Healthy Carrot Muffins
Healthy carrot muffins made with whole wheat flour, coconut oil and maple syrup! They taste amazing, too. These muffins make a great, quick breakfast!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
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My dog Cookie always comes running when I pull out the vegetable peeler. I swear, she can hear it slice through the air before it even touches a carrot. Then she starts jumping up and down for carrot scraps. She can be very demanding. I’ve created an entitled little carrot beast, and I’m not sorry in the slightest.
Cookie loved the development process for this carrot muffin recipe. It took me five tries to get them just right, so she got a lot of carrot scraps in the process. They’re based on one of my cookbook recipes (so good!!!).
These hearty muffins are packed with grated carrots, walnuts and raisins. They have lots of texture, yet they’re still light and fluffy.
Thanks to the nuts and whole grains, these muffins make a good grab-and-go breakfast! They also freeze and defrost well. I just microwave individual muffins for 30 to 60 seconds, until they’re gently warmed throughout.
Watch How to Make Carrot Muffins
What makes these carrot muffins healthy?
Granted, “healthy” is a subjective term, but here are a few reasons why I consider these muffins to be more nutritionally redeeming than most:
- Unlike standard carrot muffins made with refined all-purpose flour, these are made with white whole wheat flour. That means they’re made entirely with whole grains, but you can’t taste them because white whole wheat flour has such a mild flavor.
- Protein-rich Greek yogurt replaces sour cream.
- Coconut oil or olive oil replace butter (olive oil is composed of more monounsaturated fat, and is considered to be more heart-healthy)
- Real maple syrup replaces refined sugar, so these muffins are naturally sweetened.
- Combined, you end up with hearty muffins that taste like carrot cake. You can eat carrot cake for breakfast with these babies!
These muffins are easily adapted to vegan and gluten-free diets, too! See my recipe notes for details.
Please let me know how these muffins turn out for you in the comments! I’m always so eager for your feedback.
Craving more wholesome muffins? Here are a few more favorite muffin recipes on Cookie and Kate:
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Healthy Raspberry Muffins
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Healthy Zucchini Muffins
If you’re baking for a special occasion, you’ll love my carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (it’s also naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat flour).
Healthy Carrot Muffins
Healthy carrot muffins made with whole wheat flour, coconut oil and maple syrup! They taste fantastic, too, of course. These muffins make a great, quick breakfast! Recipe yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups peeled and grated carrots* (from ¾ pound carrots—about 3 large or up to 6 small/medium)
- ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts
- ½ cup raisins (I like golden raisins), tossed in 1 teaspoon flour
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil**
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt***
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and doesn’t require any grease).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Blend well with a whisk. In a separate, small bowl, toss the raisins with 1 teaspoon flour so they don’t stick together. Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts and floured raisins to the other ingredients and stir to combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil and maple syrup and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the yogurt and vanilla and mix well. (If the coconut oil solidifies in contact with cold ingredients, gently warm the mixture in the microwave in 30 second bursts.)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a big spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with turbinado sugar. Bake muffins for 13 to 16 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for two days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.
Notes
*Carrot grating tips: You can grate the carrots by hand, or for an easier option, use the grating attachment on your food processor.
**A note on oils: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil will lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that. Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.
***Note on Greek yogurt: I’ve used a variety of fat percentages and the muffins have always turned out well. Higher fat yogurt will yield a somewhat more rich muffin. You can also substitute plain (not Greek) yogurt, but your muffins might not rise quite as high.
Make it vegan: You can replace the eggs with flax “eggs.” Replace the yogurt with a smaller amount of vegan buttermilk—just mix ⅔ cup non-dairy milk with 2 teaspoons vinegar. Let it rest for 5 minutes before adding it to the other liquid ingredients. Or, use 1 cup vegan yogurt.
Make it dairy free: See buttermilk option above.
Make it egg free: Substitute flax eggs for the regular eggs.
Make it gluten free: Substitute an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend for the whole wheat flour. Bob’s Red Mill makes a GF blend that works well.
Make it nut free: Skip the walnuts!
Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This is what I need during finals week! Thank you, Kate! OK, back to my Community Nutrition notes…
Good luck on those finals, PL!
I have just recently found your website and have to say how much I love your recipes. I am so fussy and particular about food and what I eat but your food is amazing so healthy and easy to prepare. I cannot wait for your cookbook. Keep up the good work. PS my dog Dave loves carrots as well
Thank you for saying hello, Linda! I’m so glad you found my blog. Cookie says hello to Dave! Love his name.
Carrots were the favorite FAVORITE of my cocker spaniel we had growing up. We always thought it was so strange! I’m putting greek yogurt on the list ASAP, because I’ve been looking for a recipe just like this. Thank you!
