Super Moist and Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
These Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins are made with less sugar than your average muffin recipe and more tender than any you’ve ever had before! These are also loaded with tons of shredded carrots, coconut, and juicy raisins. So easy, healthy, and delicious!
HEALTHY carrot cake muffins!?
Muffins like these healthy carrot cake muffins have a special place in my heart. Especially for breakfast. Am I the only one that rolls out of bed and wants something desserty as part of my breakfast to wake up my tastebuds? My husband is completely the opposite. He won’t even think about anything sweet until he’s had his savory breakfast + coffee. And then he’ll proceed to ‘breakfast dessert’ as he calls it.
I absolutely love the smell of something warm and cinnamon-y wafting from the kitchen in the morning. The sweet scent of bread, muffins, or pancakes just puts a spring in my step. The way the heat radiates out of the muffin liners from a warm banana nut or carrot muffin just makes my whole day better.
The carrots are the star of the show but we also have a ton of supporting actors – enter raisins, crunchy walnuts, and shredded coconut to add lots of flavor and texture (!!!) One thing I love doing is sprinkling a handful of rolled oats on the bottom of my muffin pan before pouring in the batter and then topping them with another pinch of oats. This provides a nice added crunch to the muffin tops plus it makes them look so much prettier. And let’s face it, this is practically carrot cake in muffin form, minus the cream cheese frosting.
What I love most about these muffins is that you don’t have to use any special equipment to make them. Sometimes you just want to grab a whisk and do it the old-fashioned way while you’re standing there lost in thought or in my case, binge-listening to podcasts.
Is that a thing, binge listening?
Ingredients for homemade carrot cake muffins
- Flour: You’ll need all-purpose flour for this recipe and you can replace some of it with whole wheat flour as well. I haven’t tested the recipe with all whole wheat but I do think the muffins may be too dense if you made them with all whole wheat.
- Baking Soda: It may seem like a whole lot of baking soda! 2 Tsp!
- Spices: You’ll need kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger to add warmth. You’ll also need two heaping teaspoons of cinnamon.
- Oil: I love using melted coconut oil for these muffins because it enhances the shredded coconut flavor and makes the muffins much lighter than if you were to use butter. You can also use canola oil or vegetable oil if this is typically what you have on hand at home.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is partially responsible for adding sweetness to the recipe as well as moisture.
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce: Apple sauce provides a deeper flavor and cuts out some of the added sugar.
- Greek yogurt: adds protein and reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise a bit. To make these dairy-free I suggest using coconut yogurt or something similar.
- Eggs: Adds structure and stability to baked goods.
- Vanilla: 2 teaspoons vanilla extract is the perfect amount of vanilla. It shines beautifully in the recipe.
- Shredded carrots: You’ll need two whole cups of shredded carrots for this recipe. The carrots and moisture to the muffins and they’ll shrink into teeny tiny bits in the muffins so you won’t even know they’re there.
- Add-ins: I use shredded sweetened coconut, raisins, and walnuts. These add, color, and texture to the muffins. They pair beautifully with the cinnamon and ginger in the recipe. The other ingredient that you won’t find in other carrot cake muffin recipes – oats! The rolled oats – not oat flour. I sprinkle them in the muffin tin and on top of the muffins to add a nutty taste and some texture.
How to make the best carrot cake muffins
- Prep things. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. You’ll want to line a cupcake pan with paper liners or just spray it with cooking spray. I sprinkle the bottom of the liners or the muffin tins with half the oats. Save the other half for the topping!
- Sift the dry ingredients. In a bowl sift the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Add the brown sugar and oil and mix them together with a whisk, a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer until they’re combined. Add the yogurt and apple sauce until they’re fully mixed. Don’t worry if the mixture is a bit gritty, it’ll all work out! Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one is incorporated. Then stir in the vanilla.
- Make batter. Manually stir or fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Taking care to make sure you work out all the flour pockets but don’t over-mix. Add your add-ins and then divide the batter into the prepared pans. Don’t forget to sprinkle the remaining oats over top and shaved coconut too if you’d like.
- Bake the muffins. Until they’re golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out mostly clean. Moist crumbs are fine, you just don’t want wet batter! The serving size is a muffin, but don’t be surprised when you find yourself going back for more!
FAQs about this recipe
I know a lot of recipes call for honey or maple syrup. The truth is, I’ve never tested this recipe with a liquid sweetener to I’m unsure if that will work.
