These carrot muffins are perfect for breakfast, snack time, or grabbing on the go with coffee. Shredded carrots and apple keep them moist, while cinnamon and raisins add just the right touch of warm sweetness.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Wholesome, mildly sweet flavor and moist texture in every bite.
- Difficulty: It’s a great beginner recipe for young cooks in the kitchen; they bake up in just a few steps.
- Technique: Combine wet and dry ingredients separately, then stir just until combined to keep the muffins light and moist.
- Serving Suggestion: With a touch of cinnamon and additions like sweet raisins, they’re perfect for breakfast or anytime snacking.
Ingredients
- Carrots and Apples: This recipe uses shredded carrots and shredded apples. Be sure to shred them finely so they blend evenly into the batter and make the muffins soft and flavorful.
- Dry Ingredients: Typical muffin ingredients like flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt hold the muffins together and produce a tender crumb.
- Wet Ingredients: Sugar, eggs, and oil help make these muffins moist. Use an oil (like vegetable oil) that has a mild flavor.
How to Make Carrot Muffins
- Combine Ingredients: Wet in one bowl, dry in another (full recipe below).
- Mix: Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in carrots, shredded apples, and raisins.
- Bake: Scoop batter into prepared tins and bake until golden.
Storage
Keep cooled muffins in a zippered bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To freeze, pop fully cooled muffins into a zippered bag, label the bag with the date, and freeze for up to 30 days.
Muffins and More…
Did you make these Carrot Muffins? Leave a comment and a rating below.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups shredded carrot
- 1 apple peeled and shredded
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Greased or line muffin tins.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Whisk sugar, oil, and eggs in a separate bowl.
- Stir wet mixture into dry mixture just until combined.
- Lightly fold in carrots, apples and raisins.
- Divide the mixture into prepared muffin tins.
- Bake for 25 to 29 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Muffins, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
These muffins are delicious! Made no subs, easy and delicious! My family really enjoyed them. I really recommend adding a little bit of turbinado or brown sugar on top as well for a crunch. Thanks so much for the recipe.
I have used this recipe several times and the muffins always come out really delicious. My husband and 3-year-old twins love them! My husband even said that the muffins are comparable to Mimi’s Cafe muffins. I do reduce the amount of sugar to just half a cup.
I am thinking of replacing the raisins with chocolate chips. I haven’t read all the reviews yet, so I don’t know if someone already did.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is now my go-to for carrot muffins.
You’re so welcome Suzette! Sounds delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. Now having said that, I have to tell the changes I made to your recipe. I had just juiced carrot apple juice for the morning, so I used the pulp in place of the shredded carrots and apple. I also used Cup for Cup gluten free flour and I replaced the sugar with coconut sugar. I made them into mini muffins and oh my they are delicious!
I added 3/4 cup of honey instead of sugar and 1 1/2 Cups of bran…delicious!
These were delicious, super soft and had a perfect dome on top. I made a few changes: used half white whole wheat flour, replaced half the oil with greek yogurt, and decreased the sugar by 1/4. I also used walnuts instead of raisins. Love how much carrot is packed into these. I didn’t notice a baking soda taste like other commenters have mentioned and they weren’t dry even with my substitutions – I could see them drying out fast if they’re overbaked, though. Excited to have these for breakfast all week!
Just made and tried these.. they are horrible..you can taste the baking soda .kind of bitter not alot of flavor…moving on to another carrot recipe
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy them as much as we do Ria. Thanks for trying the muffins.
Made these tonight, so light and moist. This is a keeper. I did have to make a change or 2 only due to not having items. I didn’t have any apples, so I used 3 tbl of applesauce. On the carrots, all I had was baby carrots and didn’t want loose skin grating these I put them in my mini chopper and chopped them fine. I also added 2 tbl of ground flax seed. All worked out great and so good. I will do the grated carrots and apples on the next batch to try. Thank you.
You’re welcome Sharon! Glad they turned out so well for you!
Super good muffins! I’m making them again and want to double the recipe but concerned about 2 cups of oil?! Please help!
You’d need to double all ingredients to double the recipe Katrina. Enjoy the muffins!