Oh, that’s funny. Cookie loves pretty much everything that I peel—she’ll eat sweet potato skins and butternut skin, too. Hope you love the muffins!
Yum! If you (or Cookie) like carrots, you should try Heidi Swanson’s carrot oatmeal cookies (sounds so weird, but they are GREAT): http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/carrot-oatmeal-cookies-recipe.html.
Also, I am staying home from work today (nasty cold) & was craving pumpkin bread (your honey pumpkin is my go-to), but halfway through the baking process, realized I actually wanted banana bread (so I clicked the link in the pumpkin recipe). I am thankful for all of your healthy recipes!
Thanks, Ashley! I have tried those cookies and they are awesome! I hope that banana bread helps you feel better soon.
How interesting that Cookie likes carrots so much. I once had a cat who liked corn. And Oreos… These muffins sound wonderful. I try to stay away from such things, but I’m saving the recipe anyway. :-)
Corn and Oreos! Funny. Cookie loves pretty much everything, but carrots, bananas and cheese are tops.
I have made a version of this for years. I can wait to try yours. I enjoy your posts each time I see them in my inbox. thank you for being so positive and sharing such good “goodies”. Please keep them coming.
Thank you very much, e! :)
Do you use full fat yogurt? And if so have you tried this recipe with nonfat?
Hi Deb, I’ve tried full fat and reduced fat yogurt and they both work great. I think nonfat would be fine.
Hi, if i do not have greek yogourt with what i may remplace it with? Milk? Thank you
Hi – so want to try these stunning muffins – what would I substitute for flour as I am gluten free? Thanks so much
Hi Kathy, I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill makes one) would be your best bet.
I actually just made these with garbanzo bean flour and a bit of tapioca starch, and they turned out great!
Love your blog and awesome recipes. I’ve recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes so I’m watching my carbs. Is there anyway you could list the grams of carbs in your recipes? For some strange reason, carbs are always left out. Everyone focuses on calories and fat. It would be helpful and wonderful if this could get changed to help all the diabetics out there. ;-)
Hi Susan, thank you for the suggestion. I’ve always been hesitant to include nutrition details for my recipes, mostly because they add another layer of complexity to the recipe. They vary so much depending on the actual ingredients used in each kitchen, and I don’t want to provide inaccurate information. If I do start offering them, I’ll be sure to include grams of carbs! I am hypoglycemic myself and avoid simple carbs like the plague, so I think you’re in a good place for diabetes-friendly recipes.
Cookie looks so adorable jumping up for those carrot scraps! My dog was also a carrot addict and we felt like we created a carrot monster. I’m going to try these with almond flour! Ill let you know how it all turns out!
HI Kate! This recipe looks yummy but I am allergic to nuts, can I just leave the wallnuts out?
Thanks!!
Hi Fran! Yes, just skip them.
Oh my goodness, I think I’m going to have to try these. I just drooled a little bit, reading the recipe. Do you think these will freeze well? I appreciate all your gluten-free recipes and tips and pointers. My son was recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy so now I’m trying to navigate and find healthy and good-tasting foods for him. I think the rest of my family will enjoy these too, even if I use gluten free flour! Thanks, Kate!
Hi Sadiya! Yes, I think these will freeze great. Enjoy!
carrot cake for breakfast? SOLD.
Oh! I would love few! So many spices and raisins.. Yummy!
Hello Kate
I was wondering what could be substituted for the yogurt for this recipe. Thank you – Kim
Hi Kim, I think non-dairy buttermilk might work. Just mix one cup non-dairy milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar and let it rest for 5 minutes, then stir and proceed with the recipe as written. Please let me know if you try!
Amazing! They look so damn tasty!
These look great! Do you think I could sub the yogurt for applesauce? I can’t do dairy!
Yes, I think so! Homemade buttermilk might work, too—just combine 1 cup non-dairy milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar and let it rest for 5 minutes. Stir again before proceeding.
I made these on Saturday. I turned them into vegan by using flax-eggs and soy yogurt. I didn’t have any raisins but Craisins were a good sub. These were very moist and soooo yummy. I took a few to church and my non-vegan friends were so impressed! Thank you for creating such easy to follow recipes. I love your website.
Thank you, Kia! I’m so glad to hear your vegan version turned out well. Thanks for letting me know!
These were really good! Thank you!
Hooray! Thank you, Janet.
These look so good! I love all the spices you use in the recipe. Between the yogurt, the carrots, and the maple syrup, it looks perfectly balanced and rich in flavor, but also light and healthy! Definitely want to give this recipe a try. Thanks for sharing!! :)
I love your recipes. I am very conscious about health and particular about food what I eat but your food is amazing so healthy and easy to prepare.I will definitely try this at home this weekend.
