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    Home » Recipes » Breads

    Oat Flour Carrot Cake Muffins

    Published: Apr 7, 2020 · Modified: Nov 5, 2022 by Lauren · This post may contain affiliate links · 28 Comments

    Jump to Recipe  ↓

    Oat Flour Carrot Cake Muffins - Healthy, delicious treats that are made with ONE flour, no starches or gums, and less sugar. Gluten-free and nut-free.

    Oat flour carrot cake muffin recipe

    Baking as therapy

    Who's baking up a frenzy lately?!

    I like to bake something at least once a day. From cookies to cakes, casseroles and muffins, the act of baking is my thang.

    With school over for the summer here, Jade and Nat have been in the kitchen more. They enjoy looking up recipes from both my site and others.

    Some of their favorites are this gluten-free chocolate chipper and this giant cookie made with oat flour.

    Oat flour as a primary flour

    In my experience with oat flour, which is considerable, it can work without added gums or starches.

    However, because of the lack of gluten, it can tend to crumble a bit easier than whole wheat or all-purpose flours. This is mediated in this recipe by the addition of an egg.

    Dryness and crumbles can also be avoided by not overbaking the muffins.

    These make a great on-the-go breakfast, snack, or pre-workout bite.

    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).

    Healthy carrot cake muffins made with maple syrup

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

    Oat flour carrot cake muffin recipe
    Print Recipe
    4.15 from 21 votes

    Oat Flour Carrot Cake Muffins (Gluten-Free)

    Healthy carrot cake muffins made with oat flour.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    0 mins
    Total Time25 mins
    Course: Bread
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Carrot, Gluten-Free, Low sugar, Muffins, Oatmeal
    Servings: 9 muffins
    Calories: 83kcal
    Author: Lauren Goslin

    Ingredients

    DRY INGREDIENTS:

    • 1 c. oat flour
    • 1 t. baking powder
    • ½ t. baking soda
    • ¼ t. sea salt
    • ¾ t. cinnamon
    • ½ t. ginger
    • ¼ t. cloves

    WET INGREDIENTS:

    • ⅓ c. buttermilk see Notes on how to make your own
    • 1 T. oil I like olive or grapeseed
    • 2 T. maple syrup see Notes for lower sugar option
    • 2 Tbsp applesauce
    • 1 egg
    • ½ t. vanilla
    • ¾ c. finely grated carrot about 2 medium-sized carrots
    • ¼ c. raisins optional

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 375 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, olive oil, and two tablespoons of maple syrup. No raisins were included. WW Points: 3

    Nutrition

    Sugar: 3.9g | Fiber: 1.4g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Calories: 83kcal | Fat: 2.8g | Protein: 2.4g | Carbohydrates: 12.3g

    Notes:

    To make your the buttermilk, add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a measuring cup and add in enough milk of your choice to equal 1/3 cup total.

    To lower the sugar even more, replace one tablespoon of maple syrup with one tablespoon of water.

    Add in a dash of stevia for extra sweetness.

    These are great unbleached muffin cups.

    Some of the items I use in this recipe include:


    Low sugar carrot muffins with oat flour

     

     

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    Filed Under: Breads, Low Sugar Desserts

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. 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
    2. 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
    3. 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
    4. 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
    5. 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
    6. 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
    7. Trish

      August 03, 2017 at 3:12 pm

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

      Reply
    8. 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
    9. 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
    10. 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
    11. 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
    12. 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
    13. 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
    14. 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
    15. Matt @ Runner Savvy

      November 15, 2013 at 5:54 pm

      There look delicious!

      Reply
    16. 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 blog is to show you healthy, lower sugar recipes that my family and I enjoy.

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