Some people like using ground cloves or a little grating of nutmeg, feel free to spruce these as you’d like!
I keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. If it’s particularly warm where you live, I’d store them in the refrigerator and then reheat a muffin for a few seconds in the microwave or just bring it to room temperature on the counter before enjoying!
If you like this recipe, you might also like these muffins:
- Outrageous Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free or Not!)
- Warm Lemon Zucchini Muffins
- Spiced Chai Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
- Lighter Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
- French Toast Cups with Coconut Almond Streusel
Original recipe posted Jan 2014, updated March 2023.
Super Moist and Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
These Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins are made with less sugar than your average muffin recipe and more tender than any you’ve ever had before! These are also loaded with tons of shredded carrots, coconut, and juicy raisins. So easy, healthy, and delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (I use 50% whole wheat and 50% AP)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH salt and ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup melted coconut oil (see notes)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups carrots, finely shredded
- 1/2 cup EACH shredded sweetened coconut, raisins, AND walnuts
- 1/4 cup oats, divided
Instructions
- PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. If you want, you can line your cupcake pan with paper liners. Or spray the insides with cooking spray. Sprinkle half the oats on the liners, set aside.
- DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour(s), baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, set aside.
- WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl with a whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer, on medium speed, combine the brown sugar and oil. Beat in the yogurt and apple sauce until fully combined - about 1 minute. Mixture will be gritty and thin. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
- BATTER: With a spatula, manually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and all flour pockets are gone - do not overmix. Fold in the finely shredded carrots, shredded coconut, raisins, and walnuts. The muffin mixture will be thick. Pour into prepared cupcake pans. Sprinkle the remaining oats on top and shaved coconut too if you'd like.
- BAKE: Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Let cool for several minutes before devouring!
Notes
- After making these muffins more than a dozen times after originally posting the recipe back in 2014, i've found that I prefer them with ⅔ cup of oil rather than the originally stated amount of '¾ cup'. However either amount will work.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1/16th of recipeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 236Total Fat: 11gCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 2gProtein: 4g
The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.
Super Moist is exactly the right name. These muffins aren’t in the least bit dry, plus it is made with healthy fats that are good for you. Omg I love this recipe, the base recipe you can use to make any other kind of muffins. I can say however, that I can cut back on the sugar next time, personal preference. Quick on the go breakfast or a afternoon snack with my coffee! Thank you so much! Would you mind coming up with a gluten free muffin too?
Glad to hear you enjoyed them Anu! I’ve been meaning to dabble with GF flour for some time now but just haven’t gotten around to it. I’ll definitely see what I can do about that! 🙂
OMG! So good! They were devoured will definitely made these again.
These are really awesome. Next time I will cut the sugar to half cup.
I rarely comment on recipe blog post. I wanted to quickly let you know that these muffins are amazing. My 10-year old daughter, who is the pickiest eater, loves them. She asked me this morning “Mom, do you have more carrots to make these again? ” (she hates carrots!)
I made them with canola oil. Will try coconut oil next time.
Thank you so much!
PS: If you ever make a gluten-free version, i would love to try it.
Hi there. My friend made me these muffins and i loved them only problem is i found after they had dairy in then and we don’t do dairy. What can we replace greek yogurt in the recipe for?
Hi Valerie! Unfortunately, the recipe has only been tested as written so I’m unsure as to what would work. I did a quick google search and I’m seeing that softened or silken tofu often works well. Not sure how it would work out in this recipe, but it’s an option if you’d like to try!
I’m just about to make these for my breakfast! How long do they usually last? Great recipe!
3 days at room temperature and a bit longer if you store them in the refridgerator. They’ll harden a little if stored that way, but a quick zap in the microwave makes them nice and fresh again!
While looking for a carrot cake muffin recipe I came across yours. After reading all the amazing reviews I can’t wait to make them. Very excited in anticipation. ?
Love these muffins! I used 2/3 cup of coconut oil and replaced the apple sauce with 1/2 cup purée fresh pineapple and walnuts with pecans. Big hit with everyone.
Made these muffins tonight and they are so yummy! Great flavour combination 🙂
What a great way to serve carrot cake – as a muffin! I love it.
I found your recipe today and made these muffins. Wow, they are seriously fabulous! I didn’t have any coconut oil so I used half butter/half peanut oil to make it up to 2/3 cup. Thank you very much for the recipe, this one’s a keeper! Yum!!
