Super healthy Carrot Muffins full of wholesome ingredients like bran, oats, whole grain flour, carrots & sultanas. Perfect for breakfast, snacks or lunch boxes and only about 137 calories each!
Healthy muffins. No I'm not kidding. These Healthy Carrot Muffins really are healthy. Not that you would ever know because they are so moist and delicious. Such a great way to get your vegetables in!
Inspired by my very popular Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffins these carrot muffins are hearty, full of texture, packed with nutritious ingredients like whole grain flour, oats, bran, carrots, and sultanas, and they are also high in fiber, oil-free and really low in fat. Just perfect to enjoy as part of a healthy breakfast, in packed lunches, or for snacks.
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Recipe Tips
- For any baked recipe involving flour, I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. Cups are not accurate enough to get the best and consistent results. You can pick them up really cheaply these days. I promise you won't regret it!
- Grating the carrots with the grater attachment on your food processor makes it super quick and easy! It's done in seconds and way easier than grating by hand with a box grater. I don't recommend using store bought ready shredded carrots because they tend to be dry. We need the moistness of fresh carrots for the muffins to be at their best.
- Because this recipe is low fat, silicone muffin liners are a better choice than paper liners. Or none at all if you use a great muffin pan. I love my USA Pan one.
Substitutions & Dietary Considerations
I haven't tried it but I'm pretty sure this carrot muffin recipe would work well with a good quality 1 to 1 gluten-free flour instead of the spelt flour. And you can use oat bran instead of the wheat bran.
Yes, really easily. Omit the nuts or add roughly the same amount of seeds like pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead and be sure to use a nut-free milk such as soy or oat milk.
Mashed banana, canned pumpkin, or even mashed sweet potato will work instead.
Serving Suggestions
These Healthy Carrot Muffins are great eaten as they are but are even better spread with vegan butter. And a bit like my vegan zucchini muffins, they are also really good spread with nut butter, especially almond butter.
Tips For Storing Carrot Muffins
Store your carrot muffins in an airtight container. I prefer to keep them at room temperature but you can refrigerate them if you prefer. They will keep for 3 to 4 days, or a little longer in the fridge. They also keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe
Healthy Carrot Muffins
Author:Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cups (175 grams) spelt flour , or whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (58 grams) wheat bran , or oat bran
- ½ cup (50 grams) rolled or old fashioned oats , (porridge oats in the UK)
- ½ cup (100 grams coconut sugar , or brown sugar
- 1 cup (145 grams) sultanas , or raisins
- ½ cup (60 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans , omit or use pumpkin/sunflower seeds for nut-free
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda , (bicarb in the UK)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Wet Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (300 mls) milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar , or lemon juice
- 1 cup (110 grams) grated carrot
- ½ cup (125 grams) unsweetened applesauce , or canned pumpkin, mashed banana/sweet potato
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and prepare a 12 hole muffin pan by greasing or lining with muffin liners.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir together to combine well.
- Add all of the wet ingredients to another bowl and stir together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Don't over-mix or beat it. Stop as soon as you can't see any dry flour.
- Spoon the batter evenly between the holes of the muffin pan.
- Bake for around 18 to 20 minutes or until slightly crusty on the outside and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. They might be ready a minute or 2 earlier if you use a dark/black metal pan.
- Leave in the pan for 10 minutes then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Fatima says
When I first saw this recipe, I knew I had to make them and what a great bran muffin recipe this is! I used mashed bananas, they were very tasty and moist despite not having any oil. Will definitely make again. Thanks for another great muffin recipe Mel!
jacquie says
I love bran muffins so i'm excited to try this. Can the sugar be cut down? a 1/2 is more than i typically use in a muffin receipe.
thanks.
Melanie McDonald says
Sugar is important for structure as well as sweetness so if you reduce the amount the texture and rise might change. You can usually get away with reducing it by about a third before it makes a really noticeable difference though. Hope that helps and that you enjoy them!
Mandy says
Absolutely loved these muffins and so did my family. Thanks Mel for yet another delicious recipe!
Melanie McDonald says
So pleased you enjoyed them Mandy. Thanks for giving them a try and for your feedback!