All the flavors of carrot cake in muffin form! These Carrot Cake Muffins are made with no refined sugar and whole grains for a healthy, portable breakfast the whole family will love.
We've been in a bit of a breakfast rut over here so today we're breaking out of the rut with these vegan Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Muffins. These muffins have all the deliciousness of carrot cake, but in a healthier and portable version perfect for a quick on the go breakfast.
These muffins are great for batch cooking and meal planning. Make a batch or two at the start of the week and you'll have a quick, healthy breakfast or snack for the rest of the week.
Ingredients
To make these muffins healthier I used my favorite white whole wheat flour. The type of flour really matters with this recipe because carrot cake is already quite dense and using a whole wheat would make it even more so. White whole wheat is simply a different variety and just as healthy as hard wheat, but has a milder flavor and yields a lighter, fluffier texture making it great for these muffins.
Carrots are of course required for carrot cake and add lots of veggie goodness to these muffins. I use a heaping 1 ½ cups of shredded carrots for lots a flavor and texture and I love that the kids are getting in veggies before lunchtime.
Tip: Use a food processor to quickly shred the carrots!
Substitutions & variations
- Nuts: We like our carrot cake and muffins with a bit of crunch so we add chopped walnuts to the mix, but you can definitely omit if needed. This is what we do for my youngest since nuts can be a choking hazard at her age.
- Coconut: adds a lovely texture and flavor to the muffin, but can easily be left out as well.
- Whole wheat flour: you can use all purpose flour instead of whole wheat.
- Gluten Free: use a 1:1 gluten free blend to make these muffins gluten free.
Equipment
You can use a food processor to quickly shred the carrot, but it's not necessary. A hand held grater works too.
Storage
Store muffin in an airtight container on the container. Good for 3-4 days. Store muffins in the fridge to keep fresh all week.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think! Leave a review and rating in the comments below. This helps me continue to provide great recipes for you.
Recipe
Vegan Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Muffins
Equipment
- food processor or hand held grater
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup white whole wheat flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 flax eggs - 2 tablespoon ground flax +4 tablespoon water see notes for more info
- ¾ cup almond milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup finely shredded carrots ~ 2 medium sized carrots
- ½ cup chopped walnuts optional
- ½ cup shredded coconut optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a muffin pan or use liners. Set aside.
- Prepare flax eggs and set aside to thicken.
- Combine almond milk, coconut sugar, and maple syrup. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to throughly combine.
- Add flax eggs to milk mixture and stir to combine. Add coconut oil and vanilla and stir again. If milk is not warm enough the oil will harden. If this happens simply warm for 20 -30 secs in microwave until oil is liquid again.
- Pour liquid ingredients into flour and stir just to combine. Over stirring will make tough dense muffins.
- Add carrots, walnuts, and coconut if using and fold into batter.
- Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan. Top with additional walnuts and coconut, if desired.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and tops are dry and browned.
- Allow to cool a few minutes and remove from pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for extended freshness.
Sheila Brant says
Made these today can you say Awesome ❤️
Ana says
Ive made these twice and they come out raw inside every time! What am I doing wrong?
Melissa says
It could be simply that they needed to bake longer. Oven temperatures vary a lot so maybe yours is running a bit lower? I would suggest checking with an oven thermometer to see if that could be the problem. Did you make any changes or substitutions to the recipe? If you used all purpose flour instead of white wheat, for instance, you would need a bit more because it absorbs liquids differently than the wheat. I hope this helps and if I can help any more let me know 🙂