesauce, so used yogurt (without realizing I’d need to compensate and add more sweetness). Chopped up dried apricots instead of raisins and also added pecans. These are very good but, without the applesauce, needed a touch of sweetness. I made a thin glaze from powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. That did the trick.
So happy you made these muffins work. Yes, definitely would need more sweetener with yogurt. I make this mistake all the time haha.
Hello! I’m planning to do these today, can I use regular flour instead of whole-wheat flour?
You will need a bit more of it. You can try but I haven’t tested exactly how much.
I am unfashionably enthusiastic about your website. I am an old woman in Arizona who rides her bicycle everywhere. (I don’t own a car and I am glad.) So I care about the fuel I use in my body. My unrealized dream was to adopt a child from the Ukraine. In retrospect I am glad for the child I was unable to do so. I am not able to speak Ukrainian
decently and I am not a good parent.
Riding bike is very healthy.:)
Can you leave out the raisins/dates? I’m trying to find healthier snacks for my son besides crackers but I think dates/raisins are a little too chewy for him.
Sure.
Delicious! Family loves them!
I used almond flour, maple syrup and oats where there are options.
Super moist, wholesome and filling.
So glad you and the family enjoy the muffins!
I did not find these to be very tasty, which surprised me based upon the many, many great reviews. I used yogurt instead of applesauce which this recipe mentions as a fine alternative (and because I had yogurt and did not have applesauce). I chose honey over maple syrup and dates over raisins (choices one must make according to the recipe). The texture is fine. I actually have no problem with something not being sweet, but this muffin just seems to have absolutely zero sweetness.
Sounds like you needed that applesauce to add some sweetness. Yogurt is a great substitute for ‘moisture’ but will not add sweetness.
Can one add protein powder to these muffins? If so, how many scoops in the muffin recipe?
This recipe has not been tested with protein powder, but banana protein muffins work great with protein powder if you want to try!
Love this recipe! I now use as standard for my muffins I make every few weeks so I can eat one for breakfast & feel good that I’ve already getting in vegetables & good fats. I’m on a no milk or soy diet while nursing & wanted a healthy snack I could eat quickly that wasn’t full of sugar or milk products. The first time I made exactly as is, but since I’ve added in a few things/changes for myself – chocolate chips (love life milk & soy free brand), chia seeds, flaxseed, & brewers yeast(to help with milk production). I also have switched out the carrots for zucchini a few times (1:1 ratio) & it was still great! Great recipe!
So glad you enjoy it and thanks for letting us know how you make it! Congrats on the new baby. 🙂