Carrot Cake Muffins
If you love carrot cake, you will flip for these carrot cake muffins! They’re moist, perfectly spiced, and basically everything you love about the cake in convenient muffin form.
As much as I adore vegan carrot cake and carrot cake cupcakes, they’re not exactly breakfast food—I mean, that’s a LOT of frosting for the morning. These carrot cake muffins have all that deliciousness in a form that’s a little more appropriate for your AM meal, swapping the cream cheese frosting for a drizzle of glaze. They’re also a bit lighter than traditional carrot cake, swapping some of the oil for yogurt. They’re light, fluffy, and just lovely!
Why These Carrot Cake Muffins Are a Hit
I just know you’re going to love this recipe as much as I do. Here’s what makes these muffins so special!
- Made with pantry ingredients. Don’t be fooled by the long list of ingredients! So much of what you need for this recipe is probably in your pantry already—there are a lot of spices and baking basics here.
- Moist yet light and fluffy. Carrot cake tends to be dense and heavy, but these carrot cake muffins have a lighter crumb. Don’t worry, though, they’re still super moist just like a good carrot cake!
- That signature carrot cake flavour. I use the same spices as traditional carrot cake, so you get all that warmth and cozy goodness you expect in these carrot cake muffins.
Notes on Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these delightful carrot cake muffins! Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Oil – Melted coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil.
- Sugar – Brown, coconut or cane sugar
- Vegan yogurt – I love my homemade vegan yogurt, but store-bought is fine too.
- Vegan milk and vinegar – You’ll combine these to make vegan buttermilk.
- Gluten-free flour – Or regular all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder and soda
- Sea salt
- Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves. Or simply use pumpkin pie spice.
- Vanilla extract
- Unsweetened applesauce – An easy vegan egg replacement!
- Carrot cake add-ins – Raisins, shredded carrot, unsweetened shredded coconut flakes, and walnuts.
- Glaze – Vegan milk, powdered sugar, and vegan cream cheese (if you’d like, for a bit of tanginess!).
How to Make Carrot Cake Muffins
You’ll find the complete instructions for these carrot cake muffins in the printable recipe card, but here’s a quick overview of the process.
- Prepare. Preheat your oven to 425ºF and prep your muffin pan.
- Mix the first three ingredients. Beat the oil, sugar, and vegan yogurt for about 3 minutes.
- Make the buttermilk. Whisk together the milk and vinegar and set this aside to thicken a bit.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and spices in another bowl.
- Combine the wet ingredients. Add the applesauce, vanilla and buttermilk the oil mixture.
- Finish the batter. Stir half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the carrots, raisins and walnuts, then stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Bake. Divide the batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350ºF and bake for 13 to 15 minutes more.
- Cool. Let the carrot cake muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Glaze. Mix the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl, then drizzle the glaze over the cooled muffins.
Tips and Variations
- Make your own powdered sugar. Here’s how to make powdered sugar if you realize you’re out!
- Use freshly grated carrots. Avoid using pre-shredded carrots as they tend to be larger, thicker, and drier, so they won’t add as much moisture to the muffins.
- Measure the muffin batter. Using a measuring cup ensures that all your muffins are the same size, which is the best way to make sure they all finish baking at the same time.
- Let them cool completely before glazing. Patience is key when it comes to glazing. Make sure the muffins are at room temperature before you pour on the glaze; otherwise, it will melt and run off instead of setting nicely.
- Swap out the glaze. The glaze is optional, but if you’d like a different topping, try sprinkling coarse Demerara sugar on top of the muffins before baking.
How to Store
- Room temperature: Keep these carrot cake muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: To freeze these muffins, let them cool completely and then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for about an hour before transferring them into a freezer-safe bag or container. They will last for up to 3 months stored this way. Thaw overnight in the fridge or microwave individual muffins for a quick breakfast or snack.
