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    Home » Recipes » Bread & Muffins

    Healthy Carrot Muffins

    Published: Jul 12, 2023 · Modified: Aug 14, 2023 by Lauren · This post may contain affiliate links · 31 Comments

    Jump to Recipe  ↓

    Healthy Carrot Muffins - These delicious muffins are made with oat flour and a modest amount of sweetener. Gluten-free and nut-free.

    Muffin on a flower napkin with butter on top.

    These healthy carrot muffins make a great on-the-go breakfast, snack, or pre-workout treat.

    One of my biggest issues with some of the 'muffin' recipes I've come across is the amount of sugar.

    For me, if you've got half as much sugar as you do flour in a recipe, you have a cupcake, not a muffin!

    I say this now so that you are aware that I like my muffins healthy and lightly sweetened.

    The focus is more on flavor from spices and add-ins (carrots and raisins in this case).

    Tips when baking with oat flour

    Because oat flour lacks gluten, you'll find many recipes with added gums or starches.

    I personally don't tolerate either of those options, and, in addition, starches greatly increase the carbohydrate content of a recipe.

    The good news is that oat flour recipes can work without added gums or starches.

    In this recipe, for example, an egg is included. Eggs are immensely helpful when baking gluten-free, and they actually ADD protein and nutrients to the recipe instead of empty carbs.

    Dryness and crumbling can also be mediated by not over baking the muffins.

    Ingredients and substitutions

    Various ingredients on a table, including oat flour and spices.
    Ingredients on a table, including milk, egg, and carrot.

    The dry...

    • Oat flour
    • Baking powder
    • Baking soda
    • Sea salt
    • Spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves)

    The wet...

    • Buttermilk - See the Recipe Notes below on how to make your own.
    • Oil - Grapeseed and olive are my favorite oils to use; melted coconut oil or melted butter would also work.
    • Maple syrup
    • Applesauce
    • Egg - Ground flax or chia eggs can both be used to make substitute 'eggs'. These alternatives work very well in muffin recipes.
    • Vanilla extract

    Add-ins...

    • Grated carrot
    • Raisins (optional)

    Recipe steps

    Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl; mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.

    Flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a white bowl.
    Measuring cup with milk and egg being whisked.

    Gently mix the dry and wet ingredients together, along with the grated carrot, to create the batter.

    Unmixed muffin batter in a large white bowl.
    Muffin batter in a white bowl on a wood table.

    Divide the batter among nine muffin cups and bake until springy to the touch.

    Hand holding a muffin.

    Top these with a slather of butter or coconut oil, and, if you need it, a little drizzle of honey.

    Recipe notes

    To make your the buttermilk, add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to 1/3 cup of milk of your choice.

    To lower the sugar even more, replace one tablespoon of maple syrup with one tablespoon of water, and add in a dash/drop(s) of stevia for extra sweetness.

    These unbleached muffin cups work well with all of my muffin recipes.

    Stack of three muffin on a white plate.
    Muffin on a flower napkin with butter on top.
    Print Recipe
    4.24 from 26 votes

    Healthy Carrot Muffins

    Healthy carrot muffins made with oat flour.
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time12 minutes mins
    0 minutes mins
    Total Time22 minutes mins
    Course: Bread
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Gluten-Free, Low sugar, Nut-free
    Servings: 9 muffins
    Calories: 97kcal
    Author: Lauren Goslin

    Ingredients

    DRY INGREDIENTS:

    • 1 cup oat flour 120 grams
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
    • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ginger
    • ¼ teaspoon cloves

    WET INGREDIENTS:

    • ⅓ cup buttermilk see Notes on how to make your own
    • 2 Tablespoons oil I like olive or grapeseed
    • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup see Recipe Notes above for lower sugar option
    • 2 Tablespoons applesauce
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • ¾ cup finely grated carrot about one large carrot
    • ¼ cup raisins optional

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
    • Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
    • In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.
    • Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix and stir gently until just moistened.
    • Fold in the carrots and raisins (if using).
    • Fill nine paper muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full.
    • Bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops are springy to the touch. As with any muffin, don't overbake or they will be dry!

    Notes

    Nutrition facts are based on low-fat buttermilk and olive oil. No raisins were included.
    Weight Watchers points: 4

    Nutrition

    Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.2g | Protein: 2.4g | Fat: 4.4g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 3.9g

    If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!

    Shared with: Full Plate Thursday

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    Filed Under: Bread & Muffins

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Miz Helen

      July 26, 2023 at 12:49 pm

      We sure have enjoyed featuring your awesome post this week on Full Plate Thursday, 650. Thanks so for sharing with us and come back again!
      Miz Helen

      Reply
    2. Karen Roller-Edelstein

      April 30, 2023 at 11:21 am

      I can not have the buttermilk. I need to convert this to be dairy free including milk proteins. Please advise.

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 30, 2023 at 11:32 am

        Hi Karen,

        You can make your own buttermilk by adding one tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of whatever milk you tolerate.

        Reply
    3. apurva

      August 03, 2021 at 6:20 am

      Hi I was wondering if I could use nonfat yogurt as a substitute for any of the ingredients?

      Reply
      • Lauren

        August 04, 2021 at 7:05 pm

        Plain yogurt may work for the buttermilk, but you may need an extra tablespoon of water or so.