Thanks to you
Thank you, Mikkel! I appreciate your kind words about my work.
Kate
Another recipe another winner…
Moist, tasty and good for you, in each n every bite…isn’t this what all food should be like.
Happy holidays Kate, your recipes are my go to source for ideas …
Thank you, John! I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins. Happy holidays to you, too.
These are really yummy. I love how they are soft, moist yet hearty at the same time. I was trying to use up some of my pantry because I go on Christmas holiday, so I used sliced almonds over the walnuts. My husband really enjoyed them as well!
Your banana muffins are a two or three-times a week staple recipe in our house so I was super excited to see this variation. These muffins are another hit, thank you! I love how moist and fluffy they are and how the raisins and walnuts add just enough texture. I had some toasted coconut left over from another recipe and sprinkled some on top – delicious! This recipe made enough for 12 mini-muffins for my 1 year old (baked 9 mins) and 10 regular muffins for the toddler and adults.
Happy holidays! Thank you for always knowing just what I want to eat. I can’t wait for your cookbook!! ☺
Hooray! I’m glad these were a hit, too. Love your idea to add coconut on top! Thank you for your support, Janelle! :)
Made these today for the first time – they are stone. cold. delicious! I left out the raisins because my bf is not a fan, and substituted 1/2 cup oat milk for the yoghurt to keep it dairy free. So good! Thanks for these lovely recipes!
Awesome! Thanks, Tonisha!
Made a double batch this morning to freeze for vegan skiers arriving next week! Used vanilla flavored cultured coconut milk from Trader Joe’s instead of the yogurt, flax eggs and gluten free all purpose flour for the heck of it. Omitted sugar on top – they are amazing! Thank you! Love your recipes!
Thank you, Patricia! :)
You nailed the texture in these muffins. Looks perfect! And I am in love with your little Cookie!
Thank you, Mary! :)
First let me say THANK YOU for putting so much time and effort into your recipes and sharing them with us. I have been looking and looking for healthy food that my family will actually eat. Then I found you! I just finished baking these, still warm, they are amazing. I’d never believe these are healthy if I hadn’t put the ingredients in myself. Breakfast is my hardest meal, but these will certainly help. Thank you so much for making such a positive difference in so many lives!
Thank you, Tammy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins. :)
These were absolutely delicious. I used chopped dates since I didn’t have raisins on hand. Really moist and baked up beautifully. Also stored well in the fridge overnight although they were gone by day two!
Thank you, Michelle! Delighted to hear it. Dates sound like a great option!
Hi Kate,
I love your site and your recipes.
Tried making this one, substituting the white wholewheat flour for oat flour. Not sure if it’s that or what but they would not bake! The tops browned but the insides remained a wet mush! So disappointed as they are otherwise delicious and similar to other muffins I’ve made many times before. *sad face*
Hi Sarah, so bummed that your muffins didn’t turn out great! Oat flour doesn’t have gluten in it, meaning that it won’t offer the same structure/rising power as whole wheat flour. That might explain what went wrong. You might also check your expiration dates on your baking powder and soda to make sure they still function properly.
Thanks for your reply and sympathy. Baking powder and soda all in date and I made the oat flour from conventional oats. Should possibly have measured the oats after, not before! I’m sure if I’d stuck to the actual recipe they probably would have been fine :p They did set on cooling – thank goodness – and are still very tasty :)
Kate, these muffins were a party in my mouth! I made these for breakfast this morning and they were delish! I used half golden and half regular raisins. I think I will use all golden raisins next time. I agree they are better. Also, I could not find plain yogurt, so I used vanilla greek yogurt. Still came out great!
Thank you, Kecia! So glad you enjoyed the muffins!
I wanted to make these since the day you posted it and finally I made them yesterday.best carrot muffin ever! unbelievably light fluffy texture for a wholesome muffin! I didn’t have maple syrup so I used honey and lowered the temperature as you explained in the post.Thanks for this amazing recipe
Awesome! Thank you, Zahra!
Made these this morning & what a fantastic muffin! I omitted the nuts and added grated granny smiths – yum! My son, husband and I had them for breakfast with smoothies and we were all satisfied. They both had 3! My batch made 16, so I was pleased to have a few extra for tomorrow (if they last that long). We live outside of DC, so with all the snow and cold, it was nice to have the oven on nice & hot. Thanks for another great recipe! Oh! And yesterday, we made your lentil soup. Also delicious!
Thank you, Beth! Happy to hear it!
