Carrot Cake Muffins (Plus 20 Simple Everyday Food Swaps)

These Carrot Cake Muffins taste exactly like your favourite classic carrot cake recipe!! Packed full of plant-based ingredients, including carrots, apples, bananas and almond milk, they’re sure to be a hit with the whole family!

Brought to you by Nuffnang and VitaSoy

Now that Will is 1 (seriously… I can’t believe it either!!!), I’ve noticed that I have a little mini-me getting around the house. Whatever I’m doing, my little fella wants to do it too. Whatever I’m eating, he wants to eat it too. Which wouldn’t be so much of an issue if I didn’t LOVE cake and chocolate… and ALL the good things!! For a while there I could get away with hiding a sneaky bowl of M&Ms in the cupboard or a block of chocolate in the fridge, but those good old days have officially come to an end. Yep, little Mr Will can open the fridge and cupboard like a pro now. No more sneaky treats for me (unless of course, you have any fab hiding spots I haven’t thought of??).

So anyway, my little mini-me has forced me to make a few little changes to my foodie habits – and to be honest, that’s probably not such a bad thing! I mean, I don’t technically ‘neeeeeed’ my 3pm Freddo frog (I just really, really like it!!). But because I like Will to eat the same foods as Dave and I do, I’ve had to make some changes to our everyday meals and snacks. Not big, mega changes… just little simple ones.

And these Carrot Cake Muffins are a perfect example of one of the little changes we’ve made. Back in the day (just over 365 days to be exact), I wouldn’t have thought twice about slathering my favourite carrot cake with a bucketload of cream cheese frosting and kicking back with a magazine and a cuppa. Well that sooooo doesn’t happen anymore!! Most of my magazines end up with little teeth bites on them! And my cuppas… well they’re usually cold by the time I get to them. And obviously, I’m not that keen on Will eating cream cheese frosting (as much as I’m sure he’d LOVE it!), and so I came up with this little recipe. The muffins honestly taste just as good as my original carrot cake recipe, BUT they’re so much healthier… and perfect for both Will and I.

To keep them tasting delish, I’ve used bananas, carrots, apples, nuts (optional), coconut oil, honey, oats and almond milk. They do have a tiny bit of brown sugar, but when you divide the 1/2 cup by 12 muffins, it’s very minimal! These muffins really are a great way to add more plant-based foods into your diet in a super easy and yummy way.

Ooh and did I mention that they’re totally freezer-friendly, which means you can prep them ahead of time, pop them into the freezer and you’ve got a snack ready to go at anytime. Gotta love that!!

Check out my yummy recipe below… AND if you keep scrolling, you’ll find a fun poster that I’ve put together with 20 simple food swaps you can make to your everyday meals. A lot are simple changes from processed foods to plant-based foods, while others reduce sugars, salts and unhealthy fats – just some easy-peasy little things that I’ve being doing lately to make our meals just that bit more nutritious. xx

Carrot Cake Muffins

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins made with carrots, apples, bananas and almond milk... they taste just like your favourite carrot cake recipe, but deliciously light and healthy!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: healthy recipes

Cuisine: Muffins

Keyword: healthy carrot cake muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 12 serves

Calories: 320kcal

Author: Lucy - Bake Play Smile

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup (55g) coconut oil or olive oil
• 1/3 cup banana ripe & mashed, approximately 1 banana
• 1/4 cup (85g) honey or rice malt syrup
• 1 apple grated
• 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp bi-carb soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (125g) almond milk unsweetened (I used VitaSoy)
• 1 cup (100g) grated carrot firmly packed
• 2/3 cup (60g) rolled oats
• 1/2 cup (50g) almond meal
• 1 cup (120g) plain flour or substitute for 1/2 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts pecans, walnuts etc, for sprinkling

Instructions

Conventional Method

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
• Place the eggs, coconut oil, mashed banana and honey into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
• Add the grated apple, brown sugar, salt, bi-carb soda, cinnamon and almond milk and whisk together.
• Very gently fold through the grated carrot, rolled oats, almond meal and flour.
• Divide the mixture amongst the prepared muffin tray holes (filling almost to the top).
• Sprinkle over the chopped nuts.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.
• The muffins are cooked when the muffins are lightly golden and spring back when touched.
• Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in a container at room temperature for 3 days or freeze in sealable plastic bags (or wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil) for 3 months.

Thermomix Method

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners and set aside.
• Place the carrot and apple into the Thermomix bowl and mix on Speed 10 for 5 seconds (or until finely grated). Set aside in a seperate bowl.
• Place the eggs, melted coconut oil, mashed banana and honey into the Thermomix bowl and mix on Speed 5, 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the brown sugar, sea salt, bi-carbonate soda, cinnamon and almond milk and mix on Speed 5, 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the reserved grated carrot and apple, rolled oats, almond meal and plain flour and mix on Reverse, Speed 5, 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides and repeat for a further 2-3 seconds.
• Divide the mixture amongst the prepared muffin tray holes (filling to the top). Sprinkle over the chopped nuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.
• The muffins are cooked when the muffins are lightly golden and spring back when touched. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in a container at room temperature for 3 days or freeze in sealable plastic bags (or wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil) for 3 months.

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

Eggs – use large eggs (around 55g-60g each).

Coconut Oil – this can be bought from any major supermarket. If you live in a cool climate, the coconut oil may solidify in the glass jar – simply melt it in the microwave before using. 

Sweeteners – our healthy muffins are sweetened using a combination of honey (or substitute with rice malt syrup), mashed banana, grated apple and a small amount of brown sugar. 

Dry ingredients – the base of our carrot cake muffins are made using plain flour (or substitute with 1/2 plain flour and 1/2 wholemeal flour), almond meal (ground almonds) and rolled oats. Bi-carbonate soda is the rising agent, while sea salt and cinnamon add additional flavour. 

Almond milk – is a healthy low fat, high calcium plant milk made from almonds with a creamy, nutty flavour. You can buy almond milk from any supermarket or make your own.

Optional nuts – chopped walnuts or pecans can be sprinkled over the top of the muffins before baking for a nutty crunch! 

Use room temperature ingredients.

Fold through the dry ingredients – don’t over-mix.

Add rice to the bottom of the muffin tin holes (this stops the paper cases from getting greasy).

Sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts over the top of the muffins before baking for a beautiful crunch.

Bake until lightly golden and the muffins spring back when touched.

Storing – Carrot cake muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Alternatively, they can be frozen for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature before consuming.

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 295mg | Potassium: 197mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 3340IU | Vitamin C: 2.2mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2.2mg

Did you try this recipe?Mention @BakePlaySmileBlog or tag #BakePlaySmile!

Click to download your free 20 Healthy Food Swaps Printable!