This recipe is by far the new favorite muffin in our house. Move over blueberry, zucchini, and even pumpkin – these are so deeelicious and could be eaten with breakfast, lunch, or even dinner (maybe as a side to some fall soup?)! Plus for those who are looking for cupcakes for little ones (i.e. smash cake) I would totally top one of these off with some homemade unsweetened whipped cream and call it a day. This would be perfect for your baby! And if you prefer to avoid honey for your really little ones I think 100% pure maple syrup would work just fine as a substitute.
Whole-Wheat Carrot Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (but not melted), 1 stick
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 3/4 cup carrot, shredded
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper, foil, or silicone liners, and set aside.
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In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
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In a large bowl fitted with an electric whisk (or beaters), mix the butter, honey, egg and vanilla together on medium speed. Turn the speed down and slowly add in the flour mixture until well combined. The batter will be fairly thick at this point.
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Using a spatula, carefully fold in the applesauce and carrots (I used a cheese grater to shred the carrots). Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes or until a toothpick comes and muffins are beginning to turn golden brown on top. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Food Marketing to Kids (and what you can do about it)
Can not wait to try this! Thanks for sharing .
Could I substitute coconut oil for the butter? My family is dairy-free. These sound awesome!
Yes, I think that would work like a charm :)
just did it this morning and they were great!
These sound delicious! Quick question – would you sub the coconut oil 1:1 or can/should you use less?
Hi there. Typically, coconut oil and butter sub 1:1. ~Amy
These sound delicious! I don’t have a stand mixer. Would a hand held mixer with regular beaters work or would you recommend whisking by hand? Thanks!
The hand held mixer would be great for this!
Is there a good substitution for butter? my son has a potential dairy allergy so we are cutting out all dairy to see if his condition improves. These muffins look great, and I think my kids would like them, I just am not a baker so I don’t know how to substitute for butter. Thank you!
I would definitely try softened coconut oil instead – good luck!
Thank you so much!
I love how you use super simple ingredients that I actually have in my house! I’m gonna whip these up for a road trip we are taking today
Thank you Kelly – that is not by accident (I like recipes like that, too)!
Yep they just came out of the oven, and no surprise- they are fantastic!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
These look great! I’ve always wondered if I could sub ground oats instead of white flour. I’m trying to cut wheat out of my diet. Since there is baking soda, it should fluff it up. Maybe I’ll try it! I love a good carrot ANYTHING!
Sorry WHEAT flour, not white!
Can these be made with another flour? Gluten free? Looks so yummy!
Hi Kim. We have not tried substitutions in this recipe. If you do, let us know how it turns out and what your used. ~Amy
Charlie- Yes you can substitute coconut oil in place of butter. It is a one to one swap.
How many does this batch make? Also what kind of wheat flour did you use? Was it regular whole wheat or white whole wheat?
Hi Erin. It makes about a dozen. You could use either type of flour. Lisa usually prefers white whole wheat in her baking. ~Amy
These are delicious! My two year old is currently munching on one. In his words, “Yum! Good!” I plan on doubling the recipe next time so I can keep some in the freezer.
I will be making these with my 3 year old this afternoon…she loves to help! My older daugher’s having a friend sleep over tonight, so this will be a perfect snack for when they get off the bus! Can’t wait to try them.
Kim, w use a mix of oat flour and oats in many of our muffins. They will probably be heavier; but, if you are used to GF, you probably won’t mind.
My kids and I made these this morning. Unfortunately instead of reading the recipe from my computer I just wrote it down quickly to follow. I wrote down 1 teaspoon of salt instead 1/2 and I could notice it! But the kids still gobbled them up. I’ll pay better attention next time. ;-)
Can I use the leftover pulp from making carrot juice? Usually I usually just compost it but would like to find a better use for it and this recipe would be great! Sounds yummy! I will definitely be making these either way!
Laura,
I save all of my pulp.. carrot pulp is great for muffins! When you juice, make sure you stem/seed all your items, juice, then I press the pulp into ice cube trays and freeze. Pop them out into a freezer bag and use them for lots of things. I use my veg combos for soups and marinara.. carrot and apple for muffins. Adds fiber and awesome flavor!!
Thanks so much for this recipe! These look awesome! My 12 month old has a dairy allergy – so always looking for simple recipes that can easily be turned dairy free. Thanks for the coconut oil recommendation! Can’t wait to make these. I have been making your pumpkin muffin recipe every week – he gobbles them up!
Yum, I was just thinking about making carrot muffins! If I wanted to add raisins and walnuts, how much would you recommend?
Hi. I think you could add up to 1 cup total. ~Amy
Any substitute for applesauce? We have all the other ingredients on hand…..and it’s naptime! :) Would be great to make them for a surprise when my sleepyheads wake up. Yummy recipe!!
Do you have any greek yogurt?
How about apple butter?
Thanks for the recipe Lisa! Just popped it into the oven as a bread loaf.
I just realized I put half a cup of applesauce instead of 1 cup! I hope they still turn out they are already on the oven!
Used coconut oil and Bobs Red Mill Egg Replacer(dairy and egg allergy for one of my littles). Really good!!! Will add raisins next time!!!
Any idea on the calorie count here ?
Hi Rachael. We do not provide nutrition information but there are many tools available online if you would like to calculate details. This post can help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. ~Amy
Is the butter unsalted or salted? Can I use regular white flour? Can I use jarred baby food carrots? Thanks these sound great!
Hi Beth. We usually use unsalted but if salted is all you have on hand, it will be fine. You could cut back on the added salt. We do not use white flour in our recipes, only 100% whole grain flours. Baby food carrots might work but the consistency is obviously different. ~Amy
I only had a half cup of pure applesauce, but combined that with a half cup of jarred baby food blueberry-applesauce and they came out great. I made them in mini-muffin tins and am having a hard time keeping MYSELF from eating too many!
These sound amazing! And I just made a TON of applesauce so this will work perfectly. Thank you for all of your amazing, inspiring snack ideas. My boys love them.
Can I substitute the egg for something else? My son is allergic to eggs.
I used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. You can also sub 1 tbsp ground flax meal and 3 tbsp water for each egg.
Just made! Love! Thank you! For fun I added 1/4 cup of flaxseed too!!
Just made these with the 5 year old. Delicious. The best thing was they didn’t taste ‘whole wheaty’. We use whole wheat in everything and sometimes it just gets a bit boring, but not these puppies! They turned out light and moist. And a beautiful color. Yummo. Will make again. New fave muffin recipe.
These are wonderful! thanks for a new fall favorite:)
Just made these and they didn’t rise very much but they taste great. I used regular sized cupcake tin and got 16 muffins. Tomorrow I will try a batch with coconut oil.
Regular whole wheat flour doesn’t rise as much as white flour due to lack of gluten. I usually use mostly whole wheat but include some gluten flour when baking. I wasn’t aware of this when I switched to whole wheat flour and wondered why my baked donuts didn’t rise well. Now I use 2/3 whole wheat to 1/3 flour with gluten. I think you can get whole wheat flour made specifically for baking.
Muffins are leavened by baking soda or powder, not yeast, so gluten isn’t an issue, like it is with yeast breads. That being said, I think whole wheat pastry flour (even lower in gluten then regular WW) works the best for baking muffins and cookies and pancakes etc. as it has a softer lighter texture, which I guess makes it easier for the soda/powder to raise it. If your donuts are made with yeast, try using sprouted whole wheat flour or soaking your flour first, I found a fantastic recipe for 100% WW bread and it works great every time on Heavenly Homemakers, maybe you could try to do some of the soaking steps from that recipe for your donuts if you wanted to go 100% whole wheat.
Just made these, but used nutmeg instead of ginger- these things are amazing!! Super super yummy!!
As a diabetic, I would certainly love to have the carb and calorie counts for these recipes. This one certainly looks wonderful and I think I could work with it, if I only knew the numbers. All nutritional counts would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi there Jane. I am sorry but we do not provide nutrition details. We understand that there are conditions that require people to be very vigilant of numbers. However, part of our philosophy here is to not focus on the numbers, but instead, to focus on eating real food with real food ingredients. These posts will help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/. There are many tools available online which can help you calculate nutrition details for any recipe. Wishing you the best. ~Amy
Hi, thanks for the reply to my post about calorie infomation. Do you have suggestions for people with food intolerance like gluten and dairy? I really like your apporach to food and the enthuiasm for preparing food that is reflected in your blog. All the best, Jane
Sounds great. What’s the calorie and fiber count?
Hi Harriet. We do not provide nutrition information. This post helps explain: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. There are many tools available online if you wish to calculate details. ~Amy
Came across your Facebook page. Made these with my daughter today…what an easy, yummy, healthy and forgiving recipe….I was running out of a few ingredients, though. Used half butter, half coconut oil. Had to sub 2 ripe mashed bananas for applesauce and added half cup of dried cranberries. Left out the sweetener entirely. I realize that’s a lot of changes to make, and I look forward to trying the original recipe, but they turned out great anyway!
Hi I like the look of many of your recipes, why do you not post nutritional information for your food. Thanks.
Hi Jane. We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. We want people focusing on eating real foods/more whole foods and less on numbers. Here are some posts which help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/. There are many tools available online which can help calculate nutrition details for recipes. ~Amy
Can I substitute oil for the butter? how much would you use?
Hi Lisa. It is a 1:1 substitution. ~Amy
This is a great way to use up (for those of us who do juice) some carrot pulp! I used my carrot apple ginger pulp in here! Also I added raisins to some for variety. Thank you for another lovely recipe!
I’m wondering if i could use carrots that i pureed up for little dude or would that mess up the consistency? Also, I’m curious why you chose to use butter instead of coconut oil. Since you introduced me to coconut oil, i use it for pretty much everything. Thanks so much!
Hi Meg. It will change the consistency but I think it will still work. Regarding butter, sometimes Lisa just prefers baking with butter but does use them fairly interchangeably. ~Amy
I’ve been debating what to do about a smash cake for my son. This is perfect! Thanks for the recipe, and all the great info on this site!
My daughter has dairy and egg allergies among others. So I subbed coconut oil and a chia seed egg. Worked awesome! She’s 18 mo running around yelling more more. Always looking for more ideas for her with her allergies! Thanks so much :)
How much oil would you recommend to make this a dairy free recipe? Or any ideas other than oil?
Hi Lisa. Coconut oil can be substituted 1:1 for butter. ~Amy
Superb Lisa. Perfect for a healthy breakfast muffin. I substituted pure maple syrup for the honey because I was out. Will be repeating. Made a double batch and got 18 large muffins. Half are in the freezer!
Can these be frozen?
