A family-friendly and healthy carrot muffin recipe with no added refined sugar! Moist and fluffy, these healthy carrot muffins are naturally sweetened with applesauce and maple syrup, packed full of rolled oats, and filled with crunchy pecans making them a delicious and nutritious snack.
I used to tell people (and sometimes still do) that muffins are cupcakes because, in reality, they are. I mean, compare any muffin recipe to any cupcake recipe and you are essentially looking at the same thing. The worst part of any muffins recipe is the type and amount of added sugar they contain, and the type of oil that they contain. Most conventional muffin recipes are made with refined sugar and processed vegetable oils, neither of which is a good idea. Not to mention, many grocery store muffins are made with extra preservatives and additives that don’t have any place in a healthy whole foods diet.
Fortunately, with a few simple adjustments, you can make homemade muffins a whole lot healthier! Instead of processed sugar, I opted to use a natural sweetener, in this case, maple syrup and opted for coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, however, you could also use butter or olive oil if you like. This healthy carrot muffin recipe makes 12 fluffy muffins that you can use for quick grab-and-go breakfasts or healthy snacks.
Want more healthy muffins recipes? Be sure to check out all of these delicious flavours!
- Blueberry, Oatmeal & Maple Muffins
- Raspberry Yogurt Muffins
- Mixed Berry Muffins
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Banana Nut Muffins

Healthy Carrot Muffins
These healthy carrot muffins are naturally sweetened with maple syrup, packed full of rolled oats and loaded with crunchy pecans making them a delicious and healthy treat. I used ginger and nutmeg in my recipe, however, if you are not a fan you can simply omit them from the recipe.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
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Cook Time: 20 minutes
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Total Time: 30 minutes
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Yield: 12 servings 1x
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Category: Snacks, Desserts
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Method: Baked
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Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup peeled and grated carrots (2-3 carrots)
- 1/2 cup apple sauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients; flour, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir with a wooden spoon to ensure everything is combined.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Crack eggs into bowl and whisk together, add shredded carrots, apple sauce, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup, and stir to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and using a wooden spoon or spatula and stir well to combine. Add in chopped pecans and stir gently into mixture.
- Grease muffin tins with extra coconut oil or butter, or add muffin liners, and divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.
- Transfer muffin tray to the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool and run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan. Allow muffins to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, and then remove from muffin tin to cool further.
- Muffins can be stored at room temperature for 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 180 calories
- Sugar: 10 grams
- Fat: 8 grams
- Carbohydrates: 29 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Protein: 4 grams
Just made the muffins…thought I had an epic fail as I bought “peppermint” coconut oil and already had it added before I realized my error…not gonna lie, they’re delicious!
Haha, that’s amazing! Glad they turned out anyway 🙂
Quick question:
To make them school safe should I just skip the pecans or replace them with something else? (other then raisins as my kids said no more :-)).
Hey! You can just omit them with you want, it won’t affect the recipe at all!
Thanks so much for another fantastic, toddler (minus “roughly chopped” pecan ) and partner approved snack option. Also, really appreciate that the ingredients are common/typically on hand – no unnecessary trips to the grocery store!
So happy to hear it, thank you for sharing!
So yummy! Ive made it multiple times 🙂