Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
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Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins- a SUPER simple vegan breakfast that you’ll find yourself making over and over again because they’re SO GOOD!
Oh hey, hi! Yes, I’m sharing another muffin recipe. Are you sick of muffins yet because I’ve been sharing a lot of them lately but I’m not really at all sorry about it.
I know that I say this pretty much every single time that I post a new muffin recipe BUT these muffins are my new favorite muffins on the blog. I kept testing these under the premise of getting them “just right” but really, I just wanted an excuse to make and eat another batch of them. Once again, not sorry about it.
I mean: LOOK how fluffy are these muffins!?
And I know this picture makes it look like there are raisins in there but there are in fact no raisins. That’s just the skin of the walnuts that you see.
Here’s the one bad thing about these muffins: they’re at their peak right out of the oven while they’re still warm and soft. You can totally eat them after this, they just aren’t *quite* as good. And if you are going to eat them later, I HIGHLY recommend popping them in the microwave briefly (~30 seconds) to lightly warm them up.
Warm muffins are the only way to eat muffins anyways, right?
To keep these a little healthier, we’re ditching white sugar and using maple syrup instead. And to keep these muffins vegan, we’re using nut butter and mashed banana to bind these together instead of an egg. Simple and easy!
Can you make these muffins gluten free?
While it’s on my to-do list to test a gluten free version of this recipe, I have not been able to get around to it yet. However, I’m confident that you can use any gluten free 1-1 flour. I’ve had great luck with THIS Bobs Red Mill gluten free flour and THIS Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
How to make these vegan muffins:
These muffins are ridiculously easy to make and I worked it so that you only have to dirty ONE bowl (instead of mixing the wet and dry ingredients in 2 different bowls). The banana is mashed and then the other wet ingredients are mixed in. Once that is fully combined, we add in the dry ingredients and mix. Then bake and BAM amazing muffins!
That’s it! The ease of this recipe is why I eat muffins FAR to often :)
DO YOU NEED MUFFIN LINERS?
I find muffin liners completely unnecessary and even a waste. The only time that I find them useful, I guess, is if you’re making muffins/ cupcakes to take to a party. Then it can be nice to have some sort of barrier between the muffins and lots of hands that might be touching them. Otherwise, I just spray the pan well and never have any issues with the muffins sticking at all.
Alternatively, you can use THESE silicon liners that are easy and reusable. I have some and they can be run through the dishwasher which I love! There is also THIS silicone muffin tin which looks rather handy!
MORE VEGAN MUFFINS THAT YOU’LL LOVE:
See how to make these Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins here:
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Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 muffins 1x
Description
Easy and delicious vegan carrot muffins!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of flour (I use all purpose but you can also use whole wheat, pastry flour, or a gluten free 1-1 substitute)
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- 1/2 cup of almond milk
- 3 tablespoons of nut butter- I used peanut butter this time but have also made these with almond butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 medium banana, mashed
- ½ cup of grated carrot (I use a medium grate but you can also finely grate them)
- ¼ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans plus more for topping if desired (you can also omit the nuts completely)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 6 cup muffin tin.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Stir in the milk, nut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and mashed banana. Stir until well combined.
- Gently stir in the grated carrot and nuts.
- Evenly spoon the mixture into the 6 muffin cups.
- Top with a few more chopped nuts if desired and bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let cool slightly and ENJOY!!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: breakfast
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 219
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 553.3 mg
- Fat: 7.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
- Protein: 5.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: vegan breakfast, vegan muffin, healthy breakfast
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
66 Comments on “Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins”
Can you use coconut flour?
I do not recommend it as coconut flour is vastly more absorbent thatn regular flour. I want to work on a coconut flour version of this but I have not done so. The only thing I have actually tried out is a gluten free 1-1 flour from cup-4-cup.
Are there any substitutes for the banana? I don’t like bananas at all unfortunately.
Can i use oatmeal flour?
Could I substitute the maple syrup for stevia or similar dry ingredient? Would I need to add a bit more liquid if doing so? Recipe looks so good aside from the walnuts which I would omit, I really dislike walnuts.