        Reply
    4. Scarlet

      June 09, 2020 at 1:47 am

      Hello, I was wondering if I could substitute applesauce with anything please? Thanks

      Reply
      • Lauren

        June 09, 2020 at 9:12 am

        Mashed banana should work as well.

        Reply
    5. stefanie

      April 12, 2020 at 12:53 pm

      I have just looked at my muffins again and I just wonder if I need new Baking powder because they didn't rise and I am sure I added it, but perhaps I am mistaken. I will try them again.

      Reply
    6. Stefanie

      April 12, 2020 at 12:38 pm

      Hi Lauren,
      I used a flax egg. Perhaps that was it. It would have taken more than a cup of flour, but that's all I added.

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 12, 2020 at 12:42 pm

        Hmm, I don't think that would do it either. Sorry they didn't turn out for you. Perhaps try baking them a bit longer next time? Thanks for your feedback.

        Reply
    7. Stefanie

      April 11, 2020 at 1:48 pm

      Hi Lauren,
      Sounds like an interesting recipe. I tried it and it was tasty but feel there is something missing like more flour.

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 12, 2020 at 11:54 am

        Hi Stefanie,
        Did you make any changes to the recipe that could have affected it?

        Reply
    8. Rachel

      March 30, 2018 at 4:59 pm

      This was awesome. I subbed the spice mix for two tbsps of pumpkin spice. Instead of carrots I did a small apple diced. And I threw a tiny bit of brown sugar and oats on the top so of each. They turned out awesome and not overly sweet. The diced apple added some moisture!

      Reply
    9. Trish

      August 03, 2017 at 3:12 pm

      I LOVE this recipe! You are my favorite blogger!!

      Reply
    10. woof!

      November 05, 2015 at 8:38 pm

      Someone used your picture and copied your recipe on her blog and claimed as her own. :/
      https://pwincessfoodies.wordpress.com/2015/11/06/oat-flour-carrot-cake-muffins-gluten-free-nut-free/

      Awesome pics and recipe, btw!

      Reply
      • Lauren

        November 05, 2015 at 8:50 pm

        Argh, thanks for letting me know!

        Reply
    11. Elaine

      September 18, 2015 at 11:06 am

      When I first started baking, I really didn't want to buy flour for some reason. However, I did have oatmeal, so this was the first muffin recipe I ever tried. I really enjoyed these muffins, and I love that they don't contain tons of sugar.

      Reply
      • Lauren

        September 19, 2015 at 2:31 pm

        Thanks so much Elaine!

        Reply
    12. Bridy

      October 19, 2014 at 12:39 pm

      These are so good!
      I used bought buttermilk.
      My daughter hates raisins so I made them without, but they would be very good with the raisins.

      Reply
      • Lauren

        October 19, 2014 at 7:04 pm

        I'm so happy you enjoyed them Bridy! 🙂

        Reply
        • Bridy

          October 20, 2014 at 12:03 pm

          I am on batch #2. The kids ate them all before I could grab a second one.
          Maybe I should out raisins in these ones! Haha

          Reply
    13. MaElena

      August 26, 2014 at 3:42 am

      Hi Lauren,
      I want to bake this with my little baby for her brother, she is very excited about doing this 😉
      The thing is that the only species I have right now is vanilla extract and fresh ginger. Do you think it will be a nice addition?
      Love your healthy recipes and specially the gooey brownies with avocado chocolate cream... just amazing taste. Thank you for sharing goodness 😉
      Buena vibra

      Reply
      • Lauren

        August 26, 2014 at 8:21 am

        Hi MaElena,

        Both vanilla and ginger sound like they would be delicious in this recipe! Go easy on the ginger though, as it can be a very powerful taste. Thank you for your nice comment! 🙂

        Reply
    14. Mike@TheIronYou

      May 22, 2014 at 1:41 pm

      Since there's carrot, these muffins count as a veggie portion, right? 😉

      Reply
      • Lauren

        May 22, 2014 at 5:25 pm

        Haha, but of course! 😀

        Reply
    15. Natasha Palmer

      April 23, 2014 at 4:26 pm

      I made these today. I added the raisins, I think without them they wouldn't have been sweet enough for me. I don't have stevia so I used a teaspoon of raw sugar instead and I used the maple syrup option. Very good and I am so happy to satisfy my craving for carrot cake with these healthier muffins. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 23, 2014 at 7:26 pm

        Thanks Natasha! I do tend to stay on the less sweet side with my muffins, so I'm happy you found a way to make them that works for you! 🙂

        Reply
    16. Gabby @ the veggie nook

      November 17, 2013 at 2:03 pm

      These look awesome! And I also do coconut oil sea salt on baked goods! Really give it a "butter" feel!

      Reply
    17. Matt @ Runner Savvy

      November 15, 2013 at 5:54 pm

      There look delicious!

      Reply
    18. pennyodell

      November 15, 2013 at 7:05 am

      Looks great. I wonder how it would be with almond flour?

      Reply
      • Lauren

        November 15, 2013 at 8:54 am

        Hi Penny,

        If you're looking for something grain-free, you might try this: https://www.oatmealwithafork.com/2013/07/15/%E2%99%A5lovers-carrot-cake%E2%99%A5-grain-free-nut-free/

        Reply

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    Hi there, I'm Lauren Goslin, and I've been a food blogger for over ten years. My goal with this site is to show you the healthy, lower sugar recipes that my family and I love to make!

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