Hi, fist time making these muffins, the reviews were pretty good so I ran out and bought fresh carrots from our local farmers market and had high hopes! Once I started mixing dry and wet ingredients I knew there was going to be a problem. First the recipe called for “shredded” carrots but it was almost impossible to mix the ingredients together. I would recommend “grating” the carrots instead! It was pretty messy trying to get the batter in muffin cups. I still hoped they would be worth it once baked.. Well the baking soda flavor is a bit overwhelming and doesn’t add well to the texture! Plus they are dry.. I’d recommend adding vanilla and cutting back on baking soda and adding baking powder..
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy these muffins as much as we do Sunshine. They’ve definitely been a big hit around our household and with other readers. Thank you for trying them.
The flour is it all purpose or self-raising
All purpose Brian. All of our recipes use all purpose flour unless specified. Enjoy the muffins! I might need to bake some up right now myself!
I love this recipe! I used whole wheat flour, half cup of Sukrin Gold brown sugar alternative and half cup Monkfruit Sweetner instead of 1 cup of sugar. Muffins turned out super yummy! Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome Mikki! Thank you for sharing your substitutions.
These muffins are amazing!! I used canola oil and duck eggs and they turned out incredibly moist and delicious! Perfect level of sweetness and fairly guilt free. Yum.
Hi Holly,
I, too, got more than 12 muffins – 14 to be exact!
Simple, tasty and open to substitution – I had no apples, so I used one (shredded) beet instead.
Thoroughly enjoyed by the entire family!
Thank you for such a user-friendly recipe!
You’re very welcome Hermana!
This is a must to try recipe and trust me I am not a baker at all.
I did a recipe similar to this but with different measurements and it worked and it was amazing the first time I made 12 then the next recipe I made 18.
I’m pretty sure that this will be my go-to recipe if I ever need to make anything in a hurry and everybody normally has all of the ingredients.
Hi did you perhaps mean baking powder and not baking soda?
There is a horrible after taste with baking soda
The recipe is correct as written Maureen. Sorry that you didn’t enjoy the muffins.
i agree that there was a very distinct baking soda flavour. still yummy and the other people i served them to weren’t bothered by it. i know i have a fairly sensitive palette and pick up on subtle flavours but this one wasn’t so subtle. not sure why that flavour came out since so many others made no mention of it. might try a different amount or a combination with baking powder next time and see. but otherwise very delicious, and perfect texture and density!
i omitted 1/4c of flour and added a 1/4c ground flax and a few tablespoons of psyllium husk for added fibre and that added a very nice healthy taste :)
Thank you for sharing your substitutions Azez. If you do try with baking powder, let us know. We personally haven’t noticed that flavor; I wonder if it may be caused by varying taste due to different brands.
i made them again with baking powder! subbed out the 2 tsps of baking soda for 3 tsps of baking powder and the fluffiness and texture was basically the same as the original recipe. however i didn’t have an apple so i used a mashed overripe banana instead, worked and tasted great! i am also so curious about the reason for the baking soda flavour, i was using fresh arm & hammer baking soda and i don’t notice it in other recipes i put it in. who knows! happy that the baking powder worked out though because it is a delish recipe! and adding flax and psyllium husk gives them a great boost of fibre!!
Thank you for sharing Azez!
Made these as a quick breakfast for my kids and mother in-law who was babysitting one morning. They were so good! But my son saw the shredded carrots and wouldn’t touch them, lol. I’m trying them again today but instead of shredding the carrots I’m steaming and mashing them. They’ll also get a different name so the unsuspecting son will eat them. I also make a chocolate zucchini bread but pealed the zucchini so he can’t see the green and call it “chocolate surprise “
Sneaky in the perfect way! So glad you love these muffins as much as we do!
Sarah I’m curious if your son ate them after you steamed and mashed the carrots? My son also won’t touch them if he sees carrot so gonna try it how you suggested!
These muffins turned out amazing!! My husband never eats the muffins I make lol but he had two right out of the oven! The apple is a smart ingredient!! I left out the raisins.
I made the carrot muffins and they turned out amazing. I didn’t have raisins so I used coconut flakes. I also wondered about adding crushed pineapple and/or nuts.
So glad you loved these. I haven’t tried with your additions, but nuts would be fine. The crushed pineapple will add moisture so I can’t say for sure how that would work.
This was seriously the best ‘breakfast’ muffin I’ve had! Moist, flavourful and healthy, to boot! This will be on my breakfast menu regularly!
So glad you loved these Lori!
Hi Holly
Can I have you cup conversions please. I live in the UK.
Many thanks.
Chris
Hello Chris, I am unable to provide conversions however there are online converters that may help you.