I just made this with a quarter cup spelt and quarter cup rice flour and the rest unbleached all purpose flour and didn’t put any sugar on top and still turned out tasty. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Jewel!
yum! thank you for posting. I love seeing Cookie’s antics! My doggie loves carrots and scraps that fall to the floor as I’m cooking too.
Love your pictures that you post.
Thank you, Jean! Yay for healthy carrot-eating pups.
Hello Kate! Do you think I can substitute agave nectar for the maple syrup here? (+Do you ever use agave nectar? I’m slightly confused about the controversy around it!)
Hi Lydia, I think it would work just fine. I don’t use agave nectar in larger amounts (just a teaspoon here and there for cocktails, etc.). From what I understand, agave nectar is pretty highly processed. It’s also high in fructose and fructose is hard on the liver.
My dog name is Cookie too, and she loves carrots! I just made this muffins and they are super nice. In my oven I needed 30 mins. Thank´s for the recipe.
That’s so great! Maybe all Cookie dogs love carrots. Glad you enjoyed the muffins!
These are so delicious!! I’ve made your recipe several times as well as modified to include blueberries instead of carrots, sometimes honey rather than maple syrup… Either way they’re a favorite!!
Thanks, Kara! Glad you’re enjoying all the muffins!
These are wonderful! My kids really enjoy muffin morning now that I’ve found your recipes. Thank you!
Great recipe! I tried this yesterday and it was absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe. I have written my latest blog post about this recipe and directed my readers to you, hope you don’t mind! Check it out here:
https://jbimagery1.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/healthy-carrot-muffins/
Hi Kate, I made these this morning over in the UK – they didn’t turn out great, had a bitter taste – I assumed that baking soda was what we call bicarbonate of soda (google says so!), and that you mean plain wholemeal, not self raising (guess not as you add soda/baking powder)? There’s also the conversion from your Fahrenheit to my Celsius fan oven, lol! Luckily I invested in ‘cups’ yonks ago, we Brits still like to weigh everything! Transatlantic challenges! :) I will give them another go…
Delicious! I love the ease of pulling a yummy, healthy baked treat from the freezer. Half to eat today & tomorrow, the other half frozen for later. The maple syrup imparts such subtle sweetness and the golden raisins and nuts are like little treasures in this muffin. Will make again and again!
Made these guys and followed the recipe to a tee, made sure the flour was sifted properly, baking soda and powder was measured and distributed in the flour, made sure liquids were measured out to the tee with the carrots… ended up a very moist and slightly bitter product that just was not so good. Not so sure where it went wrong here at all, feels like an overabundance of wet ingredients with yogurt, two whole cups of carrots and the like.
Browned exterior, nice crust… wet mushy interior, a bit salty/bitter tasting, I assume from an overload of both baking powder and baking soda. Baking soda and powder are fresh, just to state. Also, tried your other bread recipes (pumpkin and banana), they turned out super.
So delicious, Kate! Made these last week and they are awesome. My hubby really liked also. I used half golden raisins and half dried cranberries – worked well. Otherwise followed recipe, using nonfat plain Greek yogurt. They freeze perfectly so I’m still treating myself a week later (couple of minutes on defrost in the micro does the trick if you can’t wait for them to thaw on their own!). I made 12 muffins, but you could easily make 14 or 16 because there is a lot of batter…my cups were very full just doing 12. Cookie is the cutest…she’s the perfect dog for you, a veggie-loving dog!
Just made these carrot muffins with my 3 yr old son for Valentine’s Day and they are absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
I tried this recipe and it was so good. I used honey instead of maple syrup because I didn’t have any, and they still turned out great. My family loved them. Thanks for the recipe :)
Amazing muffins! My four year olds loved them! I am excited to try your other recipes!
Great recipe! I made a couple of modifications, just for my own personal preferences. I switched the raisins for dried cranberries, which turned out great. I also don’t like cinnamon or nutmeg, so I eliminated those and added about 1 tsp of lemon zest to the liquid ingredients. They are delicious and wonderfully moist! Thanks!
Hi, thanks for the recipe! I’ll offer you my low-carb version, for people who were asking – I make them with coconut flour:
6 eggs
1/2 cup coconut flour
3 carrots
3 tsps. cinnamon
2 tsps. ginger
3 tsps. vanilla
8 packets of Splenda
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of olive oil
Beat the eggs well until fluffy. I don’t make these in muffin cups – these only rise slightly, so I pour the entire mixture onto a baking sheet and then cut them after baking so they become “muffin” squares. Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 mins. Afterward, you can make a cream cheese frosting with whipped cream cheese and Splenda.
You should stay away from artificial sweeteners! They are far from real food and wreak havoc on the body ! I realize some people can’t have sugar, but there are still better options! Stevia, maybe ? P.s. these muffins were the bomb dot com! Thanks.