Enjoy friends! If you make this carrot cake muffin recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Carrot Cake Muffins
These easy carrot cake muffins bake up in just 30 minutes and are absolutely fantastic. Moist, delectable, vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup oil, (60g) melted coconut oil, olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 cup sugar, (200g) brown, coconut or cane sugar
- ¼ cup vegan yogurt, (57g)
- ¾ cup vegan milk, (180mL)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar, for a buttermilk effect
- 2 cups all purpose gluten free flour mix, (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour) (296g). You can also use regular flour, but adjust to 240g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder, (14.4g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda, (3g)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, (5.6g)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, (2.3g) or 1 ¾ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for all the spices listed
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce, or Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer equivalent
- ¼ cup raisins, (72g)
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- ½ cup walnuts, (50g)
- extra raisins and walnuts to top the muffins for looks
Glaze
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegan milk
- 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese, softened, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick flour spray or rub with vegan butter and dust with gluten free flour, removing excess. Or line with cupcake liners.
- In a bowl of a mixer, mix the oil, sugar and vegan yogurt together for about 3 minutes.
- In the same cup to measure out the vegan milk, add the vinegar and let it sit to curdle while you mix the dry ingredients.
- In another small bowl, mix the gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves together in another container. Set aside.
- In the oil, sugar, yogurt mixture, add the applesauce, vanilla and buttermilk to combine for another 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl.
- Add in half the flour mixture to the bowl, stirring gently to combine. Add in the shredded carrots, raisins and walnuts , then the second half of the flour. This helps to ensure the fill-ins get properly floured so they don't sink to the bottom. Stir gently until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
- Using a hefty ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop the batter into each of muffin hole; evenly distributing amongst all 12 muffins holes.
- Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350℉/180℃ and bake for another 13-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove (using the same toothpick to go gently around the edges or a dinner knife if not in cupcake liners) and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze Recipe
- Whisk the powdered sugar, vegan milk and vegan cream cheese until completely combined and there are no lumps. If you want your glaze thinner, add a little bit more milk; if you want it thicker, add more powdered sugar.
- Pour glaze over the cooled muffins – about a teaspoon per cupcake.
- Allow to set (about 5 minutes) and enjoy!
Notes
- If you can’t find organic powdered sugar, you can make your own powdered sugar.
- Room temperature: Keep these carrot cake muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: To freeze these muffins, let them cool completely and then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for about an hour before transferring them into a freezer-safe bag or container. They will last for up to 3 months stored this way. Thaw overnight in the fridge or microwave individual muffins for quick breakfasts or snacks.
Calories: 237kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 369mg, Potassium: 97mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 1782IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 93mg, Iron: 1mg
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Do you have the nutritional information for your recipes?
Hi Ruth,
I do for some but not this one yet!
For now though you could use https://www.verywell.com/calorie-counts-and-nutrition-facts-4118141 to calculate it!
Thank you for a great recipe. Kids loved it and so do my husband and me.
Great for breakfast!
I put 2 eggs and put more apple sauce instead of sugar and it is very yummy!
Thanks Pooja- I’m loving it so far!!!
These are amazing, you must make them!
Thanks for the vote of approval Ella!
Hey Can this be made into a carrot cake??
Hi Jenny thanks so much for reading. As it is it would not be able to be made into a carrot cake, some adjustments would have to be made. Its better to use a vegan carrot cake recipe. I hope this helps!
Do you have a recommendation to lower the amount of sugar in these delicious muffins?
Hi Jeannie,
Yes—you could simply reduce the sugar you put into it, as long as it’s not a huge amount less, it shouldn’t impact the recipe too much! I wouldn’t recommend lowering the amount by more than 50% though as it will start to affect the texture of the recipe. Hope this helps!
Could maple syrup be substituted for the sugar?
Thank you!
Hi Lynn,
You definitely can try. I haven’t tested it with a liquid sweetener so I can’t guarantee the results, but a few notes if you do: Maple Syrup can be sweeter than regular sugar, so I would suggest subbing in ¾ cup of maple syrup for 1 cup of sugar. Since you’re adding in a liquid and removing a dry ingredient, I would suggest either removing some of the vegan milk + yogurt, or adding in a bit more flour to ensure the consistency remains the same. Lastly, maple syrup can brown faster than regular sugar so just keep an eye on it while its cooking, to ensure it’s not going too dark and giving off a burnt flavour. Otherwise, you’re good to go! Happy baking.