Moist and fluffy carrot muffins made healthy with whole wheat flour, applesauce, and honey. They are amazingly delicious you would never know they are “healthy” and contain NO SUGAR!
I’ve finally hit the jackpot on this one. These “healthy” muffins will convert anyone into a healthy eater. They’re so unbelievably good you would never know they’re healthy. They’re everything you want in a muffin and more. They’re moist, fluffy, and packed full of flavor.
To make them healthy I used whole wheat flour, applesauce, and honey. I added a few tablespoons of butter to make them super moist. If you’re not a fan of butter, olive oil will work well too! I’ve simplified the process and made this recipe a one bowl recipe. First, you will need to simply whisk all the wet ingredients then stir in the wet ingredients. Lastly, stir in the shredded carrots and 1/2 cup of your favorite add-ins. I used chocolate chips of raisins and walnuts are also great in these muffins!
Healthy Moist Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons melted butter, or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup finely shredded carrots, about 2-3 medium carrots
- 1/2 cup of your favorite mix-ins, chocolate chips, raisins, or walnuts, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with butter, oil or cooking spray.
- In a large bowl whisk the egg, applesauce, honey, butter, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir ingredients together until just combined and there are still some spots of flour remaining.
- Fold in the shredded carrots and 1/2 cup of your favorite add-ins. Mix just until combined (don’t overmix).
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. To store, cover with plastic wrap at room temperature for u to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
They seem super moist waiting for my 5yr old to taste test after school. Only substitution was I used my homemade pumpkin spice mix in place of just cinnamon. And I used my finest rasper so the carrot was almost like a gritty baby food.
Very moist, I loved the healthy ingredients. Unfortunately couldn’t get my kids to eat because they could see the carrot shreds :/ I might need to puree the carrot next time…
Thank you so much for an easy starter recipe. I used your outline here to make lower carb muffins.
-Omitted the applesauce in exchange for 1.5 cups of sugar free maple syrup and 6 tablespoons of olive oil
-Omitted the whole wheat flour for 1 cup of low carb flour blend, 1/4 cup of oat fiber, 1/2 cup of rolled oats and 1/4 cup psyllium husk powder
-Added 1/2 cup of brown sugar swerve
-Added 10-20 drops of liquid sweetener
-Added 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk since the oat fiber and oats soaked up all the moisture
My add-ins were sugar free chocolate chips. The end result is sooooooooooo yummy. I’m not usually a muffin person but these are just excellent. Some would say this is a different recipe, but it’s quite hard to find oatmeal choc chip carrot muffins, and yours came the closest to what I’m looking for!
I tried and I got approval from the most hard-to-please kid in the family . It’s such an achievement ๐ thank you.
I chose to use extra virgin olive oil it s the only thing we have.
These were delicious! Used blended rolled oats instead of flour and maple syrup instead of honey. Everyone really enjoyed these!
Can I make the batter ahead and bake them the next day? Iโm not sure if that will ruin the texture?
Can I use regular, white flour for these?
Yes, that will work!
I see lots of people asking about the nutritional content but I donโt see the answer. Has anybody done the math on calories etc.?
Sorry about that, Sandy! I just added the info ๐
I have been using your whole wheat flour banana bread recipe for years now. It is a hit in our household. Thank you for sharing it.
I had been hoping to find a carrot cake recipe similar to your excellent banana bread recipe, after trying out some others from the internet.
Wish I had asked the stars for more! ๐
I am so glad I stumbled upon it and very sure that this is going to be another hit in our house.
One question please,
If I use a bread pan / round cake pan to bake the carrot cake, what changes do I need to incorporate?
Thank you so much!
So glad you are enjoying my recipes, Talvi! The only difference would be to bake them longer, at least 40 minutes and keep an eye on them after that point.
This looks really good! I only have regular apple sauce that isnโt unsweetened. Can I still use it? Would I have to leasen the amount of honey?
Can I freeze these?