Hi Megan. They will freeze well. ~Amy
Would love to try these for my 10 month old’s breakfast at daycare, as she has grown tired of spinach omelette & pumpkin pancakes I send …. However I don’t think I can use honey with her yet. Suggestions as a substitute till we can?
Hi there. You can substitute with maple syrup. ~Amy
This looks fabulous! And I actually have everything in the house to make it once I get to the store today and buy some eggs! Running out of eggs and grocery shopping is like running out of panties and laundry…it’s the signal to get shopping!
Excellent! The texture and flavor were sooo good. I used 3/4 cups KA white whole wheat and 3/4 cup all purpose KA flour. We’re still getting used to whole wheat. Thank you!!!
You have the BEST recipes! These muffins are SO good! Moist, full of flavour and a perfect fall muffin with a big cup of tea! :) thank you!
All I can say is YUM! These are by far the best homemade muffins I have made. Thank you for the recipe!
These were great! And they made the house smell amazing!
Delicious!! Thank you for sharing such great recipes! My 17-month old daughter gobbled up the muffins.
I made these today-mini ones, and they were fantastic. Homemade applesauce too :). My 3 and 1 year old especially loved them!!! Thanks
When you make the minis instead, does the baking time change or stay the same?
I think they were in for about 16 minutes. came out perfect.
These muffins are delicious. I used 1/2 cup softened coconut oil instead of the butter. I also added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.
The recipe looks good, but why would it be perfect for a baby?! A cake is a cake is a cake.
This recipe is not a cake – this would be the perfect substitute in place of a traditional cake (i.e. lots of refined sugar, icing with artificial colors, etc.) for baby.
I guess it is a matter of definition what a cake is. For me anything mainly consisting of flour (here: 180g), fat (120g), sugar (honey is for me the same) (170g) and egg prepared in a way as described in this recipe falls under the category cake/candie/etc. and should be treated as such. For me not a great baby food, and I don’t understand parents cheering because their kids shovel it down.
Critical Reader – I think you are trying to pick a fight. Lisa said it was a ‘perfect substitute’ for a traditional cake – which are usually loaded with all sorts of junk that we wouldn’t want to put anywhere near our baby’s mouths. I would be happy to serve this to my kids as a “cake subsitute” or even for an afternoon snack on the go. fruits, veggies, and grains :) what’s not to love??
To me a birthday cake is a baked good made with refined flour, refined sugar, and usually frosting that has artificial food dyes. These muffins are none of those so I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
I am not trying to pick a fight. I just noticed, that frequently anything made without some evil ingredients is considered healthy and that is simply not true. Fruits, veggies and grains – you forgot the fat and the sugar, which makes the whole thing a cake. I see nothing wrong with eating it (occassionally), but it does not deserve the label ‘ideal for baby’ or ‘ideal afternoon snack’.
@Lisa, no doubt, it is better than the ‘classical’ US-American birthday cake from the supermarket, but it is still a cake. US Americans often eye on Europe in terms of food and healthy eating – sometimes justified, sometimes not. My daycare here in Austria does not allow us parents to bring any kind of sweets including (home-made) cakes and muffins. I would definitely get a warning from my daycare if I’d send that muffin as a snack.
Made for first time this morning. Kids loved them!
can you make this in bread form and if so what would be the baking temp and time?
Hi Kami. We’ve not made this as a loaf. Here is a similar recipe, though it uses more flour and would, therefore, make a bigger loaf: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/02/recipe-whole-wheat-banana-bread/. You can use it as your guide but will not need to bake quite as long. ~Amy
I think this is wonderful! During the season of eating a lot of food, it’s good to make sure what you are making for your family is significantly more wholesome than what they will get outside the home:)
And it is a great baby cake! We don’t believe in taking the joy out of their special days, but it can be healthy not laden with sugar.
I would love to try this recipe, but would like your thoughts on egg substitute for the one egg (daughter has an egg allergy). Normally, I would substitute applesauce for the egg but being that there is already a cup, would I just go ahead and add extra or substitute something else?
I know I could use the EnerG Egg Replacer, but I try not to because it has a funny taste…
Thanks for any input on this.
Chenoa
Hi Chenoa. Lots of our readers use flax or chia as an egg replacer. Here is more info: http://detoxinista.com/recipes/how-to-make-flax-eggs-or-chia-eggs/. ~Amy
Thanks Amy!
I will give it a try, and bookmark the suggested website. Also, I will let you know how they turn out :)
My kids helped make these this weekend and loved them. My 4 year old (boy) has two and wanted a third before I stopped him since it was close to dinner. My 1 year old (boy) also eats them for snack! Thanks for sharing. :)
We LOVED them!!!! So moist! Did not change a thing but am going to try minis next time.
Also, just want to say love this website. You have been the key to us cutting out processed foods and
just eating better. Thanks for all you do!
These sound awesome! And despite was others have said I think they are great for young kids. My toddler simply won’t eat a vegetable unless it’s in a muffin. I’ve tried everything and it’s either no vegetables ever or put them in a muffin. I would like to know about the butter though. Usually our muffins don’t have butter, let alone a whole stick! Is there something else we can use instead or can I reduce the butter and still have success?
Hi Sarah. You can substitute coconut oil 1:1 withe butter. ~Amy
Could you substitute Oat Flour or Spelt Flour in place of the wheat flour?? — trying to cut that out of our diets …
Hi Heather. We have not tried either for this recipe. Spelt can usually be used as a 1:1 substitute for wheat but oat flour might require more adaptation. ~Amy
Reply to Sarah:
When recipes call for butter, I sub out at least 1/2 if not all of the butter for coconut oil. It’s my way of getting more good fat in me & not having to eat it off the spoon! (JK) Works like a charm every time. If you do not already use coconut oil, just make sure you use.a good one, unrefined etc.
I will be substituting Quinoa flour for the whole wheat flour. I agree with Heather we are also cutting out wheat flour. Also you really do not even need the butter. I make Bananna Quinoa muffins all the time with only a few ingredients (bananas, egg, Quinoa flour, Quinoa oats, cinnamon,honey and vanilla) and my son loves them.
Jennifer, please post your recipe! I am always looking for wheat free recipes for my family. Thanks!
Incredible yumminess. I made a batch yesterday and now going to make another to take to our staff meeting tomorrow. I have fun mini loaf pans that I almost always use for my muffin recipes vs. a muffin pan. I really appreciate all of your hard work Lisa to make the work on our end easier. I am a single mom that works 50 hrs a week and without your site and the simplicity of your recipes and philosophy, I could have never made the switch to a basically non processed life style. And I also learned I LOVE cooking. Thank you for sharing your story and putting up with some not very nice people… I believe there are more like me than them!
I made these last night and they were so good. I’m very new to baking and I thought this recipe was very easy! Thank you so much!
Seems like a lot of butter?
Hi Lynda. You substitute coconut oil if you prefer. ~Amy
When subbing coconut oil for half the butter should the oil be melted first for measuring or leave in solid form? Thanks and love your recipes!
Always melt the coconut oil before measuring. Then make sure your other ingredients are at room temperature (egg, carrots,etc.) to ensure your coconut oil doesn’t re-solidify.
the bomb! I made some and froze them to take to my sister. fortunately for her i froze some before i tried one.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I agree that there is sugar in the recipe, but I simply try to keep my girls under the recommended 3 teaspoons OR LESS of added sugar per day (obviously no added sugar is preferred). My first grader is under that most weekdays, so once a week she gets a muffin in her lunch. I just make sure to pick a day when she won’t be getting any outside snacks from extracurricular activities. A whole wheat muffin sure beats the candy some of her peers are getting their lunches!
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve pinned it to make later. I agree with you about it being a great cake substite.
LIsa, I’d like to make this for a first birthday cake, but one of my older children has a milk allergy. Can you suggest a substitution for the butter that would still result in the same delicious result?
We made these muffins as is, no substitutions. My entire family loved them, thank you for the great recipe!
I made these without the ginger (didn’t have any) and added the applesauce at the wrong time (distracted by cooking with a three-year-old) and they still came out really yummy. I did use 1/2 cup white flour instead of all wheat to make them a little lighter.
I have great success substituting puréed pumpkin, squash, or sweet potato in place of butter (some or all) in recipes like this. Might be a little more dry if left out on counter though so freeze after they cool. I will try it and post results. Sounds like a great recipe!
Just subscribed to your blog! As someone who is a huge foodie, I’m so glad to see recipes that use ingredients like butter as well as the healthy stuff! I want healthy and whole yes, but I also don’t want to have to go to some random store in the boonies to find a bizarre substitute for something that is going to cost me an arm and a leg. So thank you for creating a website with such good wholesome recipes that don’t require a person to have to drastically alter their life in order to try it!
Sincerely grateful,
Julie
I made these for the kiddos this past weekend…..and I’m usually very disciplined and also GF, but I did try these and they are very moist and delicious! They are fantastic at room temp or warmed with organic butter (kids’ preference)…..thank you again for another winner!
Just curious why you fold the applesauce and carrot in. I accidentally mixed the applesauce with the other liquid ingredients. Hoping it still turns out ok!
They were a hit, even with my mistake. Thanks!
Great base recipe! Thanks for sharing. I do love to use WW pastry flour in these baked goods. Grated zucchini could work … or grated sweet potato even! Raisins might be good too. :) Now my wheels are turning!
Can I just say YUM!!!
Your pumpkin muffin recipe was our previous favorite, but these just took over the #1 spot. I made them following your exact recipe and a room full of picky pre-schoolers (many of whom are not used to ‘real’ food) scarfed them down. Yes, these have butter and honey, but still soooo much better than a bunch of refined sugar and chemicals. Thank you for all the work you put in to share your recipes and philosophy with us. You’ve really inspired huge, positive changes for my family!
Same here…the pumpkin muffins were our favorite for a long time, but it is hard to beat this new recipe! I am so glad to hear that :)
This recipe sounds awesome, I was wondering how substitute an egg for, I don’t like eat eggs, I heard somewhere that can bebstitute it by to flax seed, but I’m not sure, can you please tell me.
Thanks (:
You can definitely use flax in place of egg…it’s 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed (or flax meal) mixed with 3 Tablespoons of water. This is equal to one egg. Hope this helps.
Sounds good, but what about all that butter? What do you think of coconut oil? Would you suggest substituting that for the butter, making them even healthier??
Natural butter is not unhealthy. I use all of the natural fats including butter AND coconut.
Hi Ashley. Coconut oil can be substituted 1:1 with butter. ~Amy
What are your thoughts on using coconut oil instead of butter and coconut palm sugar instead of honey?
