Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

4.35 from 169 votes

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Healthy muffins, but make them carrot cake 🥕! If you can’t already tell, healthy muffins are my JAM! Personally, I love the idea of being able to grab something on the run or have a healthy snack on standby so I don’t go scavenging for random treats. These Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins are another Healthy Breakfast Muffin spin-off but with that classic carrot cake taste, and a dreamy, light cream cheese frosting that will have you absolutely hooked!

Why You’ll Love Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Moist, fluffy and perfectly sweet muffins topped with a smooth, velvety cream cheese frosting – I mean, what’s there not to love 😍? Whether you plan to enjoy these muffins for breakfast, as a snack or when you crave something sweet sans the post-treat guilt, these Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins won’t disappoint.

Not to mention, these muffins only take 10 minutes to prepare and are super versatile. Add chopped nuts, shredded coconut or adjust the sweetness; it’s totally up to you! One thing is for sure though – these Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins will earn a permanent spot on your weekly rotation.

How to Prepare Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

🔥 Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

🥣 In a bowl, mash a ripe banana and mix it with the egg, vanilla, and yogurt.

🥕 Add the shredded carrot and mix.

🥄 Incorporate dry ingredients (oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon) and mix well.

✨ Scoop the mixture into a parchment-lined muffin tin.

♨️ Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

🍁 While the muffins are baking, prepare the frosting by mixing softened cream cheese, maple syrup, and cinnamon until smooth.

🧊 Once the muffins are cooled, spread the icing onto the baked muffins and enjoy!

Nonna’s Tip 🍌

The ripeness of the banana determines the texture and sweetness of the muffins.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins Variations and Substitutions

You can customize these Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins by adding fruits, seeds, or trying an alternative flour. Don’t forget to let me know in the comments what you try!

  1. Feel free to add fresh diced fruits like 🫐 blueberries, strawberries, or chopped nuts for extra flavor and nutrition.
  2. Incorporate seeds or nuts such as chia seeds, flaxseeds, poppy seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, or crushed almonds for a nutritional boost.
  3. Experiment with different spices like nutmeg, ginger, or allspice if you want a slightly different flavor profile for these Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins.
  4. Instead of oat flour, try using all-purpose flour, almond flour, 🥥 coconut flour, or a gluten-free flour blend. However, you will have to experiment and adjust the quantities.
  5. I used frosting, but you can feel free to get creative with toppings such as a dollop of Greek yogurt, 🍌 fresh fruit slices, or any nut or seed butter. The muffins are delicious without a topping or frosting as well!

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Best Served With

  • Coffee or tea 🫖
  • An egg dish like my Zucchini Egg Bake to make a complete and protein-packed meal
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11/06/2024 01:01 pm GMT

Common Questions

What if the muffins come out too dense?

Always check the baking powder! If the muffins come out too dense and not fluffy and moist, your baking powder is likely out of date.

How can I check if my baking powder is still good?

You can test if your baking powder has expired by adding ½ teaspoon baking powder to ¼ cup hot water. If the water bubbles up, it’s not expired; if it does not bubble, it’s expired and should be tossed. When using baking powder, always check the expiration date. Expired baking powder will not help your recipe rise in the oven, and you’ll have a sad, deflated muffin.

How can I make these Muffins gluten-free?

Ensure that all of your ingredients are gluten-free if you are baking for yourself or someone with a gluten allergy.

What can I use if I Don’t have oat flour?

You can certainly use quick cooking rolled oats but the texture won’t be the same. Alternatively, you can blend oats to make oat flour! Feel free to use all-purpose flour as well if that’s all you have on hand.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Moist, fluffy and perfectly sweet muffins topped with a smooth, velvety cream cheese frosting – I mean, what's there not to love 😍? Whether you plan to enjoy these muffins for breakfast, as a snack or when you crave something sweet sans the post-treat guilt, these Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins won't disappoint.
4.35 from 169 votes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 muffins
Author: The Modern Nonna
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

The Muffins

  • 1 banana, the riper the better
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup vanilla yogurt, any yogurt will work
  • cup peeled and grated carrot, approximately 1 small carrot
  • cup oat flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

The Frosting

  • cup softened cream cheese
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup, to taste
  • 1 dash cinnamon, to taste
  • crushed walnuts on top or in the batter, optional

Instructions 

The Muffins

  • Note: The texture of the muffins will depend on the size of the banana
  • Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
  • In a bowl, mash the ripe banana and add in the egg, vanilla, yogurt. Mix well.
  • Add the shredded carrot and mix again.
  • Add the dry ingredients (oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon) and mix until everything is well combined.
  • Scoop the mixture into a muffin tin lined with parchment paper cupcake liners.
  • Bake at 350F (180C) for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The Frosting

  • Add the softened cream cheese, maple syrup and cinnamon to a bowl and mix until silky smooth.
  • Evenly spread the icing onto the muffins and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 181kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 148mg, Potassium: 265mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 2124IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 106mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
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Hi! I'm Sneji. Nice to meet you!

I am more commonly known as “The Modern Nonna” on social media where I create easy home cooked meals with a modern twist. I was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria and learned how to cook at the best culinary school in the world – my grandma’s kitchen. I lived in Greece on the Island of Crete with my parents for a while and then moved to Toronto, Canada when I was in grade 5. I started to really cook and experiment with food 11 years ago when I was 21 years old. Everything I currently know is a reflection of some part of my life…

Keep up to date with me on social media! Follow @themodernnonna

4.35 from 169 votes (164 ratings without comment)

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18 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    The kids love these “cupcakes” as they call them. They have no idea they’re full of healthier ingredients. I pack them for school lunch (minus the nuts on top) and they’re always eaten.

    1. Hi Jani, the nutrition info is at the bottom of the recipe. Since the recipe makes 4 muffins, just divide by 4 to calculate the calories in eahc muffin:

  2. You lost me at banana. Looking for healthy muffins that don’t use bananas for sweetness or consistency. What’s an alternative to banana for this recipe?

    1. Hi Patricia, you could try substituting the oat flour with all-purpose flour, gluten-free flour, or whole wheat flour, but you will need to experiment as I have not tried this recipe with anything besides oat flour. Let me know how it comes out! 😊

    1. Hi Brandi I have not tried other alternatives but apple sauce may work. You would have to experiment, please do look at my q and a section of the recipe as well 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    Love how easy this was to make and that these muffins are sugar free! My 4 year old and 1 year old loved it! We finished the whole thing in minutes 🙂 will definitely make again!