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Fully Loaded Carrot Muffins

4.6

(26)

Six carrot muffins on a white plate one with butter slathered in the center.
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano.  Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan and Molly Longwell

This is the wholesome fruit- and veggie-packed carrot muffin you’ll be thankful to have around on busy mornings when you need breakfast to go. It’s inspired by the signature add-ins of a good morning glory muffin, such as nuts, raisins, lots of grated carrots, and warm spices like cinnamon and ginger. The whole wheat flour and unsweetened applesauce keep this carrot muffin recipe squarely in breakfast (and out of dessert) territory—sorry, cream cheese frosting, you’re needed elsewhere. Be sure to use pure applesauce with no added sugar, otherwise the muffins will be too sweet. If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, by all means bust it out to make quick work of shredding the carrots. —Christina Chaey

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 12

Ingredients

1

cup raw walnuts or pecans

1

cup (125 g) all-purpose flour

½

cup (70 g) whole wheat flour

2

tsp. baking powder

¼

tsp. baking soda

1½

tsp. ground cinnamon

¾

tsp. ground ginger

1

tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

2

large eggs

1

cup unsweetened applesauce

⅔

cup (packed; 133 g) light brown sugar

½

cup vegetable oil

1

tsp. finely grated orange zest

2

medium carrots (about 5 oz.), peeled, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 1½ cups)

½

cup golden raisins

Hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed, and/or sesame seeds (for topping; optional)

Special equipment

A 12-cup standard muffin pan and 12 muffin liners

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Line cups of muffin pan. Toast 1 cup raw walnuts or pecans in a single layer on a small rimmed baking sheet until golden brown or slightly darkened in color and fragrant, 6–10 minutes (walnuts will take less time than pecans). Let cool slightly, then coarsely chop; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 400°.

    Step 2

    Whisk 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (70 g) whole wheat flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. baking soda, 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon, ¾ tsp. ground ginger, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl to combine.

    Step 3

    Whisk 2 large eggs, 1 cup unsweetened applesauce, ⅔ cup (packed; 133 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup vegetable oil, and 1 tsp. finely grated orange zest in a medium bowl until well combined. Scrape into dry ingredients and fold in with a rubber spatula until almost combined and only a few streaks of flour remain. Add 2 medium carrots (about 5 oz.), grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 1½ cups), ½ cup golden raisins, and reserved nuts and gently fold into batter until just incorporated (be careful not to overmix).

    Step 4

    Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling almost to the brim. Top muffins with hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed, and/or sesame seeds if desired.

    Step 5

    Bake muffins until tops are puffed and golden brown and a tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 18–22 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let muffins cool 5 minutes in pan. Turn out muffins onto rack and let cool completely.

    Do ahead: Muffins can be baked 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

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Reviews (26)

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  • These were delicious one day one and two. After that they became mushy and tasted bitter. Any reason?

    • Anonymous

    • New York City

    • 8/11/2023

  • Absolutely loved these. Used homemade chunky applesauce and substituted pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds for some of the walnuts. Also used cranberries instead of raisins.

    • Renee

    • Victoria

    • 4/29/2023

  • Printer problem people—just print from your browser. Bon Appetit automatically formats it really nicely.

    • Anonymous

    • Knoxville

    • 1/4/2023

  • Agree with Anonymous - Please provide a "Print Recipe" button. When I "cut & paste" the recipe into a Word document to print, it is totally distorted. Thank you.

    • Anonymous 2

    • Seattle, WA

    • 12/28/2022

  • I make what I think is an improvement of this recipe. I used NO sugar, but about 1/3 c. pure maple syrup. I use NO oil, but 1/2 c. Buttermilk. I use grated raw apples instead of applesauce. I use 3 eggs. And I put in blueberries or cherries or raspberries along with dried fruit. I eat these everyday with Plain whole milk Greek Yogurt.

    • Ruth Gaylord

    • Minneapolis, MN

    • 11/8/2022

  • Made these using unbleached all-purpose flour and found that they took a bit longer than specified to cook, otherwise great. Increased cinnamon, added a bit of nutmeg, and used grated fresh ginger since I was out of ground. Came out tasting great.

    • Peter McLaren

    • Montreal, CA

    • 9/5/2022

  • Delicious muffins, and I made it more hearty by using all whole wheat pastry flour, and adding 1 cup of wheat bran. I didn't have an orange for the zest, so I substituted 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup oil for the 1/2 cup oil.

    • Lucy S

    • Azusa, CA

    • 8/9/2022