Unfortunately I do not have a lot of experience baking with stevia. I’m thinking that if you used stevia, you might want to add in a little extra almond milk. Let me know how it turns out!
These were amazing! I made them for my 10 month old son and just didn’t add the maple syrup! Still really good! Thank you for an easy recipe
★★★★★
These were amazing! I doubled the cinnamon (because I absolutely love it!) and maple syrup (for added sweetness) and they turned out amazing, as usual! They came out light and fluffy, but were devoured within 5 minutes!
★★★★★
Hi, I have some advice for you – after you’ve baked them, leave them in the half-opened oven. Taking them out right away could be shocking for them.
Otherwise, thank you for the recipe, it turned out really fluffy and smooth on the inside^^ Greetings from the Czech Republic!
★★★★★
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How many calories per serving are these please?
Could we use regular milk?
you can!
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Can I use almond flour or oat flour or combination of both?
Hey, what is a good substitute for the nut butter? I don’t really like peanut butter and I don’t want the taste of almond butter in the muffins. Thanks
The best that I can recommend is trying sunflower seed butter that has a pretty neutral taste
I used equal parts mashed avocado and they turned out really well!
★★★★
Hi thanks for the recipe! They turned out great! Just wondering how long you would these muffins keep for? Do you store in the fridge?
I usually store them on the counter in an air tight container for a few days but they would last a couple days longer in the fridge. Since they’re very moist, they’re probably best kept in the fridge (but if you think you’ll eat them within 48 hours, it’s not really necessary).
★★★★★
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This cooked very well and taste really healthy, the only thing was mine came out quite flat so maybe I could add some self raising flour instead?
★★★★
Hi Brita your recipe is simple and amazing. Made it couple of times but did not last even for 20 min the time taken for baking?? was off the table within 5 mins. They were light and fluffy. A very good recipe for me and my family as I always hunt for eggless versions ??
★★★★★
The tastiest carrot muffins i’ve ever had, no sugar = guilt free ;)
★★★★★
What could be the perfect substitute for maple syrup?
These muffins are delicious! So moist And very easy to make!! I added raisins and walnuts!!
★★★★★
I am not much of a baker and these turned out amazing. So easy and incredibly delicious. A definite keeper, thank you!!
★★★★★
yay! SO SO glad that you liked them!! This is def one of my favorite muffin recipes!
This recipe was so amazing! I was pleasantly surprised at how moist and fluffy they were and especially because they were vegan. Nothing worse than a dry muffin! These were super easy to whip up and all in one bowl too. These had such a wonderful cozy flavors such as: banana, carrots, cinnamon, and maple syrup. I can’t wait to make this recipe again and to try other FWF muffin recipes! FWF has the best recipes ever!
★★★★★
aww thank you so much for the kind words, Becca! Really means a lot to me and I’m so glad that you liked the recipe!
Loved this recipe! It looked and as good as it tasted! Will be making many more times.
★★★★★
YAY! So glad that you liked them, Sasha!!
Just made . Wonderful
I ended up with extra battery. Had a mini size cupcake pan so discided to try
Bake in over with others. Came out perfect and not dry due to smaller sizing.
★★★★★
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How many calories are in them without the walnuts?
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I copy and print recipes into this online calorie and nutrition calculator. Since I usually adapt recipes, like removing nuts or changing the type of flour, it helps me to see what the calories will be.
Hope this helps you to get the information you want.
Made these with my 4-yo last week and I LOVE that he thinks adding veggies to muffins is an amazing idea! Great texture and simple bake. I may add a little more sweetness next time, but I also won’t admit how much butter I like to lather on my muffins ;)
P.S. What’s the best way to store these?
★★★★★
hahah! So glad that you liked it, Elizabeth!! And thank you so much for coming back to let me know! We usually just store them in an air tight container on the counter and eat them within a couple days. If you want them to keep longer, I suggest putting them in the fridge to keep up to about 5 days
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Me and my boyfriend made this today and we both loved it!!!
