by 
These Carrot and Apple Muffins are sweetened only with fruit. They are perfect for breakfast or as a healthy snack.
If you are looking for an indulgent, sweet muffin then this isn't the recipe for you. They certainly don't fall into that category. However, if you are looking for a healthy breakfast or snack idea then these ABC Muffins (A (Apple), B (Banana), C (carrots)) are perfect. They are made up of
- grated apple
- mashed banana
- grated carrot
- apple puree (apple sauce)
- egg
- spelt flour
- almond flour
- milk
- spices (cinnamon & ginger)
- baking soda
- coconut oil
There are so many recipes out there for "healthy sugar-free muffins" only for the ingredient list to contain lots of honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar (eh, not sugar-free then!). I'm sure these recipes taste amazing but they shouldn't be advertised as sugar-free and often have a very high sugar content (sometimes more than regular muffins.)
Technically these Carrot Apple Muffins aren't sugar-free either but they are sweetened only with fruit and are great for little ones.
How to Make Carrot and Apple Muffins
Once you have prepared all your ingredients (grated carrots & apples, mashed bananas, chopped nuts), preheated the oven and greased a muffin tray, then making the muffins can be done in four easy steps:
- Mix the wet ingredients together (milk, egg, apple puree, grated carrot, grated apple, mashed banana, coconut oil) in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients (spelt flour, almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda) together in a separate bowl.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently stir until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups, top with chopped walnuts (optional) and bake for 35 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
Top Tips
- Use very ripe bananas - The apple, banana and carrots provide the sweetness. The riper the banana the sweeter the muffin will taste and this recipe works best with really ripe ones
- Be organised - Preheat the oven, prepare your muffin tin, measure your dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls all before combining the wet and dry ingredients. Once the raising agents in the batter are activated, (when the baking powder gets added to the liquid mixture), you need to capitalise on this chemical reaction quickly so that the heat of the oven can set the air bubbles in place.
- Keep an eye on the baking time - Take the muffins out of the oven too soon and they will be sticky and uncooked. Bake them too long, and you run the risk of dry muffins. Every oven is different, so while you should still follow the bake time in this recipe, use a skewer to test your muffins a couple of minutes before the end of the bake time. Your skewer will come out clean if they are ready.
- Pump up the sweetness - if you are looking for something a little bit sweeter then why not try adding ½ cup of sultanas (soak in boiling water and drain before stirring through the muffin mixture). Alternatively, you could replace ¼ cup of milk with maple syrup.
Are these Carrot Muffins Suitable for Babies / Toddlers?
Yes! They are great for babies and toddlers for the following reasons...
- Fruit Sweetened - It is recommended that children under two should not consume any added sugar. Most muffin recipes are packed with sugar, maple syrup or honey. These are sweetened with apple, banana, carrots and cinnamon - perfect for little ones.
- Texture - These muffins are very soft and spongy and are a great texture for little ones.
- Veggie Exposure - It is always good for toddlers to see how versatile and delicious vegetables are.
You may wish to...
- Skip the walnuts on top. (If not, make sure to finely chop.)
- Bake in mini muffin trays. Mini muffins are a much more manageable size for little ones and saves you cutting the muffin into pieces.
Storage Instructions
Cool the muffins completely before storing. (Packing them away when they are even a little warm, will result in condensation and soggy or mouldy muffins.)
- Cool on a wire rack. Transfer your muffins to cool.
- Storing at room temperature - Store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
- Refrigerating - Refrigerating the muffins alters the texture and is not recommended.
- Freezing - If properly frozen, in an airtight container, then the muffins will be good for 2-3 months. To reheat - just pop them out of the freezer and place them back in the muffin tin. Cover with foil and reheat at 170c /350f until heated through. Alternatively, reheat them in the microwave.
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Carrot and Apple Muffins
Equipment
- 12 Cup Muffin Tray
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Coconut Oil (melted)
- 1 Ripe Banana (mashed)
- 1 Apple (grated)
- 135g (1 packed cup) Carrot (grated)
- 80g (⅓ cup) Apple Puree (apple sauce)
- 125ml (½ cup) Buttermilk (or ½ cup milk mixed with 1½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice)
- 2 Eggs (beaten)
- 185g (1½ cups) Spelt Flour
- 56g (½ cup) Almond Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 35g (¼ cup) Walnuts (chopped)
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 190c/375f and grease a 12 cup muffin tray.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the coconut oil, mashed banana, apple, carrot, apple puree, milk and eggs. Mix together until combined.