So, here’s the crazy thing! I carefully followed the recipe, handgrating the carrots and setting them aside. I assembled the dry ingredients, prepared the wet, combined the two, adding walnuts and chocolate chips to finish. They looked great! I used my ice-cream scoop to place the mix into the muffin cups and placed the baking tray into the oven at the pre-heated 350F. It was only when I was cleaning up that I noticed that the carefully set aside carrots had not been added. Aaaaargh!!!
But you know what, they’re very good even without the carrots. I’ll make another batch later, and WILL add the carrots this time. If the base muffins taste this good, they can only be better with the star ingredient added. Duh!! Just thought I’d share. ยฏ\_(ใ)_/ยฏ
These are absolutely delicious! I love the carrot and chocolate chips combo! My kids love them too. Makes a great breakfast on the run or an anytime healthy snack. I will definitely be making these again. Thanks so much.
Super moist and delicious!
Great! i SUBSTITUTED THE EGG BY A FLAX EGG, THE HONEY BY MAPLE SYRUP and the butter by coconut oil TO MAKE IT VEGAN. the result was very good.
ANY OTHER SUBSTITUTE FOR APPLESAUCE?
Oil or butter can be substituted in the same amounts.
These were delicious! Used blended rolled oats instead of flour and maple syrup instead of honey. Everyone really enjoyed these!
I didn’t have any applesauce on hand and replaced with 1 large mashed banana. The muffins turned out moist and flavorful. I also used maple syrup instead of honey and added a 1/4 tsp of nutmug. I also added crushed walnuts in addition to semi sweet chocolate chips. These were great, not too sweet. Will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t have whole wheat flour. Can I substitute with teff, spelt or buckwheat flour? If so, do I need to adjust any of the other ingredients? Thanks!
I haven’t tried those substitutions so I can’t say but I would test with a small batch to be safe.
Thanks for the feedback and for stopping by! ๐
Whats The nutritional information for these? How many calories?
How many calories is one carrot muffin
I’m very eager to try this. They look delicious! But please please be aware that HONEY and applesauce contain plenty of natural sugar. Chocolate chips have sugar and milk.
Sorry, double “please” was a typo!
These muffins were very yummy! I will definitely be making these again!
Do you happen to know the nutritional value on these? Calorie count? Thank you!
Also, they were delish!! I added chia seeds for some extra goodness
I adapted this to gluten free by replacing the wheat fliur with half rice flour half buckwheat flour. It has come out very well so far – One of the first dairy free And gluten free cakes I have tried that is also moist. Let’s see how well they keep. Very impressed, thank you!
Your adaption sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed the muffins <3
I have been using your whole wheat flour banana bread recipe for years now. It is a hit in our household. Thank you for sharing it.
I had been hoping to find a carrot cake recipe similar to your excellent banana bread recipe, after trying out some others from the internet.
Wish I had asked the stars for more! ๐
I am so glad I stumbled upon it and very sure that this is going to be another hit in our house.
One question please,
If I use a bread pan / round cake pan to bake the carrot cake, what changes do I need to incorporate?
Thank you so much.
I liked the first batCh a lot – made to the recipe. For the second batch i cut the honey in half and liked them just as much. Fyi to the sugar couNters!
HEllo, thank you for this lovely recipe. Just wanted to check how much grams is in you cup, as I don’t use cups for measuring. Thank you ๐
Cups are volume measurement so unfortunately the grams would be different for every item as they are all of different density. If you have volume measurement available though a USA cup is 236 ml which is similar enough to a metric cup of 250 ml.
Made these tonight for my son (the picky eater) i didnt have chocolate chips so i ised the peanut butter chips i had on hand! He loved them and so did his dad (Score!)
Best carrot muffIn recipe. I have several recipes and always willing to try new ones. This will be my go to from now on. I usually cut Back on sUgar anyway but half cup of hOnEy is REASONABLE and healthy.
I’VE NEVER TRIED THE CARROT & CHOCOLATE COMBO. lOOKS DELICIOUS!
look so good. I can’t wait to bake them. thank for sharing.
wow!!! They look so delicious and yummy. Thanks for sharing this gorgeous recipe ๐