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These carrot applesauce muffins are made with whole wheat flour and other real food ingredients. This recipe is a huge hit with the kids; they taste just like carrot cake!
Featured Comment
This was a HUGE hit with all three of my kids! Thank you for this recipe. It is in regular rotation and gets rave reviews every time!
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 (not recommended younger than 1 year old), then 100% pure maple syrup would work just fine as a substitute.
Are Muffins Made with Carrot and Apple Healthy?
Healthy can mean different things to different people. Since these carrot muffins are made with whole wheat flour and honey instead of sugar, they’re definitely a lot healthier than most muffin recipes.
Feel free to make your own applesauce! Read up on the types of apples.
The carrot and applesauce add a sweet flavor, but they’re also nutritious, too! These Sweet Potato Muffins are another healthy option.
Why Carrot is Great in Muffins
If you’re a fan of carrot cake you probably already know how delicious carrots can be as a baking ingredient. Naturally sweet, carrots help soften (and sweeten) anything they’re baked into. And, while it’s not the same as a complete healthy meal, it’s always nice when you can add a few extra veggies into what we eat.
How to Make This Homemade Carrot Muffin Recipe
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your muffin pans.
- While the oven heats, whisk together the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt).
- In a separate bowl (I use an electric mixer), beat the softened butter, honey, egg, and vanilla on medium speed.
- Set mixer to low, then slowly beat in the flour mixture.
- Fold in the applesauce and shredded carrots.
- Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups a bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick pressed into the center comes out clean.
Can You Freeze These Muffins?
Absolutely! All my muffin recipes freeze well, including these carrot muffins. To freeze, simply cool completely then place in an airtight container. Muffins keep in the freezer for up to three months.
To thaw, warm up on the counter overnight or microwave for about 30 to 60 seconds. You can also put frozen muffins right into kids’ lunches and they should be thawed by the time they’re ready to eat!
Tips for Shredding Carrots
- You’ll need to peel your carrots before shredding them; carrot peels can sometimes make carrot muffins taste bitter.
- The easiest way to shred carrots is with a box style cheese grater, preferably using the smaller size holes.
- Some food processors can also shred carrots.
Can This Recipe Be Doubled?
Yes, but sometimes muffins can bake differently when the recipe is doubled, depending on your oven. If you run into issues, I’d recommend baking one tray of muffins at a time, which is better for even baking anyway!
Will This Recipe Work for Mini Muffins or a Loaf?
You can definitely make muffin muffins instead of full-sized ones, just adjust the cooking time to about 12-14 minutes so they don’t overbake.
We haven’t had the chance to try this recipe in a loaf pan or as a cake yet, but if you do let us know how it turns out in the comments!
Make Carrot Cake Muffins for Dessert
This recipe already uses carrot cake spices and ingredients—they’re basically carrot cake muffins! But if you want to turn these muffins into an easy real food dessert, simply add frosting.
Carrot cake is normally topped with cream cheese frosting, but that’s loaded with powdered sugar. Instead, make a cream cheese glaze by mixing 8 oz of softened cream cheese, ¼ cup of honey, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla.
Check out these Baked Apples too!
Whole-Wheat Carrot Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
- ½ teaspoon ginger (ground)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter (softened (but not melted), 1 stick)
- ½ cup honey
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
- ¾ cup carrot (shredded)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper, foil, or silicone liners, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- 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.
- 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!
Catherine says
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 :)
Jennifer says
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!
Heather says
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!
Gale says
Is it doable to sub carrot juice? If so, how would you adjust the liquid measurements?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
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
julie says
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
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
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
julie says
Hi,
Can you use coconut oil instead of butter?
Thanks,
Julie
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
You can. :)
Brooke says
Do you have nutritional information on these? If not do you know of a website that does and is best to use?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Brooke. We do not. Many of our readers seem to use My Fitness Pal when calculating nutrition facts. ~Amy
Hiral says
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
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
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
Donna says
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?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Donna. While it is not a sweetener Lisa would typically use, I think the most similar option would be molasses. ~Amy
Gitta says
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.
Sarah says
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.
Ashleigh says
Can you sub out the wheat flour for cocunut flour or rice flour? (For gluten intolerance)
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
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
Kirsten Ryerson says
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.
Heidi says
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.
Jamie says
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. 😊
Christine says
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!
Christine says
Amazing! I added pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, raisins and unsweetened shredded coconut….Yum!!!
Meg says
My daughter cannot have honey. Is there a replacement we could use?
Tanya says
100% pure maple syrup
Sabreena Evans says
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!
Robin says
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
Kristen says
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!
Allergy Mom says
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.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi there. Many readers use chia as egg substitutes: http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-make-egg-substitute-chia-seeds/. ~Amy
kristy says
Muffins were delicious! Anyone know the calories in one?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
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
Tiffany Boyd says
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.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
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
Gene says
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 :)
Sarah says
Made these twice this week! Huge hit with my daycare kids! I made mini muffins and cooked them for a couple minutes less.
Sylvie says
Oh, and they are yummy.
Sylvie says
I wonder if anyone has used maple syrup of coconut sugar instead of honey, if so, how did it turn out?
Rachel says
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!
Sylvie says
Just saw this post after asking about maple syrup, thanks for sharing :)
Emmy says
Forgot the rating. :)
Emmy says
Yummy! Made these tonight and they were delish!
Shana says
Any suggestions for butter replacement to make it dairy free?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Coconut oil. :)
Rebekah Wilkie says
Could I sub coconut oil for all of the butter in this recipe?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello there. Yes, that will work. ~Amy
Teddy says
Oops forgot to rate the recipe. So yummyy!! :D
Teddy says
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!
Lindsay says
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!
liv says
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.
Claudia says
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!
Tricia says
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!
Chuck says
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!
Kristen says
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.