★★★★★
Hey, I just wanted to ask should I use white powered sugar or regular sugar? Also if I use maple syrup, is Aunt Jemima’s syrup ok? And can I use regular butter instead of nut butter?
Can you use apple sauce in place of bananas? Do not have ripe bananas, tried ripening in the oven and it did not work.
yes you can! It turns out a little bit denser but still really good!
It turns out amazing! I definitely will try others recipes of yours!
★★★★★
Loved them! I’m glad they are not that sweet as other dessert recipes cause we are no longer used to a lot of sweetness. But this ones are great! I did add 1 egg to the recipe just to get my picky-eater toddler eating some egg. My family loved them so I’m sure I’ll keep making them. Plus they were SUPER EASY TO MAKE! Thanks! :)
★★★★★
I made these and they turned greenish blue. An internet article says the oh level can turn carrots green and walnuts blue. Has this happened to anyone else? They were still yummy!
I meant PH level no OH level. Autocorrect on iPhones, ahhh!!!
Could you add raisins or craisins to be more like carrot cake?
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious! I am pre diabetic so trying to make food which is tasty but doesn’t have too much sugar. This recipe was simply perfect for me. I could eat it without feeling guilty at all! Thank you so much !
There is one other thing wrong with this recipe – it makes only six :-) :-). I used spelt flour and they are delicious and so easy! I omitted the nuts because I didn’t have any on hand, but I think they would be better with and I will use them next time!
★★★★★
Hello!
I’m very excited to try this recipe but do you use a regular size muffin tray or a jumbo one?
Hey! Am I able to substitute all purpose flour with oat flour instead ? I’m gluten intolerant. Thank you!
These were great! Mine weren’t so pretty but I made them a little smaller. It’s the first sugar free muffin I’ve made where you really can’t tell it’s refined sugar free!
★★★★★
Made it. Love it,
Muffins are moist and soft. Delicious :-) .
★★★★★
Any idea how much fiber is in each muffin. I follow old school WW.
Once the time has passed, do you have to remove it immediately or do you have to wait for it to cool in the oven? I also wanted to ask if they can be frozen? Thank you!
you remove them from the oven immediately and let them cool at room temperature :)
These were yummy but tasted more like banana muffins than carrot cake.
I substituted equal parts mashed avocado for the nut butter, regular milk for almond milk, and honey for the syrup. Next time I’ll try to add more cinnamon.
★★★★
Hi, these look great! Wondering if I can use aquafaba instead of banana? If so, how much and would it be whisked? Thanks!
hi! I actually haven’t done much cooking with aquafaba unfortunately and can’t say for sure how well it would work. You could however use pumpkin or applesauce instead of the banana
I really like this recipie! I doubled it and added about 5 min cooking time. They turned out great with big fluffy muffin tops. So often I find vegan muffins are more dense with very little top! I love the use of nut butter in the recipe ( I used almond) and I subbed raisons for walnuts. Thank you!
Loved these.
My boys wanted muffins for breakfast so I tried these out. I like that the ingredients are all pretty healthy. They are super easy to make.
I did not have walnuts on hand so I used pecans, and just to be fancy I poked a few blueberries on the tops before baking.
Definitely going into my rotation.
★★★★★
I made these for my family yesterday morning and everyone loved it! My family had eaten all of them by the time I went for seconds! I’m going to make them again today or tomorrow, and was wondering if I made a double batch if I could freeze some of the batter? These are definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!
★★★★★
They turned out great and I will definitely be making them again! <3 I made a few substitutions that I was happy with.
I doubled the recipe. Instead of using 2 bananas (for double), I used 1 cup of apple sauce. I also just used matchstick carrots because I didn't feel like grating my own. I ended up with 17 small yummy muffins.
★★★★★
Is it necessary to use almond butter in this recipe. I can’t find any in my grocery store and it only takes 3 tablespoon. Can I just not put anything in it.
I doubled the recipe and baked in a loaf pan for 45-ish minutes. Delicious, and a hit with the kids!
★★★★★