Love these muffins! And no, I can never eat just one! : ) Super easy to make and still come out moist after defrosting from the freezer when I make a large batch. I substituted canola oil for the coconut oil (cause it saved me a trip to the store) and found that the shredded cocounut gave it enough flavor.
These are so good. Love the oatmeal on top (didn’t use coconut). Made the look very professional. Will be making these again and again. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi I’m so excited to try this recipe but for some crazy reason, I cannot see the number of eggs this recipe requires. No one else’s review mentions anything about it. Can you help me, after all these years?
Very gratefully yours,
ShuLei
Hi there again!
I saw the recipe clearly and indicates 3 large eggs.
Thanks!
Quite possibly the best muffin recipe I’ve used. They took a bit longer than expected to make but delish!!
these were perfect and super moist and fluffy. I replaced the flour with sprouted wheat flour and raisins with dried cranberries as i didnt have the other ingredients.
I changed the recipe to be GF but WOW soo YUMMY. I used 1 cup Bob’s Red 1 to 1 GF flour and 1 cup almond flour with 1/2 cup of butter instead of oil and sucanat sugar worked perfect. They are a bit darker due to the sucanat but doesn’t matter the flavour and texture is excellent.
Not sure what I did wrong but these muffins turned out really dense and on the drier side. I used 1 cup all purpose flour and one cup of whole wheat. When I mixed the batter it was really thick and didn’t pour…I had to spoon it into cups. They taste really good though. Any help is appreciated.
It seems like it might just be too much flour (since you mentioned the batter was really thick.) For baking, I suggest using the spoon and level method to measure out the flour as it ensures you don’t end up using too much. Here is a link that shows how if you’d like to check it out. 🙂
Blimey these are delicious. First time. I’ve been able to produce light fluffy m
Leooist muffins. Thanks!
Would I be able to use the same recipe, with exact ingredients to make a loaf or cake? Have you tried to do this? I made the muffins, except with raw honey instead of brown sugar, and my husband absolutely loved them. thank you
Unfortunately, I’m not at all sure. I’ve only tried the recipe as muffins and am not certain whether the recipe would adapt well for a loaf. If you decide to give it a try, I’d love to know how it went/ baking times 🙂
I have made these muffins a few times now and simply love them and so does everyone who eats them. Freeze well too
I absolutely love this recipe. I have made it three times in the past six weeks and shared the muffins with friends. They love them also. This will be a staple at our house. The oatmeal on top adds to the taste and the look. Super good!!! I took a picture but don’t do Instagram. Email me and I will send it to you and I will send it to you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the oatmeal on top, Elizabeth – that’s my favorite part! Thank you for taking the time to circle back and leave a comment 🙂
These muffins look so tasty. I’m adding this to my favorites.
I made your carrot muffin recipe yesterday and they were very good however I did find that they had a metallic taste which I believe may be due to the 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Next time I will reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon and also add 1 teaspoon baking powder to help them rise. I also found the 2/3 cup of coconut oil to produce a greasy muffin. I would reduce this to 1/2 cup coconut oil next time (perhaps even less). That is usually the amount I try to stick to when using coconut oil in my baked goods and results are consistently good and moist. Your recipe produced 14 muffins of which only 5 are left so that’s a very good sign!! Everyone gobbled them up! Thank you!
These muffins are delicious!! I made a few slight changes but I feel like I still staid true to the recipe. I used butter instead of coconut oil bc I didnt have any. Also, I used Bobs GF 1:1 Baking Flour, and I omitted the coconut (my kids dont like it). I also forgot to add the oats. The flavor of these muffins is so warm and delicious. They smell so good in the house. I made these because I like to have something to eat as soon as I wake up – and I wanted something that felt nutritious and would keep me satiated. Thank you!
I have made this so many times and they are the best muffin recipe!
Great recipe. I topped them with a light cream cheese glaze and *chef’s kiss*
If I don’t have applesauce could I use extra Greek yogurt instead? Or would you recommend grated apple instead? Or is there no good swap out for apple sauce?
Absolutely the best muffins I’ve ever made. I am now putting probably my 30th batch in the oven. Moist and nutritious. Almost an impossible combination but this recipe does it! Takes a bit longer to make but totally worth every second. I added a ripe banana instead of applesauce( didn’t have any)
and it worked out great.
Awesome recipe. Excellent muffins that baked up perfectly and tasted even better than they looked. I had to substitute/improvise on a few ingredients, but they tender and tasty. Definitely a new family favorite!