These Healthy Carrot Muffins are packed with flavor and made with wholesome ingredients—no dairy, gluten, or refined sugars! They’re also vegan and vegetarian.
Try some of our other refined sugar free treats like Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins, Healthy Ice Cream (no bananas!), or Healthy Brownies!
Healthy Carrot Muffins
My son’s all-time favorite dessert is carrot cake, but it’s not exactly an everyday treat—and it’s a bit of work to make. So, I set out to create a healthier version packed with ingredients to fuel him while still delivering that classic flavor. It took some trial and error, but it was worth every second to see his reaction.
These are the best healthy muffins! Ridiculously flavorful, deeply spiced, and incredibly moist. My three kids devoured the entire batch in a day and begged for more!
Ingredients
- Old-Fashioned Oats: Blend oats into a flour before adding other ingredients.
- Medjool Dates: Use soft, fresh dates for easy blending. If they’re dry, soak them.
- Coconut Oil: Melt before measuring for accuracy.
- Maple Syrup: Use pure maple syrup for the best flavor.
- Eggs: Hold muffins together and keep them fluffy.Baking Soda & Powder: Check that they’re fresh!
- Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg: Feel free to add more to taste.
- Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Grated Carrots: Use freshly grated whole carrots—pre-shredded ones are too dry and won’t work as well.
How To Make Healthy Carrot Muffins
These muffins are so easy—you just toss everything in a blender, no extra bowls or tools needed!
They’re quick and easy, but you’ll need a strong blender (like a Blendtec® or Vitamix®) to blend the oats, dates, and carrots smoothly. No high-powered blender? Try a strong food processor instead and scrape the sides often for best results.
Let’s Chat Carrots
Grate whole carrots yourself using the large holes of a grater—pre-shredded ones are too dry and lack flavor.
Freshly grated carrots add moisture, which is key for this recipe.
For a quicker option, use a food processor with a grating attachment. Got extra carrots? Make a Carrot Smoothie (it tastes like a milkshake!), Carrot Soup, or Carrot Cake Cupcakes!
Working With Dates
- The softer and fresher the dates, the better these muffins work out!
- Soften dates if needed. Here’s a quick way to revive stale or hard dates. If the dates are too hard, they won’t blend up very well.
- Before blending, make sure to remove any pits from the dates to avoid damaging your blender.
Healthy Carrot Muffins Recipe Tips
- Make sure ingredients are gluten-free: Even if they seem gluten-free, check that they weren’t made where gluten is processed.
- Scrape sides of the blender: Stop and scrape the sides now and then so everything blends evenly.
- Grease muffin tin generously: Liners don’t work well because the batter sticks.
- Melt oil before measuring: Melt it first, then measure 1/2 cup. Pour over dates so they blend easier.
- Get every bit of batter out: The batter is thick and sticky, so take your time to scoop it all out for tall muffins!
Storage
Storing Healthy Carrot Muffins
After they cool, keep muffins in a sealed container or bag at room temp. Eat within 2-3 days for the best flavor—they taste even better on day 2 as the spices get stronger.
To Freeze & Thaw:
- Cool muffins all the way before storing.
- To freeze: Wrap each muffin in plastic, then put them in a freezer bag.
- To thaw: Leave at room temp or microwave to warm.
More Delicious Snack Recipes
- Healthy Chocolate Cookies with peanut butter
- Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes with oats and chocolate chips
- Healthy Banana Muffins with Greek yogurt
- Cookies and Cream Energy Bites tastes like an oreo
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake with chocolate chips
Quick Tip
Use a good nonstick muffin tin for easy muffin removal. I can’t say enough good things about this muffin pan; these Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins always come out perfectly!
Healthy Carrot Muffins
Equipment
- High-powered blender think Blendtec or Vitamix, or food processor
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 7 to 8 whole fresh/soft Medjool dates see note 1
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil measured when melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated carrots see note 2
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 12 cavities of a muffin pan with cooking spray (muffin liners won’t work well).
- Add 2 leveled cups of oat flour to a large, powerful blender or food processor. Blend until the oats resemble flour—a fine powder, about 60–90 seconds. If needed, stir and continue blending to break up larger chunks of oats.
- Remove the pits and coarsely chop the dates. Measure to get 3/4 cup, then add to the blender on top of the oats. Pour the melted coconut oil on top. Blend for 60 seconds, stopping the blender to scrape down sides as needed.Add all the remaining ingredients except the carrots. Blend until smooth, about 60–90 seconds. Finally, add in the grated carrots and stir through. Then blend once more, about 30 seconds or until broken down and integrated. (Continue to stop the blender and scrape down sides as needed.)
- The batter is thick and sticky (and hard to work with), but divide every bit of it evenly among the muffin cups—the batter should fill exactly 12 cavities about 3/4 full. Smooth the tops of the muffins with a clean finger.
- Bake for 21–25 minutes or until no longer gooey/wet looking on top and the sides are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let stand in the pan for 3–4 minutes before gently removing (use the tines of a fork to gently coax out the muffins). Set muffins on a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Enjoy muffins warm; they are even better the second day!
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you use prunes in this instead of the dates?
I don’t think it would be the perfect substitute here just because baking can be so finicky–especially with gluten-free goods! That said, I haven’t ever baked with prunes, so this is just me guessing! Wish I could be of more help.
I ran out of Ezekiel bread this morning and decided to try your Healthy Carrot Muffins recipe for breakfast. The muffins came out delicious. I followed your recipe by making one little change since I didn’t have coconut oil. I used olive oil and like I said: “I loved the results!” Thank you so much for sharing
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Maria! 🙂