Hi Kerri. Coconut oil can be subbed 1:1 for butter. We have not tried to sub out the honey. Lisa uses honey or maple syrup whenever possible. As for coconut palm sugar, in general, it is a less processed and lower glycemic alternative to other sugars. There is question, however, to its sustainability. ~Amy
Made these today. Used 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of coconut oil. Excellent. Your pumpkin muffins still are my favorite.
I made these the other day when you posted the recipe on Facebook…I’ve already made my second batch!!! Everyone in my house loves these! I think my next batch I might add raisins.
I just made these and my house smells fantastic!
They turned out very moist, and practically fall out of the foil liners I used. Now I know what we’ll do for her first birthday cake. My 3 kiddos & I give these an A+
We also omitted the butter for coconut oil instead.
I made a batch of these today for breakfast tomorrow and for my daughter to take as the group snack for her Destination Imagination meeting. I tried one and it was delicious. Can’t wait for breakfast! A little rich with all the butter. Next time I will not add quite as much and mash a banana to add. Was super easy to shred the carrot with my Ninja with plenty left over to add to dinner salads. Thanks!
These look yummy! Going to bake them tomorrow! I was wondering though how do you package your muffins to store in the freezer. I love that idea just wondering if there is a special “safe” way in storing them?
Hi Ashley. You could use any freezer-safe airtight container. I prefer to use zipper bags because I can get most of the air out. Be sure they are cool before you freeze them. ~Amy
I made these this morning for breakfast. YUM! They were so moist. I had about a quarter cup of pumpkin left from another recipe, so I used that, then added applesauce to make the 3/4 cup. I will definitely add this to the recipe file.
If I doubled this recipe, do you think it would be tasty with half carrots and half zucchini? Trying to get my little one and hubby to eat more veggies!
Hi Chelsea. We’ve not tried but let us know if you do and how they turn out. ~Amy
I am going to try this today. My girls love muffins…and these are healthy ones :) Thanks!!!
What kind of flour can you recommend in place of wheat? Would coconut or almond flour work?
Just wondering how the whipped cream frosting holds up and for how long outside the fridge? Planning to make these for son’s 2nd birthday and would love to use a simple, lightly sweetened whipped cream. Thanks!
Hi Catherine. I know that with the chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting, Lisa recommended serving it within a few hours of frosting. ~Amy
Made these last night and they are wonderful. Added some raisins and walnuts. Perfect with a green smoothie!
So I tried these with 1/4c butter and 1/4 c pumpkin puree and they were delicious…very moist. Next time I think I’ll sub all the butter for pumpkin…not that I’m against butter but we get enough the way it is and you can never have enough veggies!! Awesome recipe…my 2 and 4 yr olds loved them.
Yum! Can you substitute spelt flour for the whole wheat? Thanks!
Hi Katy. While we haven’t tried in this recipe, I think it will work fine. I love spelt! :) ~Amy
I followed the recipe exactly, and these turned out perfect! They are so moist and delicious. Thanks for sharing!!
I have strawberry applesauce I need to get rid off since my little one doesn’t like them anymore. Can I use this instead of plain applesauce? Or would it taste weird :-)
Hi Elle. I suppose it would change the flavor a bit but I am not sure how much. ~Amy
I’m still just dabbling in the “real food” world and made these this morning as a trial. I love them! Can’t wait for my 12-year-old to get home from school and give me his opinion!
These turned out absolutely delicious! Even my 9 yr old daughter who does not eat either carrots or apples found them yummy. Your pumpkin muffins have been a staple in our home since I first started using your recipes, but here in the Southern Hemisphere pumpkins have been out of season. Thankfully just starting to see some again!
My two year old daughter helped me make these, and she absolutely loved them! I told her they were “healthy”, and she said “yum, I love healthy”!
Made these for the 1st time today!!!!! YUMMY..had to eat 2 to “check for consistency.”” Haha…will be making these again-esp since I recently bought pumpkin muffins from local supermarket labelled “pumpkin raisin”….ate 2 had no raisins…ate the remaining 2=no raisins…turned over packaging fo listed ingredients””RAISINS”” MY LONG POINT::IF they are listing ingredients that are NOT in the product can I assume they are NOT listing ingredients that ARE…ie nuts milk soy……if anyone had allergies forget relying on store packaging for what or what not may lurk within .
Can I substitute gluten free flour and a dairy substitute for butter for the ingredients to make it gluten and dairy free? Also are the substitutes exact or do I have to modify them somehow? Thanks somuch for this blog!
Hi Heather. You can easily substitute coconut oil for the butter but we’ve not tried a gluten free adaptation. It might take some trial and error to get it right. Look for whole grain gluten free flours and whole grain flour blends to keep it as real as possible. :) ~Amy
Ok, can I just say I was not sure about how these would turn out…they are SO good!! Pleasantly surprising, and my kids love them! I am a huge fan of your page, I am new to cutting processed foods and I don’t know how I would have even able to do it without guidanc, info, and recepies from this page! Every thing I have tried I have loved and so has my family! I feel so much better after changing what I feed my family, thank you so much for the time you take to put into this and excuse my French but screw the negative comments! Your lunch ideas have been so helpful as well, thank you thank you Lisa! Trying the chili this weekend, can’t wait!
These are awesome! My 4 year old son (who is a picky eater) and I made them today. He has refused to eat carrots, wasn’t thrilled about touching them to put them in the batter, and exclaimed, “These are very good!” while devouring a muffin soon after they came out of the oven. My 6 year old daughter was hesitant to try it with her dinner tonight, but she really liked it, too. We added raisins to the batter. Thank you for the delish recipe!
I wonder how these would turn out with gluten free flour… Has anyone tried them that way?
I was going to ask the same question!! I will probably try them out with Jules Gluten Free Mix, but I want to experiment using some more whole grain GF flours too, like buckwheat, etc.. over rice/tapioca, etc. Let me know what you find and I’ll do the same!
Lisa-Which liners do you typically use? Have you had problems with the paper liners when you freeze the muffins? I’ve done your other muffins in paper liners and frozen them. After thawing, the paper sticks so bad I have to cut sections of the muffin off to get all of the paper off! Love your blog and all of the recipes you keep churning out-thank you!!!
How do I “fold” the applesauce into the mixture (Sorry I am not a baker..but I am trying :) )
Hi Teresa. That’s okay. :) This should help: http://www.wikihow.com/Fold-%28Baking%29. ~Amy
Hi I cant wait to try these muffins.was just wondering though if wholewheat flour is the same as wholemeal? I live quite rural and cant find wholewheat. Thanks!
Hi Tasha. The terms wholemeal and whole wheat are often used interchangeably. :) Have fun baking! ~Amy
made these last night and used the flax egg and the house smelled delicious and my family loved these!!!
This looks great! I can’t wait to give it a try!
I don’t have an electric whisk or beater. Am I better off using an immersion blender or hand whisk? Thanks to anyone who can answer.
I used maple syrup instead of honey and almost doubled the carrots. They’re really great muffins. I think they’d make a great cake with maple frosting. I’ll try them again with just a bit more sugar, maybe some coarse sugar on top.
Your husband is nuts. These muffins are awesome! I, too, was a bit skeptical at how they would turn out. But oh. My. Goodness. Yum!!! They made my house smell soooo good. And my husband, who is also not a muffin fan unless it’s a blueberry one, said it tasted like a blueberry muffin without the blueberries (meaning he liked it). I love your blog. Your ideas and recipe index are the biggest helps in trying to cut out more and more processed food from our plates. Don’t get me wrong:i want to eat healthily, but i don’t want to eat cardboard. Or gravel. Your recipes make me wonder why i didn’t do this sooner. Thank you!!!
Hi Lisa,
These muffins are amazingly moist and delicious. I can’t believe how well they go from freezer to lunch pack and by lunchtime have thawed enough to be as fresh as the morning I made them. I didn’t have any applesauce, so I sliced two large Gala apples and put the slices in a saucepan with 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup sugar. I cooked the apples about ten minutes until soft enough to mash up with my potato masher. Voila – I had about two cups of applesauce.
I made my own applesauce too. I just add a splash of water to get the apples started cooking but didn’t add any sugar. The applesauce was plenty sweet without it. I had some Galas that were getting a bit soft for eating out of hand.
Homemade apple sauce is super easy… it is making baby food! Peel and core and slice up a couple of apples. I like steaming mine, or you could boil. Probably need 10 mins. Pulse with a Moulinex or an immersion blender, or blender if that is all you have. Make extra and pop in the freezer baggied up in 1 cup portions for other uses. Apple sauce can also fully or partially replace oil in cakes.
I just thought you might find it fun to know that I am offering my college freshmen (English 101 and First Year Seminar – a total of 75 students)an alternative quiz challenge. They can go on your web site, read about the food challenge and take it for seven days. They all eat in the campus dining halls or cafes, but my university is famous for their naturopathic medical center, so I will also find out if the students are offered unprocessed food choices.They have to keep a journal for the seven days and also write a summary of their experience – all for a guaranteed quiz grade of “A”.Don’t you love this idea? I’ll keep you posted.
I was just wondering if you offer nutrition facts for your recipes?
Hi Madison. . We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. We want people focusing on eating real foods/more whole foods and less on numbers. Here are some posts which help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/. There are many tools available online which can help calculate nutrition detail for recipes. ~Amy
These were great! I halved the recipe, used organic coconut oil instead of butter, and I made them into mini muffins which baked for about 11 minutes at 350 (half recipe made 18 mini muffins). These are perfect for my toddler and he loved them. Keeping them in the freezer and defrosting as needed. These were surprisingly sweet considering there’s zero sugar – I could see cutting back a bit on the honey and not really missing it. Thank you for the recipe!
I love these! I didn’t have applesauce, so used a couple of cored apples with peelings on and baked them in the microwave until soft. Worked great. Can’t wait for a visit from grandchildren. Will mail a care package.
I am also curious about the calorie count. My husband and I are trying to eat “”clean” and have do so for a little over a month. We feel 100% better with more energy and we are enjoying the taste of real food. I’m always looking for recipes using unprocessed items. Looking forward to having one of these with my decaf and soy milk tomorrow morning.;)
Hi Kelly. Glad you are doing well on your clean eating journey. Regarding calorie counts, we do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. We want people focusing on eating real foods/more whole foods and less on numbers. Here are some posts which help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/. There are many tools available online which can help calculate nutrition detail for recipes. ~Amy
SO delicious! :)
Veganized these using flax egg and Earths Balance vegan soy free butter! So yummy! thank you for such wonderful recipes :)
I just made 24 mini-muffins using your pumpkin bread recipe (added raisins instead of nuts) and 24 mini-muffins of these for my daughter’s 3rd birthday party. They are both moist and delicious! The only change I would make to this recipe in the future is less ginger powder; I thought it was a little overpowering.
