Carrot Muffins

Love carrot cake? Then you HAVE to try these healthy carrot muffins! Moist, tender, and warmly spiced, they're a delicious breakfast or on-the-go snack.

Carrot muffins

These carrot muffins combine two of my favorite things: carrot cake and muffins! They’re exactly what I want to eat on a spring morning (or any morning, really). They’re moist, warmly spiced, and studded with chewy raisins and crunchy walnuts. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to start their day with one of these?

If you need a little last-minute something to round out your Easter menu tomorrow, I think these carrot muffins would be perfect. But if you don’t celebrate Easter, or if your menu is all set to go, I hope you’ll find a time to make them anyway. I adore all the muffin recipes we have on the blog, but this one might just be my favorite. Fingers crossed you love it too!

Carrot muffins recipe ingredients

Carrot Muffins Recipe Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this carrot muffin recipe:

  • Carrots, of course! They make the muffins super moist and add sweet, earthy carrot cake flavor. Shred them on the large holes of a box grater.
  • All-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and almond flour – Whole wheat flour gives the muffins a whole grain punch, while the all-purpose and almond flours make them moist and tender.
  • Baking powder and eggs – They help the muffins puff up as they bake.
  • Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla – They add warm, spiced depth of flavor.
  • Almond milk – Or any milk you like! My homemade oat milk would work well here too.
  • Avocado oil – If you don’t keep avocado oil on hand, feel free to use another neutral oil here. Vegetable, grapeseed, or canola oil would work great.
  • Cane sugar – It makes the muffins lightly sweet.
  • Walnuts – For crunch!
  • Raisins – They add chewy texture and sweet flavor to these healthy carrot muffins.
  • Whole rolled oats – I love topping my carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, but these carrot muffins? Not so much. Instead, I sprinkle them with oats for a wholesome finishing touch.
  • And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Hands using spatula to add shredded carrots to bowl of wet ingredients

How to Make Carrot Muffins

This carrot muffin recipe is SO simple to make! Here’s how it goes:

First, make the batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and the wet ingredients in a large one. Stir the shredded carrots into the wet ingredients.

Hands using spatula to add dry ingredients to bowl of wet ingredients

Then, add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir until just combined.

Hand using spatula to mix batter for carrot muffins

Be careful not to overmix! If you do, the muffins will be dense. Fold in the walnuts and raisins.

folding raisins and walnuts into carrot muffin batter

Next, divide the batter into the muffin cups. Use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to portion the batter into a greased muffin tin. Sprinkle the oats on top of the muffins…

carrot muffin batter in muffin pan

And bake! Transfer the muffins to a 400°F oven, and bake until the tops spring back to the touch, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers of the muffins comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

That’s it! Enjoy these carrot muffins on their own for breakfast or a snack, or serve them as part of a larger brunch. They pair nicely with savory breakfast fare like a frittata, a breakfast casserole, or scrambled eggs and a big bowl of fresh fruit. If you have any carrot muffins leftover, store them at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, pop them in the freezer. They thaw perfectly for an on-the-go breakfast or healthy snack!

Carrot muffins recipe

More Favorite Muffin Recipes

If you love these carrot muffins, try one of these easy muffin recipes next:

Carrot Muffins

rate this recipe:
5 from 17 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serves 12
These healthy carrot muffins are a delicious breakfast or snack! They're moist, fluffy, and warmly spiced. They keep well at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, pop them in the freezer. They thaw perfectly!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • ¾ cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
  • ½ cup almond flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • cup unsweetened almond milk
  • ½ cup avocado oil or neutral oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup cane sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups grated carrots
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ¼ cup whole rolled oats, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the almond milk, oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the carrots.
  • Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in the walnuts and raisins. Use a ⅓-cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the muffin tops spring back to the touch. Let cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

34 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Carrie
    06.26.2023

    How would you make these grain free?

  2. Jennifer
    04.18.2023

    Could you do 1-3/4 of all-purpose flour instead of adding 3/4 of wheat flour?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.20.2023

      Hi Jennifer, I think this would work fine!

  3. Misha
    04.05.2023

    5 stars
    Finally, a carrot muffin recipe that isn’t super sweet and oily carrot cake shaped like a muffin, but is something that I feel okay about eating for breakfast! Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve made it twice and love it. It modifies pretty well, too – nuts and raisins can be there or not, a dash of cloves and/or allspice can be added or not, etc. I only had one egg so just used one with a little extra milk and the muffins were fine – I appreciate a recipe that can handle changing with each occasion’s situation. I have no doubt that they are best as written, but they are good enough to adjust as necessary.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.07.2023

      I’m so glad you loved the muffins!

  4. Jeanne
    03.21.2023

    Can maple syrup be used in place of cane sugar?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.23.2023

      Hi Jeanne, we haven’t tested this, so I’m not sure how it would turn out.

  5. Lynsey
    11.29.2022

    Hi!

    Can you take out the cane sugar all together?

  6. Sandi
    11.17.2022

    Can the raisins be omitted from this recipe or are they crucial for the moisture?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      11.18.2022

      Hi Sandi, You can skip them!

  7. Jimmy chacko
    07.30.2022

    5 stars
    Wow these were fantastic! I will be making these again.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.31.2022

      I’m so glad you loved them!

  8. Bindu Bakshani
    05.15.2022

    Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour? As I don’t hv almond flour and if I grind at home I can’t get the right flour texture

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.18.2022

      No, coconut flour is totally different and requires more moisture in a recipe. I blend my own almond flour all the time and it works great.

  9. Vicky
    04.29.2022

    Would love to know calories per serving of your recipes.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.30.2022

      I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition facts, but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.

  10. Keli
    04.28.2022

    Can you use coconut sugar instead of cane sugar?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.30.2022

      Hi Keli, I think that would work fine.

  11. Melissa
    04.25.2022

    Could you use all Almond Flour or would they be too dry?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.27.2022

      Hi Melissa, no, they won’t have the same structure with all almond flour. If you’re trying to make them gluten free they might work with an AP gluten free flour in place of the regular flour.

  12. Mary
    04.22.2022

    I would love to try some of your recipes, if only you had weights on the ingredients.

  13. Mary J Robbins
    04.21.2022

    5 stars
    OMG, these muffins are amazingly good. I didn’t have walnuts, so I used pecans. No oats so I put chopped pecans on top. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Carrot cake is my husband’s favorite, so these were a hit!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.22.2022

      I’m so glad you both loved them!

  14. Ashley
    04.21.2022

    Could I use melted coconut oil? I know you use it in your carrot cake, I wondered if it would be an easy sub here.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.22.2022

      Yep, that would be great!

  15. Chris David
    04.18.2022

    5 stars
    I loved this recipe so much . It’s really awesome

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.27.2022

      I’m so happy to hear!

  16. Kelli
    04.16.2022

    Can you use an egg replacement to make these vegan? Would love to make them for my vegan daughter.

  17. Jill
    04.16.2022

    Can you pour in loaf pan instead of muffin tin?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.16.2022

      Hi Jill, we haven’t tested it as a loaf, but I think it might work with some adjustments. This batter amount would probably be too much for 1 loaf pan, so I might try 2. And I would increase the bake time to closer to 40-48 minutes, checking with a toothpick for doneness. But without trying it myself, I can’t say for sure.

  18. Michaela
    04.16.2022

    Can you use one type of flour here?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.16.2022

      Hi Michaela, you could use all AP flour (all wheat flour would be pretty dense)

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.