These hearty and moist applesauce carrot muffins make the perfect grab-and-go breakfast for busy mornings. A one-bowl recipe that is made with whole grains, low sugar, and gluten-free!
Muffins are one of our favorite breakfast foods. Some of our favorite muffin recipes include vegan protein muffins and zucchini applesauce muffins.
If carrot cake for breakfast sounds good, give these applesauce carrot muffins a go! Made with ingredients like oats and shredded carrots, they are incredibly filling and help you power through work mornings.
To make a more satisfying meal, I highly recommend pairing with some protein, either in the form of protein coffee, tofu smoothie, or something savory like vegan Italian sausages!
💚Why you will love applesauce carrot muffins
- Cozy, moist, and incredibly delicious
- Healthier version that is low sugar, low fat, and made with whole grains
- One bowl recipe that requires minimal fuss
- Freezable, making it great for meal prep!
🌾What you will need
- Oat flour - Make it at home by blending oats in a high-speed blender until they turn into flour.
- Carrot - Freshly grated works best; you can grate it with a box grater or food processor. Pre-shredded carrots are too dry, and you might get tough bits in your muffins.
- Unsweetened applesauce - Keep muffins moist without adding oil. Either store-bought or homemade applesauce will work.
- Cashew butter - Can be substituted with other nut or seed butter (including tahini, peanut butter, or almond butter).
- Baking powder and soda - Make sure they are still good to go, or your muffins might not rise properly. Active baking powder should bubble immediately when added to hot water, while baking soda should fizz immediately when added to vinegar.
✨Fun muffin add-ins
Elevate your applesauce carrot muffins with your preferred add-ins! Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Spices - Other than cinnamon, you can also try nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, or pumpkin spice.
- Dried fruits - To enhance the sweetness of muffins, try adding raisins, sultanas, or chopped dates.
- Chopped nuts - Especially chopped pecans and walnuts.
- Chocolate chips - Use your favorite! My go-to is always Enjoy Life's dark chocolate morsels.
- Frosting - To make it more dessert-like, add cream cheese frosting (or another frosting of choice!)
🔪How to make
Step 1: Combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon) in a bowl.
Step 2: Add wet ingredients (applesauce, vanilla, cashew butter, maple syrup) and shredded carrot to the mixture. Stir to combine.
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Step 3: Scoop batter into a muffin tin, filling it up to ¾ way full.
Step 4: Bake for 10 minutes at 220C/350F, then reduce temperature to 180C/350F and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before digging in!
✔Helpful tips
- Grating carrots -Before grating your carrots, peel them. You can use a box grater with the smallest holes or a food processor to grate the carrots.
- Measuring flour - I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour for the best results. I am using this Ozeri scale and am loving it! If you use measuring cups, follow the spoon and level method.
- Texture of batter - The batter for these applesauce carrot muffins will be slightly thicker than the regular muffin batter. Adding more liquid is only recommended if the batter is too thick to stir. The carrots will release moisture while baking.
- Cooling muffins - Once muffins are done baking, carefully transfer them from the muffin tin to a cooling tray to prevent the accumulation of water vapor, which might cause muffins to turn soggy.
- Checking for doneness - Muffins are done baking when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted down the middle.
✅Helpful tips
- Measure your flour - For the best result, measure ingredients out using a kitchen scale. If using measuring cups, use the spoon-and-level method instead of scooping flour directly or packing it into cups.
- Texture of batter - Muffin batter for applesauce carrot muffins is thicker than regular batter, as carrots release some moisture during baking.
- Avoid overbaking - As applesauce carrot muffins are lower in fat, they tend to dry out easily. Muffins are done baking when a toothpick inserted down the middle comes out clean.
- Cool muffins on a wire rack - This allows steam to escape, preventing the bottoms of the muffins from turning soggy.
❄Storing suggestions
Fridge - Let muffins come to room temperature, then transfer them into an airtight container. They can be refrigerated for 4-5 days.
Freezer - Store muffins in zip-top bags, and they can be frozen for 3 months. Allow frozen muffins to thaw overnight in the fridge, or an hour on your countertop.
Reheating - Reheat in an oven preheated to 160C/320F for 5 minutes. Or wrap it in a damp paper towel and microwave for 10-15 seconds.
📖 Recipe
Healthy Applesauce Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups oat flour use gluten-free if needed (248g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder *
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teapoon baking soda *
- 1 cup shredded carrot (freshly grated)**
- 1 cup applesauce unsweetened preferred
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup cashew butter or other nut/seed butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220C/430F. Prepare a 12-holes muffin tin either by greasing them using some oil, or line them with muffin liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir to mix.1 ¾ cups oat flour , 1 tablespoon baking powder , ½ teapoon baking soda , 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- Next, add in the rest of the ingredients. Stir until everything is well incorporated. The batter will be on the thicker side.1 cup shredded carrot , ½ cup maple syrup , 1 cup applesauce , ¼ cup cashew butter , 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spoon muffin batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each hole to about ¾ of the way full. You should get about 12 muffins.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then lower temperature to 180C/350F and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted down the middle.
- After baking, let muffins sit in the muffin tin for 5 minutes at most, then transfer them to a cooling rack to allow them to cool further. They are ready to be enjoyed.
Notes
- Measure your flour - For the best result, measure ingredients out using a kitchen scale. If using measuring cups, use the spoon-and-level method.
- Avoid overbaking - These lower-fat muffins tend to dry out more easily. Muffins are done baking when a toothpick inserted down the middle comes out clean.
- Cool muffins on a wire rack - This allows steam to escape, preventing the bottoms of the muffins from turning soggy.
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Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Michael says
Eating some now as i type
Amazing!
I followed the recipe exactly and also added 3 chopped madjool dates. Yum!
Very moist and delicate.
Sharnell says
Excellent muffins! Thanks! I added a little brown sugar sprinkled on top before baking for fun.
Meesha says
Super happy to hear that!🙂
Rita says
Can I do 1.5 cups applesauce and skip the maple syrup?
Jim Mee Sha says
I have yet to try this substitution, but I think it will work! Your muffins might turn out to be less sweet. Do add a splash of milk if the mixture is too thick. Hope this helps!
Michelle says
These were so good! Hard to stop from eating too many! Thanks for the recipe!
Meesha says
It's my pleasure! Really glad to hear that😁