Made these tonight for my 3 year old and 1 year old and they loved them! So delicious. I made the full recipe and ended up with 12 muffins and 12 mini muffins.
We had problems sourcing good local raw honey and would like to use organic pure maple syrup. For those of you who did use syrup how much did you use? If you use 1/2 cup does it change the consistency of the batter or need more time to bake? Thanks for the help, excited to try. Also, you featured a recipe with weelicious.com about whole spelt pumpkin muffins. Could I substitute whole wheat with whole spelt flour?
Hi there. You can substitute the maple for the honey 1:1 and spelt flour should work fine, though we have not tried. ~Amy
These are so delicious! Next time I will have to get the extras in the freezer right away because I could not stop eating them. I am going to make mini ones for my son to take to preschool as a snack (which is shared with the class.)
These are delicious! I didn’t have enough butter so I used coconut oil instead. And I used a mini muffin tin. My kiddos will be so excited to try them when they wake up from their naps!
My butter, honey and egg mixture curdled while mixing together! Help :( Will they still turn out okay? Where did I go wrong? Yes, I took the eggs straight from the fridge. Is this still safe to eat?
Hi there Chasity. Sorry, I missed this comment earlier. It was likely just your butter solidifying because your eggs were cold. That has happened to me, too. How did they turn out? ~Amy
They actually turned out just fine after I went ahead and baked them! It looked HORRIBLE when I first mixed it up though! :) thank you for getting back with me! I had another question though..I am a new follower and my family and I are just beginning our journey of eating real food. I see a lot of honey being used in recipes but I am wondering what kind is best to use? I use organic right now but I saw the other day there is raw honey. I use honey in everything but which is best?
My husband and I both agreed these were a winner! Question though. How do you store them? I put them in an airtight container and left them on the counter overnight and the carrot shreds turned green! Maybe they belong in the fridge? Thanks for this blog!
Hello Laura. Well, that is odd. :) I stored mine on the counter in a ziplock bag after they cooled had completely. Cooling completely is important because the moisture created when not fully cooled and enclosed can cause problems Mine were good for 2 days and by then they had completely disappeared. Beyond that, I freeze them. ~Amy
…and this might explain: http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-when-good-carrots-52210. Could you have been heavy handed with the baking soda? :)
Wow. We made this on a Saturday with the idea of keeping them for the week ahead to use as lunch snacks (we made them in a mini muffin pan) but they were completely GONE by Sunday, so we had to make more. My kids DEVOURED these. Like inhaled them. I’ll probably make some again this evening.
I’m on the lookout for something that could marry chocolate and kale and still be considered healthy and they would probably love those, too.
Thank you!!
Hello,
I baked these muffins the other night and I think I did something wrong, my carrots turned a blue green after I stored them overnight in a container. Also, they tasted kinda like cornbread to me, is that what other people have noticed? Maybe I over softened and mixed my butter? I still liked these muffins quite bit, I just want to make a few tweaks to make them amazing!
Hi Lauren. This article might give a hint to the green: http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-when-good-carrots-52210. As far as the cornbread taste, I’m not sure. These are my family’s official new favorite and we’ve not noticed that. :) ~Amy
My daughter (12 yrs) was really hesitant about these when I told her they were made with carrots and applesauce but she loves them! Very yummy! What is the best way to store and can you freeze them? Thank you!!
Hi Karen. They are okay in an airtight container on the counter for a day of so (if they last that long). Beyond that, freeze them in an airtight container or zipper bag. You can refrigerate them, as well, but I think it drys them out a bit. ~Amy
Stored in the fridge for 2 days, warmed in the microwave, these were STILL so moist and delicious!! This recipe is a total keeper!!
I am going to try these today! Yum! One question though, do you think I could sub carrot pulp (from juicing) instead of grated carrots? I juice 2-3 times a week and always end up with so much carrot pulp!
I’m sure you could use the carrot pulp. That actually may work out better than freshly grated carrots because my muffins were very moist in the middle and I had to cook them longer than the recipe called for. I also make apple, beet, carrot muffins from pulp!
I use carrot pulp all the time. Actually I use the pulp from my carrot apple ginger juice and it works awesome. I really like these muffins.
These are yum! We all loved them!
Wow…these are really good!! I used almond flour instead of whole wheat and added some oats as well. Now I just hope my 9-yr-old son likes them…assuming there are any left when he gets home from school. :)
Any suggestions for making these muffins gluten free? I plan on making one batch following the recipe, but need to tweak it for my daughter. Thanks!
Hi Leigh. We’ve not tried a gluten free version of this recipe. Please let us know if you come up with the right combination. I know other readers would love to know. I may attempt a gf of this tonight myself. :) ~Amy
I just pulled these out of the oven. I was planning to have them as a “dessert” with the soup I’m making tonight, but I’ m not sure they’re going to last that long. Of course, my 4-yr-old and I had to taste test a tiny one made from the very last bit of batter. Wow! These are definitely the new favorite in this house. Perfect for a fall day. Since I’m almost out of honey, I subbed maple syrup. Thank you. This is the first time I’ve ever left anyone a comment, but I really appreciate everything on your blog. Due to some recent health issues, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to what I give my family. It just really helps hearing how others are doing the same and getting some great recipes and ideas that I wouldn’t come up with on my own.
I just made these. They are incredible! I made the pumpkin ones last week. I bake a little from time to time but typically use boxed stuff unless I am making cookies. So far my two boys loved them. Thanks so much for sharing.
Big hit in our house this week. Thank you!
I was just wondering if your muffin recipes can be cooked as a loaf? My kids love all of them, but it is easier for me to make it in bread form if possible.
Thanks!
Hi Maureen. We have not made this one as a loaf. Here is an example of a recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/02/recipe-whole-wheat-banana-bread/. ~Amy
These muffins are seriously the best! I have made them 3 different times already! I make double batches each time and freeze them. So convenient to get one out as you need it and they stayed so moist. It is unbelievable how good they taste and are sugar-free and oil-free. For my second time making these, I added some unsweetened shredded coconut and I will be adding it every time – so good! It’s like carrot cake! Thanks!
These are my favorite of your muffins so far! The kids gobbled them up!! Delicious! Can’t wait for a cook book! :)
These muffins are incredible! I made them to celebrate my son’s 2nd birthday at his day care and had to make a few substitutions based on allergies. I used coconut oil in place of butter and a flax “egg” in place of the egg. They were a HUGE hit amongst the toddlers and the teachers at his center! I made them again yesterday using the exact recipe and they were even better. My son (and husband) gobbled one up at lunch. I have been making them smaller-I get 16 regular sized muffins out of the mix. I am also a Weight Watcher and they are 4pp if you make 16 muffins.
Thank you for another awesome recipe! I will be making these weekly!!
Yesterday I made your Broccoli Cheese soup and today I made the Carrot Applesauce muffins. Wow! Real food tastes awesome!!! Started using real food because my husband has health issues and our daughters browbeat us into it. Lol Maybe I should have said “strongly encouraged” us…and it took a few years before we embraced it. Now, both of us are totally on-board…and loving your recipies! Thanks so much for your website and especially the recipies!
Can you use coconut oil instead of butter
Amy
My family and I are “newbies” to real food and I’ve been most hesitant to try any bread recipes. I made these tonight exactly as written and I really liked them, but I was the only one. My two boys are big muffin eaters. They each only ate 1 muffin – but I am still excited. That means the next time I make them, maybe they’ll like them more. Thanks for helping me make this transition from processed foods easier by supplying me with good recipes ;).
I just made these. I subbed half the butter and added more applesauce. I also cut the honey in half and added golden raisins. My girls didn’t like them. I think next time I would cut the ginger back, and try carrot purre or grated carrots I used shreds and they were maybe too obvious. And I guess apperently now they don’t eat raisins:) I thought they were delicious.
Yes you can. I did. They were really nice.
Yum! We’ve made these twice now (today we made a double batch!). Both times I’ve used wholegrain spelt flour and they’ve turned out wonderfully.
Thank you!
I made these last night, and already plan on making more this weekend. My kids LOVE them!
Amy I made them with coconut oil and it worked perfectly.
A question. I have made a couple of your recipes for muffins and they all vary slightly with whether you use baking soda and or powder. What is the reasoning/science behind this J
Hi Janet. I enjoy this blogger’s “scientific” explanation of which to choose and why. ;) ~Amy
Sorry, I forgot the attachment: http://joythebaker.com/2013/10/baking-101-the-difference-between-baking-soda-and-baking-powder/.
These are fantastic – I followed the recipe as is. The kids loved them, even my picky one. I had to sneak away with 5 to freeze for lunchboxes next week.
These were so delicious. I had to hurry up and freeze them before we ate the whole batch! Will definitely make these again!!!
Love these muffins. I substituted the butter for a non dairy, soy free spread because of my son’s allergies and they came out great. We will be making these again.
These were so amazing and absolutely loved them but would anyone know the nutritional value on these? Like the amount of calories and fat?
Hello Katherine. Yummy, huh? We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes because we want people focusing on eating real foods/more whole foods and less on numbers. Here are some posts which help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/. There are many tools available online which can help calculate nutrition details for recipes. ~Amy
They actually turned out just fine after I went ahead and baked them! It looked HORRIBLE when I first mixed it up though! :) thank you for getting back with me! I had another question though..I am a new follower and my family and I are just beginning our journey of eating real food. I see a lot of honey being used in recipes but I am wondering what kind is best to use? I use organic right now but I saw the other day there is raw honey. I use honey in everything but which is best?
Hi Chasity. Lisa buys local raw honey. :) ~Amy
I just made these, and they are truly delicous. I didn’t have any carrots, so I used some zucchini. I squeezed a lot of liquid out of the zucchini, but, even so, I had to leave them in the oven for an extra 15 minutes so that they could cook completely.. I will make them again for sure, but would like to try to substitute either mashed banana or more applesuace for half the butter.
I have made these muffins 3 times and my girls love them which isq surprising considering carrots and applesauce are two things they will not eat otherwise.my girls are 3 and 1.
I asked my hubby to make this while I was nursing our little one. It’s really yummy! My picky 9-year old ate 2 considering he won’t eat applesauce or carrots. I’ll be making this again and maybe veganize it. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
My son ate 2 1/2 of these in one sitting! He loved them, obviously. I substituted over half of the honey with maple syrup. Don’t know how I feel about the ginger. I grated on regular large carrot and it came to 3/4 cup almost perfectly! I would probably rate this 4.5 stars overall, but due to my son loving them (and the fact that I think everyone should try these at least once), a five can stay!
These are a hit with my 6 yr old and 14 month old. They are delicious and love how my house ends up smelling!!