- In a separate bowl add the spelt flour, almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, and baking soda. Gently stir to mix through
- Add the dry flour mix to the wet ingredients and fold in gently until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts (optional).
- Bake muffins for approx. 35 mins or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the muffin tray for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional facts
* This recipe was originally posted on Sep 10, 2015. It has been updated with new photos, recipe tips, information and storage instructions.
Cecilia
Easy and delicious ! Thank you
Amy Whiteford
Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Bernelee
Hi, can the spelt & almond flour be substituted with normal flour?
Amy
Hi Bernelee, this is an older recipe and I can't recall if I have tested these with other flours. Sorry.
Mary
Hi....lived this recipe.....can coconut oil be substituted to veg oil...or melted butter??
Amy
Yes 🙂
Shirley
I made the muffins delicious I left out the apple sauce and I put 80gr raisins in
Amy
Thanks for the feedback, Shirley, I'm glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Shirley
Very nice my husband I'd diabetic and he loves the muffins. I would love to add raisins. How much can I add for sweetness.
Amy
HI Shirley, I'm please to hear your husband enjoyed the muffins.
You can definitely enhance the sweetness with raisins but unfortunately I can't advise on the quantity with diabetic considerations. However if you are just asking how much you can add without them effecting the recipe, then I'd say around 1/2 cup would work well.
Enjoy, Amy!
Courtney
Great recipe! Do you know the serving size? Are the macros for one muffin or the whole batch? I have a diabetic daughter and need to know. Thank you!
Amy
Hi Courtney, I apologise for the late response but your message got filtered to my junk. The nutritional information is based on one muffin when the mixture makes 12. Please note that this nutritional information is a ROUGH guide only and was calculated using an online nutrition calculator. I can not guarantee the accuracy.
Annie
My littlest has a banana and dairy allergy. Can we skip bananas? And use coconut milk instead of buttermilk?
Thank you.
Amy
Hi Annie, You can replace the buttermilk with dairy-free milk mixed with 1.5 tsp lemon juice. You could try replacing the banana with a little extra apple puree but without testing, I can't guarantee how it will turn out, sorry.
katy alexander
Is almond flour the same as ground almond, or similar enough?! Thankyou, i love your recipes for my two little girls
Amy
Hi Katy, almond flour will work for sure, it is pretty much the same thing, almond flour is just made with almonds with skin removed. ( 🙂
Priya
Hi Amy ,
Can I use grated apple instead of apple sauce . If so, how much grated apple should be used
abby
We have really been enjoying these muffins - thank you for the lovely recipe! My 1 year old adores raisins, so we skip the walnuts and add in some raisins 🙂 Thank you again for sharing!
Amy
Thank you Abby 🙂
Nat
Thanks for this recipe! It’s yummy. I do struggle to know when they’re ready though. They will go brown and hard on the outside but the skewer still won’t come out clean. Can you expect a clean skewer when you’re using this type of healthy recipe? Also, how long can they be stored in the fridge?
Amy
Thank you Nat, I'm glad you liked them and thanks for the feedback. Did you mash or puree the banana? I sometimes find when I mash banana until super smooth that the baked goods can be wetter in texture. Did you use cup or gram measurements? I don't actually recommend refrigerating these, you can freeze them (covered in an air tight container/freezer bag) for up to 2-3 months.
B.Jeni
Hi, I like the cake so much. Thank you for sharing. I used oats flour and all purpose flour instead of almond flour and spelt flour. And I have added little bit dates syrup (home made ) too. Its became super soft muffin and my little one love it.
Amy
Sounds delicious, thank you 🙂
Naomi
Hi Amy, is there any other flour I can use?
Amy
Hi Naomi, I haven't tested other flours. Is it the spelt flour you are looking to replace. I'd try wholemeal (whole wheat) or plain (all purpose)
Katie
This is such a tasty and forgiving recipe. I only have rudimentary baking “skills” and had to swap a couple of the ingredients to match what we had in our pantry. Made mini muffins (tried 16 minutes and kept in mind what you said about using a cooling rack so they won’t get soggy). Turned out fabulous… had to pop them in the freezer so my picky eater toddler would stop asking for more every time he saw them on the counter. Thank you!
Amy
Great to hear. I'm so happy it was a success for you.
Jo Willems
Made this today. Really easy and my 1 year old LOVED them! I swapped out the flour for regular wholemeal and they worked a treat.
Amy
Great to know, thanks Jo 🙂