Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

For a deliciously sweet and equally healthy option, Carrot Cake Muffins are the way to go. They’re the perfect grab-and-go snack, dessert, or even light meal. These muffins are healthy too! They’re made using natural ingredients like honey, almond milk, and fresh grated carrot. No gluten, no dairy, and no refined sugar in this amazing dessert!

Delicious and easy carrot cake muffins topped with a healthy cream cheese frosting

I have talked about this before, but I actually used to greatly dislike anything carrot cake. I was convinced that because carrots were veggies, they didn’t need to be in my sweet dessert. I was simply a basic dessert gal! I loved chocolate chip cookies and anything chocolate like cake or brownies.

However, the last time I found myself in the kitchen, I had a craving for carrot cake. Maybe I was inspired by all the amazing carrot cake recipes in April, or maybe my taste buds have graduated into adult taste buds. Either way, I knew I had to give into the craving while I was having it and treat myself to a sweet carrot cake dessert. I did so by spicing up the carrot cake and turning them into frosted muffins!

The result? Healthy carrot cake muffins topped with the sweetest healthy 2 ingredient cream cheese frosting. I love this recipe for so many reasons. The first, the muffin flavor and the sweetness of the frosting coexist perfectly. They pair together so nicely! However, you can also eat these healthy muffins on their own because their light sweetness is perfect to pair with your breakfast.

This recipe is also made with 100% gluten free ingredients as well as no dairy! These muffins are perfect for the celiac in your life or the person with the sensitive belly like me. Are you vegan? Shouldn’t be a problem here! Just sub the eggs for your favorite egg substitute. I love using 1/4 cup applesauce for every egg in a recipe.

Ingredients used in this easy carrot cake muffin recipe

Your typical carrot cake may use a wide variety of ingredients. The most common are: white flour, refined cane sugar, and carrot (obviously.) So, I simply brought the fresh carrot with me and made a healthier version of carrot cake and turned them into healthy muffins. Carrot cake muffins are made with 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour, honey, and organic eggs. I personally would eat every ingredient in this recipe which is exactly why I love sharing this quick and easy recipe.

Muffins:

• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups grated carrot

• 3/4 cup almond milk

• 2/3 cup honey

• 1/2 cup applesauce

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

• 4 oz dairy free cream cheese

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Kitchen tools used in this recipe

You won’t need a long list of kitchen items to create this recipe. The six items listed below should do the trick!

• Muffin Tray

• Muffin Liners

• Medium mixing bowl

• Small mixing bowl

• Food processor or grater

• Mixing utensil

How to make healthy carrot cake muffins

Start by making your shredded carrot. You can use a regular grater to shred the carrot or you can use the food processor to get the job done faster. Peel about 4-5 large carrots and chop them into smaller chunks. Place into the food processor and blend until fine pieces form.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients first. Add the eggs, almond milk, honey, applesauce, and vanilla into the bowl and mix well to create an even mixture.

Measure out 2 cups of grated carrot and mix into the liquid batter.

Add in the dry ingredients into the same bowl and mix super well to finish off your muffin batter. The dry ingredients uses here are: flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder/soda. Mix the batter as much as you can to remove any clumps of flour or batter.

Line your muffin tray with muffin liners and pour the batter evenly into 12 muffins. Fill each muffin liner about 3/4 of the way up to leave a little room for rising.

Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Keep an eye out for golden brown edges.

While the muffins are baking, make your easy healthy frosting: combing the cream cheese and maple syrup into a small mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Place the frosting into the fridge to firm up while the muffins are baking.

Once the muffins have cooked and cooled, frost each one with a a couple spoonfuls of frosting.

Store these muffins in the fridge to keep them fresh, but these muffins are best eaten within 2-3 days!

Nutritional benefits in carrot cake muffins

This is one of my favorite healthy muffin recipes because it contains so many nutrient-rich ingredients.

Honey

I love using honey in my recipes because it’s the perfect substitute for cane sugar. Honey provides a natural sweetness that is full of antioxidants.

Cinnamon

Few people realize how powerful spices can be. Cinnamon, which is used in this recipe to add a slight spice, has a ton of benefits. It’s filled with anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, and it helps to lower blood sugar.

Applesauce

Applesauce replaces oil in this recipe! It adds a little extra sweetness to the recipe and replaces oil like canola in baking.

Substitution options

If you find yourself missing an ingredient or two, try these! Some of the items in this recipe have handy swap options. Note: To achieve the correct texture and flavor, I recommend substituting no more than 1-2 ingredients.

• Eggs: Applesauce is a common replacement for eggs. Use 1/2 cup for this recipe.

• Honey: Honey can be swapped with molasses or maple syrup at a 1:1 ratio. The flavor may change a little, but should still be really good!

• Applesauce: Any fatty cooking oil can be used in place of applesauce. Coconut oil would be my next go to!

Add In options

Want to spice these muffins up and create something even more unique? You can add a few different ingredients to give these muffins some extra sparkle. I like my carrot cake plain, but here’s what else you can add:

• chopped nuts (like walnuts or pecans)

• raisins

• chocolate chips (so good!)

• extra spices (like nutmeg or ginger)

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

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Yield: 12 muffins

Author: Chen’s Plate

Prep time: 10 MCook time: 45 MTotal time: 55 M

For a deliciously sweet and equally healthy option, Carrot Cake Muffins are the way to go. They’re the perfect grab-and-go snack, dessert, or even light meal. These muffins are healthy too! They’re made using natural ingredients like honey, almond milk, and fresh grated carrot. No gluten, no dairy, and no refined sugar in this amazing dessert!

Ingredients:

For the Muffin

• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups grated carrot
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the Frosting

• 4 oz dairy free cream cheese
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions:

How to cook Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

1. Start by making your shredded carrot. You can use a regular grater to shred the carrot or you can use the food processor to get the job done faster. Peel about 4-5 large carrots and chop them into smaller chunks. Place into the food processor and blend until fine pieces form.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients first. Add the eggs, almond milk, honey, applesauce, and vanilla into the bowl and mix well to create an even mixture.
3. Measure out 2 cups of grated carrot and mix into the liquid batter.
4. Add in the dry ingredients into the same bowl and mix super well to finish off your muffin batter. The dry ingredients uses here are: flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder/soda. Mix the batter as much as you can to remove any clumps of flour or batter.
5. Line your muffin tray with muffin liners and pour the batter evenly into 12 muffins. Fill each muffin liner about 3/4 of the way up to leave a little room for rising.
6. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Keep an eye out for golden brown edges.
7. While the muffins are baking, make your easy healthy frosting: combing the cream cheese and maple syrup into a small mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Place the frosting into the fridge to firm up while the muffins are baking.
8. Once the muffins have cooked and cooled, frost each one with a a couple spoonfuls of frosting.
9. Store these muffins in the fridge to keep them fresh, but these muffins are best eaten within 2-3 days!

Notes:

Kitchen tools needed for this recipe: Muffin Tray, Muffin Liners, Medium mixing bowl, Small mixing bowl, Food processor or grater, Mixing utensil

Calories

145.46

Fat (grams)

1.25

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.38

Carbs (grams)

32.65

Fiber (grams)

1.23

Net carbs

31.43

Sugar (grams)

22.52

Protein (grams)

2.48

Sodium (milligrams)

169.79

Cholesterol (grams)

31.38

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