These were amazing! I doubled the recipe and used only about 3/4 cup honey and they were very sweet and delicious. I could probably get away with less, because the applesauce and carrots add natural sweetness. This is one of the recipes I’ve made on your site that are delicious. Thanks for such great recipe Lisa. I love looking for healthy and easy recipes for the kiddos!
It says 12 Oversized muffins: Do u use a jumbo muffin pan or just the regular sized muffin pan?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try these!
Hi JC. It is a standard muffin size but they are very lofty. :) ~Amy
A hit! Not sure why some folks said they looked horrible when they mixed them up, they were fine to me. Regular looking unbaked muffins. I used brown rice syrup instead of honey as we find that much honey is way too sweet. I Did have to cook them longer. Any tips on subbing coconut oil for the butter? Have never tried that but think a stick of butter is too much.
Made with maple syrup in stead of honey and they were a bit too sweet for me. Also subbed coconut oil for butter (I needed to warm it up so it would mix into cold syrup & egg) so if you use coconut oil, melt it first!
The grownups liked them, but I think next time I will try with more carrot and less fat. I like my muffins less cakey and more hearty. :)
Made these for the first time tonight! I was a bit skeptical that they wouldn’t taste that great because they didn’t have chocolate in them, but they were amazing! And this is coming from a chocolate chip muffin lover! I used maple syrup instead of honey, because I didn’t have enough on hand. I’m going to make these all the time now!
For those of us who are gluten sensitive, has anyone made these with almond flour? I know that sometimes the measurements have to be a little altered when you use almond flour instead of whole wheat. Maybe even adding a little coconut flour and it?
Hi Teresa. We have not adapted this recipe. If you do, let us know how it works out. ~Amy
I made them yesterday, substituted spelt flour for the whole wheat, and agave for the honey. They were a hit with the 18 mo. old, the 5 year old and all of the adults. Sent some to the neighbors and they have already asked me for the recipe. Delish.
I can’t find the ginger for this recipe. Any suggestions? I have found chopped ginger in a jar or ginger root by the fresh vegetables. Is it either of these or what should I look for?
Thanks!
Hi there. Ground ginger should be found in the spice isle. If you have fresh ginger root and a very fine grater, that would work, too. ~Amy
I made these for Thanksgiving. The carrots took forever to shred. What kind of cheese grater do you use? I used a microplane and I think it was shredded too fine.
Hi Candace. I use a medium grate on a regular cheese grater. ~Amy
If I don’t have applesauce on hand, could use coconut milk instead?
Thanks!
Hi Nicole. Since applesauce is one of the main ingredients, it would alter the outcome. Let us know if you try it and how it turns out. ~Amy
Just made these today and they are fantastic! I followed the recipe exactly, but next time (maybe tomorrow!) I think I will add nutmeg along with the ginger and cinnamon. I also think these would be great with walnuts or golden raisins added in! Thanks for the recipe!
I made my first batch tonight and was so excited! I’ve been looking forward to making these for a while, so as soon as they cooled I split one with my hubby. They were not at all “lofty” and we’re super dense. Then it hit me! I used baking POWDER. Haha! Oh well. Guess I’ll just have to make another batch. Don’t worry, though, the first batch was still pretty good so they won’t go to waste. :-)
Have these in the oven now. Had to substitute almond extract for vanilla ~ keeping my fingers crossed!
Can’t even taste the almond. They are really good! I’m not a big cinnamon fan, so I might cut that back next time. Had to hide them from the hubby!
I sauteed an apple finely chopped in 1/2 TB butter and added to the batter along with some chopped pecans. Delicious! The apple and pecans give the muffin a little more texture.
When I make mine they always really stick to the paper liners. I tried cooking them a bit longer and the bottoms are still super soft and sticky. Help! What can I do?
Hi Ashley. It is normal for them to stick a little. You could always spritz the muffin liner with a bit of oil while slightly extending the cooking time. ~Amy
Use parchment paper liners instead of the traditional paper liners, the won’t stick to those. You can find them at most grocery stores.
I made these today. I baked them a bit longer than it said and they are still a tad gooey inside. I don’t know if its from the applesauce or if they aren’t done? Are they supposed to be on the soft side? Also my non stick spray probably didn’t help. Otherwise they taste great. I like them and my husband did. I’m sure our 2 year old will like them too. I just wish they weren’t so soft/gooey. There is only one egg in the recipe and I’m sure its cooked so I guess next time I will try a bit longer in the oven. Thanks!
Mine are always a tad spongy and gooey too, but always taste awesome!
Has anyone tried pureeing the carrots? One of my kids didn’t like seeing the shreds :/
Elizabeth- I forgot, I did grind the carrots in my mini food process and they are barely noticeable, little specks. (i have a picky eater, too & didn’t mind when they were that tiny).
Thanks! I am going to try it again with them smaller, the other child loved them and they froze perfectly!
I just made these with my 2yr old son. With the exception of ginger, (we didn’t have any on hand), we followed the instructions exactly. I’m so glad we tried this recipe! It was simple and the muffins are delicious!! I just wish the recipe made more- these muffins are that good! Thank you!
I made these a couple days ago using maple syrup instead of honey so my little one could eat them. They are delicious! I will definitely be making these again and again.
Oh my these are delicious! I used half honey, half maple syrup and coconut oil instead of butter, and a flax egg instead of a real egg. Sooo good.
Any recommendations on what to use in lieu of butter (we are a no soy, no dairy household due to allergies).
The recipes are wonderful, thank you!
I’ve made them with softened coconut oil and they turn out even better!
Just a heads up to mom’s with little ones. Pure maple syrup is also not recommended for under 1 year olds. I made my last batch using pure maple syrup without knowing it can also be contaminated and may induce botulism. My baby who is 10 months old is fine, but I figured I’d day something to warn everyone else.
I’ve talked to my doc about using honey and maple syrup in my baking for my baby. He said if it’s cooked it is safe. They just can’t have raw.
Has anyone had success making these with less fat, and if so, what measurement did you use? I subbed coconut oil for butter, which I frequently do when baking. However, when I pulled the muffins out of the pan, they were sitting in a puddle of oil.
They tasted great, though. I just don’t want them swimming in oil.
Coconut oil doesn’t have any less fat than butter, in fact, gram per gram it has more fat. Its also mostly saturated fat so it really isn’t much better than butter- its just better than shortening or margarine.
I haven’t tried it, but you can try using more apple sauce or just reducing the amount of butter.
Right. I’m not asking about the fat content of coconut oil v. butter. I chose coconut oil for other reasons.
What I’m wanting to know is if anyone has used a lesser amount of fat (either coconut oil or butter–whatever) to avoid having each muffin sit in a puddle of oil. If so, what measurements were used?
I know I can replace some or all of the oil with applesauce, but I just want to know a ratio that someone has had success with.
When baking older recipes (that called for vegetable oil) I would substitute a 1:1 ratio with applesauce and it turned out fine. You could start with a 1/2 and 1/2 to make sure. But sine this recipe already calls for 1 cup of applesauce, you’d probably just have to test it out :)
These muffins are delicious!! I was thrilled I had all of the ingredients on hand and they were all organic. My kids loved them too, it was a definite winner! They were so moist and delicious with just the right amount of sweetness. My only regret is that I didn’t double the recipe – so I will be baking another batch tomorrow! :-)
I would love to make these but can’t have the wheat flour. Would gluten free all purpose flour work in lieu of the wheat flour??
In my experience, I have never been able swap a gluten-free flour for wheat flour at a 1:1 ratio. You would probably need to try some test batches. There are some websites that have “explanation posts” about swapping out for gluten-free baking.
I just made these with gluten free flour mix and I think they turned out wonderful!!
Just curious which one you used? I’ve got some Oat flour on hand and buckwheat flour I wanted to try, but never know what the ratio should be when replacing the wheat flour. Any thoughts, I’d be really appreciative!!:-)
Just made these…delish!
We (I) are trying to do away with processed foods…Your site is so helpful, thank you!
Just made these this morning and yummy!!!! I hope my picky 6 year old (and my skeptical hubby!!!) likes them as much as I do! :)
I used a 24-cup mini muffin tin and cut the time to 15 minutes and they turned out perfect! Yay!
Denise
My 4 year old daughter and I just made these. She is a pretty good eater and tries new things. My 7 year old son, on he other hand, is SUPER picky. We have all tried them and WOW! These muffins are SO good! I will be making these A LOT! Thank you!!
We made these and I added one more egg, 1/4 c. flax meal and 1/4 c. Trader Joe’s “Golden Berry Blend”. Can’t imagine them with out the berries; soooo yummy!! I am LOVING all the recipes on this sight and cooking healthy foods with my little ones!
Do you have the caloric or nutritional facts for this? Thanks!
Hello Carley. We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. Our focus is on helping people cut out processed foods while replacing those with real/whole foods. These posts help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/. ~Amy
My daughter cannot have honey can you give me a substitute suggestion? I have succanat could I use that? I realize this is sugar but I am not opposed to using a little.
I appreciate the help!
Hi Erin. You could use maple syrup. ~Amy
Thanks for this recipe! I swap carrots for all kinds of things and my son loves all of them!!!!
My 11-year-old girls made these this morning and ate two each. They were so hesitant to try them give the whole wheat flour and carrots but I’ve already gotten a request to make more. The last year or so, they have become very picky so food has been a challenge. Slowly, but surely, we’ll get them back on track.
My kids loved these! I pureed the carrot shreds so they didn’t even know that there were carrots in there. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for making them gluten free. I have recently found out I can’t have gluten and these smelled so good I wanted to make a version that I could eat. I am finding that most gluten free recipes do not follow a real food diet. :(
I made these tonight after recently finding this blog. I am just getting into real foods, so this blog is super helpful. My picky 4 year old did not like them at all, but my 2 year old, my husband, and myself loved them. They’re not quite sweet enough to be a dessert, but they’re awesome for breakfast. I followed the recipe, except for I added some chopped apples right into the mixture.
Finealy made something from this wonderful website! My muffins turned out great! I cooked them for the full 25mins. And they were perfectly moist. The true test will be when my son try’s one tomorrow :)
They were so much lighter than I would have expected for 100% whole wheat. Delicious, thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
I just made these last night after being up till 11pm reading your blog! haha…I have to say…they are amazing! Everyone is my family loved them including my 19 month old, 4 year old picky eater….5 and 6 year olds and my husband! Truly a great healthy alternative and something I will definitely be making regularly!
Thanks for the amazing recipe! Made these this weekend and my 8 year old LOVED them, and the picky husband (who doesn’t really like all my real-food “tests”) said they were good. My son loves taking them to school and called me the best cook ever! So, thanks for helping me the best and healthy cook ever!! haha.
