Carrot Cake Muffins

Carrot Cake Muffins have all the delicious flavors of my amazing Carrot Cake turned into a healthy and delicious muffin. This is perfect for snacking!

Overhead photo of Carrot Cake Muffins. Front muffin is broken in half for eating. - 3

In this recipe for Carrot Cake Muffins, we are taking that great cake and turning it into a healthy muffin. We’ve made a lot of swaps and changes here so that these muffins can be a snack that you can feel great about giving to your family.

Making Healthy Muffins

There are a few things that we can do when we are making muffins that make them a little healthier.

Add some vegetables. Carrot cake already has vegetables, but you could really add vegetables to almost any muffin recipe. Don’t miss my Zucchini Muffins ; they are my kids’ favorite.
Swap some of the sugar out for honey. Honey packs more sweetness per punch. This means that you can use less! Generally speaking, when you take out sugar, replace it with half the amount of honey. In this recipe, we went from 1 cup of sugar to 1/2 cup of sugar + 1/4 cup of honey.
Swap some of the oil for applesauce. Swapping oil for applesauce will absolutely change the texture of your muffins. It makes them a little more dense. However, it is a worthy trade-off when you are looking to make a recipe lighter. In this recipe, we take the best of both worlds by only substituting a portion of the oil.
Use some whole wheat flour. Though we didn’t do it here, if you want to take a further step to making these a little healthier, swap some (but not all!) of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour. You can read more about that here .

How to Make Carrot Cake Muffins

For the full recipe, including all measurements, please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Combine Dry Ingredients

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl.

Combine Wet Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, vegetable oil, apple sauce, and shredded carrots .

Fold the Wet Ingredients into the Dry Ingredients

Be careful not to overmix; you want to stir it until they are just combined.

Bake the Muffins

Fill your muffin cups about 2/3 full with batter, as they will rise while baking. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs.

Tips and Tricks

Anytime we are baking, there are a few hints that guarantee your recipe will turn out perfect every single time.

Measure your flour correctly. Measuring your flour incorrectly can result in too much flour and really dry muffins. Follow these steps below to make sure your flour isn’t packed and you don’t end up with more than the recipe calls for: How to Measure Flour .
Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are active and you use both. You will need both ; they are not interchangeable. To test their freshness, drop the baking soda in a small amount of vinegar and the baking powder in water; they should bubble immediately. You need to replace them every six months.
Your eggs should be room temperature. This makes them thinner, which will mix into the batter better, allowing the muffins to rise more. Fill a bowl with lukewarm water and put them in there for a few minutes to speed this along.
How to shred carrots for carrot cake muffins: While you can buy carrots that are pre-shredded, I recommend shredding your own so that they are moist and fresh. Regular, large carrots will work best for this compared to baby carrots. Start by peeling and cleaning your carrots. When grating carrots for carrot cake, you want them very fine, so use the smaller side on a box grater .
Use a parchment paper liner : This type of liner will help your muffins from sticking to the paper or a muffin tin.

Overhead photo of Carrot Cake Muffins. One muffin is broken in half for eating. - 8

Storing and Freezing Muffins

Once completely cooled, the muffins can be stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to one week. Carrot cake muffins also freeze well. Find the instructions below. Once frozen, they will keep in the freezer for up to three months.

Place the cooled muffins in a single layer on a tray or plate.
Freeze them for two to four hours.
Transfer the muffins to an airtight container and freeze them for up to three months.
To eat, remove a muffin from the freezer and let it come to room temperature. This will take about 30 minutes to one hour.

Close up photo of Carrot Cake Muffins on cooling rack. - 9

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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apple sauce
1 pound carrots grated fine

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 muffin pans with 12 cupcake liners each. Spray the cupcake liners with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt. 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon cloves, 1/8 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon table salt
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, honey, oil, apple sauce, and carrots until smooth. 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup apple sauce, 1 pound carrots
Stir the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture until just combined.
Pour the muffin batter into the prepared cups, approximately 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin in the middle of the pan comes out with just a few crumbs.
Allow to cool on a rimmed baking sheet. Once completely cooled, the muffins can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to one week. Please see our instructions in the post for freezing.

Recipe Video

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