Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins (One Bowl)

These Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins are a delicious snack These muffins are whole grain and refined sugar-free. They pack well in a lunch box too! 

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Recipe originally published January 2014. I’ve updated the post with a new and improved recipe, text and photos.

Oh do I have a treat for you today! These little carrot cake oat muffins are ridiculously tasty, and good for you too! They are perfect for snacking or a grab and go breakfast, with plenty of whole grains to leave you feeling satisfied. Pair a muffin with a piece of fruit, some yogurt, or a hard boiled egg (here’s how I make easy peel eggs), and you’ll be set to tackle your day!

These healthy carrot cake oat muffins are made with white whole wheat flour and old-fashioned oats. Applesauce keeps them moist, adds natural sweetness, and takes the place of most of the butter in the muffins. And let’s not forget the carrots. These muffins are packed with veggies!

While I love to snack on these muffins myself, I actually developed this recipe for the kids. So many of you have reached out to share that you struggle with ideas for healthy snacks and lunches for your kids. These muffins are just one of the many recipes I have planned to share with you to help you feed your kids nourishing foods.

A few of my kids’ other favorite homemade snacks are these chocolate black bean blender muffins (my kids beg for these!), these banana chocolate chip granola bars, and this oatmeal breakfast smoothie. If you’re like me and are trying to reduce the amount of packaged snacks that you feed your kids, these recipes are a great place to start.

That’s where these muffins come in. You can add one to your little one’s lunchbox or snack plate and feel good about feeding them something that’s unprocessed and made with whole grains and veggies. And the kids? They will eat these up!

Tips for making these Healthy Carrot Cake Oat Muffins:

• Use either a box grater or a food processor (I use this one) to grate the carrots. (affiliate links)
• Run your knife through the grated carrots a few times to chop the carrot pieces smaller for kids.
• Be careful to not over mix the batter. Stop mixing when a few bits of dry flour remain in the batter. This will ensure that your muffins are light and tender, rather than dense.
• You can substitute coconut oil for the butter to make these muffins dairy-free.

I also highly recommend these Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies. They are a long-time reader favorite!

If you have young kids, what are their favorite healthy snacks? Let’s share some ideas! Leave a comment below. 🙂

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 18 minutes mins

Total Time: 33 minutes mins

These Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins are a yummy snack for little ones! These muffins are whole grain and refined sugar free. They pack well in school lunchboxes! When I make these carrot cake oatmeal muffins for toddlers, I like to make them mini muffin size (baking directions below).

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• ▢ ½ cup pure maple syrup, or honey
• ▢ ¼ cup melted unsalted butter, cooled slightly* (4 tablespoons)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• ▢ 1 cup old fashioned oats
• ▢ 1 ½ cups peeled grated carrot*, (about 2 medium)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce and maple syrup (or honey). Whisk in the melted butter.
• Add the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and vanilla and whisk until well combined.
• Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the white whole wheat flour, oats and grated carrot. Be careful not to over-mix the batter. The batter will be thick.
• Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the top. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. (You can also make 36 mini muffins with this recipe. Mini muffins will take about 12-14 minutes to bake.)
• Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Storage: The muffins freeze very well. If kept air-tight in a zip-top plastic bag, they will stay fresh in the freezer for 2-3 months. Defrost on the counter or in the microwave before enjoying. Muffins will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Notes

*Coconut oil may be substituted for the butter to make the muffins dairy-free.

*Use either a box grater or a food processor to grate the carrots. I like to run a knife through the grated carrots a few times to chop the pieces smaller for kids.

Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 174kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 41mg, Sodium: 226mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 11g

Nutrition information is an estimate.

Cuisine: American

Course: Breakfast, Snack

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