Just made these and they’re amazing!!!! I added a grated zucchini as well! Super yummy and my 2 year old has just polished off 4 mini muffins! Lol. Thanks for sharing!
Muffins are baking as I type. Have never used “honey” in any of my muffin recipes, and have never had a recipe that didn’t call for white or brown sugar so this should be interesting. I’m a HUGE fan of whole wheat carrot or carrot cranberry muffins so am looking forward to munching down on one of these within the next 15 minutes or so. :) Will post results when they’re done. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Well, I’m back with my results and all I can say is…I give this recipe 2 thumbs up!!! What I particularly love about this muffin is that it’s not loaded down with tons of sugar like most recipes call for. I’m not a sweet junkie, so these just hit the spot and go very well with my black coffee. I have to be honest and admit that I didn’t have unsweetened applesauce so I used “sweetened” instead and they’re perfect and just the way I like my muffins.
Thanks for sharing your recipe Lisa!
Didn’t use an electric mixer and still came out great. Love these recipes! I try a new one every week. Thank you, and I can’t wait for the cookbook.
Has anyone tried these with less butter? This is a good whole wheat recipe but loaded with saturated fat.
When freezing and un- thawing what is suggested? Made this tonight and they are already a big hit!!! I used soy free butter so my son with allergies could eat as well and would imagine the taste being any different than normal. Thanks for the recipe ♥
Hi Kacie. Just defrost overnight in the fridge. ~Amy
Hi! I made these today with my 1 1/2 yr old. They are delicious! I am lazy and threw my carrots in my food processor to chop them up tiny instead of shredding. I also cooked them in a stoneware muffin pan, so I had to cook them about 5 minutes longer, but even my picky 5 yr old liked them. Has anyone tried substituting coconut oil for the butter in these?
Hi Becka. I’ve subbed with coconut oil. These are really delicious muffins with either. ~Amy
LOVE LOVE LOVE these muffins!! I made a batch of whole wheat chocolate chip muffins and these muffins at the same time…my kids (3 & 5) liked these better!! And me too! :) Thanks for the great recipe.
I made these this morning, and I subbed coconut oil for the butter- they were scrumptious! Oh, and I only had 1/2 c. of white whole wheat flour left, so I did use plain white flour. Oops.
We’re trying to get our kids to eat more real food, and these were perfect for our breakfast with a side of fruit. The kids LOVED them, and so did my husband and me. Thanks for a great recipe!
My kids liked them. I’m definitely used to sweeter things, but these are good as a snack. I’d like some more substance to them…will probably try again and add raisins and walnuts.
We made these today! I used coconut oil and made them into mini muffins. I made 24 of them and as soon as they came out of the oven my 3 yr old and 15mth old devoured half of them! My 15 mth old kept reaching on the counter to find them!! Needless to say they are delish!
I have made this recipe several times and love it, but was wondering if you know of anyone who has ever substituted zucchini for the carrots or maybe do 1/2 and 1/2 of each?
I am sure you could sub zucchini, I would just squeeze out as much water as possible so your muffins aren’t too moist. I actually made a double batch of these and the zucchini muffins from this site today. I like these so much better. Next time, I will make a double batch of this batter and at the end do 1/2 zucchini and 1/2 carrot.
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Ho Molly. We often substitute coconut oil for butter. ~Amy
What about regular oil like olive or canola? I don’t understand why coconut oil is all of a sudden good for you? I’ve always thought it was the most unhealthy. I’m seeing coconut oil more often but I thought it was very high in saturated fat. The muffins came out amazing! I used 1/2 a stick of butter and 1/2 cup oil. Would it work with ALL oil (not coconut)?
Hi again. Olive oil is fine but we do not recommend canola. Here is more information: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/14/mini-pledge-week-10-no-refined-oils/. Also, here is a detailed post on coconut oil: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/coconut-oil/. ~Amy
I was out of honey, so I poured about 2 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses into the 1/2 cup measuring cup and filled the rest with pure maple syrup. Delicious!
What do you freeze them in and how long will they last in the freezer?
Hi Stephanie. These rarely last long enough in my home to make it to the freezer! When they do, I either use an airtight plastic container or a zipper freezer bag. I prefer the freezer bags as you can get most of the air out which helps to prevent freezer burn. They should be okay up to three months or so. ~Amy
I made these today (this is the second time). I followed the recipe and used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white whole wheat. And they’re horribly dry. I folded in the applesauce and carrots at the end per the instructions, but the dough is so thick already. Would adding the applesauce to the wet ingredients alter the outcome? Everyone is posting that they’re so moist – not mine!
Hi Erin. Yes, these do typically come out very moist. I’m not sure what might have gone wrong. Mixing in the applesauce with the wet ingredients should not have made that big of difference but try folding in the applesauce at the end and see if that helps. ~Amy
I made these and they are delicious!!! They were super soft though! I’m not sure if this was because I used soft white wheat instead of hard. Are they typically super moist and soft and hard to hold? Again…they are very yummy despite!!
Hello Amanda. They are very moist but shouldn’t be falling apart. :) ~Amy
To be honest, I wasn’t that thrilled with these straight out of the oven. But I wasn’t going to waste good ingredients, so I froze a bunch anyway. Well lo and behold, I think they’re AMAZING thawed out! The top gets kind of gooey and and super moist. Now it’s one of my favorite work snacks! They thaw out by 10am without fail. Yum!
Is this really calling for 1/2 cup of honey? It just sounded like a lot. Thank you!
Hi Pam. Yes it does and they are really good muffins! :) Other readers have made them with less with no complaints. ~Amy
Ok, I actually just made these with 1/2 the amount of honey and they are OUTSTANDING!
Holy wow. These muffins are spectacular! I read in the comments not to put in all the honey, but I though i’d like a really sweet muffin. My advice: definitely put in less honey. They were a tad too sweet, other than that-great! I also halved the ginger and substituted 1/2c whole wheat for almond flour. Can’t wait to eat them for breakfast this week!
Do you think I could substitute coconut oil, coconut butter, or shortening for the butter in these? We don’t have a safe butter for DD, but these look like something she would enjoy.
Hi Joslyn,
I haven’t made these particular muffins with coconut oil, but I typically sub coconut oil for butter in my muffin recipes (breastfeeding a cow’s milk allergic baby…) and they work just fine. I say give it a go!
Hi Joslyn. I have subbed with coconut oil in this recipe and it will work just fine. :) ~Amy
So good! Just made these and my 6 year old loved them! I used about half the honey, substituted half the butter with coconut oil (I love coconut flavor), and threw in some chia seeds. I will definitely be making these again!
I made these for my family – my three PICKY kids and husband gobbled them up!!! I will be making a double batch next :) I did sub coconut oil for the butter and they were super moist and delicious…thanks for the recipe! It’s a keeper!
Hi there! My family LOVES these muffins!! What type of wheat berries are you grinding for them? I have been using ground whole wheat flour, but am ready to try grinding my own wheat, and am not sure which variety of berries will be best for these muffins, or for bread. Thanks for the great recipe and info!!
Hi Kari. Lisa didn’t grind berries for this recipe. Here is her post on when she has done so: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/07/05/grinding-your-own-wheat-is-not-crazy-after-all-including-video/. ~Amy
Been wanting to try this recipe for aaaages. Finally made your applesauce the other day and the muffins are currently on the cooling rack out of the oven. I think next time i may try less honey but just to be good, they taste scrummy this way too :) thank you!
Good recipe! I have baked them with my son (2y) twice already. I cut the ingredients in half (except for the egg), since I only wanted to make 6. First batch came too sweet for our taste (1/4c honey). Second time, I reduced the amount of honey to +- 2 tablespoon of honey, for a sweet touch, and increased the applesauce to about 1 cup. Sort of substituting one for the other. I thought they might come out too moist, but they came out ok. My kid loves them and I’m happy to have snack on them ;)
I made these and the whole-wheat muffins with blueberries today for my daughter’s lunches. They are DELICIOUS!So moist and great flavor – I’d never guess they were healthy:) I hope they are just as good after freezing. Thank you for the great recipes and the great ideas for my daughter’s lunches
Hi I was wondering if I could purée the carrot, and if I did would I have to adjust the other ingredients?
Hi Catherine. While we haven’t done that, I think it will work fine with no adjustments needed. ~Amy
Hello! I have a question – I’ve noticed that in this (and many many many other) recipe you use Honey.
I am allergic to honey…hives, fever, itching, BAD! What can I use in place of honey?? I recently had a reaction to something I ate (sadly, I still have not found out what it was) and starting to make the conscious effort to go REAL FOOD….I am tired of NOT knowing what is in what my family and I eat. Thanks for listening…
Megan
Hi Megan. We often replace honey with maple syrup. We also understand that people with allergies have to make adaptations. ~Amy
Great recipe! The muffins came out so moist and fluffy, which was surprising to me, since it used whole wheat flour! The taste is mildly sweet, but not overpowering. I really loved the taste that the applesauce gave the muffins, so I peeled and chopped up a granny smith apple and mixed it in with this week’s batch. So good!
I’ve also frozen these, then thawed them afterward for consumption. You don’t lose any of the texture quality from doing this.
One thing to note: my muffins didn’t rise an awful lot. I say this, because normally I only fill my muffin cups 2/3 full to allow for the batter to rise, and to prevent overflowing muffin tops. When I did the same with these muffins, none of mine even reached the tip of the liners. It’s not really a big deal, just something you may want to note when you’re pouring the batter, depending on the muffin size you want.
I’m somewhat cursing the fact that I ever stumbled across this recipe..the first time I made then they were perfect and I thought this recipe was a keeper. The second time they were so wet and collapsed I was convinced I had done something wrong. The third time they were wet and sunken again. Then I thought maybe it was because I was using homemade apple sauce from eating apples with a higher water content so the fourth time I made then I made sure I reduced my apple sauce so it was really thick. Anyway, they were really wet again. I’ve no idea what I did to make them so great the first time and I’m annoyed that I can’t seem to replicate it. IF I make them again I’m either going to reduce the honey and applesauce or use brown sugar instead of the honey apnd cream the butter and sugar together at the beginning. But I think I’ve spent too much energy (and money!) to risk a fifth attempt.
I made these yesterday for my girls and they were a hit!! Even my oldest who is very picky ate them! I ended up steaming and pureeing the carrots then because I was out of eggs used a flaxseed replacer and yum!!
Thank you for this great recipe! I will be making these a lot:)
I made these with GF flour blend & a little xanthan gum, they were very yummy! Couldn’t hardly tell they were gluten free. I sub’d the flour 1:1, was perfect!
These muffins are great. The second time we made them we added a couple handfuls of raisins and they were equally great! My 6 yr old likes them even better with raisins . Thanks for the recipe!
We made these on Monday. They tasted great, but by Wednesday morning they had green spots on them. Do they need to be refrigerated? Has anyone else had this happen?
Hi Danielle. This might help answer your question: http://www.nigella.com/kitchen-queries/view/Carrots-Turning-Green-in-Carrot-Muffins/2582. ~Amy
I just made these and they turned out PERFECTLY. Soooo moist and fluffy! I substituted organic coconut oil in place of the butter and it worked wonderfully! Thank you for the great recipe!
Tried these muffins tonight,they are absolutely amazing! :))
I just made these for my son’s preschool class – they were a HUGE hit! I’m so happy to make healthy snacks that actually taste good (and have some veggies in them for my super-picky 3-year-old!) – thanks for the recipe!!
Giving them a try this week. Pregnant and need healthy small snacks around :)
Just made these for an after school snack and they were a hit! My husband and two daughters all ate 2 each! They were so moist and I thought the sweetness was perfect. I made it exactly as the recipe said. Thanks for all your great, healthy, recipes!
Made these today for my girls and they loved them!!!! Even my very very very picky six year old.
I made these this morning, and my husband ate three! We both loved them, and I’m considering using the recipe for my son’s first birthday cake.
This was a great recipe. Just tried it with the kids and wife…everyone loved them! By the way, thanks for all your recipes & articles. I’ve been following you since April ’13 and have lost 30 lbs, reduced my cholesterol considerably, and feel great!
These are ABSOLUTELY delicious!!! To make them gluten-free, I made them with GF oat flour. They turned out a little bit crumbly, probably because of the oat flour, but they were still very moist and delicious! I think I’ve made 4 batches in the past 2 weeks because my family loves them so much. Did 1/2 butter, 1/2 coconut oil and lowered the honey to 1/4 cup. They are perfect..thank you for the recipe!
Rarely do I get a recipe that does not need tweaking – this one is the exception. Not only does it really, truthfully yield 12 muffins (instead of 10, or 11, or 14) but they also bake up wonderfully and taste delicious! Moist and sweet and my kids loved them. Finally I have a healthy muffin recipe that does not require fancy ingredients or involved steps. Thank you so much!
These were really good! Better than i expected. I used brown rice flour instead of whole wheat. I also didn’t have ginger powder so i used a larger amount of real minced ginger in a jar. These were really moist, almost too much to the point of mushiness, but i didn’t mind. It might have been due to my substitutes. Still really good, i would make it again.
I’m typically no a fan of whole wheat flour (especially for baking!), but thought I’d give this easy recipe a go because it looked like a healthy option to my otherwise fatty cake-muffin recipe.
I added a cup of golden raisins (soaked in boiling water for about 30 min prior), and they blended in easily with the carrots and apple sauce. They didn’t alter the texture.
The recipe made 12 generous muffins.
They surprisingly rose quite high, and look incredible after baking for 24 min.
Definitely a new fav!
Can’t wait to try more of you’re recipes :)
Ps. Why aren’t you on Instragram?! I took a pic of the completed muffins and would love to share!
These are absolutely amazing!! Thank you!
Instead of honey I used agave, and I skipped the carrots. I also used 1/2 the butter and for the other 1/2 I used coconut oil. So moist and delicious! Just awesome!
I’ve been looking for a whole wheat recipe for muffins for a long time and this is IT!
Oops forgot to rate the recipe. So yummyy!! :D
Could I sub coconut oil for all of the butter in this recipe?
Hello there. Yes, that will work. ~Amy
Any suggestions for butter replacement to make it dairy free?
Coconut oil. :)
Yummy! Made these tonight and they were delish!
Forgot the rating. :)
These are sooo good! I used maple syrup instead of honey, and my kids STILL lived them even after realizing the “little orange things” were carrots :-) I have also added maple cream cheese frosting to them before for a special occasion, which is fabulous! Picky kid approved!
Just saw this post after asking about maple syrup, thanks for sharing :)
I wonder if anyone has used maple syrup of coconut sugar instead of honey, if so, how did it turn out?
Oh, and they are yummy.
Made these twice this week! Huge hit with my daycare kids! I made mini muffins and cooked them for a couple minutes less.
Should these be stored in the fridge? I made some last weekend and the next day I opened the container and they were all ready starting to mold. I didn’t know if it was because of the carrots? Any thoughts.
Hi Tiffany. Did you let them cool completely before sealing them in a container? Also, carrots can react with baking soda and turn a little green. Could that have been the issue? I typically put these in the freezer to keep them fresh. ~Amy
I had the same problem. We all loved them but by the next evening the carrots had turned moldy. The kids asked if these muffins had zucchini in them! And it was definitely the carrots — wonder if it had anything to do with using the shredded / matchstick ones instead of grating fresh? Next time into the fridge (or freezer!) they will go. Or we just might have to eat them faster :)
Muffins were delicious! Anyone know the calories in one?
Hello Kristy. We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. Our focus is on helping people cut out processed food while replacing them with real/whole foods. These posts help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/. There are many tools available on line to calculate those details if you need them. ~Amy
My daughter is allergic to Dairy, Egg, Peanut and Flax. What would you recommend for me to use in place of the egg. I do have Egg Replacer but I don’t like to use it too often. I plan on substituting coconut oil for butter too. Thanks for all of the great information. It is really overwhelming having a child with so many food allergies.
Hi there. Many readers use chia as egg substitutes: http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-make-egg-substitute-chia-seeds/. ~Amy
First, your blog is the best. Second, these muffins are the best. I like to make muffins on Sundays to have for lunches during the week and according to my 8yo (and me) “these rule”. I didn’t feel like dragging out the beaters so mixed the batter by hand but it didn’t matter; they were big and beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Love these muffins… make them a couple times a month. Super moist:) I haven’t freezed them yet, b/c they get eaten too quickly.
I actually add over a cup of shredded carrots (more than the recipe calls for) and they are delicious.
In the last batch I made I used half shredded zucchini and half shredded carrots. They were even more moist… I think b/c the zucchini has more water in it? Note sure but another way to get some veggies in:)
Thanks for the recipe! Love these
I really never post comments but I couldn’t resist today – these muffins are truly fantastically delicious! Thank you so much for all of the awesome ideas and recipes — pulled pork on deck! YUM!
My daughter cannot have honey. Is there a replacement we could use?
100% pure maple syrup
Amazing! I added pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, raisins and unsweetened shredded coconut….Yum!!!
Also, I used raw coconut nectar instead of honey, just to try it out and it was a great substitute! Coconut oil instead of butter may be good too!
Lisa, thank you for another simple and delicious muffin recipe. My 3 year olds love to ‘help’ me bake and cook, and they loved these muffins – especially after making them with me. My picky husband enjoyed them as well. They are so moist and have just enough sweetness to them. We are excited to have another addition to our breakfast muffins! The only thing that made me mad was I didn’t double the recipe when making them, but luckily they are so easy to make, we can whip up another batch in no time. 😊
My family and only eat clean so finding good “treat” recipes that are delicious has been a challenge. I found your banana nut muffin recipe and it was so good I had to try this one. I use coconut oil instead of butter because my son has ADHD and it still comes out perfect. I make muffins for breakfast every Monday and they don’t make it past noon with my family of four. Last week I gave some of the banana but muffins to my junk food junkie diabetic friend and she raved about them all day. I had to double this recipe, but I was short a cup of apple sauce so I had to used crushed pineapples. I will let y’all know how they turned out. We were hooked on the banana but for months, but pumpkin is next.
I want to thank you for providing such delicious recipes and teaching me how to adapt them to different flavors. My husband and I have always tried to eat this way so I was thrilled to come across your site accidentally 4 years ago. I visit it almost every day and I send friends to it all the time.
I have raised my boys (1 and 3) on your recipes as well as The Fresh 20 (which I found through this site). I teach middle school and see so many bad habits so I am determined to teach my kids to enjoy whole foods. I am lucky in that they love to eat and will eat anything I put in front of them.
I love your muffins but find that we enjoy the recipes you provide with butter more than the ones with oil. My boys love raisins so I made this with pumpkin in place of the applesauce and raisins in place of the carrots. They were a big hit! I live in Denver so the recipes took a bit of tweaking to make them work at altitude but I have found a good conversion.
Can you sub out the wheat flour for cocunut flour or rice flour? (For gluten intolerance)
Hi Ashleigh. We haven’t converted our recipes to gluten free versions. It certainly can be done but it would require a combination of flours and I’m not sure what that would be. This a great gf resource: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/. ~Amy
These. Are. Fantastic. Best part, even my husband likes them…which never happens. I gave him one…he asked for another. I will baking these often. Looking forward to trying variations.
I use 1 Apple and 1 banana I also add flaxseed instead of an egg..100% stone ground whole wheat flour and I add some all spice and a squeeze of lemon..Also cranberries or blueberries seems to sweeten them up.
I’ve found that we do not like the taste of honey or maple syrup in our baked goods. What would be a good substitute?
Hi Donna. While it is not a sweetener Lisa would typically use, I think the most similar option would be molasses. ~Amy
Hi Lisa!
These muffins looks delicious. I would like to make mini versions for my little one. Can you please how baking time varies if I to make miniature muffins. Also, tips to freeze leftover muffins.
Thanks
Hello Hira. It depends on the muffin. For these, I would start checking them after 12-13 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. You might want to do a test run of a couple to get the time just right. You can freeze them in an airtight container. I prefer to put muffins in freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. ~Amy
Do you have nutritional information on these? If not do you know of a website that does and is best to use?
Hi Brooke. We do not. Many of our readers seem to use My Fitness Pal when calculating nutrition facts. ~Amy
Hi,
Can you use coconut oil instead of butter?
Thanks,
Julie
You can. :)
Hi,
Can you replace the butter with coconut oil? If so, what’s the exchange? Also, how would adding either flax or chia seeds affect the outcome?
Thanks,
Julie
Hi Julie. It is a 1:1 exchange. Flax and chia both can change the texture a bit. They work as binders when combined with liquid so the result might be a little sponge-y. :) ~Amy
Is it doable to sub carrot juice? If so, how would you adjust the liquid measurements?
Hi Gale. We have never tried that so I am uncertain as to how it might turn out if you add in that much more liquid. Sorry that I can’t be of more help. ~Amy
I love these muffins! I use 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt to reduce the fat and they still taste great. The second batch I added raisins and walnuts and some allspice, nutmeg and cloves and topped with cream cheese icing for healthy carrot cake muffins. Thanks for all of your great recipes!
These muffins are amazing! My 5 and 7 year old kids LOVE them and I love them so much I might make another batch just for me!
Divine… Favorite muffin recipe so far from Lisa. I used coconut oil instead of butter (1:1 substitution) and I mixed up with a fork added all wet to dry well ingredients. Came out perfect just came back to recipe to comment and make another batch :)
Oops forgot the salt thus time but u can’t even feel. Army 2yo and I were gobbling these up was wondering if sweet potato could work for this instead of carrots…. And idk if the coconut oil adds sweetness but a little less honey could work too. These are so good!!
*tell
I have made these twice in the last week. They are so delicious and make a great grab and go breakfast.
For those who count… recipe has 183 calories per muffin and 8 grams of fat. Delish muffin! Perfect snack. Thanks!!
Can you use fresh apples instead of apple sauce? If so how many would you use?
Hi there. I’ve used fresh apples that I threw in the food processor in the same amount as called for in the recipe. ~Amy
Yum! I used homemade chunky applesauce and real maple syrup instead of honey. They were delicious!
Deliciousness! Subbed in whole wheat pastry flour, coconut oil for the butter, and flax seed meal for the egg. Super moist, yummy goodness.
These muffins were great, but to make them a little healthier next time, I would cut the butter to 1/3 cup, and maybe the honey, too. I added walnuts and raisins also.
I made these the other day and had them in a sealed Tupperware on the counter. The next day, a lot of the carrots had turned green. Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas how to prevent this?
Hi Kathy. It is likely the way the carrots react to the baking soda that is tuning them green. I’ve now had it happen, too. They still taste as yummy. :) ~Amy
I whipped these up today for the kids I nanny for and they were a hit. These are sooo delicious and moist! No one flavor overpowers another. I cut the cinnamon in half since I only had cinnamon applesauce on hand and it was great! I will be making these for myself at home! Thank you for sharing!
I give this recipe 5 stars but it isn’t allowing me so rate it on my phone.
These are sooooo good! I’m going to try and save some for the kids.
A++++ – just made these for my sons last day of school tomorrow & they’re great!! I added the multi-colored carrots from our CSA!!
Delicious! My toddler loved them too! It’s my new favorite muffin.
kids loved them
These are great! They don’t last one day in my home. I sent them to both of my boys’ schools as a treat and both teachers asked me for the recipe. :)
Fantastic fluffy muffins! My boys loved them!!
What are the Calories???? I love it for me , but will add a little bit of cane brown sugar for my hubby or kids.
Hello Maria. We don’t focus on calories…just on eating real food. There are lots of tools available online to calculate details for you. ~Amy
And always make sure it’s 100% organic (some companies
load their superfood up with Niacin and other
non-organic components — go for the organic green superfood and avoid
the Niacin hangover). When our body p – H ( becomes more and more acidic it
starts to set up defense mechanisms to keep the damaging acid from entering our
vital organs. You need to have a number of superfoods
in your diet daily.
I made these today…big hit with me and my toddler! I may have put some frosting on them. I know that’s not very “real food” of me, but moderation, right? I put a link to this on my blog. I hope you don’t mind.
These are great! We all love them especially my 2 1/2 year old :) Could i substitute zucchine for the carrots?
Hi Crissy. I think you should try it and let us know how it works. :) As an alternative, we do have a zucchini bread recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/06/25/recipe-zucchini-bread/. ~Amy
Made these today with my 2.5 year old son. He is a fairly picky eater, but he inhaled three of these muffins before they could even cool. I loved them too. Will definitely make them again!
I just made this with the leftover pulp from a carrot/apple juice we made. I also substituted a very ripe banana for the applesauce because I wanted to use it up, everything else was the same. The muffins came out sooo good and moist. My kids love them. I will definitely make these again to use juicing pulp.
Can I use white whole wheat flour? In general, for your recipes can I make that substitution if needed (based on what I have on hand).
Thanks!
Hi Katie. Yep, you can. :) ~Amy
I loved these being fluffy but they just crumbled in my toddlers’ hands and they didn’t like that so much. Is there anyway to make these a little more dense?
Hi Rachel. You might try adding a bit of yogurt to your batter. ~Amy
These are so good! My 3 year old and 21 month old loved them! I was out of butter so I used coconut oil and they are so good. They were heavy weight wise but light and fluffy, and so filling. I think I will add even more finely shredded veggies next time! Thank you!
Does it matter what type of yogurt you add?
Hi Allie. We usually choose a full fat plain yogurt. ~Amy
Could I subsitute the whole wheat flour for oat flour? If so, would it be the same amount?
Hi Marcy. It should work with the same measurements but we’ve not used oat flour for this. This might help as a reference: http://www.livestrong.com/article/557742-baking-with-oat-flour-vs-wheat-flour/. ~Amy
These were amazing! My 18 month olds devoured these! I followed the recipe as is and it was perfect!
I love these! We add raisins, and when all my littles get enough teeth, we’ll probably add pecans. My 3yo is very much about routines (aren’t they all) and I was so surprised that he loved them in place of his normal pb&j waffles. I also add a little cloves.
Hello,
I would like to try making these muffins but before I do I would REALLY LIKE THE *NUTRITION INFORMATION* is it posted somewhere and I’m just not finding it?
Thank you :)
Hi Ashley. We do not provide nutrition information. Our focus is on helping people get off the processed stuff and eat real whole foods, not so much on numbers. There are online tools that will calculate all those details for you, however. ~Amy
I just made these. I used about 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup applesauce in place of the butter (my 11 month old is MSPI) and maple syrup instead of honey and they are amazing! I ate 2 already. I am planning on making these for my son’s birthday cake. I can’t wait for him to try them in the morning (if I don’t eat them all!) :)
What if I accidentally added the carrots and the applesauce in with the egg and butter?
Hi Sarah. We can rarely answer recipe questions in real time. Did it turn out okay. My guess would be yes. ;)
I got carried away and added the applesauce in the wet ingredients too and it came out just fine
Sarah- I did it completely wrong too. And I soaked my freshly ground flour in buttermilk over night. HA! They still turned out great. :)
Thanks for the recipe!
These were so soft and moist! I usually have to reduce the amount of sugar or sweetener used in a recipe because our family doesn’t like things too sweet, but these turned out to be just perfect without any adjustments. I didn’t have any apple sauce on hand, so I pureed one apple instead. I also increased the carrots to 1 and 1/2 cups and sprinkled walnuts on top. They turned out great! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I made these last week and my 7 year old refused to try them because “he hates cooked carrots.” He finally broke down and tasted them and now LOVES them. We will definitely be including these in our school lunch rotation. Thanks!
I figured Amy. I am new to baking. They were wonderful! This is my favorite website on the internet! My family loves the food. I love the tips and ideas.
Can I replace the carrot shreds for coconut flakes???
Hello Viviana. We’ve not tried that but I would think that it might not work out well because of the difference in moisture content. ~Amy
This is now my favorite muffin recipe!!! I ran out of honey before I filled my half a cup, I added a little maple syrup (still did not fill the 1/2 cup tho) and they still turned out great!
Is honey and maple syrup inter-changeable? Can I substitute regular refined (table) sugar equally for honey or maple syrup?
Hi Cora. You can sub honey and maple syrup pretty much interchangeably though their consistencies are a bit different. You cannot, however, substitute a dry ingredient like sugar 1:1. ~Amy
Hi Amy!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I’ve started using whole wheat flour this past week as part of having the family eat more healthy. This is an amazing carrot muffin recipe! I made it as directed and it came out so well! Hubby has taken three to work this morning and my one year old devoured it in one sitting :) Thank you once again and here’s to many more delicious recipes to come! Cheers!
Hi, these look fantastic! How do you make applesauce? It’s not a common ingredient here in England. Also have you ever considered writing your ingredients in other ways, I.e in UK we use lbs/ozs or grams and its really hard to convert to cups! Icups aren’t really used here.
Hi there. Here is Lisa’s super easy recipe as well as a chart that will be helpful: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/09/08/recipe-easy-peasy-applesauce/ and http://thebakingpan.com/measurements-and-weight-conversions/. ~Amy
I just wanted to give a quick thanks for this recipe! We have two year old twins and (sorry to say) we’re not a super health conscious family yet but trying to take baby steps to improve. We’re going on vacation next week and I was looking for a recipe to bake up some easy breakfast muffins to take along. I was searching for applesauce as I had it on hand and figured it was easier than chopping fruits. I got so lucky to fall upon this recipe! We had everything on hand (even including the whole wheat flour and pre-shredded carrots) and it was a breeze to whip up. The true joy? My two year olds LOVED them and kept saying “mmmm mmmm.” Five stars all around!
This recipe is beyond delicious!!! My husband whined while I was preparing “morning glory muffins”. And I thought, oh raisins would be so tasty in these muffins. I was right and since my 2 year old twins love “rais” I can’t wait to pack these in their lunch box tomorrow! Thank you so much for another nutritious, family friendly recipe. This will definitely be part of our rotation! (And although hubby might not be keen on these he loves the blueberry muffins :-)!
Lisa! The kids DEVOURED these! I was able to sneak one, one- and I had to sneak it. They loved these and I loved how wholesome they are (well, were). We are off to the store to buy more carrots, because they want to bake another batch! We tried substituting 1/2 cup of coconut flour for whole wheat, and using coconut oil instead of butter (BJ’s had a sale on both) – so delicious! Thank you again for creating this REAL FOOD muffin.
Just wanted to let you know I made these for my 3yo and 1yo and both really liked them! I made them into mini muffins. I simply baked them at 350 for 15 minutes. Thank you!
I just made these, but I didn’t have any honey so I used half as much molasses instead and crossed my fingers for the best LOL! They turned out amazing!!! My 8 year old son just ate 2 in a row and said they were delicious! Thanks for the awesome recipe! :)
I just made this as a cake (from your cookbook). The cake turned out wonderfully, but the cream cheese frosting curdled! :( I followed directions, but have you ever had this happen? It didn’t whip very long before beginning to curdle, if that helps. I would love to try the frosting again and be successful!! :) Thanks in advance.
Hi Mandy. Room temp cream cheese is less likely to curdle when you whip it up. Could that have been it? ~Amy
Simply Amazing!!!!!!
Hello,
We have always been a health conscious family but just recently i decide to switch us to only eating REAL food and starting to make everything from scratch instead. I was wondering what you do to save time? I prefer to make things in big batches and then freeze if possible. This works well with our bread and pancakes etc. Can I do this with the muffins or do they thaw out too soggy? I would hate to freeze a whole batch to find out it doesn’t work! Thanks!
Hi Rachael. Lisa cooks and freezes regularly as well as uses leftovers. These muffins freeze well. They are very moist and moist when thawed but not soggy. ~Amy
Can molasses or turbinado be substituted for the honey?
Hi Robyn. We’ve not tried those substitutions. We pretty much stick to honey and maple syrup. ~Amy
Can a flax or chia egg be used?